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LANDMARKS 


OF 


WAYNE  COUNTY 


NEW  YORK 


HUustratefc 


EDITED  BY 


HON.    GEORGE   WTCOWLES 


OF  CLYDE,  N.  Y. 


ASSISTED  BY  H.  P.  SMITH  AND  OTHERS 


SYRACUSE,  N.  Y. 

D.  Mason  &  Company,  Publishers 

1895 


VB> 


FTa.7 


Bequest 

Albert  Adsit  demons 

Aug.  24,  1938 

(Not  available  for  exchange) 


INTRODUCTORY. 


In  presenting  this  historical  and  biographical  record  of  Wayne 
county  to  its  readers,  the  editor  and  his  associates  feel  that  no 
apology  is  demanded,  either  for  the  motives  which  first  prompted 
the  undertaking  or  for  the  accomplished  results.  While  several 
more  or  less  incomplete  works  treating  upon  the  history  of  this 
locality  have  been  published  prior  to  the  inception  of  this  volume, 
it  is  true  that  the  field  has  never  been  properly  occupied.  This 
fact  was  realized  and  appreciated  by  the  representative  people  of 
the  county,  most  of  whom  had.  lqng.entertained  the  desire  that  a 
work  worthy  of  the  subjeet,  and  comprehensive  and  reasonably  cor- 
rect, might  be  published  before  many  "of  the  sources  of  information 
should  become  extinct. 

No  person  unfamiliar  with  work  of  this  kind  can  properly  appre- 
ciate its  difficulties.  Were  it  otherwise,  and  could  the  many  who 
will  turn  these  pages  have  followed  the  long  course  of  the  task, 
their  censure  would  fall  very  lightly  upon  the  heads  of  the  editor 
and  his  helpers.  No  writer  ever  has,  probably  never  will,  produce 
such  a  volume,  containing  a  great  mass  of  material  and  thousands 
of  names  and  dates,  without  numerous  errors.  For  this  reason,  if 
for  no  other,  absolute  accuracy  will  not  be  expected  herein.  It  is 
believed  that  all  who  may  read  these  pages  will  feel  kindly  disposed 
and  pass  over  the  occasional  errors  to  the  perusal  of  that  which 
fully  meets  their  expectations. 


iv  INTRODUCTION. 

To  all  who  have  aided  in  the  preparation  of  this  work  (and  they 
are  so  numerous  as  to  render  it  impracticable  to  name  them  here), 
the  gratitude  of  editors  and  publishers  is  due  and  hereby  expressed. 
No  worthy  history  of  this  county  could  have  been  written  without 
such  aid. 

The  editor  of  the  work  desires  to  make  especial  acknowledgment 
of  the  assistance  rendered  him  in  his  part  of  the  work  by  H.  P. 
Smith  and  W.  Stanley  Child,  for  their  intelligent  and  faithful  co- 
operation ;  and  to  the  press  of  the  county,  county  officers,  pastors 
of  churches,  school  officials,  and  all  of  the  many  who  have  other 
wise  contributed  to  the  work. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Original  Civil  Divisions  of  New  York  State — Subsequent  Divisions — Physical 
Characteristics  of  Wayne  County — Fish  and  Animals  of  this  Locality — Cli- 
matic Peculiarities — Effects  of  the  Climate  upon  the  Health  of  the  Settlers 
— Coming  of  Wayne  County  Pioneers. i 

CHAPTER  II. 

Indian  Occupation  of  Western  New  York — Treatment  of  Indians  by  White  Men 
— Relation  of  the  Indians  to  Wayne  County — The  Jesuits  and  their  Work — 
Local  Operations  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution — Indian  Remains 9 


CHAPTER  III. 

Early  Conditions  in  Western  New  York — Sketches  of  the  "Genesee  Country" 
and  the  Phelps  andGorham  Purchase — The  Pre-emption  Lines — Organization 
of  Companies  to  Secure  Lands  in  Western  New  York — A  Very  Extensive 
"  Mill-Yard  "—The  Morris  Reserve— The  Military  Tract  as  Related  to  Wayne 
County. ...14 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Early  Conditions  in  the  "Genesee  Country" — Efforts  of  Great  Britain  to  Retain 
the  Territory — Fears  of  Indian  Invasion — Lack  of  Means  of  Communication 
with  the  East — Charles  Williams  and  his  Work — Colony  on  the  Genesee  River 
— Quaker  Settlement  at  Jerusalem — Settlement  at  Canandaigua — List  of  Set- 
tlers West  of  Pre-emption  Line — Opening  of  Roads — A  Journey  Westward 
from  Albany — Privations  of  Pioneers.  . .  _ 26 

CHAPTER  V. 

Beginning  of  Settlement  in  the  Territory  of  Wayne  County — Early  Map  of  West- 
ern New  York — Map  of  the  "Genesee  Lands" — Localities  First  Settled  in 
Wayne  County — Beginning  at  East  Palmyra — Importance  of  Ganargwa 
Creek — First  Improvement  at  Sodus  Bay — Improvement  of  Highways — Set- 
tlements in  Various  Localities — The  Threatened  Canadian  Invaion — Final 
Establishment  of  Peaceful  Conditions — Estimate  of  Williamson's  Policy 39 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Circumstances  of  the  Pioneers — Current  Prices  of  Produce — Inconvenience  of 
Distant  Markets — Gradual  Improvement  of  Roads — Old  Stage  Lines — Erec- 
tion of  Early  Mills— Outbreak  of  the  War  of  1812— Effects  of  the  Conflict  in 
Wayne  County — Military  Operations  at  Sodus  Bay — Account  of  a  Skirmish 
— Descent  upon  Pultneyville — General  Improvements  Following  the  Close  of 
the  War. - 52 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Further  Improvement  in  Means  of  Transportation — Discussion  of  the  "Grand 
Canal" — Investigation  and  Surveys — Progress  and  Completion  of  the  Great 
Work — Its  Effect  upon  Wayne  County — Other  Public  Improvements — The 
First  Railroad — The  Railroads  of  Wajne  County — Brief  History  of  Mormon- 
ism — Inception  of  Spiritualism 65 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

End  of  the  Reign  of  Peace — The  First  Gun — Military  Enthusiasm — Wayne  County 
The  President's  First  Proclamation — The  First  Company  Recruited  in  Wayne 
County — Sketches  of  the  Various  other  Wayne  County  Organizations 83 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Since  the  War — Internal  Improvements — Legislative  Acts— Agricultural  Pro- 
ductions— Peppermint — Statistics,  etc. — Civil  List — Recapitulation. 91 

CHAPTER  X. 

Comparison  of  State  Law  with  the  Common  Law — Evolution  of  the  Courts — The 
Court  of  Appeals — The  Supreme  Court — The  Court  of  Chancery — The  County 
Court — The  Surrogate's  Court — Justice's  Court — District  Attorneys — Sheriffs 
— Court  House — Judicial  Officers — Personal  Notes. 101 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Medical  Profession — Wayne  County  Medical  Society — Wayne  County  Homeo- 
pathic Medical  Society — Sketches  and  Reminiscences. 121 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Press  of  Wayne  County. -  - .  131 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Secret  Societies 146 


CONTENTS,  vii 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Agricultural  Societies,  County  Institutions,  &c.  159 

CHAPTER  XV. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Palmyra. 165 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Sodus. 197 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
History  of  the  Town  and  Village  of  Lyons. . . 221 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Galen.  251 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Wolcott 282 

CHAPTER  XX. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Williamson. 304 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Ontario 319 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Macedon 329 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Savannah 346 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Arcadia. __ 357 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Marion. ..382 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Walworth.   ...    . .' 394 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Rose.      . -    .        402 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Huron. . .    . .    417 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Butler. . 427 

PART  II. 
Biographies 1-42 

PART  III. 
Family  Sketches ...1-321 

Index  to  Part  I 323-328 

Index  to  Part  II 329 

Index  to  Part  III 330-343 

Index  to  Portraits.. 343 


Landmarks  of  Wayne  County. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Original  Civil  Divisions  of  New  York  State — Subsequent  Divisions — Physical 
Characteristics  of  Wayne  County — Fish  and  Animals  of  this  Locality — Climatic 
Peculiarities — Effects  of  the  Climate  upon  Health  of  the  Settlers — Coming  of  Wayne 
County  Pioneers. 

The  original  ten  counties  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  New  York  were 
created  November  1,  1683,  and  named  Albany,  Dutchess,  Kings,  New 
York,  Orange,  Queens,  Richmond,  Suffolk,  Ulster,  and  Westchester. 
On  the  11th  of  March,  1772,  Montgomery  county  was  erected  under  the 
name  of  "  Tryon  "  (the  change  in  name  was  made  in  1784),  and  em- 
braced nearly  the  whole  of  the  central  and  western  part  of  the  State. 
In  1789  all  that  part  of  the  State  lying  west  of  Phelps  &  Gorham's  pre- 
emption line  (see  outline  map  of  the  county  on  a  later  page),  was 
erected  into  the  county  of  Ontario,  which  ultimately  gave  a  part  of  its 
territory  to  Wayne  county.  Two  years  later  (1791),  Herkimer  county 
was  taken  from  Montgomery;  in  1794,  Onondaga  county  was  set  off 
from  Herkimer  ;  in  1799,  Cayuga  was  taken  from  Onondaga,  and  in 
1804,  Seneca  county  was  taken  from  Cayuga,  and  ultimately  gave  a 
part  of  its  territory  to  Wayne  county.  Seneca  county  was  embraced 
in  the  military  tract,  described  herein.  From  the  two  counties  of  On- 
tario and  Seneca,  Wayne  county  was  erected  on  the  11th  of  April, 
1823.  Most  of  that  part  of  the  county  lying  east  of  the  pre-emption 
line  was  taken  from  the  military  tract,  and  now  embraces  the  towns  of 
Savannah,  Galen,  Butler,  Rose,  Wolcott  and  Huron;  and  all  of  the 
county  west  of  that  line,  embracing  the  towns  of  Lyons,  Arcadia, 
Sodus,  Williamson,  Marion,  Palmyra,  Ontario,  Walworth  and  Macedon, 
was  taken  from  Ontario  county.  The  dates  of  the  formation  of  the 
fifteen  towns  now  composing  Wayne  county  were  as  follows :  Palmyra 
l 


2  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  Sodus,  January,  1780;  Williamson,  February  20,  1802;  Ontario, 
March  27,  1807;  Wolcott,  March  24,  1807;  Lyons,  March  1,  1811; 
Galen,  February  14,  1812;  Macedon,  January  21),  1823;  Savannah, 
November  24,  1824;  Arcadia,  February  15,  1825;  Rose,  February  5, 
1826;  Huron,  February  25,  182(3;  Butler,  February  26,  1826;  Wal- 
worth, April  20,  1829.  It  will  be  noticed  that  several  of  these  towns 
have  been  erected  since  the  formation  of  the  county. 

The  law  erecting  Wayne  county  states  that  it  should  contain  the 
towns  of  Wolcott  and  Galen,  in  Seneca  county  (from  which  have  been 
taken  four  other  towns),  and  Lyons,  Sodus,  Williamson,  Ontario,  and 
Macedon,  and  all  that  part  of  Phelps  north  of  an  east  and  west  line 
from  the  southwest  corner  of  Galen  to  the  east  line  of  Manchester, 
from  Ontario  county;  from  these  six  towns,  three  others  have  been 
erected  since  the  county  was  set  off,  making  the  present  fifteen.  That 
part  of  Phelps  above  described  was  added  to  the  town  of  Lyons.  The 
act  of  organization  also  gave  the  new  county  two  members  of  Assem- 
bly, and  ordered  the  first  election  to  be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
May,  1824,  and  the  two  succeeding  days.  It  also  made  the  county  a 
part  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Congressional  District,  and  of  the  Seventh 
Senatorial  District,  now  in  Twenty-eighth  Senatorial  District.  The 
county  received  its  name  in  honor  of  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne,  of  the 
Revolutionary  Army.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Lake  Ontario; 
east  by  Cayuga  county;  south  by  Seneca  and  Ontario  counties,  and 
west  by  Monroe  county. 

The  surface  of  Wayne  county  is  level  or  slightly  rolling,  and  is  gen- 
erally admirably  adapted  to  agriculture.  It  has  a  general  slope  north- 
ward towards  the  great  lake.  Proceeding  southward  from  the  lake  a 
quite  uniform  rise  continues  to  what  is  known  as  "  The  Ridge."  This 
is  an  elevation  extending  across  the  county  from  east  to  west,  follow- 
ing to  a  certain  extent  the  shore  conformation  of  the  lake  and  continuing 
on  westward  through  Monroe,  Orleans,  and  Niagara  counties.  Its 
height  is  from  150  to  188  feet.  This  peculiar  elevation,  its  situation 
with  reference  to  the  lake  shore,  its  constituent  soil,  have  revealed  to 
ardent  and  persistent  students  of  geology  the  assurance  that  in  past 
ages  it  constituted  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  waters  of 
which   have   since    receded   northward. J      The    accompanying   outline 

1  Professor  Hall,  State  geologist,  says  of  this  ridge:  "It  bears  all  the  marks  of 
having  been  the  boundary  of  a  large  body  of  water,  and  of  having  been  produced  in 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  3 

geological  map  indicates  not  only  the  line  of  the  ridge,  but  also  other 
interesting  matters,  with  the  probable  location  of  the  once  great  glacier 
that  is  believed  to  have  existed  to  the  northward. 


Map  of  Lake   Iroquois. 

Showing  the  line  of  the  present  lake  shore,  the  original  shore  line,  the  former  supposed  outlet  of  the 
lake  by  the  Mohawk  River,  and  the  situation  of  the  great  northern  ice  sheet. 1 

On  the  Wayne  county  lake  shore  is  by  far  the  largest  indentation  on 
the  southern  shore  of  the  lake — Sodus  Bay.  It  is  a  safe  as  well  as  a 
beautiful  harbor,  its  projecting  headlands,  varied  shore  line  and 
pictnesque  island  commanding  unqualified  admiration.  One  traveler 
of  early  times  described  it  as  "rivalling  the  Bay  of  Naples  in  the  purity 
of  its  waters  and  the  romantic  nature  of  its   scenery."     It  was  visited 


the  same  manner  as  the  elevated  beaches  bordering  the  ocean  or  our  larger  lakes. 
.  .  Its  seaward  side  is  usually  covered  with  coarse  gravel  and  often  with  large 
pebbles,  resembling  the  shingle  of  the  sea  beaches.  The  top  is  generally  of  coarse 
sand  and  gravel,  though  sometimes  of  fine  sand,  as  if  blown  up  by  the  wind,  similar 
to  modern  beaches." 

1  From  "The  Niagara  Book,"  Underhill  &  Nichols,  Buffalo,  1893. 


4  LANDMARKS   OF 

by  the  Jesuits  and  given  by  them  the  name  "Assorodus,"  or  "silver 
waters."  It  was  also  a  noted  loeality  with  the  Indians,  who  made  it  a 
meeting  place  for  various  purposes. 

The  ridge  has  an  upper  surface  width  of  from  fifty  to  two  hundred 
feet,  and  southward  of  this  the  surface  of  the  county  is  somewhat 
broken  by  north  and  south  ridges,  with  rather  abrupt  northward  head- 
ings and  sloping  of  southward,  rising  in  some  places  to  the  dignity  of 
hills,  but  in  almost  all  sections  susceptible  of  tillage.  These  ridges  are 
composed  of  clay,  sand  and  gravel,  and  seem  to  be  deposits  from  strong 
currents  of  water. 

The  soil  of  the  county  generally  is  derived  from  drift  deposits  and 
composed  of  a  sandy  or  gravelly  loam,  with  minor  intermixture  of  clay. 
Along  the  lake  shore  it  is  principally  derived  from  the  disintegration 
of  the  Medina  sand  stone,  making  a  reddish,  sandy  loam.  In  the  val- 
ley of  Clyde  River  is  a  rich  soil  of  gravelly  loam  and  alluvium.  There 
is  considerable  marsh  land  in  the  county,  along  the  Clyde  and  Seneca 
Rivers  and  north  of  the  ridge,  the  surface  of  which  when  drained  is 
covered  with  a  deep  and  rich  vegetable  mold,  which  is  very  fertile. 

The  lowest  rock  in  this  county  is  the  Medina  sandstone,  which  is  so 
extensively  quarried  in  various  localities  in  Western  New  York  for 
building  and  paving  purposes.  It  appears  on  the  lake  and  in  the  ravines 
near  to  it,  occupying  a  strip  about  two  miles  in  average  width  and 
widest  in  the  western  part.  This  sandstone  embraces  four  species, 
which  are  geologically  described  as  the  red  marl,  which  decomposes  by 
exposure  and  is  the  source  of  the  red  clay  of  this  locality;  the  gray 
quartzose  sandstone,  which  succeeds  the  one  just  mentioned,  and  is 
the  hardest  of  the  group;  the  red  shale,  or  sandstone,  a  red  shaly  or 
marly  mass,  as  its  title  indicates,  mottled  with  spots  of  greenish  gray; 
and  the  greenish -gray  argillaceous  sandstone,  similar  to  the  one  last 
named,  except  in  its  color.  The  extent  of  the  Medina  group  seems 
quite  limited  when  compared  with  the  remaining  rocks  of  this  period. 
It  occurs  through  Western  New  York,  thinning  out  to  the  eastward  and 
is  not  found  beyond  Utica.  Southward  of  the  Appalachian  region  it 
extends  through  to  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  attaining  in  some  places 
a  thickness  of  1,500  feet.  On  the  Niagara  River  it  is  from  350  to  400 
feet  thick,  passes  into  Canada  and  has  been  found  as  far  north  as  the 
Straits  of  Mackinac. 

Next  above  the  Medina  stone  comes  the  Clinton  group  of  limestone 
and  shales,  extending  to  the  foot  of  the  limestone  ridge.      Then  sue- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  5 

ceeds  the  Niagara  limestone,  forming  the  summit  ridge  and  occupying 
a  strip  about  three  miles  in  width.  This  gradually  increases  in  depth 
to  the  westward;  is  thirty  to  forty  feet  thick  in  Wayne  county,  from 
seventy  to  eighty  in  Rochester,  while  at  Niagara  Falls  it  is  more  than 
160  feet  thick.  In  Pennsylvania  its  thickness  exceeds  1,500  feet. 
Minerals  are  found  in  this  stone,  but  none  of  great  value.  South  of 
the  lim&stone  in  this  county  is  the  Onondaga  salt  group  of  red  and 
green  shales  and  gypsum,  extending  to  the  southern  border  and  oc- 
cupying nearly  one-half  of  the  county.  These  rocks  are  mostly  covered 
with  thick  deposits  of  drift,  and  are  not  extensively  exposed  except  in 
ravines.  Weak  salt  and  sulphur  springs  are  found  in  various  localities 
in  the  Medina  sandstone  and  the  red  shales  of  the  Onondaga  salt  group. 

Wayne  county  is  well  watered  Ganargwa,  or  Mud  Creek,  enters 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  county  from  Ontario,  flows  in  a  general 
easterly  course  to  Lyons,  where  it  unites  with  the  Canandaigua  outlet 
and  forms  the  Clyde  River.  This  considerable  stream  received  its  name 
from  William  McNab,  a  Scotch  settler;  it  continues  eastward  to  the 
eastern  bounds  of  the  county,  where  it  discharges  its  waters  into  Seneca 
River.  The  Clyde,  like  all  other  streams,  was  once  of  considerable 
more  volume  than  it  now  has  and  was  navigable  as  far  as  Lyons  and 
the  Ganargwa  (Mud  Creek),  even  farther,  constituting  a  highway  for 
the  pioneers  and  a  link  in  the  chain  of  interrupted  waterways  from 
Albany  westward.  Mud  Creek  and  the  Clyde  receive  from  the  north- 
west Red  Creek,  East  Red  Creek,  and  Bear  Creek,  and  several  small 
brooks  from  the  south.  The  streams  flowing  into  Lake  Ontario  are 
Bear,  Ueer,  Davis,  Salmon,  Thomas,  Wolcott,  and  Big  and  Little  Red 
Creeks.  First,  Second,  and  Third  creeks  flow  into  Sodus  Bay.  The 
only  considerable  body  of  water  in  the  county  is  Crusoe  Lake,  in  the 
southeast  corner. 

The  climate  of  Wayne  county  is  more  equable  and  healthful  than  in 
many  other  localities  of  the  same  latitude.  This  was  not  fully  under- 
stood in  earl}''  years,  and  much  of  the  sickness  of  those  times  was  at- 
tributed to  climatic  influences.  This  was  undoubtedly  an  error ;  the 
causes  of  prevailing  diseases  were  more  specific  and  local,  such  as  clear- 
ing the  lands  along  streams  like  Ganargwa  Creek,  thus  lowering  the 
water  and  leaving  decaying  vegetation  exposed  to  the  sun;  the  plowing 
up  of  new  lands,  etc.  With  the  termination  of  these  causes,  their  ill 
effects  also  disappeared  in  large  measure.  The  equable  climate  of  this 
locality  is  rightly  attributed  to  the  proximity  of  the  great  lake,  whose 


6  LANDMARKS   OF 

waters  it  is  believed  absorb  the  excessive  sun  heat  of  summer  and 
modify  the  severe  cold  of  winter.  The  mean  temperature  here  extend- 
ing over  a  period  of  several  years  has  been  shown  to  be  a  little  over 
forty-eight  degrees.  No  section  of  the  State  of  New  York  at  the  present 
time  has  a  more  varied  and  at  the  same  time  delightful  climate  than 
Wayne  county. 

The  prevailing  sickness  of  early  years  was  fever,  and  it  was  wide 
spread  and  often  fatal  in  all  parts  of  the  Genesee  country.  In  an  essay 
prepared  by  Dr.  Ludlow  on  this  subject  he  said:  None  were  exempt 
from  the  intermittent  fevers  which  prevailed  (in  1801).  Peruvian  bark 
was  generally  a  remedy,  but  was  of  rare  use.  When  left  to  nature, 
the  disease  became  typhoid,  and  endangered  recovery.  All  fevers, 
except  fever  and  ague,  were  called  by  the  people,  "Lake  or  Genesee 
fevers." 

After  tracing  the  course  of  these  diseases  through  several  years,  Dr. 
Ludlow  said  that  the  principal  disease  up  to  1822  was  dysentery,  which 
was  most  fatal  to  children.  While  after  1828  fevers  became  rarely 
fatal,  and  that  now  records  of  health  and  longevity  are  favorable  to 
Wayne  county. 

Into  this  region  came  during  the  last  decade  of  the  preceding  century 
and  the  early  years  of  the  present  century,  a  class  of  pioneers  who 
were,  as  a  rule,  well  adapted  to  the  work  of  founding  homes  and  com- 
munities in  the  wilderness.  They  were  men  and  women  endowed  with 
ambition,  firmness  of  purpose,  industrious,  and  frugal.  Such  qualifica- 
tions were  necessary  to  enable  them  to  succeed  in  their  undertaking; 
and  their  success  was  in  very  many  instances  dearly  bought,  as  the 
reader  of  these  pages  will  learn.  Aside  from  the  natural  sources  of 
food  before  mentioned,  provisions  were  scarce  and  costly.  Even  the 
necessary  article  of  salt  was  almost  impossible  to  obtain,  except  by  a 
long  and  tedious  journey  to  Onondaga.  As  an  example  of  what  it  cost 
to  secure  a  little  salt,  it  is  related  that  three  men  started  from  the  town 
of  Victor  (Ontario  county),  in  the  fall  of  1790  for  Palmyra  on  their  way 
to  the  salt  springs,  they  and  their  neighbors  being  destitute  of  the 
article.  At  Palmyra  they  took  a  Schenectady  boat  and  went  their  toil- 
some way.  A  little  below  the  junction  of  Ganargwa  Creek  and  the 
outlet,  they  encountered  a  stretch  of  drift  wood  fifteen  rods  or  more  in 
extent,  and  had  to  haul  their  boat  up  a  steep  shore  and  around  the  ob- 
struction on  rollers,  and  re-embark  below.  After  days  of  hard  labor 
they  reached  the  salt  works  of  Asa  Danforth  at  Salina,  where  they  pro- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  7 

cured  twelve  barrels  of  salt  and  started  homeward.  While  in  Seneca 
River  a  snow  storm  came  on  and  ice  formed  in  the  stream.  Often  the 
men  were  forced  to  get  into  the  freezing  water  in  order  to  proceed  at 
all.  Both  boat  and  salt  had  to  be  transported  around  the  driftwood, 
and  at  Lyon's  landing  boat  and  cargo  were  left,  and  later  were  carried 
from  there  to  their  destination  by  the  aid  of  six  yoke  of  oxen,  wagons 
and  sleds,  through  the  wilderness.  This  is  only  an  incident,  but  it 
clearly  indicates  what  the  pioneers  often  had  to  undergo  to  avoid  suf- 
fering and  keep  their  families  in  even  tolerable  comfort. 

Those  who  live  in  the  comfortable  homes  of  Wayne  county  to-day, 
and  especially  those  of  the  younger  generation,  can  scarcely  realize  the 
hardships  endured  by  their  ancestors,  except  as  they  may  have  heard 
their  stories  related,  or  have  read  them  in  the  records  that  have  been 
laboriously  gathered  and  preserved  in  the  few  volumes  devoted  to  local 
history. 

The  lake  shore  in  Wayne  county  is  generally  bold  and  varies  greatly 
in  height ;  at  the  mouth  of  Salmon  Creek  it  is  ten  feet  high,  a  little 
lower  in  Williamston,  and  at  Sodus  Point,  from  eighty  to  a  hundred 
feet.  The  Erie  Canal  is  carried  along  the  valley  cf  the  Clyde,  from 
both  sides  of  which  the  surface  rises  very  gradually.  Canandaigua, 
Crooked,  Seneca  and  Cayuga  Lakes  charge  northwardly  into  the  stream 
which  traverses  this  valley.  The  stream  is  known  first  as  Mud  Creek, 
(it  has  recently  taken  the  more  euphonius  Indian  name  of  Ganargwa), 
until  joined  by  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  when  it  becomes  Clyde  River, 
and  so  continues  eastward  to  Montezuma,  where  it  receives  through 
the  Seneca  outlet,  the  waters  of  Crooked,  Seneca  and  Cayuga  Lakes, 
continues  east  into  Onondaga  county,  where  it  joins  the  outlet  of  Oneida 
Lake  to  form  the  Oswego  River. 

The  Cayuga  (or  Montezuma)  marshes  occupy  a  part  of  the  town  of 
Savannah,  surrounding  both  sides  of  Crusoe  Island,  and  extend  into 
the  south  part  of  Butler.  What  is  known  as  Cooper's  swamp  is  situated 
in  the  south  part  of  Williamston.  There  is  also  a  cranberry  swamp 
at  the  head  of  Port  Bay.  These  swamps  contain  deposits  of  marl,  in 
which  are  found  quantities  of  fresh-water  shells. 

There  are  several  sulphur  springs  about  one  and  a  half  miles  south 
of  Newark.  Another  is  situated  on  Salmon  Creek  in  Sodus;  others 
near  Palmyra,  Clyde  and  Marion  Center.  The  waters  of  these  springs 
have  not  been  used  extensively. 


8  LANDMARKS   OF 

111  the  early  history  of  this  locality,  a  large  salt  spring  was  dis- 
covered in  the  town  of  Savannah  on  the  western  edge  of  the  Cayuga 
marshes.  Salt  was  manufactured  here  in  limited  quantities  in  early 
years.  Salt  springs  were  also  discovered  in  the  town  of  Wolcott, 
where  an  impure  salt  was  made  as  early  as  L815.  A  salt  spring  was 
found  on  a  small  creek  emptying  into  the  bay  near  Sodus  Point.  Bor- 
ings were  made  many  years  ago  for  salt  about  two  miles  east  of  Lock- 
pit  near  the  canal,  and  originally  a  spring  existed  at  tins  point.  A 
limited  product  was  manufactured  here  for  a  time.  In  1832,  a  company 
was  organized  and  borings  for  salt  begun  near  Clyde  village.  The  im- 
mediate locality  showed  no  indications  of  salt,  but  at  a  depth  of  four 
hundred  feet  salt  water  was  obtained  of  good  strength,  but  in  limited 
quantity.      No  salt  is  now  made  in  the  county. 

Iron  ore  has  been  discovered  in  various  places.  About  a  mile  east  of 
Lockpit  bog-iron  occurs  near  the  surface.  A  bed  of  argillaceous  oxide 
of  iron  crosses  the  county  from  east  to  west  at  about  two  miles  from  the 
lake.  This  ore  has  been  worked  in  furnaces  in  the  towns  of  Wolcott, 
Sodus  and  Ontario;  it  lias  also  been  ground  for  paint.  Further  details 
of  the  iron  manufacturing  industry  will  be  given  in  the  later  town 
histories. 

In  the  towns  of  Butler,  Rose,  Sodus,  Marion  and  Walworth  the 
Niagara  limestone  occurs  and  has  been  extensively  burned  for  lime. 
A  slaty  limestone  is  found  near  Newark,  and  also  in  the  southern  part 
of  Williamston,  from  which  lime  has  been  made.  The  Niagara  lime- 
stone before  mentioned  furnishes  in  man}'  localities  excellent  building 
stone. 

Wavne  county  contains  356,513  acres  of  land,  of  which  about  275, 0(H) 
acres  are  improved. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  of  this  locality  by  white  men,  the 
streams  of  the  county  abounded  with  fish.  Salmon  ran  up  Salmon 
Creek  and  other  streams  in  great  numbers,  and  they  added  much  to  the 
food  supply  of  the  pioneers.  The  land  was  covered  with  a  thick  forest, 
principally  of  hard  wood  trees,  such  as  oak,  hickory,  beech,  birch  and 
maple,  with  some  soft  woods  on  the  low  lands.  The  cutting  away  of 
these  forests  by  the  pioneers  was  a  task  of  great  magnitude  ;  but  it  gave 
them  a  source  of  cash  income  at  a  time  when  there  was  almost  no 
other,  through  the  manufacture  of  potash  from  the  ashes  of  the  burned 
logs,  and  in  later  years  from  the  timber  and  fire-wood.  The  forests 
were  filled  with  wild  animals — deer,  bears,  wolves,  all   of  which  were 


WAYNE   COUNTY. 


numerous,  with  such  smaller  animals  as  the  beaver  in  very  early  years, 
the  raccoon,  hedgehog,  squirrels,  etc.  While  the  bears  and  wolves 
were  destructive  of  domestic  animals,  they  with  the  numerous  deer 
furnished  an  ever-ready  source  of  food  to  the  settlers. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Indian  Occupation  of  Western  New  York— Treatment  of  Indians  by  White  Men — 
Relation  of  the  Indians  to  Wayne  County — The  Jesuits  and  their  Work — Local 
Operations  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution — Indian  Remains. 

The  first  white  man  who  penetrated  the  wilderness  which  once 
covered  what  is  now  the  State  of  New  York,  found  its  northern  and 
western  parts  inhabited  and  dominated  by  nations  of  that  remarkable 
race  of  copper-colored  people  whom  we  call  Indians — in  reality  the 
native  Americans.  The  question  whence  they  originated  is  shrouded 
in  mystery  and  so  must  remain ;  but  we  well  know  whither  they  are 
going.  Unnumbered  ages  hence  their  disappearance  from  the  earth 
may  be  enveloped  in  the  deep  oblivion  that  now  hides  their  origin. 

The  detailed  history  of  this  race  cannot  be  followed  in  this  volume, 
nor  is  it  desirable  that  it  should  be;  for  it  is  writ  upon  the  glowing 
pages  of  the  past  by  many  gifted  pens.  As  to  the  right  or  wrong  of 
their  conquest  and  rapidly  approaching  extinction,  wise  men  differ. 
At  the  foundation  of  the  question  is  the  fact  that  in  the  world's  history, 
civilization  must  advance  at  whatever  cost  to  the  uncivilized;  the 
ignorant  must  go  down  before  the  educated;  the  weak  before  the 
strong;  might,  if  not  always  right,  will  triumph.  If  the  Indians  with 
their  undisciplined  passions  fired  by  the  white  man's  rum,  armed  with 
the  guns  placed  in  their  hands  in  exchange  for  valuable  furs  at  a  ten- 
fold profit,  driven  from  their  hunting  grounds  when  no  longer  a  source 
of  gain  to  the  invaders — if  they  finally  retaliated  and  committed  bar. 
barities,  the  record  of  which  fills  the  pages  of  history  with  horror,  what 
else  should  have  been  expected?  The  fact  remains  that  there  is  not  an 
instance  on  record  where  the  natives  did  not  receive  the  first  visit  of 
the  white  man  with  hospitality  and  kindness.  We  may  well,  there- 
fore, give  a  thought  to  what  it  was  that  produced  the  great  change  in 
2 


10  LANDMARKS   OF 

the  attitude  of  the  Indian  towards  his  Caucasian  superior.  The  former 
never  desired  to  part  with  his  lands;  and  the  latter  stole  what  he  could 
not  buy. 1  The  Indians  retaliated  by  murdering"  the  thieves.  With 
Champlain  shooting  with  his  terrorizing  gunpowder  upon  the  guileless 
Iroquois  in  1600  on  the  lake  that  bears  his  name;2  with  the  sancti- 
monious Jesuits  beguiling  the  natives  to  secure  their  allegiance — and 
their  furs — for  France;  with  the  sagacious  Dutch  following  Hendrick 
Hudson  up  the  great  river  that  bears  his  name,  within  a  year  or  two 
after  Champlain  killed  his  first  Indian  a  little  farther  north ;  and  with 
the  English  landing  on  the  Atlantic  shores  a  few  years  later,  to  hood- 
wink the  natives  out  of  their  lands — with  all  this  going  on  it  is  scarcely 
a  marvel  that  the  gradually  aroused  Indians  became  revengful.  The 
correspondence  of  that  lifelong  friend  of  the  Indians,  Sir  William 
Johnson,  with  his  superiors,  is  one  long  catalogue  of  remonstrances 
against  the  wrongs  of  every  kind  to  which  the  natives  were  subjected. 
The  Iroquois  Indians,  as  they  were  first  called  by  the  French,  known 
as  the  Five  Nations  (subsequently  the  Six  Nations)  by  the  English, 
were  established  across  the  State  of  New  York  beginning  with  the 
Mohawks  on  the  east,  with  the  ( hieidas  (with  whom  the  Tuscaroras 
were  subsequently  practically  amalgamated),  the  Onondagas,  the 
Cayugas,  and  the  Senecas  next,  in  the  order  named.  What  is  now 
Erie  county,  and  contiguous  territory  on  the  west  and  north,  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  nation  called  by  the  French  the  Neuter  Nation,  from  the 
fact  that  they  endeavored  to  and  generally  did,    remain  at  peace  with 

1  As  late  as  July.  1755,  an  Iroquois  chief,  in  addressing  Sir  William  Johnson,  said: 
"Brother — you  desire  us  to  unite  and  live  together  and  draw  all  our  allies  near  us; 
but  we  shall  have  no  land  left  either  for  ourselves  or  them,  for  your  people  when 
they  buy  a  small  piece  of  land  of  us,  by  stealing  make  it  large.  We  desire  such 
things  may  not  be  done,  and  that  your  people  may  not  be  suffered  to  buy  any  more 
of  our  lands.  Sometimes  it  is  sought  of  two  men  who  are  not  the  proper  owners  of  it. 
The  land  which  reaches  down  from  Oswego  to  Schanandowana  (Wyoming)  we  beg 
may  not  be  settled  by  Christians.  The  governor  of  Pennsylvania  bought  a  whole 
tract  and  only  paid  for  half,  and  we  desire  that  you  will  let  him  know  that  we  will 
not  part  with  the  other  half,  but  keep  it."  This  seems  a  reasonable  speech  for  a 
savage,  regarding  what  he  believed  to  be  his  own  property;  and  even  an  Indian  is 
likely  to  light  when  he  is  robbed. 

-  The  moment  they  saw  me  they  halted,  gazing  at  me  and  I  at  them.  1  raised  my 
arquebus,  and  aiming  directly  at  one  of  the  three  chiefs,  two  of  them  fell  to  the 
ground  by  this  shot;  one  of  their  companions  received  a  wound  of  which  he  died 
afterwards.  I  had  put  four  balls  in  my  arquebus.  The  Iroquois  were  greatly  aston- 
ished seeing  two  men  killed  so  instantaneously.  —  From  Champlain 's    'Journal. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  11 

the  warlike  Eries,  still  farther  west,  and  the  Iroquois  on  the  east,  until 
they  were  all  finally  subdued  by  the  latter,  long  before  the  coming  of 
white  men.  From  that  time  onward  until  the  natives  were  conquered 
by  the  new  comers  the  Iroquois  roamed  over  a  large  part  of  the  country, 
conquering  and  triumphant,  lords  of  the  soil  that  bore  them. 

As  far  as  relates  to  the  territory  of  which  this  work  is  to  treat,  it  was 
shared  alike  by  the  Cayugas  in  its  eastern  part,  and  by  the   Senecas  in 
the  western  part.      "The  Cayugas  possessed   the   country  between  the 
Onondagas  and  the  Senecas.      It  was  laved   on   the  north  by  Lake  On- 
tario, and  stretched  southward  about  ninety  miles.      It  contained  all  of 
the  county  of  Seneca,  the  easterly  half  of  Wayne,  and  western  parts  of 
Cayuga  and  Tompkins.     Their  main   stations  were  on   the  east   and 
west  sides  of  Cayuga  Lake  a  little  south  of  the  outlet.     Canoga,  their 
chief  town,  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake.     Here  they  had  a  castle."1 
The  Senecas  possessed  the  whole  country  to  the  westward  indefinitely. 
Among   these   nations   of    Indians    came    that   remarkable  order  of 
French  religious  enthusiasts  to  convert  them  to  Catholicism  and  secure 
their  fealty  to  the  French  crown.      From  1611  to  towards  the  close  of 
that  century,   priests  of  that  order  came  over  to  Montreal  and  from 
there  penetrated  all  sections  of  what  is  now  Northern  and  Central  New 
York,  enduring  almost  unparalleled  privations  and  often  suffering  death 
in  the  cause.    They  were  the  discoverers  of  the  Onondaga  Salt  Springs 
and  taught  the  natives  how  to  boil  the  water  to  obtain  the  coveted 
article.      In  some  instances  they  appear  to  have  made  religious  impres- 
sions upon  the  Indians,  but  with  little  permanent  results  toward  civiliz- 
ing them.     With  La  Salle,  in  1669,  came  two  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries, 
De  Casson  and  De  Galinee.      The  party  landed  on  the  10th  of  August 
at  the  mouth  of  Irondequoit  Bay.      Father  Chaumonot,   who  labored 
among  the  Onondagas,   had  been  in  this  region  thirteen  years  earlier. 
In  November,    1668,   the  Senecas  sent  to   Montreal  a  request   that   a 
mission  be  established  among  them.    Father  Fremin  came  on  promptly 
and  found  a  pestilence  raging  among  the  nation,    and  called   Father 
Gamier  from  the  Onondagas  to  his  aid.     Fremin  established  himself  in 
what  is  now  Ontario  county  four  miles  southeast  from  Victor,  and  there 
founded  the  Mission  of  St.  Michael.    He  labored  there  until  1671,  while 
Gamier  founded  the  Mission  of  St.  James,  also  in  what  is  now  Victor, 
and  remained  until  1683. 

1  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  James  Macauley,  1829,  Vol.  II,  p.  300. 


12  LANDMARKS   OF 

It  is  not  known  that  the  Jesuits  had  a  mission  or  a  station  in  what  is 
now  Wayne  county.  It  is  extremely  probable  that  they  did  not.  But 
it  is  just  as  probable  that  their  boats  often  landed  on  the  shores  of 
Sodus  Bay,  and  possibly  at  other  points  along  the  present  shore  line  of 
the  county.  With  the  decline  of  the  French  power  and  its  final  extinc- 
tion, the  Jesuits  were  driven  from  the  country,  and  were  succeeded 
throughout  the  State  by  English  missionaries,  chief  among  whom  was 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  who  labored  long  among  the  Senecas  and 
Cayugas.  But  it  cannot  be  said  that  all  the  religious  labor  and  sacri- 
fice that  has  been  expended  upon  the  Indians  of  the  country  has  accom- 
plished much  good.  The  Indian  had  his  religion  and  his  deity,  the 
"Great  Spirit,"  and  it  has  been  easier  for  the  white  man  to  exterminate, 
than  to  convert  him. 

As  far  as  relates  to  the  immediate  territory  of  which  this  work  treats, 
it  almost  or  quite  wholly  escaped  the  effects  of  the  wars  which  at 
various  times  during  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  were  pros- 
ecuted between  the  French,  the  English  and  the  Indians.  Here  the 
Senecas  and  the  Cayugas  trod  the  deep  forest  in  quest  of  game,  or 
followed  the  trails  to  and  from  the  great  lake;  but  as  far  as  known  no 
conflict  occurred  in  this  immediate  region.  While  the  Mohawks  and 
other  eastern  nations  of  the  Iroquious  were,  as  a  rule,  loyal  to  the 
English,  or  neutral,  in  the  long  struggle  with  France,  the  power  of  the 
French  constantly  increased  for  many  years  among  the  Senecas;  but  in 
spite  of  this  the  French  never  obtained  a  firm  foothold  in  what  is  now 
New  York  State.  The  English  arms,  allied  with  the  greater  part  of 
the  Iroquois,  prevented  such  a  result.  With  equal  facility  had  France, 
England,  and  Spain  as  well,  parceled  out  vast  provinces  in  the  new 
world.  The  French  established  a  fortified  trading  post  on  the  Niagara 
River  in  1683—4,  but  it  was  captured  for  the  English  under  Sir  William 
Johnson  in  1759,  and  surrendered  to  the  United  States  in  1796,  several 
years  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  In  1729  a  trading  post 
was  built  on  the  site  of  Oswego,  under  the  administration  of  the  colo- 
nial government  of  New  York,  and  five  years  later  it  was  strengthened 
into  a  considerable  fortification.  The  place  was  captured  by  the  French 
in  1750,  and  destroyed.  The  works  were  rebuilt  in  1758  by  the  English, 
and  continued  in  their  possession  until  1799.  Bloody  wars  continued 
until  the  final  extinction  of  French  power  in  1763.  There  was  strife 
from  the  beginning  to  gain  the  fealty  of  the  Indians.  They  were  not 
only  extremely  useful  as  fighters  for  either  power,  but  their  friendship 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  13 

was  equally  desirable  for  purposes  of  trade.  (Of  course  they  were 
regularly  swindled  by  either  party  towards  which  they  leaned. ) 

When  the  Revolutionary  War  broke  out  and  England  was  to  be 
taught  that  there  were  some  small  portions  of  the  earth  whose  people 
would  not  submit  to  practical  slavery,  the  provincials  held  a  council 
with  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  at  German  Flats  (now  in  Herkimer  county) 
and  secured  from  the  Indians  a  promise  that  they  would  remain  neutral 
through  that  struggle.  But  through  the  influence  of  the  Johnsons  and 
other  prominent  tories  the  Iroquois,  with  the  exception  of  the  Oneidas 
and  Tuscaroras,  violated  their  pledge  and  adhered  to  the  English 
cause  through  the  war.  The  barbarities  of  the  tories  and  Indians  in 
the  Mohawk  Valley  and  elsewhere  in  this  State,  are  too  familiar  to  need 
attention  here.  To  punish  the  Indians,  and  especially  the  Senecas, 
and  to  capture  Fort  Niagara,  Sullivan's  expedition  was  organized  in 
1779.  Under  that  general  a  large  force  met  the  enemy  near  the  site 
of  Elmira  and  defeated  them  with  great  loss.  Thence  northward 
through  the  country  of  the  Senecas  the  victorious  Americans  marched, 
destroying  villages  by  the  score  and  all  other  property  belonging  to  the 
natives.  Although  not  many  of  the  Senecas  were  killed  after  the  first 
battle,  they  were  thoroughly  humbled  and  frightened  into  submission. 
Abandoning  from  that  time  their  villages  east  of  the  Genesee  River, 
they  settled  down  near  Geneseo,  Mount  Morris  and  other  points  in 
Western  New  York. 

Indian  relics  and  remains  have  been  found  in  various  parts  of  Central 
and  Western  New  York,  many  of  them  merely  indicating  the  former 
presence  of  the  natives,  while  others  of  more  permanent  character, 
point  to  a  very  remote  period  of  antiquity  and  to  the  possession  of 
characteristics  by  their  former  owners  differing  in  considerable  degree 
from  those  of  the  Indians  with  whom  the  white  men  first  became 
familiar.  An  account  of  these  remains  would  be  out  of  place  in  these 
pages,  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  various  works  on  that  and 
allied  subjects  which  are  to  be  found  in  every  library.  As  far  as  relates 
to  the  territory  of  Wayne  county,  nothing  has  been  found  to  lead 
to  the  belief  that  it  was  more  than  a  part  of  the  transient  huntino- 
grounds  of  the  Cayugas  and  the  Senecas,  or  that  it  was  ever  the  site  of 
a  permanent  Indian  village. 


14  LANDMARKS   OF 


CHAPTER  III. 

Early  Conditions  in  Western  New  York — Sketches  of  the  "Genesee  Country"  and 
the  Phelps  and  Gorham  Purchase — The  Pre-emption  Lines — Organization  of  Com- 
panies to  Secure  Lands  in  Western  New  York— A  Very  Extensive  "Mill  Yard"— The 
Morris  Reserve— The  Military  Tract  as  Related  to  Wayne  County. 

As  we  have  before  pointed  out,  the  larger  part  of  what  is  now  Wayne 
county,  formerly  constituted  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  great 
county  of  Ontario ;  while  the  larger  part  of  the  remainder  of  the 
county's  territory  lay  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  military  tract. 
The  territory  of  the  county  also  formed  a  small  part  of  that  compara- 
tively vast  and  largely  undefined  section  of  the  State  long  popularly 
known  as  "The  Genesee  Country,"  celebrated  alike  for  its  beauty  and 
its  fertility.  Moreover,  that  part  of  the  present  county  west  of  the 
new  pre-emption  line  (see  outline  map)  was  the  northeastern  corner  of 
the  great  Phelps  and  Gorham  purchase.  A  brief  description  of  these 
several  divisions  becomes  pertinent  to  our  purpose. 

Previous  to  the  Revolution  little  was  known  in  Eastern  New  York 
and  New  England,  of  the  western  part  of  the  State.  During  the 
twenty-four  years  while  it  was  in  possession  of  the  English,  communi- 
cation had  been  kept  open  between  western  posts  and  the  east  by 
water  via  Niagara  and  Oswego.  Through  this  channel  and,  possibly, 
from  reports  of  the  missionary,  Samuel  Kirkland,  some  slight  knowl- 
edge of  the  afterwards  famous  locality  reached  eastward. 

Sullivan's  campaign  in  1779,  directly  into  the  heart  of  the  Genesee 
country,  gave  it  a  wider  fame.  There  were  many  soldiers  and  officers 
in  his  army  who  were  eagerly  watching  for  a  desirable  locality  in  which 
to  settle  when  their  services  in  the  field  were  ended;  and  they  were 
quick  to  discover  the  attractions  of  Central  New  York.  "Returning 
to  the  firesides  of  Eastern  New  York  and  New  England,  they  relieved 
the  dark  picture  of  retaliatory  warfare — the  route,  the  fighting, 
smouldering  cabins,  pillage  and  spoliation — with  the  lighter  shades — 
descriptions  of  the  lakes  and  rivers,    the  rolling  uplands  and  rich  val- 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  15 

leys — the  Canaan  of  the  wilderness  they  had  seen."1  Less  than  four 
years  after  Sullivan's  expedition,  the  war  closed  and  the  restive  and 
ambitious  American  spirit  began  its  westward  progress. 

In  the  rather  reckless  division  and  gathering  of  the  new  world  by 
European  powers  before  their  claims  to  it  were  fully  established,  the 
English  king  granted  to  the  Massachusetts  Colony  a  section  of  territory 
larger,  propably,  than  his  entire  landed  possessions,  the  boundaries  of 
which  grant  neither  he  nor  the  colonists  were  then  able  to  define.  In 
brief,  the  territory  chartered  extended  from  the  southern  bounds  of 
the  colony  to  the  northern,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean; 
but  what  the  distance  was  between  the  two  oceans  no  one  then  knew. 
To  further  complicate  the  situation,  the  king  afterwards  chartered  to 
New  York  a  section  of  the  same  territory  previously  granted  to  Mas- 
sachusetts. When  the  Revolutionary  War  ended  and  it  became  there- 
by wholly  unimportant  to  the  English  monarch  what  should  be  the 
destiny  of  the  country  which  he  had  claimed,  abused,  and  lost,  the 
thrifty  Massachusetts  colonists  urged  the  validity  of  their  rights  as 
against  New  York;  but  a  compromise  was  effected  by  a  Board  of  Com- 
missioners on  the  16th  of  December,  1786,  which  gave  to  New  York 
the  sovereignty  of  all  the  disputed  territory  within  her  chartered  limits, 
at  the  same  time  giving  Massachusetts  title  in  the  soil,  or  the  right  to 
buy  the  soil  from  the  Indians,  who  were  then  in  actual  possession  (the 
pre-emption  right),  embracing  all  the  territory  lying  west  of  a  line  be- 
ginning at  a  point  in  the  north  line  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  eighty- 
two  miles  west  from  the  northeast  corner  of  that  State,  and  running 
due  north  through  Seneca  Lake,  and  on  the  north  to  Lake  Ontario, 
excepting  a  strip  one  mile  wide  along  Niagara  River.  Massachusetts 
was  given  also  the  pre-emption  right  to  a  tract  of  230,400  acres  between 
the  Owego  and  the  Chenango  Rivers;  this  was  equal  to  ten  townships, 
each  six  miles  square,  and  became  known  as  "The  Massachusetts  Ten 
Towns."  The  north  and  south  line  above  mentioned  was  nearly  identi- 
cal with  the  east  lines  of  Steuben  and  Ontario  counties,  and  its  north- 
ern continuation  is  shown  on  the  outline  map  herein  as  "The  Old  Pre- 
emption Line. "  The  following  account  of  the  two  '  'pre-emption  lines, " 
shown  on  the  accompanying  map,  we  transcribe  from  Turner's  Phelps 
and  Gorham's  Purchase: 

Of  course  it  was  mere  conjecture  where  this  pre-emption  line  would  fall  as  far 
north  as  Seneca  Lake,  and  parties  were  interested  to  have  the  line  fall  west  of 

1  Turner. 


c 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  17 

Geneva,  leaving  that  place  and  a  considerable  tract  of  land  between  the  military 
tract  and  the  Massachusetts  lands.  Seth  Reed  and  Peter  Ryckman,  both  of  whom 
had  been  Indian  traders,  applied  to  the  State  of  New  York  for  remuneration  for  ser- 
vices rendered  in  some  previous  negotiations,  with  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Six 
Nations,  and  proposed  to  take  a  patent  for  a  tract  the  boundaries  of  which  should  be- 
gin at  a  tree  on  the  bank  of  Seneca  Lake  and  run  along  the  bank  of  the  lake  to  the 
south  until  they  should  have  16,000  acres  between  the  lake  and  the  east  bounds  of 
the  lands  ceded  to  Massachusetts.  Their  request  was  acceded  to  and  a  patent  issued. 
Thus  situated  they  proposed  to  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Gorham  to  join  them  in  running 
the  pre-emption  line,  each  party  furnishing  a  surveyor.  The  line  was  run  which  is 
known  as  the  old  pre-emption  line.  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Gorham  were  much  disap- 
pointed in  the  result — suspected  error  or  fraud,  but  made  no  movement  to  a  resurvey 
before  they  had  sold  to  the  English  association.  Their  suspicions  had  at  first  been 
excited  by  an  offer  from  a  prominent  member  of  the  lessee  company  for  "all  the 
lands  they  owned  east  of  the  line  that  had  been  run."  They  were  so  well  assured  of 
the  fact  that  in  their  deed  to  Mr.  Morris  they  specified  a  tract  in  a  gore  between  the 
line  then  run,  and  the  west  bounds  of  the  counties  of  Montgomery  and  Tioga,  those 
counties  then  embracing  all  of  the  military  tract.  Being  fully  convinced  of  the  inac- 
curacy of  the  first  survey,  Morris,  in  his  sale  to  the  English  company,  agreed  to  run 
it  anew.  They  new  survey  was  performed  under  the  superintendence  of  Major 
Hoops,  who  employed  Andrew  Ellicott  and  Augustus  Porter  to  perform  the  labor. 
A  corps  of  axe-men  were  employed,  and  a  vista  thirty  feet  wide  opened  before  the 
transit  instrument  until  the  line  had  reached  the  head  of  Seneca  Lake,  when  night 
signals  were  employed  to  run  down  and  over  the  lake.  So  much  pains  were  taken 
to  insure  correctness  that  the  survey  was  never  disputed ;  and  thus  the  "new  pre- 
emption line"  was  established  as  the  true  division  line  between  the  lands  of  the  State 
of  New  York  and  those  that  had  been  ceded  to  Massachusetts.  .  .  .  The  old  pre- 
emption line  terminated  on  Lake  Ontario,  three  miles  west  of  Sodus  Bay,  and  the 
new  line  very  near  the  center  of  the  head  of  the  bay.  .  .  .  The  strip  of  land  be- 
tween the  two  lines  was  called  "The  Gore."  In  addition  to  the  patent  granted  to 
Reed  and  Ryckman,  the  State  had  presumed  the  original  survey  to  be  correct,  and 
made  other  grants,  and  allowed  the  location  of  military  land  warrants  upon  what  had 
been  made  disputed  territory.  As  an  equivalent  to  the  purchasers  of  this  tract,  com- 
pensation lands  were  granted  by  the  State  in  the  present  towns  of  Wolcott  and 
Galen,  in  Wayne  county. 

The  foregoing-  interesting  description  of  the  two  pre-emption 
lines  has  taken  us  a  little  out  of  the  chronological  order  of  events. 
Previous  to  the  establishment  of  the  second  pre-emption  line,  a  com- 
bination, or  a  syndicate,  as  it  would  now  be  termed,  was  formed 
in  New  York  and  Canada  to  obtain  control  of  the  Indian  lands 
in  this  State.  Two  companies  were  organized — "The  New  York  and 
and  Genesee  Land  Company,"  of  which  John  Livingston  was  manager; 
and  the  "Niagara  Genesee  Company,"  composed  chiefly  of  Canadians, 
with  Col.  John  Butler  at  his  head.     As  the  State  Constitution  forbade 

3 


18  LANDMARKS   OF 

the  sale  of  Indian  lands  to  individuals,  these  companies,  working-  in 
harmony,  sought  to  evade  the  provision  by  a  lease.  So  great  was  the 
influence  of  Butler  and  his  friends  that  in  1787  representatives  of  the 
Indians  gave  the  New  York  and  Genesee  Company  a  lease  of  all  their 
lands  (excepting  some  small  reservations)  for  a  period  of  999  years. 
The  consideration  was  $20,000  and  an  annual  rental  of  $2,000.  Who 
can  say  what  would  have  been  the  effect  of  this  stupendous  deal,  if  it 
had  been  consummated!  But  when  the  lessees  applied  to  the  Legis- 
lature in  the  following  winter  for  recognition  of  their  lease,  it  was 
promptly  declared  void.  The  next  scheme  of  these  magnanimous  pro- 
moters of  early  settlements  in  the  Genesee  country  was  to  procure  a 
conveyance  by  the  Indians  of  all  their  lands  in  the  State,  provided  the 
State  would  reimburse  Livingston  and  his  comrades  for  all  their 
expenses,  and  convey  to  them  one-half  of  all  the  land!  As  an  example 
of  unblushing  business  impudence,  this  proposition  stands  unrivaled, 
for  by  it  Livingston,  Butler  and  company  would  have  secured  a  prac- 
tically free  gift  of  four  or  five  million  acres  of  the  best  land  in  America! 
The  proposition  was  promptly  rejected. 

Oliver  Phelps  was  a  native  of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  and  had  been  a 
contractor  in  the  Revolutionary  Army.  He  was  a  man  of  prominence 
and  ability,  and  from  Major  Adam  Hoops,  who  had  been  one  of  General 
Sullivan's  aids,  learned  of  the  prospective  value  of  the  Genesee  country. 
He  determined  to  secure  an  interest  in  the  lands  over  which  Massa- 
chusetts held  the  right  of  pre-emption ;  but  before  he  matured  his 
plans,  Nathaniel  Gorham  had  made  proposals  to  the  Legislature  for  the 
purchase  of  a  portion  of  the  Genesee  lands.  The  two  men  met  and 
after  a  conference,  Mr.  Gorham  joined  with  Mr.  Phelps  and  a  few 
others  to  consummate  the  desired  purchase.  The  first  proposal  was 
made  in  1787  for  the  purchase  of  1,000,000  acres,  at  one  and  sixpence 
currency  per  acre.  The  Senate  refused  to  concur  in  the  sale,  and  the 
matter  was  postponed  until  the  session  of  1788.  Other  persons  had 
taken  steps  to  secure  tracts,  and  a  compromise  was  therefore  made 
admitting  all  such  to  the  association,  with  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Gorham 
as  representatives.  They  made  proposals  for  all  the  lands  embraced 
in  the  cession  to  Massachusetts,  which  were  accepted,  the  consideration 
being  $1,000,000,  payment  to  be  made  in  a  sort  of  scrip  issued  by 
Massachusetts  and  called  "Consolidated  Securities,"  which  were  worth 
at  the  time  of  the  sale  about  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.  As  this  sale  was, 
of  course,    made  subject   to  the   Indian  rights,    Phelps  arranged  with 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  19 

Livingston  to  aid  him  in  negotiating  with  the  Six  Nations  for  the  release 
of  their  lands.  This  resulted  in  a  council  held  on  Buffalo  Creek  in  July, 
1788,  which  was  the  most  memorable  of  all  the  later  large  gatherings 
of  the  Indians.  All  of  the  famous  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  were 
present  in  at  least  a  semblance  of  their  past  glory ;  but  with  all  their 
native  sagacity,  they  were  no  match  for  the  shrewd  Yankees — the 
unscrupulous  Butler,  the  thrifty  Oliver  Phelps,  the  greedy  Livingston, 
and  the  rest.  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  the  noble  old  man,  was  also 
present  as  an  agent  for  Massachusetts.  The  council  was  generally 
harmonious.  The  Indians  were  then  ready  to  sell  and  not  particular 
about  the  price;  this  was  a  strong  influence  for  harmony.  But  they 
insisted  that  the  west  line  of  the  territory  to  be  sold  should  be  along 
the  Genesee  Ri,ver,  while  Phelps  desired  that  it  should  run  several 
miles  farther  to  the  West.  After  days  of  discussion  the  Yankees  out- 
witted the  Indians  by  a  request  from  Phelps  that  the  Indians  should 
let  him  have  enough  land  west  of  the  river  for  a  mill-seat,  or  mill  yard, 
so  that  he  might  build  a  mill  at  the  falls  (now  Rochester)  which  would 
benefit  the  Indians  and  white  men  alike.  It  was  a  happy  thought  and 
silenced  the  opposition  by  the  natives.  They  would  let  him  have  his  mill 
yard ;  and  in  response  to  an  inquiry  as  to  how  much  land  would  be 
required  for  the  purpose,  Phelps  replied  that  he  thought  a  strip  twelve 
miles  wide  and  extending  from  the  site  of  Avon  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  would  be  about  right.  The  Indians  finally  consented  to  this,  and 
thus  disposed  of  about  200,000  acres — probably  the  largest  mill-yard 
the  world  has  ever  known !  The  west  bounds  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorham 
purchase  have  been  thus  described : 

Beginning  in  the  northern  line  of  Pennsylvania,  due  south  of  the  corner  or  point 
of  land  made  by  the  confluence  of  the  Genesee  River  and  the  Canaseraga  Creek ; 
thence  north  on  said  meridian  line  to  the  corner  or  point  aforesaid ;  thence  north- 
wardly along  the  waters  of  the  Genesee  River  to  a  point  two  miles  north  of 
Canawagus  village;  thence  running  due  west  twelve  miles ;  thence  running  north- 
wardly so  as  to  be  twelve  miles  distant  from  the  western  bounds  of  said  river,  to  the 
shore  of  Lake  Ontario. 

The  reader  will  note  the  westward  deviation  in  the  line  to  include 
the  "mill-yard."  The  eastern  line  of  the  purchase  has  been  described 
and  the  accompanying  map  shows  the  whole  purchase,  with  a  black 
line  cutting  out  the  northeast  corner  that  ultimately  went  into  the 
formation  of  Wayne  County.  The  names  of  many  the  purchasers  of 
lots  shown  on  this  map  are  of  considetable  interest  in  this  connection. 
The  whole  tract  was  surveyed  into  seven  ranges,   the  lines  running 


20  LANDMARKS   OF 

north  and  south,  and  these  into  lots,  as  indicated  on  the  map.  When 
Mr.  Phelps  reached  home  after  the  purchase  was  effected  he  reported 
to  his  associates:  "You  may  rely  upon  it  that  it  is  a  good  country;  I 
have  purchased  all  that  the  Indians  will  sell  at  present;  and,  perhaps, 
as  much  as  it  would  be  profitable  for  us  to  buy  at  this  time." 

The  Phelps  and  Gorham  purchase  embraced,  as  estimated,  about 
2,600,000  acres;  and  the  complaisant  Indians  left  the  fixing  of  the  price 
to  be  paid  them  to  Butler,  Brant,  and  Elisha  Lee,  Mr.  Kirkland's 
assistant.  It  was  settled  at  $5,000  in  hand  and  $500  annually  forever. 
This  was  equal  to  about  half  a  cent  an  acre!  "The  reader  need  hardly 
be  told  that  the  poor  Indians  never  realized  the  sum  promised  by  the 
lessees,  except  in  the  form  of  bribes  to  some  of  their  chiefs;  and  in 
that  form  but  a  small  portion  of  it.  And  yet  the  lessees,  in  one  form 
or  another,  realized  a  large  amount  for  their  illegal  'long  lease.'"1 

The  great  sale  to  Phelps  and  Gorham  had  the  effect  of  advancing  the 
market  price  of  the  "consolidated  securities"  to  such  a  figure  that  the 
association  was  unable  to  buy  them  to  carry  out  their  contract  with  the 
State.  As  a  consequence  about  two-thirds  of  the  original  purchase 
was  abandoned  by  Phelps  and  Gorham  and  reverted  to  the  State  of 
Massachusetts.  It  was  resold  by  that  State  in  1701  to  Robert  Morris, 
for  thirty  thousand  pounds  New  York  currency,  and  a  large  part  of  the 
tract  on  its  western  side  was  subsequently  sold  to  a  company  of  Dutch 
and  became  the  well  known  Holland  Land  Purchase.  The  remainder 
constituted  the  "Morris  Reserve. "  The  east  line  of  the  Morris  purchase 
commenced  on  the  Pennsylvania  line,  forty-four  and  seventy-eight- 
hundredths  miles  west  of  the  pre-emption  line  and  ran  due  north  to  an 
elm  tree  at  the  forks  of  the  Genesee  River  and  Canaseraga  Creek; 
thence  northerly  along  the  Genesee  River  to  a  point  two  miles  north 
of  Cannawagus  village;  thence  due  west  twelve  miles,  and  thence 
north  twenty-four  degrees  east  to  Lake  Ontario.  The  line  forming  the 
boundary  between  the  Morris  Reserve  and  the  tract  sold  to  the  Holland 
Land  Company  began  on  the  Pennsylvania  line  twelve  miles  west  of 
the  west  line  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorham  Purchase,  and  thence  ran  due 
north  to  near  the  center  of  Stafford,  Genesee  County ;  thence  due  west 
2.07875  miles,  and  thence  due  north  to  Lake  Ontario;  this  last  named 
line  became  and  is  known  as  the  Transit  Line,  and  crosses  the  county 
of  Orleans  on  the  western  line  of  the  east  tier  of  towns. 

1  Turner. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  21 

The  Morris  Reserve  was  sold  out  in  several  large  tracts.  A  tract 
containning  87,000  acres,  lying  just  west  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorham 
"Mill-Yard"  was  sold  to  Le  Roy,  Bayard  and  McEvers,  and  is  known 
as  the  "Triangle,"  in  the  western  part-  of  Monroe  county.  Imme- 
diately west  of  this,  in  Orleans  county,  is  the  "Connecticut  Tract"  of 
100,000  acres,  which  was  purchased  by  the  State  of  Connecticut  and 
Sir  William  Pulteney,  and  divided  between  them.  The  Cragie  tract 
of  50,000  acres  joins  the  Connecticut  tract  on  the  south,  and  immedi- 
ately east  of  this  is  the  "40,000  acre  tract."  Still  other  tracts  were  sold 
off  from  other  parts  of  the  original  purchase;  but  in  none  of  them  are 
we  directly  interested  in  treating  of  Wayne  County. 

The  title  which  Mr.  Morris  acquired  from  Massachusetts  was  merely 
the  right  of  pre-emption.  The  soil  was  still  the  property  of  the  Seneca 
Indians,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Morris  attempted  after  his 
purchase  to  obtain  the  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  title.  If  he  did, 
he  failed;  for  the  Indian  title  was  not  wholly  extinguished  until  1797. 
In  that  year  a  council  was  held  at  "Big  Tree"  on  the  Genesee  River, 
near  the  site  of  Geneseo,  and  a  treaty  was  made  under  which  the 
Indians  sold  to  Morris  all  their  remaining  lands  in  New  York  west  of 
Phelps  and  Gorham's  Purchase,  excepting  the  following  reservations: 
Two  square  miles  at  Canawagus,  near  Avon;  two  squre  miles  at  Big 
Tree;  two  square  miles  at  Little  Beard's  Town;  two  square  miles  at 
Squakie  Hill ;  the  Gardeau  Reservation  on  the  Genesee  River,  containing 
four  square  miles;  the  Canadea  Reservation,  extending  eight  miles 
along  the  Genesee  River  and  two  miles  wide ;  a  reservation  at  Cat- 
taraugus Creek  and  Lake  Erie ;  another  on  the  south  side  of  Cattaraugus 
Creek;  forty-two  square  miles  on  the  Allegany  River,  and  two 
hundred  square  miles  to  be  laid  out  parti y  at  Buffalo  and  partly  at 
Tonawanda  Creek.  At  various  times  since  then  these  reservations  have 
been  sold  to  the  State  of  New  York,  except  a  few  insignificant  tracts. 

A  short  sketch  of  the  military  tract,  a  part  of  which  went  into  the 
formation  of  Wayne  county,  will  close  these  brief  notes  of  the  early 
territorial  divisions  in  which  readers  of  this  work  will  be  interested. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  1770,  while  war  measures  were  under 
consideration  in  Congress,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

That  eighty-eight  battalions  be  enlisted  as  soon  as  possible,  to  serve  during  the 
present  war;  and  that  each  State  furnish  their  respective  quotas  in  the  following 
proportions,  viz:  [The  quota  of  New  York  was  four  battalions  ;  those  of  other  States 
may  be  omitted  here.] 


■-    a 


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WAYNE   COUNTY.  23 

That  twenty  dollars  be  given  as  a  bounty  to  each  non-commissioned  officer  and 
private  soldier  who  shall  enlist  to  serve  during  the  present  war,  unless  sooner  dis- 
charged by  Congress. 

That  Congress  make  provisions  for  granting  lands  in  the  following  proportions  to 
the  officers  and  soldiers,  who  shall  so  engage  in  the  service,  and  continue  therein 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  or  until  discharged  by  Congress,  and  to  the  representatives 
of  such  officers  and  soldiers  as  shall  be  slain  by  the  enemy. 

Such  lands  to  be  provided  by  the  United  States ;  and  whatever  expenses  shall  be 
necessary  to  produce  such  lands,  the  said  expenses  shall  be  borne  by  the  States  in 
the  same  proportion  as  the  other  expenses  of  the  war,  viz. :  to  a  colonel,  500  acres ;  to 
a  lieutenant-colonel,  450  acres;  to  a  major,  400  acres;  to  a  captain,  300  acres;  to  a 
lieutenant,  200  acres;  to  an  ensign,  150  acres;  to  each  non-commissioned  officer  and 
soldier,  100  acres. 

By  an  act  of  12th  of  August,  1780,  Congress  also  made  provision  for 
land  bounties  for  major-generals,  1,100  acres,  and  brigadier-generals, 
850  acres. 

When  the  war  closed,  in  1783,  the  New  York  Legislature  undertook 
the  discharge  of  this  obligation,  and  also  granted  gratuities  in  lands  on 
its  own  account.  This  was  accomplished  by  a  resolution  granting 
lands  in  addition  to  the  before- mentioned  bounties,  in  the  following 
proportions:  To  a  major-general,  5,500  acres;  to  a  brigadier-general, 
4,250  acres;  to  a  colonel,  2,500  acres;  to  a  lieutenant-colonel,  2,250 
acres;  to  a  major,  2,000  acres;  to  a  captain  and  regimental  surgeon,  each 
1,200  acres;  to  each  chaplain,  2,000  acres;  to  every  subaltern  and  sur- 
geon's mate,  1,000  acres;  to  every  non-commissioned  officer  and  private, 
500  acres. 

Another  resolution  contains  the  following  provisions: 

That  the  lands  so  to  be  granted  as  bounty  from  the  United  States,  and  as  gratuity 
from  the  State,  shall  be  laid  out  in  townships  of  six  miles  square; that  each  township 
shall  be  divided  into  156  lots  of  150  acres  each,  two  lots  whereof  shall  be  reserved  for 
the  use  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  two  lots  for  the  use  of  a  school  or  schools; 
that  each  person  above  described  shall  be  entitled  to  as  many  such  lots  as  his  bounty 
and  gratuity  will  admit  of ;  that  one-half  the  lots  each  person  shall  be  entitled  to 
shall  be  improved  at  the  rate  of  five  acres  for  each  one  hundred  acres,  within  five 
years  after  the  grant,  if  the  grantee  shall  retain  the  possession  of  such  lots;  and  that 
the  said  bounty  and  gratuity  lands  be  located  in  the  district  of  this  State  reserved  for 
the  use  of  the  troops  by  an  act  entitled,  "An  act  to  prevent  grants  or  locations  of  the 
lands  therein  mentioned,  passed  the  25th  day  of  Juy,  1782. '^ 

1  These  lands  are  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  country  of  the  Oneidas ;  north  by 
Lake  Ontario ;  on  the  west  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  mouth  of  Great  Sodus  Bay, 
through  the  most  westerly  inclination  of  the  Seneca  Lake ;  and  on  the  south  by  a  line 


24  LANDMARKS   OF 

On  the  -20th  of  March,  1781,  the  State  Legislature  passed  an  act 
which  further  provided  for  the  raising'  of  troops  to  complete  the  "line" 
of  this  State  in  the  United  States  service,  and  for  two  regiments  to  be 
raised  on  bounties  of  lands,  for  the  further  defence  of  the  frontiers  of 
the  State.  The  land  granted  by  these  last  mentioned  acts  was  known 
as  "bounty"  land,  and  those  granted  under  the  previous  action  of  the 
State  government  were  known  as  "gratuity"  lands. 

The  original  acts  granting  these  lands  were  afterward  modified  and 
amended  until  finally  it  was  ordered  by  an  act  passed  February  28,  1789, 
"that  the  commissioners  of  the  land  office  shall  be,  and  they  are  here- 
bv  authorized  to  direct  the  surveyor-general  to  lay  out  as  many  town- 
ships in  tracts  of  land  set  apart  for  such  purpose,  as  will  contain  land 
sufficient  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  all  such  persons  who  are  or  shall  be 
entitled  to  grants  of  land  by  certain  concurrent  resolutions, 
which  townships  shall  respectively  contain  GO, 000  acres  of  land,  and  be 
laid  out  as  nearly  in  squares  as  local  circumstances  will  permit,  and  be 
numbered  from  one  progressively  to  the  last  inclusive;  and  the  com- 
missioners of  the  land  office  shall  likewise  designate  every  township  by 
such  names  as  they  shall  deem  proper." 

The  same  act  ordered  the  surveyor-general  to  make  a  map  of  these 
townships,  dividing  each  into  one  hundred  lots  of  six  hundred  acres 
each,  and  number  them  from  one  upwards.      The  same  act  ordered  : 

All  persons  to  whom  land  shall  be  granted  by  virtue  of  this  act,  and  who  are  en- 
titled thereto  by  any  act  or  resolution  of  Congress,  shall  make  an  assignment  of  his, 
or  her,  proportion  and  claim  of  bounty  or  gratuity  lands  under  any  act  or  acts  of 
Congress,  to  the  surveyor-general,  for  the  use  of  the  people  of  this  State.  It  was 
also  provided  that  for  all  lands  thus  assigned,  an  equal  number  of  acres  should  be 
given  by  the  State,  and  so  far  as  possible  in  one  patent,  "provided  the  same  does 
not  exceed  one-quarter  of  the  quanity  of  a  township." 

These  grants  were  to  be  settled  within  seven  years,  or  the  lands 
would  revert  to  the  State.  A  tax  was  laid  upon  fifty  acres  in  one  cor- 
ner of  each  six  hundred  acre  lot,  of  forty-eight  shillings,  as  compensa- 
tion for  the  survey,  which  tax  was  to  be  paid  in  two  years,  or  the  lot 
would  revert  to  the  State  and  be  sold  at  public  auction.     The  proceeds 

drawn  through  the  most  southerly  inclination  of  the  Seneca  lake,  embracing  to  the 
country  of  the  Oneidas  1,800,0(1(1  acres.  It  comprises,  generally  speaking,  the  coun- 
ties of  Onondaga,  Cortland,  Cayuga,  Tompkins,  and  Seneca,  and  the  east  half,  or 
nearly  so,  of  the  county  (if  Wayne,  and  that  part  of  Oswego  county  west  of  the  Os- 
wego River." — M acanley  s  History  of  Nev  York,  /Ssg. 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  25 

of  the  sale  were  to  be  devoted  to  the  payment  of  the  expenses  of  the 
survey  and  sale,  and  any  surplus  funds  to  be  expended  "in  laying  out 
and  making-  roads  in  the  said  tract." 

By  an  act  of  February  28,  1789,  six  lots  in  each  township  were  re- 
served, "one  for  promoting  the  gospel  and  a  public  school  or  schools, 
one  other  for  promoting  literature  in  this  State,  and  the  remaining 
four  lots  to  satisfy  the  surplus  share  of  commissioned  officers  not  cor- 
responding with  the  division  of  six  hundred  acres,  and  to  compensate 
such  persons  as  may  by  chance  draw  any  lot  or  lots,  the  greater  part 
of  which  may  be  covered  with  water." 

It  was  provided  also,  "that  whenever  it  appeared  that  persons  ap- 
plying for  bounty  or  gratuity  land,  had  received  from  Congress  the 
bounty  promised  by  that  body,  or  in  case  they  failed  to  relinquish  their 
claims  to  such  land,  then  the  commissioners  were  to  reserve  for  the 
use  of  the  people  of  the  State,  one  hundred  acres  in  each  lot  to  which 
such  persons  were  entitled;  designating  particularly  in  which  part  of 
said  lot  such  reserved  part  was  located."  This  action  gave  rise  to  the 
term,  "State's  hundred,"  so  frequently  heard  in  connection  with  the 
military  tract. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  land  commissioners  held  at  the  secretary's  office 
in  New  York  city,  on  Saturday,  July  3,  1790,  there  were  present,  "his 
excellency,  George  Clinton,  esq.,  treasurer;  Peter  T.  Curtenius,  esq., 
auditor." 

The  secretary  laid  before  the  board  maps  of  twenty-five  townships, 
made  by  the  surveyor-general,  Simeon  De  Witt.  These  townships 
were  named  as  follows  and  numbered  from  one  upward  in  the  order 
given:  Lysander,  Hannibal,  Cato,  Brutus,  Camillus,  Cicero,  Manlius, 
Aurelius,  Marcellus,  Pompey,  Romulus,  Scipio,  Sempronius,  Tully, 
Fabius,  Ovid,  Milton,  Locke,  Homer,  Solon,  Hector,  Ulysses,  Dryden, 
Virgil,  and  Cincinnatus.  To  these  were  afterwards  added  the  town  of 
Junius  (Seneca  county),  to  compensate  those  who  drew  lots  sub- 
sequently found  to  belong  to  the  "Boston  ten  towns." 

From  Junius  was  taken  Wolcott,  in  1807;  and  Galen  in  1812.  Wol- 
cott  then  included  the  present  towns  of  Huron,  Rose  and  Butler,  and 
Galen  included  the  present  town  of  Savannah.  Galen  was  also  added 
to  the  military  tract,  to  supply  lands  to  those  who  belonged  in  the  hos- 
pital department  of  the  army.  This  gave  substantially  what  are  now 
the  six  eastern  towns  of  Wayne  county,   to  the  military  tract.     The 

4 


26  LANDMARKS   OF 

town  of  Sterling,  Cayuga  county,  was  added  to  the  tract   to   satisfy  all 
other  unsettled  claims. 

( )n  January  1,  17'.)  1,  the  commissioners  began  to  determine  claims 
and  ballot  for  individual  shares.  Ninety-four  persons  drew  lots  in 
each  of  the  townships,  and  the  reservations  before  alluded  to  were 
made.  The  adjustment  of  these  individual  claims  was  a  source  of  al- 
most infinite  perplexity  to  the  commissioners,  as  well  as  to  the  real 
owners.  On  account  of  the  many  frauds  committed  respecting  the  land 
titles,  an  act  was  passed  in  1794,  requiring  all  deeds  and  conveyances 
executed  prior  to  that  time  to  be  deposited  with  the  county  clerk  of 
Albany  county,  and  such  as  were  not  so  deposited  were  to  be  considered 
fraudulent.  But  the  trouble  did  not  end  here,  and  the  courts  over- 
flowed with  business  relating  to  the  claims.  Soldiers  coming  in  to 
take  possession  of  their  lots  often  found  them  occupied  by  pugnacious 
squatters,  and  discouraging  and  costly  litigation  followed.  Finally  the 
inhabitants  of  the  tract  became  so  wearied  and  exasperated  with  con- 
tinued contentions  that,  in  1797,  they  united  in  a  petition  to  the  Legis- 
lature for  a  law  under  which  the  whole  matter  could  be  equitably  ad- 
justed. An  act  was  accordingly  passed  appointing  Robert  Yates, 
Tames  Kent,  and  Vincent  Mathews  a  Board  of  Commissioners,  with 
power  to  settle  all  disputes  respecting  the  land  titles.  After  laborious 
investigation  the  vexatious  differences  were  all  adjusted  with  reason- 
able satisfaction  to  all  concerned. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Early  Conditions  in  the  "Genesee  County" — Efforts  of  Great  Britian  to  Retain  the 
Territory — Fears  of  Indian  Invasion — Lack  of  Means  of  Communication  with  the 
East — Charles  Williams  and  his  Work — Colony  on  the  Genesee  River — Quaker  Settle- 
ment at  Jerusalem — Settlement  at  Canandaigua — List  of  Settlers  West  of  Pre- 
emption Line — Opening  of  Roads — A  Journey  Westward  from  Albany — Privations 
of  Pioneers. 

Before  proceeding  to  separately  consider  the  pioneer  settlement  of 
what  is  now  Wayne  county,  a  brief  chapter  may  be  profitably  devoted 
to  early  conditions  in  the  great  Genesee  country  as  a  whole. 

The  treaty  of  peace  made  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  did 
not  by  any  means  end  the  difficulties  and   anxieties   of  the  pioneers  in 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  27 

Western  New  York.  The  English  king  and  his  chief  councillors  could 
scarcely  realize,  and  were  reluctant  to  admit,  they  were  whipped  by  a 
few  weak  colonists,  and  deprived  of  a  prospectively  vast  and  rich  ter- 
ritory. Their  only  solace  lay  in  the  confident  hope  that  our  efforts  to 
establish  a  free  government  would  fail,  in  which  contingency  they  be- 
lieved they  might  retain  the  allegiance  of  the  Indians  and  renew  the 
struggle.  When  this  prospect  began  to  fade  away,  they  turned  their 
attention  and  hopes  in  another  direction.  By  continuing  their  alliance 
with  the  Six  Nations  and  the  Western  Indians,  with  the  latter  of  whom 
the  Americans  were  still  fighting,  the  English  would  endeavor  to  re- 
tain all  of  Canada  that  had  been  under  French  dominion,  with  Western 
New  York  and  the  lake  and  Mississippi  country.  To  carry  out  this  de- 
sign England,  through  various  flimsy  pretexts,  disregarded  the  plain 
terms  of  the  peace  treaty,  withheld  the  posts  on  Lake  Ontario  and  at 
other  points  and  steadily  followed  a  policy  of  commercial  outrage  and 
annoyance,  influenced  the  Indians  against  us  in  our  negotiation  with 
them,  and  in  many  other  ways  exhibited  a  spirit  of  revenge  and  irrita- 
tion. Lord  Dorchester,  governor-general  of  Canada;  his  deputy -gen- 
eral, Simcoe;  Sir  John  Johnson,  the  notorious  tory;  Col.  John  Butler, 
then  living  at  Niagara  and  occupying  a  position  of  great  influence  with 
the  Senecas,  all  united  in  efforts  to  breed  and  continue  hostility. 
Valuable  presents  of  goods  and  arms  were  made  to  the  Indians  to  win 
their  favor  and  incite  them  against  the  settlers.  "There  was  a  long 
period  of  dismay  and  alarm,  in  which  the  new  settlers  of  the  Genesee 
country  deeply  and  painfully  participated;  every  movement  in  the  west 
was  regarded  with  anxiety ;  and  the  Senecas  in  their  midst  were,  watched 
with  jealously  and  distrust.  .  .  The  hindrances  to  peace  negotia- 
tions with  the  Indians  were  vastly  augmented  by  British  interference. 
Not  content  with  encouraging  the  Indians  to  hold  out,  and  actually 
supplying  them  with  the  means  for  carrying  on  the  war,  on  one  occa- 
sion they  refused  to  let  a  peace  embassy  proceed  by  water  via  Oswego 
and  Niagara ;  and  on  another  occasion,  with  a  military  police,  prevented 
commissioners  of  the  United  States  from  proceeding  to  their  destina- 
tion— a  treaty  ground."1 

These  shameful  acts  on  the  part  of  the  British  were  opposed  by 
Colonel  Pickering,  Samuel  Kirkland,  and  particularly  by  Gen.  Israel 
Chapin,   who  had  been  a  brigadier-general  in  the  Revolutionary  War 

1  Turner's  Phelps  and  Gorham's  Purchase,  p.  295. 


28  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  was  afterward  appointed  agent  among  the  Six  Nations.  He  was 
fully  qualified  for  the  difficult  office  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Canan- 
daigua.  The  season  of  1794  opened  amid  gloomy  prospects.  Negotia- 
tions with  the  western  Indians  had  failed,  and  their  atrocities  on  the 
borders  continued,  while  war  with  England  was  considered  not  improb- 
able, and  her  agents  continued  their  iniquitous  work.  General  Chapin 
did  all  in  his  power  to  quiet  apprehension  and  keep  the  settlers  from 
fleeing  from  their  homes.  Throughout  all  the  country  west  of  Utica, 
danger  was  feared.  A  boat  load  of  stores  belonging  to  Sir  [ohn 
Johnson,  which  he  was  attempting  to  take  from  Albany  to  Canada,  was 
waylaid  at  Three  River  Point,  in  Onondaga  county,  and  captured;  this 
was  in  retaliation  for  British  annoyance  of  lake  commerce  at  Oswego 
and  in  hatred  of  Johnson.  The  lawless  act  led  to  threats  of  an  invasion 
of  Onondaga  by  a  force  which  would  land  at  Oswego,  and  rumors  that 
Johnson  and  Brant  were  organizing  for  that  purpose. 

But  the  time  at  last  came  when  the  settlers  in  Western  New  York  could 
pursue  their  peaceful  avocations  without  fear.  General  Chapin  made 
arrangements  for  a  council  with  the  Indians  to  be  held  at  Canandaigua 
on  the  8th  of  September,  1794;  but  it  was  far  into  October  before  the 
Indians  could  be  gathered,  their  final  assembling  being  stimulated  by 
the  victory  of  Wayne  in  the  West.  By  this  time,  also,  all  anticipations 
of  war  with  England  were  quelled.  In  speaking  of  the  treaty  made  at 
this  council,  General  Chapin  said: 

Since  the  Indians  were  first  invited  to  it,  the  British  have  endeavored,  if  possible, 
to  prevent  their  attendance,  and  have  used  every  endeavor  to  persuade  them  to  join 
the  hostile  Indians,  till  at  last  they  found  the  Indians  would  not  generally  join  in 
the  war;  the  governor  told  them  in  the  council  at  Fort  Erie  that  they  might  attend 
the  treaty,  and  if  anything  was  given  them  by  the  Americans  to  take  it. 

A  successful  treaty  was  concluded  and  mutual  pledges  of  peace  and 
friendship  made  which  led  to  enduring  quietude. 

The  great  purchase  made  by  Robert  Morris  in  1791  has  been  men- 
tioned. Morris  was  the  celebrated  financier  of  the  Revolution,  his 
personal  credit  alone  being  sufficient  to  carry  Washington  and  his  army 
through  the  period  of  danger  and  distress.  He  was  also  the  owner  of 
immense  tracts  of  land,  for  the  sale  of  which  he  had  numerous  agents 
in  Europe.  His  agent  in  London  was  William  Temple  Franklin,  a 
grandson  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  to  whom  he  wrote  after  he  had  made 
his  purchase,  that  "  Ebenezer  Allan,  the  oldest  settler  in  the  country, 
had  assured  him  that  hemp  grows  like  young  willows,  it  is  so  rampant 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  29 

and  strong,  and  that  he  has  raised  forty  bushels  of  the  finest  wheat  he 
ever  saw,  and  so  of  other  articles  in  like  abundance."  In  another  letter 
he  assured  his  agent  that  he  had  the  most  flattering  reports  concerning 
his  lands  in  the  Genesee  country.  At  just  about  the  time  that  Mr. 
Morris  had  become  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  fertility  and  beauty  of 
his  great  purchase,  he  received  word  from  Franklin  that  he  had  sold  it 
to  an  "Association"  consisting  of  Sir  William  Pultney,  John  Hornby, 
and  Patrick  Colquhoun.  Sir  William  Pultney  was  a  London  capitalist 
and  occupied  a  high  position  as  a  citizen  and  a  statesman ;  the  other 
two  were  also  men  of  character  and  wealth.  The  price  paid  for  what 
was  supposed  to  be  about  1,100,000  acres,  but  was  in  reality,  almost 
1,200,000  acres,  was  ^35,000.  The  sale  included,  of  course,  the  terri- 
tory of  Wayne  county  west  of  the  pre-emption  line. 

As  bearing  upon  what  has  been  stated  in  respect  to  apprehensions  of 
danger  from  the  Indians  and  British  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
written  by  Mr.  Morris  to  Mr.  Colquhoun,  soon  after  the  sale  to  the 
association,  is  given.      He  said: 

These  worthy  but  timid  people  had  grown  afraid 'since  the  Indian  war  at  the 
westward  had  become  so  general  as  it  is,  to  let  their  sons  go  out  even  to  the  town- 
ships they  have  bought,  lest  the  Six  Nations  should  become  parties,  and  attack  the 
Genesee  settlements.  Now  as  there  is  not  the  least  danger  of  this  happening,  the 
Six  Nations  having  already  decided  for  peace,  yet  these  timid  people  will  await  their 
own  time.  I  will,  however,  announce  to  them  that  I  can  supply  them  with  the  lands 
they  wanted,  and  as  I  think  the  Indian  war  will  be  of  short  duration,  there  is  little 
doubt  but  they  will  buy  when  it  is  over." 

The  London  association  who  purchased  of  Mr.  Morris  took  imme- 
diate steps  towards  sale  and  settlement  on  their  lands.  In  this  work 
Mr.  Colquhoun  seems  to  have  been  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  three. 
As  their  active  agent  they  secured.  Charles  Williamson,  a  native  Scot, 
who  had  held  a  captain's  commission  in  the  British  army  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  but  the  ship  in  which  he  sailed  for 
this  country  was  captured  and  he  was  taken  to  Boston  and  held  a 
prisoner  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  returned  to  England  with  a 
valuable  store  of  information  relating  to  this  country,  and  when  the 
attention  of  European  capitalists  began  to  be  drawn  in  this  direction, 
he  very  naturally  became  associated  with  them.  After  his  appointment 
as  agent  by  the  association  he  sailed  for  America  with  his  family  and 
two  intelligent  Scotchmen,  John  Johnstone  and  Charles  Cameron,  who 
came  as  his  assistants.  From  the  day  of  his  arrival  in  this  country 
Charles  Williamson  became  a  most  important  factor  in  the  settlement 


30  LANDMARKS   OF 

of  the  Genesee  country.  He  learned  from  various  sources  of  the  great 
beauty,  fertility,  and  value  of  the  lands  placed  in  his  hands,  and  began 
energetically  and  intelligently  to  push  forward  the  work  expected  of 
him  by  his  employers.  "Want  of  communication,"  he  wrote  to  the 
association,  "is  the  great  draw  back  on  back  settlements  distant  from 
the  rivers  that  run  into  the  Atlantic.  Remove  this  difficulty  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  gentlemen  of  the  association  will  reap  an 
advantage  fifty  times  their  outlay;  and  come  to  their  purpose  many 
years  sooner.  Nothing  will  draw  the  attention  of  the  people  of 
America  more  readily  than  the  idea  of  their  settling  under  the  protec- 
tion of  an  association  who  will  take  every  means  to  render  their  farms 
convenient  an  profitable." 

In  the  winter  of  1701-2,  leaving  his  party  in  Northumberland,  Pa., 
he  made  a  hurried  trip  through  the  Genesee  country.  Of  this  trip  he 
wrote  Mr  Colquhoun  that  he  passed  through  an  uninhabited  wilderness 
more  than  one  hundred  miles  before  reaching  Geneva,  "  which  consisted 
of  a  few  straggling  huts."  "  There  is  not  a  road  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  the  Genesee  country,"  said  he,  "that  will  admit  of  any  sort 
of  conveyance,  otherwise  than  on  horseback,  or  on  a  sled,  when  the 
ground  is  covered  with  snow."  "The  price  of  land  has,  in  a  few 
instances,  exceeded  two  shillings  per  acre;  some  few  farms  of 
first  rate  quality  have  been  sold  on  a  credit  for  four  shillings  per 
acre. " 

After  full  consideration  of  the  subject  of  opening  communications 
between  the  east  and  the  Genesee  country,  Mr.  Williamson  determined 
that  the  proper  outlet  for  the  country  was  southward  to  the  Susque- 
hanna River.  He  accordingly  took  steps  to  construct  a  road  from  what 
is  now  Williamsport,  Pa.,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Canaserga  Creek  on  the 
Genesee  River,  a  distance  of  about  150  miles.  Before  the  road  could 
be  opened,  a  ship  load  of  goods  reached  Baltimore  consigned  to  Will- 
iamson by  Mr.  Colquhoun.  The  heaviest  of  the  cargo  was  sold  off  in 
Baltimore,  and  the  lighter  portion  sent  westward  via  Albany.  Before 
the  close  of  1792,  Mr.  Williamson  had  determined  to  make  his  first 
settlement  at  the  termination  of  his  road  on  the  Genesee  River;  in 
pursuance  of  this  plan  he  laid  out  a  village  there  and  called  it  Williams- 
burg; he  built  a  long  row  of  structures,  plowed  some  land  and  pre- 
pared for  the  reception  of  a  proposed  German  colony.  Here  were 
settled  a  large  colony  who  came  over  through  the  immediate  influence 
of  one  Berezy,  who  gained  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Coloquhoun.  While 
they  proved  useful  to  Mr.  Williamson  in  building  his  road,  before  men- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  31 

tioned,  they  proved  an  undesirable  acquisition  in  every  other  way. 
They  remained  in  Pennsylvania  until  the  spring  of  1703,  when  they 
removed  to  Williamsburg.  Each  family  had  a  house,  fifty  acres  of 
land,  tools,  stock,  and  provisions  appropriated  to  its  use ;  but  they 
developed  into  an  idle  and  more  or  less  dissolute  colony,  with  Berezy 
at  their  head.  Mr.  Williamson  finally  determined  to  rid  his  country  of 
their  presence,  and  in  his  efforts  to  accomplish  this  result,  provoked  a 
riot  and  had  to  call  on  the  authorities  of  Ontario  county  to  aid  him  and 
his  friends.  The  Germans  were  at  last  scattered,  many  of  them 
ultimately  settling  in  Canada.  Other  attempts  to  colonize  Europeans 
were  scarcely  more  successful. 

Previous  to  and  during  the  course  of  the  events  we  have  briefly 
chronicled,  a  colony  of  Quakers,  or  "Friends,"  under  the  leadership  of 
a  woman,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  whose  correct  name  was  Jemima 
Wilkinson,  had  settled  in  1787-88  in  what  is  now  Yates  county,  about 
a  mile  south  of  the  site  of  Dresden  village.  The  original  party  con- 
sisted of  twenty-five  members,  who  had  sent  delegates  ahead  to  search 
for  an  eligible  location.  Their  first  land  purchase  was  on  "The  Gore," 
previous  to  the  establishment  to  the  new  pre-emption  line,  and  comprised 
a  tract  of  14,000  acres  lying  in  the  east  part  of  the  present  town  of 
Milo,  and  a  part  of  Starkey,  in  Yates  county.  Soon  afterward  their 
delegates  purchased  what  is  now  the  town  of  Jerusalem,  in  that  county. 
It  was  through  the  agency  of  these  settlers  that  the  first  grist  mill  was 
built  in  Western  New  York ;  it  was  situated  two  and  a  half  miles  from 
Penn  Yan,  and  turned  out  flour  in  the  year  1789.  The  woman 
"Jemima,"  as  she  was  known,  exercised  a  powerful  influence  over  her 
followers  in  all  their  affairs,  public  and  private.  The  community, 
while  apparently  thriving  and  successful  for  a  time,  showed  evidences 
of  decline  before  many  years.  They  had  settled  there  in  quest  of 
seclusion  from  the  world  and  its  wickedness;  but  their  selection  of 
lands  was  too  wise  to  enable  them  to  long  hold  a  monopoly  over  the 
region ;  and  they  soon  found  themselves  in  a  thickly  settled  neighbor- 
hood. Jemima  died  in  1819,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rachel  Malin;  but 
their  teachings  were  long  ago  forgotten,  though  their  descendants  are 
still  numerous  in  that  section  of  the  State. 

In  1793  operations  towards  settlement  began  at  Bath  and  rapidly 
progressed  under  Mr.    Williamson's  energetic  direction. 1     Mills  were 

1  In  1799  an  advertisement  of  the  "Bath  Theater"  appeared  in  the  Bath  Gazette; 
the  plays  announced  were   "The   Mock   Doctor,   or  The  Dumb  Lady  Cured."     "A 


32  LANDMARKS   OF 

built  there  and  immigration  from  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  became 
active.  l  In  the  following-  year  (17(.)-t-)  improvements  were  begun  at 
Geneva,  a  feature  of  which  was  the  building  of  the  Geneva  Hotel, 
which  was  finished  in  December  and  soon  gained  a  widespread  fame. 
It  had  no  competitor  for  some  time  between  there  and  Qtica. 

Canandaigua,  also,  was  a  point  of  importance  in  the  early  settlement 
of  the  Genesee  country  and  the  great  county  of  Ontario — mother  of 
Wayne  and  many  other  counties.  After  Mr.  Phelps  had  decided  on 
the  foot  of  Canandaigua  Lake  as  a  desirable  and  central  point  for  the 
founding  of  a  village,  he  took  measures  to  open  primitive  roads  over 
which  to  reach  the  site.  Operations  were  begun  at  Geneva  and  a  pass- 
age way  opened  to  the  foot  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  following  substan- 
tially the  old  Indian  trail.  Joseph  Smith  was  the  first  settler  west  of 
Seneca  Lake  and  located  at  Canandaigua  in  the  spring  of  1789.  He 
built  a  block  house  and  opened  a  tavern.  In  May  of  that  year  Gen. 
Israel  Chapin  arrived  at  the  outlet  and  built  his  log  house.  With  him 
and  interested  in  surveys  and  land  sales  wrere  eight  or  ten  others,  and 
they  were  soon  followed  by  a  Mr.  Walker,  agent  of  Phelps  and  Gorham. 
The  settlement  progressed  rapidly,  much  of  its  growth  and  the  toler- 
ably peaceful  relations  with  the  Indians  being  due  for  a  number  of 
years  to  General  Chapin.  In  1700  the  heads  of  families  on  township 
10,  range  3,  were  as  follows:  Nathaniel  Gorham,  jr.,  Nathaniel  San- 
born, John  Fellows,  James  D.  Fish,  Joseph  Smith,  Israel  Chapin,  John 
Clark,  Martin  Dudley,  Phineas  Bates,  Caleb  Walker,  Judah  Colt,  Abner 
Barlow,  Daniel  Brainard,  Seth  Holcomb,  James  Brocklebank,  Lemuel 
Castle,  Benjamin  WTells,  John  Freeman.      To  these  were  added  quite  a 

Peep  into  the  .Seraglio."  The  prices  of  admission  were:  "Pit  six  shillings;  Gallery 
three  shillings."     The  Bath  Races  were  also  advertised. 

1  The  proprietors  of  the  Pultney  estate  indulged  in  visions  of  boundless  wealth  to 
result  from  the  settlement  of  their  lands.  They  supposed  that  the  natural  avenue  to 
market  from  the  rich  Genesee  country  was  down  the  Susquehanna,  and  that  a  city 
might  be  founded  upon  some  of  the  headwaters  of  that  stream  which  would  command 
the  entire  trade  of  the  West.  After  a  survey  of  the  region,  the  present  site  of  Hath 
was  selected  as  the  location  of  the  future  city.  Every  inducement  was  held  out  to 
lure  settlers;  and  for  several  years  the  markets  of  Bath  proved  a  mine  of  wealth  to 
the  few  who  raised  more  grain  than  enough  for  their  own  use.  Williamson  erected 
a  theater  within  a  few  years  after  the  first  settlement,  in  anticipation  of  the  future 
metropolitan  character  of  the  place.  A  race  course  was  also  established,  which  for 
many  years  attracted  sportsmen  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  golden  visions 
of  civic  grandeur  were  never  realized.  —  French 's   Gazetteer,  />.  (>jj. 


WAYNE    COUNTY. 


33 


number  of  settlers  during  L790-1.  The  place  was  made  the  county 
scat  in  L793,  and  in  the  same  year  a  court  house,  jail  and  clerk's  office 
were  built;  and  here  the  first  courts  were  held,  as  described  further  on 
in  these  pages. 

To  conclude  this  necessarily  brief  description  of  the  early  settlement 
at  various  points  in  the  old  county  of  Ontario,  before  turning  our  at- 
tention to  the  immediate  locality  in  which  our  readers  will  be  more 
deeply  interested,  it  will  be  desirable  to  reproduce  from  the  census 
report  of  1700  a  list  of  all  the  heads  of  families  who  had  settled  west  of 
the  old  pre-emption  line,  as  follows;  the  list  is  given  by  townships  and 
ranges  as  shown  in  the  abbreviated  headings: 


No.  9,  7th  R. 
William  Wadsworth 
Phineas  Bates 
Daniel  Ross 
Henry  Brown 
Enoch  Noble 
Nicholas  Rosecrantz 
David  Robb 
Nahum  Fairbanks 

No.  1,  2d  R. 
Eleazer  Lindley 

Daniels 

Samuel  Lindley 
John  Seely 
Ezekiel  Mumford 
Eleazer  Lindley,  jr. 

No.  2,  2d  R. 
Arthur  Erwine 
Henry  Culp 
William  Anchor 
Martin  Young 
Peter  Gardner 

Nos.  3  &  4,  5th  &  6th  R's. 
James  Headley 
William  Baker 
Jedediah  Stevens 
Uriah  Stephens 
Uriah  Stephens,  jr. 
John  Stephens 
Richard  Crosby 
Solomon  Bennett 
Andrew  Bennett 
John  Jameson 

5 


No.  11,  2  R. 

Sweet 

Ezra  Phelps 

No.  10,  3d  R. 
Nathaniel  Gorham,  jr. 
Nathaniel  Sanborn 

No.  11,  5th  R. 
Jonathan  Ball 
William  Moores 

No.  13,  5th  R. 
John  Lusk 
Chauncey  Hyde 
Timothy  Allen 
Jacob  Walker 

No.  10,  6th  R. 
John  Minor 
Asel  Burchard 
Abner  Miles 
Davison 

No.  11,  6th  R. 
John  Ganson 
Philemon  Winship 
Abel  Wilsey 
Elijah  Morgan 
Solomon  Hovey 
John  Morgan 
William  Webber 
William  Markham 
Abraham  Devans 

No.  7,  7th  R. 
Niel 

No.  9,  1st  R. 
James  Latta 


David  Benton 
Samuel  Wheaton 
Rice 

No.  10,  3d  R. 
John  Fellows 
Joseph  Smith 
James  D.  Fisk 
Israel  Chapin 
John  Clark 
Martin  Dudley 
Phineas  Bates 
Caleb  Walker 
Judah  Colt 
Abner  Barlow 
Daniel  Brainard 
Seth  Holcomb 
James  Brocklebank 
Lemuel  Castle 
Benjamin  Wells 
John  Freeman 

No.  11,  3d  R. 
Abraham  Lapham 
Isaac  Hathaway 
Nathan  Harrington 
John  McCumber 
Joshua  Harrington 
Elijah  Smith 
John  Paine 
Jacob  Smith 
John  Russell 
Nathan  Comstock 
Israel  Weed 


34 


LANDMARKS   OF 


Reuben  Allen 

No.  L2,  3d  R. 
Webb  Harwood 

David  White 
Darius  Com  stock 
Jerome  Smith 

No.  8,  4th  R. 
Gamaliel  Wilder 
Ephraim  Wilder 
Aaron  Rice 
Aaron  Spencer 

No.  9,  1st  R. 
David  Smith 
Phineas  Pierce 
Esther  Forsyth 
Thomas  Smith 
Harry  Smith 
Thomas  Barden 

No.  10,  1st  R. 
Seth  Reed 
Thaddeus  Oaks 
Jonathan  Whitney 
Solomon  Warner 
Jonathan  Oaks 
Joseph  Kilbourne 
John  Whitcomb 
Phineas  Stevens 
Benjamin  Tuttle 

No.  11,  1st  R. 
John  D.  Robinson 
Pierce  Granger 

No.  8,  2d  R. 
Francis  Briggs 
Michael  Pierce 
Benjamin  Tibbits 
Henry  Lovell 
John  Walford 

In  order  to  give 
families  by  towns, 
what  is  now  Wayn 
census  of  1790  : 


William  Hall 
Arnold  Potter 

No.  10,  2d  R. 

Sweet 

No.  9,  4th  R. 
James  Goodwin 
William  Goodwin 
Nathaniel  Fisher 

No.  10,  4th  R. 
Ephraim  Rew 
Lot  Rew 
Matthew  Hubble 
John  Barnes 
Oliver  Chapin 
Nathaniel  Norton 
John  Adams 
Michael  Rodgers 
Allen  Sage 

No.  11,  4th  R. 
Seymour  Boughton 
Jared  Boughton 
Zebulon  Norton 
Elijah  Taylor 

No.  9,  5th  R. 
Gideon  Pitts 

No.  10,  5th  R. 
Peregrine  Gardner 
Amos  Hall 
Benjamin  Gardner 
Peck  Sears 
Samuel  Miller 
John  Alger 
Sylvanus  Thayer 

No.  12,  5th  R. 
Jared  Stone 
Simon  Stone 
Israel  Pan- 
tile reader  a  clearer  idea  of 
and  to  aid  him  in  locating 
e  county,  we  reprint  the  fol 


Thomas  Cleland 
Silas  Nye 
Josiah  (iiminson 
Alexander  1  )unn 
1  )avid  Davis 

No.  10,  2d  R. 
Daniel  Gates 
Thomas  Warren 
Israel  Chapin 

Piatt 

Day 

West  of  Genesee  River 
Gilbert  R.  Berry 
Darling  Havens 
1  )avid  Bailey 
William  Rice 
Gershom  Smith 
Hill  Carney 
Morgan  Desha 
William  Desha 
Horatio  Jones 
William  Ewing 
Nathan  Fowler 
Jeremiah  Gregory 
Nicholas  Philips 
Jacob  Philips 
Caleb  Forsyth 
Nathan  Chapman 
Nicholas  Miller 
Asa  Utley 
Peter  Shaeffer 
Ebenezer  Allen 
Christopher  Dugan 
Zephaniah  Hough 
Edward  Harp 
[oscph  Skinner 

the  distribution  of  these 
those  who  had  settled  in 
owing:  list,  also  from  the 


Painted  Post ID 

Milo 11 

Benton 3 

Seneca,  including  Geneva is 


59 
65 


115 


Phelps 2  11 

Middlesex T  38 

Hopewell II  14 

East   Farmington     2  4 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  35 

West  Farming-ton 12  55  Brighton     4  20 

Canandaigua 8  106  Lima 4  23 

West   Palmyra 4  14  Rush 9  :,(; 

South   Bristol 4  20  Henrietta 1  s 

North  Bristol 4  13  Sparta 1  5 

East  Bloomrield 10  65  Geneseo s  34 

West  Bloomfield 7  26  Wayne 1  9 

Indian  Lands  (Leicester) 4  17  Erwin 11  59 

Victor 4  2(1  Canisteo 10  50 

Richmond...    ... 1  2  Avon 10  W 

Mendon 2  10  Caledonia 10  44 

Pittsford 8  28 

Total 205       1081 

Most  of  the  pioneers  of  Ontario  county  and  the  military  tract  who 
came  in  prior  to  the  beginning-  of  the  present  century,  and  who  did  not 
come  from  southward,  as  before  mentioned,  took  the  water  route  from 
Albany,  by  way  of  the  Mohawk  River,  Wood  Creek,  Oneida  Lake,  Os- 
wego River,  and  the  Clyde.  In  1701  what  was  called  the  "Geneva 
road"  was  built,  extending  from  Whitestown  to  Geneva,  and  thence  on 
to  Canandaigua.  It  was  for  much  of  the  distance  merely  a  cleared 
track  through  the  forest ;  but  bad  as  it  was  it  was  influential  in  pro- 
moting the  western  settlements.  Here  is  what  Charles  Williamson 
wrote  to  England  regarding  it : 

To  improve  our  communication  with  the  coast  seemed  to  be  all  that  was  necessary 
to  render  the  country  equal  to  any  part  of  America  for  comfort  and  convenience ;  in 
many  things,  particularly  the  climate,  we  had  much  the  advantage.  To  remedy  this 
inconvenience  as  to  roads,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  had,  tw  an  act  passed 
in  the  Sessions  of  1797*  taken  the  road  from  Fort  Schuyler  to  Geneva  under  their 
patronage.  A  lottery  had  been  granted  for  the  opening  and  improving  of  certain 
great  roads ;  among  these  this  road  was  included.  The  inhabitants  made  a  volun- 
tary offer  of  their  services,  to  aid  the  State  commissioner,  and  subscribed  4,000  days 
work,  which  they  performed  with  fidelity  and  cheerfulness.  By  this  generous  and 
uncommon  exertion,  and  by  some  other  contributions,  the  State  commissioner  was 
enabled  to  complete  this  road  of  near  one  hundred  miles,  opening  it  sixty-four  feet 
wide,  and  paving  with  logs  and  gravel  the  moist  parts  of  the  low  country.  Hence 
the  road  from  Fort  Schuyler  on  the  Mohawk  River,  to  Genesee,  from  being  in  the 
month  of  June,  1797,  little  better  than  an  Indian  path,  was  so  far  improved  that  a 
stage  started  from  Fort  Schuyler  on  the  30th  of  September,  and  arrived  at  the  hotel 
in  Geneva,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day,  with  four  passengers. 

Settlements  along  this  road  were  rapidly  increased  after  its  opening. 
This  highway  was  greatly  improved  within  a  few  years,  particularly  in 
1794,  when  a  commission  was  appointed  to  open  "  The  Great  Genesee 


36  LANDMARKS   OF 

Road"  six  rods  wide  from  old  Fort  Schuyler  to  the  Cayuga  Ferry;  and 
again  in  L796-7,  when  a  considerable  sum  was  expended  in  improving 
the  road.  In  the  year  1800,  what  was  called  "The  Seneca  Road  Com- 
pany "  was  chartered  for  the  improvement  of  the  highway  from  Utica 
to  Canandaigua.  The  capital  stock  of  the  company  was  $11,000,  and 
[edediah  Sanger,  Charles  Williamson,  Benjamin  Walker,  and  Israel 
Chapin  were  appointed  commissioners.  In  L798  the  first  State  roads 
were  laid  out  from  Conewagas,  on  the  Genesee  River,  to  the  mouth  of 
Buffalo  Creek,  and  to  Lewiston,  on  Niagara  River.  Other  early  roads 
more  directly  connected  with  the  settlement  of  Wayne  county  will  be 
described  in  the  next  chapter. 

This  chapter  may  be  properly  closed  with  a  quotation  from  a  descript- 
ive letter  on  the  Genesee  country  written  in  1792,  as  follows: 

On  the  12th  of  February,  1792,  I  left  Albany  on  my  route  to  the  Genesee  country; 
but  the  country  was  thought  so  remote  and  so  very  little  known,  that  I  could  not 
prevail  on  the  owner  of  the  sled  I  had  engaged  to  go  further  than  Whitestown,  a  new 
settlement  on  the  head  of  the  Mohawk  River,  one  hundred  miles  west  of  Albany. 
The  road,  as  far  as  Whitestown,  had  been  made  passable  for  wagons,  but  from  that 
to  the  Genesee  River  it  was  little  better  than  an  Indian  path,  just  sufficiently  opened 
to  allow  a  sled  to  pass,  and  the  most  impassable  streams  bridged.  At  Whitestown  I 
was  obliged  to  change  my  sled;  the  Albany  driver  would  proceed  no  further.  He 
found  that  the  next  150  miles  we  were  not  only  obliged  to  take  provision  for  our- 
selves and  our  horses,  but  also  blankets  as  a  substitute  for  beds.  After  leaving 
Whitestown  we  found  only  a  few  straggling  huts  scattered  along  the  the  path  at  the 
distance  of  ten  to  twenty  miles,  and  they  affording  nothing  but  the  convenience  of 
fire  and  a  kind  of  shelter  from  the  snow.  On  the  evening  of  the  third  day's  journey 
from  Whitestown  we  were  very  agreeably  surprised  to  find  ourselves  on  the  east  side 
of  Seneca  Lake,  which  we  found  perfectly  open  and  free  from  ice  as  in  the  month 
of  June;  and  what  added  to  our  surprise  and  admiration,  was  to  see  a  boat  ami 
canoe  plying  on  the  lake  This,  after  having  passed  from  New  York  over  360  miles 
of  country  completely  frozen,  was  a  sight  pleasing  and  interesting. 

We  then  crossed  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  and  arrived  at  the  settlement  of  Geneva, 
consisting  of  a  few  families,  who  had  been  drawn  thither  from  the  convenience  of  the 
situation  and  the  beauty  of  the  adjoining  country.  .  .  .  From  Geneva  to  Cana- 
darqua the  road  is  only  the  Indian  path,  a  little  improved  the  first  five  miles  over 
gentle  swellings  of  land,  interspersed  with  bottoms  seemingly  rich;  the  remainder  of 
the  road  to  Canadarqua,  the  county  town,  sixteen  miles,  was,  the  greatest  part  of  the 
distance,  through  a  rich,  heavy-timbered  land.  On  this  road  there  were  only  two 
families  settled.  Canadarqua,  the  county  town,  consisted  of  only  two  small  frame 
houses  and  a  few  lints,  surrounded  with  thick  woods.  The  few  inhabitants  received 
me  with  much  hospitality  1  found  there  abundance  of  excellent  venison.  From 
Canadarqua  to  the  Genesee  River,  twenty-six  miles,  it  is  almost  totally  uninhabited, 
only  four  families  residing  on  the  road.  The  country  is  beautifully  diversified  with 
hill   and  dale,  and,  m  many  places,  we    found    openings   of   two   and    three   hundred 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  :!? 

acres,  free  from  all  timber  and  even  bushes,  which,  on  our  examining,  proved  to  be 
of  a  rich,  deep  soil.  It  seemed  that,  by  only  enclosing  with  one  of  these  openings  a 
proportionable  quantity  of  timbered  land,  an  enclosure  might  be  made  similar  to  the 
parks  of  England. 

At  the  Genesee  River  I  found  a  small  Indian  store  and  tavern;  the  river  was  not 
then  frozen  over,  but  was  low  enough  to  be  forded.  As  yet  there  are  no  settlements 
of  any  consequence  in  the  Genesee  country.  That  established  by  a  society  of 
Friends,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Seneca  Lake,  is  the  most  considerable ;  it  consists 
of  about  forty  families.  But  the  number  of  Indians  in  the  adjoining  country,  when 
compared  with  the  few  inhabitants  who  ventured  to  winter  in  the  country,  is  so 
great,  that  I  found  them  under  serious  apprehensions  for  their^safety.  Even  in  this 
state  of  nature,  the  county  of  Ontario  shows  every  sign  of  future  respectability. 

In  subsequent  letters  descriptive  of  the  county  in  1796,  four  years 
later,  the  same  writer  pictures  the  country  under  somewhat  different 
conditions.  Various  settlements,  he  said,  "had  begun  to  assume  an 
appearance  of  respectability  never  before  instanced  in  so  new  a  country." 
It  is  probably  true  that  not  in  the  history  of  the  country  has  a  wil- 
derness country  been  so  rapidly  peopled  and  improved  as  the  old  county 
of  Ontario.  "  Much  pains  had  been  taken,"  continued  the  writer,  "to 
induce  the  different  settlers  at  an  early  period  to  build  mills,  and  every 
encouragement  was  given  them."  A  newspaper  had  been  established 
at  Bath.  The  town  of  Canadarqua  (Canandaigua),  had  assumed  the 
appearance  of  a  handsome  village.  The  town  of  Geneva  in  that  year 
had  received  a  great  addition  by  the  laying  out  of  a  street  on  the  sum- 
mit of  a  rising  ground,  along  the  west  bank  of  the  lake ;  at  the  present 
day  one  of  the  handsomest  village  streets  to  be  found  anywhere.  A 
sloop  was  on  the  stocks  to  run  between  Geneva  and  Catharine's  Town, 
at  the  head  of  the  lake.  A  printing  office  was  established  in  Geneva, 
and  several  new  settlements  had  been  begun.  The  Mud  Creek  region 
in  which  we  are  especially  interested,  received  the  writer's  attention 
also.  Speaking  of  new  mills,  he  said  that  one  was  built  on  the  outlet 
of  Canadarqua  Lake  near  its  junction  with  Mud  Creek  (Lyons),  both 
of  which  are  very  considerable  streams,  and  "run  through  a  great 
extent  of  country  already  well  settled."  "In  the  settlement  of  Mud 
Creek  alone,  there  were  for  sale,  last  fall,  not  less  than  10,000  bushels 
of  wheat,  of  an  excellent  quality." 

The  settlers  on  the  Genesee  River  were  then  receiving  their  salt 
from  the  Onondaga  works,  and  their  stores  from  Albany.  "Mr. 
Granger,"  he  continues,  "last  winter  built  a  schooner  of  forty  tons 
which  was  launched  early  in  April;  before  the  middle  of  May  she  made 
a  trip  to   Niagara,  with   two  hundred  barrels  of  provisions,  and  there 


38  LANDMARKS   OF 

were  then  laying  on  the  beach  two  hundred  barrels  more,  ready  to  be 
put  on  board  on  her  return."  As  to  the  character  of  the  people  who 
were  settling  in  this  section  the  writer  said:  "The  rapid  progress  of 
this  new  country,  in  every  comfort  and  convenience,  has  not  only 
caused  the  emigration  of  vast  numbers  of  substantial  farmers,  but  also 
of  men  of  liberal  education,  who- find  here  a  society  not  inferior  to  that 
in  the  oldest  country  settlements  in  America.  The  schools  are  far 
from  being  indifferent,  and  even  the  foundations  of  public  libraries  are 
already  laid."  After  describing  the  climate  and  soil  of  the  country  in 
favorable  terms,  the  writer  continues:  "The  settlements  already 
formed  on  the  principal  navigations,  and  whose  inhabitants  are  used  to 
business,  and  respectably  connected,  find,  at  an  early  period,  the  most 
advantageous  markets  for  their  surplus  produce.  To  Canada,  beef, 
salt,  pork,  flour,  and  whisky,  are  already  sent  to  a  great  amount." 
"  The  success  of  every  individual  who  has  emigrated  to  the  Genesee 
country,  has  stamped  a  greater  value  on  the  lands  than  was  ever  known 
in  any  place  so  recently  settled,  and  so  distant  from  the  old  settled 
country." 

As  to  the  facilities  for  reaching  this  section  near  the  close  of  the  cen- 
tury, the  writer  said:  "The  most  convenient  route  for  Europeans  to 
come  to  the  Genesee  country  will  be  to  land  at  New  York;  they  will 
with  much  ease  reach  Albany  by  water,  and  from  thence  they  can 
either  hire  wagons  or  take  navigation  by  the  canals  (the  canal  of  the 
Inland  Lock  Navigation  Company),  or  the  Mohawk  river,  to  Geneva. 
Unless  the  water  be  in  good  order,  I  should  certainly  prefer  the  land 
journey.  A  wagon,  with  two  oxen  and  two  horses  will  go  twenty  miles 
per  day  with  a  load  of  ">(>  ewt." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  continue  these  extracts  further,  and  we  need 
only  add  that  the  writer  of  that  earl}-  da}-,  now  almost  a  century  ago, 
could  as  a  rule  find  no  terms  too  complimentry  in  describing  the  region 
of  which  Wayne  county  now  forms  a  part.  It  was,  indeed,  a  settlers' 
paradise,  and  to-day  will  compare  favorably  with  any  other  section  of 
the  country. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  39 


CHAPTER  V. 

Beginning  of  Settlement  in  the  Territory  of  Wayne  County — Early  Map  of  Western 
New  York — Map  of  the  "Genesee  Lands" — Localities  First  Settled  in  Wayne  County 
—Beginning  at  East  Palmyra — Importance  of  Ganargwa  Creek — First  Improvement 
at  Sodus  Bay — Improvement  of  Highways — Settlements  in  Various  Localities — The 
Threatened  Canadian  Invasion — Final  Establishment  of  Peaceful  Conditions — 
Estimate  of  Williamson's  Policy. 

From  the  foregoing  pages  the  reader  should  have  gained  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  progress  of  settlement  in  the  Genesee  country  down 
to  near  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  (aside  from  that  portion 
now  embraced  in  Wayne  county),  and  the  bright  prospects  offered  by 
this  favored  region  to  further  immigration.  We  may,  therefore,  now 
turn  our  attention  to  the  story  of  the  first  settlements  in  what  is  Wayne 
county,  which  carries  us  back  to  a  few  years  earlier  date  than  the 
period  under  consideration  in  the  final  pages  of  the  preceding  chapter. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  pioneers  of  our  county  settled  where  they 
did — on  or  near  the  banks  of  the  Ganargwa.  It  was  a  picturesque 
stream,  winding  its  devious  way  through  the  thick  forest;  its  waters 
teemed  with  fish ;  there  were  available  mill  sites  along  its  course ;  the 
land  along  its  valley  was  fertile  and  easily  tillable ;  and,  moreover,  its 
generally  sluggish  stream  was  a  highway  on  which  the  pioneer  could 
bring  to  his  wilderness  home  his  household  goods  far  more  easily  than 
by  any  other  method. 

It  must  be  remenbered  that  the  first  road  opened  (1796)  westward 
from  Whitestown,  near  Utica,  came  on  to  Geneva,  and  that  the  Cayuga 
bridge  was  built  in  1800,  making  that  route  the  one  selected  for  nine- 
tenths  of  the  westward  travel.  This  highway  left  the  territory  of 
Wayne  county  in  a  measure  isolated  and  added  to  the  importance  of 
the  water  way  that  was  followed  by  many  of  the  pioneers  of  thiscountv 
— up  the  Hudson  or  to  Albany  from  New  England  points;  thence  to 
Schenectady  by  land;  up  the  Mohawk  to  the  site  of  Rome;  a  short 
portage  to  Wood  Creek;  down  Oneida  Lake  to  the  Oswego  River; 
thence  to   the   Seneca   River,    up   the   Clyde,    and   from  the   "Forks" 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  11 

(Lyons)  along-  the  Ganargwa  (Mud)  Creek  and  the  outlet.  It  was  a 
toilsome  journey,  but  was  generally  preferable  to  the  overland  route, 
especially  in  summer  or  autumn,  for  several  years  after  settlement 
began.  The  accompanying  map  shows  the  earl)' lines  of  travel  across 
the  State,  and  other  interesting"  facts. 

It  was  only  a  very  short  time  after  the  beginning  of  improvements 
at  Canandaigua  and  Geneva,  noticed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  when 
preparations  were  made  to  open  up  the  rich  lands  along  the  Ganargwa. 
What  is  called  "The  New  State  Road"  on  the  map  of  1809  was  built 
during  the  first  decade  of  the  century,  and  passed  directly  across  Wayne 
county.  A  glance  at  the  accompanying  map  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorham 
purchase  will  show  that  in  the  part  which  finally  became  Wayne  county, 
in  township  12,  range  1,  William  Bacon  and  others  were  purchasers; 
township  13,  range  1,  was  sold  to  Elijah  Austin  or  George  Joy,  his 
assignee;  township  12,  range  2,  was  purchased  by  John  Swift  and 
John  Jenkins;  and  township  12,  range  3,  by  Warner,  Comstock  and 
others. 

It  was  in  township  12,  range  2,  that  settlement  in  Wayne  county 
began.  John  Swift  and  Col.  John  Jenkins,  who  bought  it,  began  its 
survey  into  farm  lots  in  March,  1789.  Jenkins  was  a  practical  surveyor 
and  built  a  cabin  on  the  bank  of  Ganargwa  Creek,  about  two  miles 
below  the  site  of  Palmyra  village.    His  assistants  were  Alpheus  Harris, 

who   was  a  nephew,    Solomon  Earle,  Baker,  and  Daniel  Ransom. 

A  tragedy  was  at  hand.  One  morning  while  the  party  were  asleep  in 
their  cabin,  beside  a  fire,  a  party  of  four  Tuscarora  Indians  crept  up, 
fired  their  guns  through  spaces  between  the  logs,  killed  Baker  and 
severely  wounded  Earle ;  the  other  two  escaped  unhurt,  encountered 
the  murderers,  secured  two  of  their  rifles  and  a  tomahawk  and  drove 
them  away.  In  the  morning  after  burying  Baker,  they  took  Earle  and 
started  for  Geneva  to  give  an  alarm.  The  Indians  were  pursued,  two 
of  them  captured  and  executed  at  what  is  now  Elmira.  They  were 
killed  with  the  tomahawk.  The  trial  was  by  a  sort  of  lynch  court,  but 
the  whole  proceeding  and  the  bloody  method  of  execution  seem  to  have 
been  justified. 

During  the  summer  of  1789,  John  Swift  moved  into  the  township, 
and  built  a  log  house  and  storehouse  at  "Swift's  Landing,"  as  it  was 
called  for  a  time,  a  little  north  of  the  lower  end  of  Main  street,  Pal- 
myra. He  was  not  long  alone,  for  before  the  close  of  the  year  1789, 
Webb  Harwood,  from  Adams,  Mass.,  came  in  with  his  wife  and  built  a 
6 


49  LANDMARKS   OF 

cabin  on  high  ground  near  the  site  of  the  first  lock  west  of   Palmyra. 

He  was  accompanied  by  Noah  Porter,  Jonathan  Warner  and  Bennet 
Bates,  all  single  men.  Mr.  Turner  collected  the  following"  names  of 
settlers  who  came  in  during  1790,  1791,  and  1792,  giving  them  in  the 
order  of  their  arrival  as  nearly  as  possible:  Lemuel  Spear,  David  Jack- 
ways,  James  Galloway,  Jonathan  Millet,  the  Mattisons,  Gideon  Durfee 
the  elder,  and  his  sons,  Gideon,  Edward,  Job,  Pardon,  Stephen,  and 
Lemuel;  Isaac  Springer,  William,  James  and  Thomas  Rogers,  John 
Russell,  Nathan  Harris,  David  Wilcox,  Joel  Foster,  Abraham  Foster,Elias 
Reeves,  Luther  Sanford ;  and  in  addition  to  these  there  came  to  what  is  now 
Macedon,  but  then  in  Palmyra,  Messrs.  Reid,  Delano,  Packard  Barney, 
Broan,  Adam  Kingman,   Hill,   Lapham,   Benjamin  and  Philip  Woods. 

What  became  East  Palmyra  was  settled  in  1791  by  a  company  which 
took  the  name  of  the  Long  Island  Company,  through  their  agents,  Joel 
Foster,  Elias  Reeves,  and  Luke  Foster.  The  company  sailed  from 
Long  Island  in  April,  1792.  The  located  on  or  near  Ganargwa1  Creek. 
The  details  of  this  settlement,  and  all  others  in  this  town  will  be  found 
in  the  later  history  of  the  town  of  Palmyra. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Williamson  had  perfected  his  title  to  the  "Gore"2  his 

1  Mud  Creek  until  recently,  The  old  name  was  blended  with  the  recollection  of 
stagnant  waters,  bogs,  chills  and  fevers.  When  its  whole  aspect  had  been  changed 
by  the  hand  of  improvement,  and  it  became  even  picturesque  and  beautiful  in  its 
meanderings  through  cultivated  fields,  and  a  rural  scenery  seldom  equaled,  the 
dwellers  in  its  valley  were  enabled,  with  the  help  of  Lewis  Morgan,  esq.,  of 
Rochester,  to  come  at  its  ancient  Seneca  name,  which  they  adopted.  —  Turner' s 
1' helps  and  Cor  ham' s  Purchase,  foot  note,  p.  263. 

2  Before  the  State  had  acknowledged  the  correctness  of  the  new  pre-emption  line, 
patents  had  been  issued  covering  nearly  the  whole  of  "The  Gore."  Mr.  Williamson 
having  purchased  through  the  agency  of  Johnstone,  all  the  patents,  had  so  fortified 
the  claim  of  his  principals,  that  he  had  ventured  upon  exercising  ownership;  though 
title  was  yet  an  open  question.  In  March,  1795,  while  a  bill  was  pending  in  the 
Legislature,  providing  for  running  a  third  line,  by  the  surveyor-general,  and  if  the 
one  run  by  Mr.  Ellicott  should  prove  correct,  to  give  the  associates  other  lands  in 
lieu  of  those  that  had  been  patented  upon  the  gore;  Philip  Schuyler  introduced 
amendments,  which  prevailed,  making  it  discretionary  with  the  surveyor-general, 
allowing  him  to  waive  the  running  of  a  new  line,  if  he  satisfied  himself  that  Mr.  Elli- 
cott's  line  was  correct;  and  leave  it  to  the  commissioners  of  the  land  office  to  ar- 
range matters  between  the  holders  of  the  patents  and  the  associates,  or,  Mr.  Will- 
iamson, holding,  as  he  did,  by  purchase,  most  of  the  patents,  t<>  perfect  the  title  to 
"The  (lore,"  nearly  84,000  acres.  As  an  equivalent  for  what  he  had  paid  in  the  pur- 
chase of  patents,  the  commissioners  of  the  land  office  conveyed  to  him  about  the 
same  quantity  of  land  embraced  in  the  patents,  off  from  the  military  tract,  in  what  is 
now  Wolcott  arid  Galen. —  Turner's  Phelps  and  Gor ham's  Purchase,  p.  261-62. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  48 

attention  was  drawn  to  the  conditions  surrounding"  the  region  at  the 
junction  of  Ganargwa  Creek  and  the  Canandaigua  outlet.  He  saw  the 
natural  beauty  and  desirability  of  the  locality  and  determined  to  im- 
prove it.  The  two  streams  at  this  point  reminded  him  of  the  Rhone 
and  the  Saone,  which,  with  a  certain  similarity  in  the  landscape,  led 
him  to  give  the  place  the  name  of  Lyons.  In  May,  17^9,  a  small 
colony,  made  up  of  the  families  of  Nicholas  Stansell,  William  Stansell, 
and  a  brother-in-law,  John  Featherly,  had  reached  that  point  by  the 
water  route  already  described  and  built  log  huts  half  a  mile  south  of 
the  site  of  Lyons'  village.  William  Stansell  had  been  here  as  one  of 
Sullivan's  expedition.  The  Stansells  and  Featherly  were  the  pioneers 
of  that  region.  Joining  with  the  pioneers  of  Phelps  they  opened  a 
road  to  that  neighborhood  and  in  the  direction  of  the  mill  at  Waterloo 
(now  in  Seneca  county).  A  little  corn  and  potatoes  was  raised  by 
them  in  1789,  which  were  the  first  crops  raised  in  the  county.  They 
suffered  severe  hardships  for  a  time,  and  a  son  of  one  of  the  first  Stan- 
sell families  told  Mr.  Turner  that  they  once  got  out  of  corn  and  bought 
some  of  the  Onondaga  Indians ;  for  days  they  were  without  provisions, 
only  such  as  could  be  obtained  from  the  forest,  the  streams,  and  their 
cows.  Mr.  Williamson  made  Charles  Cameron  his  agent  at  Lyons  and 
began  operations  there  in  the  summer  of  1794  The  first  framed  house 
in  that  region  was  built  for  Mr.  Cameron,  with  a  barn.  Nearly  1,000 
acres  of  land  was  reserved  and  afterwards  sold  to  Judge  Tower.  Be- 
fore the  close  of  1790,  Henry  Tower,  then  agent  for  Mr.  Williamson, 
built  what  was  long  known  as  Tower's  mills  at  "Alloway, "  as  the  place 
was  then  called. 

Meanwhile  Williamson  had  also  selected  Sodus  Bay  as  a  point  for 
establishing  what  he  hoped  would  prove  a  great  commercial  center. 
His  hopes  were  based  largely  upon  the  belief  that  the  waterway  already 
described,  with  Lake  Ontario  and  the  St.  Lawrence  River  would  be 
the  future  paths  of  transportation  for  all  this  region.  In  the  spring  of 
1794  he  had  roads  cut  out  from  Palmyra  to  Phelpstown.  His  presence 
at  Sodus  Bay  with  a  corps  of  surveyors,  road  makers,  and  other  aids, 
convinced  the  settlers  that  they  were  to  witness  the  planting  of  a  vil- 
lage that  would  some  day  be  a  city.  Williamson  preceded  the  improve- 
ments by  a  written  announcement  of  his  plans.  These  contemplated 
the  survey  of  "a  town  between  Salmon  Creek  and  Great  Sodus  Bay, 
and  a  spacious  street,  with  a  large  square  in  the  center,  between  the 
falls  of  Salmon  Creek  and  the  anchorage  in  the  bay,  and  mills  are  to  be 


44  LANDMARKS   OF 

built  at  the  falls  on  Salmon  Creek."  To  this  somewhat  inspiring- 
declaration  he  added:  "As  the  harbor  of  Great  Sodus  is  acknowledged 
to  be  the  finest  on  Lake  Ontario,  this  town,  in  the  convenience  of  the 
mills  and  extensive  fisheries,  will  command  advantages  unknown  to 
the  country,  independent  of  the  navigation  of  the  Great  Lake  and  the 
.St.  Lawrence."  There  is  a  vein  of  similar  enthusiasm  running  through 
all  of  Williamson's  operations,  and  it  must  be  said  that  many  of  the 
plans  of  himself  and  the  association  were  more  or  less  visionary.  This 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  when  we  consider  the  wholly  undeveloped 
condition  of  the  country,  and  the  primitive  modes  of  travel  and  trans- 
portation. 

The  new  town  was  to  be  surveyed  by  Joseph  Colt.  The  in-lots  con- 
tained a  quarter  of  an  acre,  and  the  out-lots  ten  acres.  The  in-lots 
were  offered  for  one  hundred  dollars,  and  the  out-lots  for  four  dollars 
per  acre ;  the  farming  lands  in  that  region  at  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents 
an  acre.  Thomas  Little  and  a  Mr.  Moffat  were  made  the  local  agents. 
A  hotel  was  built  at  a  cost  of  over  $5, (Kin,  and  opened  by  Moses  and 
Jabez  Sill.  Mills  were  built  at  the  falls  on  Salmon  Creek,  a  pleasure 
boat  placed  on  the  bay,  and  other  minor  improvements  made.  In 
making  roads,  surveys,  and  erecting  buildings,  etc.,  more  than  $20,- 
ooo  were  expended  in  the  first  two  years.  It  was  a  characteristic  of 
Mr.  Williamson  to  be  liberal  in  the  use  of  money  and  sanguine  of  the 
results;  but  as  we  have  before  intimated,  there  was  much  to  justify  his 
enthusiasm  regarding  this  particular  locality. 

While  Williamson  and  others  named  were  thus  actively  engaged  in 
promoting  the  early  settlements  of  Wayne  county,  this  energetic  agent 
was  no  less  industrious  in  other  parts  of  the  purchase.  He  was  con- 
spicuous in  the  measures  adopted  for  opening  the  old  road  from  Fort 
Schuyler  to  Geneva,  and  in  1 7 i » 8  joined  with  Ellicott  in  making  the 
"Niagara  road, "  from  the  Genesee  River  westward  (the  new  "State 
road"  on  the  map  of  1809).  He  was  also  active  in  the  building  of  the 
roads  from  Lyons  to  Palmyra;  from  "Hopeton  to  Townsend's;"  from 
"Seneca  Falls  to  Lyons  mills;"  and  other  early  highways.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature  from  Ontario  county  in  1796,  and  in  that 
body  for  three  years  devoted  his  great  energy  to  the  advancement  of 
the  interests  of  Western  New  York.1 

1  About  the  time  of  the  projection  of  the  State  road  west  from  Rome,  Mr.  William- 
son was  riding  upon  Long  Island,  in  company  with  De  Witt  Clinton,  who,  remark- 
ing upon  the  smoothness  of  the  road,  said  to  Mr.  W.  :   "If  you  had  such  roadstoyour 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  45 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  rapid  settlement  of  this  region  that  Mr. 
Williamson  was  backed  by  men  with  ample  means.  They  could,  and 
did,  sell  their  lands  with  little  or  no  cash  payments,  and  advanced 
large  sums  for  improvements,  as  we  have  noted.  So  liberal  had  been 
the  expenditures  that  as  late  as  1800  the  entire  enterprise  seemed  a 
doubtful  one  as  to  ultimate  profits.  Mr.  Williamson's  first  engagement 
with  the  London  Associates  was  for  seven  years,  though  he  remained 
considerably  longer.  Those  who  came  with  him  from  vScotland,  were 
Charles  Cameron,  who  has  been  mentioned,  as  assisting  Mr.  William- 
son in  many  of  his  early  undertakings.  He  was  the  local  agent  at 
Lyons  and  probably  shipped  from  there  the  first  produce  sent  to  an 
eastern  market  from  the  Genesee  country.  He  was  afterwards  a  mer- 
chant at  Canandaigua;  John  Johnstone,  also  an  employee  of  William- 
son; Henry  Tower,  an  agent  in  the  building  of  the  mills  at  "Allo- 
way" — Lyons,  and  afterwards  purchased  them  and  lived  there  man3T 
years;  Hugh  McCarthy,  settled  in  Sparta.  Besides  these  there  were 
James  Tower  and  Andrew  Smith.  When  Sir  William  Pulteney  and 
Governor  Hornby  made  a  division  of  their  lands,  John  Johnstone  be- 
came agent  for  the  Hornby  estate,  and  thus  continued  until  180G.  Mr. 
Williamson  died  in  London  in  1808. 

Besides  the  settlements  at  the  three  points  named — Palmyra,  Lyons, 
and  Sodus — the  pioneers  who  came  into  the  county  prior  to  the  year 
1800  located  chiefly  along  the  Ganargwa.  Even  in  this  favorite  locality 
there  was  as  late  as  1819,  according  to  Mr.  Turner,  a  space  of  several 
miles  where  farm  improvements  were  insignificant  and  log  houses  pre- 
dominated. Some  of  the  earliest  settlers  along  the  creek,  besides  the 
.Long  Island  colony,  were  Thomas  Goldsmith,  Philip  Lusk,  Jacob  Lusk, 
Isaac  Lusk,  John  Tibbits,  Oliver  Sanford,  Luther  Sanford,  Oliver 
Clark,  James  Parshall,  Thomas  Cornell,  James  Galloway,  Humphrey 
Sherman,  Reuben  Starks.  John  Spoor  settled  early  where  "  Lockpitt  " 
was  founded,  and  was  succeeded  there  by  Nicholas  Stansell.  The 
Lusks  settled  where  Newark  has  grown  up.  Other  settlers  in  old  Pal- 
myra were:  Thaddeus  Taft,  Joshua  Bridge,  Weaver  Osborne,  Cyrus 
Foster,   Jeremiah    Smith,    Caleb    McCumber,    Israel    Parshall,    Joseph 

country  I  would  make  you  a  visit."  "It  can  be  done  with  proper  exertions."  Mr. 
Clinton  promised  him  his  co-operation,  and  afterwards  assisted  in  procuring  the  in- 
corporation of  the  Seneca  Turnpike  Company,  in  which  the  State  road  was  merged. 
Mr.  Clinton's  first  visit  to  this  region  was  in  1810. — Foot  Note,  Tin-tier' s  Phelps 
and  Gorham  s  Purchase,  p.  2-J2. 


46  LANDMARKS   OF 

Shoemaker,  Oliver  Booth,  Ahaz  Aldrieh,  Samuel  Millet,  John  Sher- 
man, Silas  Hart,  Thomas  Glover,  Joseph  Tinkum,  James  Galloway 
and  William  Starks.  What  is  now  the  town  of  Walworth  was  first  set- 
tled in  1799,  by  the  families  of  Andrew,  John,  Samuel  and  Daniel  Mil- 
ler: a  younger  brother  of  these  named  Alexander,  also  came  in  at  that 
time,  and  two  years  later,  in  1801,  Stephen  and  Daniel  Douglass  moved 
into  the  town. 

In  what  is  now  the  town  of  Williamson,  and  near  the  village  of  the 
same  name,  were  located  a  little  prior  to  1794  the  families  of  Timothy 
Smith  and  Henry  Lovell ;  the  latter  was  one  of  the  first  Board  of  As- 
sessors of  the  town. 

Maeedon  was  settled  in  1789  and  1790  by  Webb  Harwood,  Ebenezer 
Reed,  Israel  Delano,  Darius  Comstock  and  Paul  Reed.  Settlement  in 
Huron  began  in  1796,  when  Col.  Peregrine  Fitzhugh  and  William 
Helms  came  in. 

Other  towns  as  at  present  constituted  were  first  settled  a  little  later; 
but  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  continue  details  of  pioneer  arrivals  at  this 
point  in  the  narrative,  as  they  will  all  be  described  in  the  subsequent 
town  histories.  An  early  road  was  opened  along  the' lake  shore,  fol- 
lowing generelly  the  Indian  trail,  from  Pultneyville  to  Irondequoit; 
this  preceded  the  Ridge  road.  Many  of  the  settlers  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  count}"  located  along  this  road. 

The  condition  of  the  pioneers  of  Wayne  county  was  not  in  all  respects 
a  happy  one,  notwithstanding  that  they  were  greatly  favored  in  others. 
During  the  first  five  or  six  years  there  was  ever  present  the  harassing 
fear  of  Indian  attacks,  to  which  we  have  alluded  in  a  preceding  chap- 
ter. This  was  not  wholly  dissipated  until  the  successful  conclusion  of 
the  Pickering  treaty  in  the  fall  of  1794  at  Canandaigua.  This,  with 
Wayne's  victory  in  the  Wrest,  brought  substantial  peace.  A  brief  refer- 
ence, however,  should  be  made  to  an  attempted  invasion  of  the  Genesee 
country  from  Canada,  which  was  projected  even  while  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  Pickering  conference  were  in  progress.  Governor  Sim- 
coe  was  in  power  at  that  time  in  Canada,  and  evinced  a  contemptible 
jealous)'  and  hatred  of  the  people  who  were  so  rapidly  coming  into 
Western  New  York.  It  is  said  that  he  threatened  to  send  Mr.  William- 
son to  England  in  irons  if  he  ever  ventured  into  Canada.  In  August, 
I  79  I,  Simcoe  sent  a  representative  to  Williamson  with  a  protest  against 
his  work  in  establishing  the  settlement  at  Sodus  Bay,  pending  the  com- 
plete   execution    of    the    treaty   terminating    the    Revolutionary   War. 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  47 

Williamson  was  absent  at  Bath  and  the  messenger  left  his  errand  with 
Mr.  Moffat,  with  notice  that  he  would  return  in  ten  days  for  a  reply. 
Williamson  arranged  to  go  at  once  to  Sodus  and  meet  Simcoe's  messen- 
ger. It  developed  that  Mr.  Williamson  had  known  the  messenger  in 
England  and  their  interview  was  friendly;  at  the  same  time  the  mes- 
senger was  directed  to  inform  Governor  Simcoe  that  no  attention  would 
be  paid  to  his  message  and  that  Mr.  Williamson  would  proceed,  as  he 
had  before,  with  his  work  at  settlement;  that  if  interfered  with,  the 
invaders  would  be  met  with  forcible  resistance.  It  should  be  explained 
that  after  the  declaration  of  peace  following  the  Revolution,  Great 
Britain  complained  that  those  parts  of  the  treaty  which  required  that 
those  States  in  which  British  subjects  were  prevented  by  law  from  re- 
covering debts  due  to  them  prior  to  the  Revolution,  had  been  repealed 
(as  by  the  treaty  they  ought  to  have  been),  and  also  that  British  prop- 
erty had  been  confiscated  since  the  period  limited  in  the  treaty  for  such 
confiscations,  and  no  compensation  had  been  allowed  to  those  who  had 
suffered  thereby.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Americans  complained  that 
after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  negroes  and  other  property  were  carried 
away  by  the  British  soldiers,  contrary  to  stipulations  in  the  preliminary 
peace  treaty.  The  British  retained  possession  of  posts  on  our  borders 
until  the  settlement  of  all  these  matters  in  1796. 

All  the  settlements  in  the  Genesee  country  soon  learned  of  the  threat- 
ened invasion;  and  at  the  same  time  it  was  noticed  that  the  conduct  of 
the  Indians  seemed  to  favor  such  a  movement.  Harmar  and  St.  Clair 
had  been  defeated  in  the  West,  and  Wayne's  success  was  yet  problem- 
atical. It  was  well  known  that  the  British  were  aiding  and  abetting 
the  Indians  against  Wayne,  and  many  of  the  Senecas  had  armed  and 
gone  to  join  the  forces  in  the  West.  Should  Wayne  be  defeated,  as  all 
the  settlers  thought  extremely  probable,  what  would  be  more  likely 
than  that  the  Senecas  and  their  allies  would  return  flushed  with  victory 
to  lay  waste  the  new  country?  With  these  things  in  view,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  landing  of  the  messenger  from  Simcoe  and  his  little 
party  created  widespread  dismay. 

Immediately  after  the  departure  of  Simcoe's  messenger,  Mr.  William- 
son and  his  coadjutors  took  immediate  steps  to  prepare  for  possible 
trouble  and  to  assure  the  settlers  of  protection.  He  sent  a  post  rider 
to  both  Albany  and  Philadelphia,  with  messages  explaining  the  whole 
situation.     In  one  of  the  letters  he  said: 


48  LANDMARKS   OF 

It  is  pretty  well  ascertained  that  for  some  time  past,  quantities  of  military  stores 
and  ammunition  have  been  forwarded  to  Oswego.  This  makes  me  think  it  not  im- 
probable that  Lieutenant  Sheafe  (he  was  Simcoe's  messenger)  will  take  a  forcible 
possession  of  Sodus  on  his  return.  I  shall,  however,  without  relaxing,  go  on  with 
my  business  there,  until  drove  off  by  a  superior  force.  It  is  needless  for  me  to  trouble 
you  with  any  com meDts  on  this  unparalleled  piece  of  insolence,  and  gross  insult  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States.  l 

While  Mr.  Williamson  was  thus  exerting-  himself  to  support  his  posi- 
tion in  his  settlement  and  to  provide  for  adequate  protection  by  the 
government,  affairs  were  reaching  a  climax  in  another  direction. 
"  Mad  Anthony  Wayne  "  was  on  the  war-path  and  four  days  after  Sim- 
coe  had  sent  his  message  to  Mr.  Williamson,  met  the  Indians  in  the 
West  and  crushed  them.  The  importance  of  this  victory,  both  to  the 
settlers  in  the  (ienesee  country  and  to  the  country  at  large,  was  great 
It  gave  security  and  hope  to  the  harassed  settlers  and  permanently 
ended  the  long  succession  of  Indian  treaties  that  had  been  more  or  less 
fruitless.     The  Senecas  returned  to  their  homes  humbled  and  subdued, 

1  It  is  worth  while  to  gain  a  new  knowledge  of  Simcoe's  operations  during  the 
year  in  question  (1794),  as  detailed  in  another  letter  from  Mr.  Williamson  to  Sir 
William  Pulteney,  in  which  he  wrote  as  follows:  "  I  shall  make  no  further  comment 
on  this  business,  than  to  observe,  that  anything  short  of  actual  hostilities,  it  com- 
pletes the  unequalled  insolent  conduct  of  Mr.  Simcoe  toward  this  government.  Mr. 
vSimcoe's  personal  treatment  of  myself  and  you,  I  treat  with  the  scorn  it  deserves,  but 
I  beg  leave  to  give  you  a  sketch  of  his  political  conduct.  On  his  first  arrival  in  this 
country,  by  deep-laid  schemes  he  has  prevented  every  possibility  of  an  accommoda- 
tion between  the  country  and  the  hostile  Indians,  and  this  summer,  by  his  intrigues, 
he  has  drawn  several  tribes  of  friendly  Indians  from  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
to  the  British  side  of  the  lines,  and  left  nothing  undone  to  induce  the  Six  Nations, 
our  neighbors,  to  take  up  the  hatchet  the  moment  he  gives  the  word.  You  must  be 
acquainted  with  his  marching  a  body  of  armed  troops,  and  erecting  a  fort  at  the  rap- 
ids of  the  Miami  seventy  miles  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  but  this 
being  an  extensive  wilderness,  seemed  of  less  importance.  Not  content  with  this, 
he  has  now  interfered  with  our  settlements,  in  a  manner  so  unlike  the  dignity  of  a 
great  nation  that  it  must  astonish  you.  If  it  is  the  intention  of  the  British  ministry, 
by  low  and  underhanded  schemes,  to  keep  alive  a  harassing  war  against  helpless 
women  and  children,  or  by  murders  on  the  frontier,  to  add  to  the  list  of  the  murders 
already  committed  by  the  influence  of  their  servants  here,  and  to  treat  this  govern- 
ment with  the  most  unwarrantable  insolence  and  contempt,  I  allow  that  Mr.  Simcoe 
is  a  most  industrious  and  faithful  servant  the  British  government  ever  had.  But  if 
it  is  their  intention  to  cultivate  a  friendly  intercourse  with  this  country,  it  never  can 
take  place  while  such  is  the  conduct  of  their  governor  here.  .  .  .  If  these  trans- 
actions are  in  consequence  of  orders  from  Great  Britain,  and  their  views  are  hostile, 
there  is  nothing  further  to  be  said. 


5  {, o  fr  \ 


O  fL&LA. 


It 


sJ-0LA?!t  c/~L< 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  49 

and  entertaining  ideas  of  Wayne  born  in  the  consternation  and  awe 
that  fell  upon  them  when  they  saw  the  warriors  fall  like  leaves  before 
his  onslaught. 

Prior  to  the  visit  of  Lieutenant  Sheaffe  to  Mr.  Williamson  with  Sim- 
coe's  message,  and  on  the  3d  of  July,  the  War  Department  had  been 
specifically  informed  of  the  exposed  condition  of  the  settlers  in  the 
Genesee  country.  The  acts  of  the  British  to  which  we  have  alluded 
were  made  the  subject  of  a  letter  from  General  Washington  to  John 
Jay,  then  minister  in  London,  in  which  he  wrote  as  follows: 

( )f  this  irregular  and  high-handed  proceeding  of  Mr,  Simcoe,  which  is  no  longer 
masked,  I  would  rather  hear  what  the  ministry  of  Great  Britain  will  say.  .  .  This 
may  be  considered  as  the  most  open  and  daring  act  of  the  British  agents  in  America, 
though  it  is  not  the  most  hostile  and  cruel ;  for  there  does  not  remain  a  doubt  in  the 
mind  of  any  well  informed  person  in  this  country,  not  shut  against  conviction,  that 
all  the  difficulties  we  encounter  with  the  Indians,  their  hostilities,  the  murders  of 
helpless  women  and  children,  along  our  frontiers,  result  from  the  conduct  of  agents 
of  Great  Britain  in  this  country. 

In  the  same  letter  Washington  predicted  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  keep  this  country  on  peaceful  terms  with  England  long,  unless  the 
various  posts  were  surrendered  to  us. 

Congratulations  upon  Wayne's  victory  and  the  resultant  peace  were 
general,  and  nothing  more  was  heard  of  invasions  from  Canada. 

There  were  other  hardships  which  the  early  settlers  were  forced  to 
endure,  but  they  were  mostly  men  of  stability,  perseverance  and  energy. 
Buying  his  land  on  easy  terms  at  a  low  price,  and  inspired  with  the 
vigor  of  young  manhood,  the  pioneer  thought  the  road  to  independence 
would  not  be  a  long  nor  a  very  hard  one ;  but  many  were  grievously 
disappointed.  The  meager  crops  raised  on  the  small  clearing  were 
needed  for  home  consumption ;  or,  if  there  was  a  small  surplus,  it  was 
difficult  to  dispose  of  it.  The  roads  to  a  market  were  often  impassable 
for  teams ;  interest  accumulated,  and  what  was  worse  than  all  else, 
sickness  was  very  prevalent  in  many  localities,  and  good  medical 
attendance  almost  impossible  to  obtain.  Fever  and  ague  was  espe- 
cially afflicting  and  disheartening.  This  intermittent  disease  gave  the 
settlers  their  "sick  days"  and  their  "well  days,"  *  and  they  could  work 

1  Dr.  Coventry,  who  lived  near  Geneva  in  1792-4  said  that  those  seasons  were  very 

sickly  in  proportion  to  the  population,  in  all  the  Genesee  country.      "I  remember," 

said  he,  "when  in  Geneva  there  was  but  a  single  individual  who  could  leave  her  bed. 

In   1795  no  rain  fell  in  June  or  July;   water  in  the  lakes  was  lowered ;  every  inlet 

7 


50  LANDMARKS   OF 

only  on  the  latter.  These  troubles,  with  the  others  we  have  described, 
would  doubtless  have  driven  many  away  from  their  homes,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  liberal,  energetic  and  protective  policy  adopted  by  Mr. 
Williamson. 

This  chapter  may  be  closed  with  an  original  article,  showing  clearly 
the  policy  of  Mr.  Williamson,  and  its  effects  on  settlements,  which  was 
printed  in  the  Commercial  Agricultural  Journal,  in  London,  England, 
in  August,  1799.      It  was  as  follows: 

This  immense  undertaking'  is  under  the  direction  and  in  the  name  of  Captain 
Williamson,  formerly  a  British  officer,  but  is  generally  supposed  in  America  to  be  a 
joint  concern  between  him  and  Sir  William  Patence,  of  London;  in  England  Patence 
is  believed  to  be  the  proprietor  and  Williamson  his  agent.  The  land  in  the  Genesee 
country,  or  that  part  of  it  which  belongs  to  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  was  sold  to  a 
Mr.  Phelps  for  five  pence  per  acre;  by  him  in  1790,  to  Mr.  Morris,  at  one  shilling  per 
acre,  being  estimated  at  a  million  of  acres,  on  condition  that  the  money  was  to  be 
returned  provided  Captain  Williamson,  who  was  to  view  the  lands,  should  not  find 
them  answerable  to  the  description.  He  was  pleased  with  them,  and,  on  survey, 
found  the  tract  to  contain  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  acres  more  than  the 
estimate,  the  whole  of  which  was  conveyed  to  him.  This  district  is  bounded  on  one 
side  by  Lake  Ontario,  and  on  the  other  by  the  River  Genesee.  Williamson  also 
bought  some  other  land  of  Mr.  Morris,  so  that  he  is  now  proprietor  of  more  than  a 
million  and  a  half  aci'es.  After  surveying  the  whole,  he  resolved  to  found  at  once 
several  large  establishments  rather  than  one  capital  colony.  He  therefore  fixed  on 
the  most  eligible  place  for  building  towns,  as  central  spots  for  his  whole  system. 
These  were  Bath,  on  the  Conhockton,  Williamsburg,  on  the  Genesee;  Geneva,  at 
the  foot  of  Lake  Seneca;  and  Great  Sodus,  on  Lake  Ontario.  The  whole  territory 
he  divided  into  squares  of  six  miles.  Each  of  these  squares  he  forms  into  a  district. 
Sure  of  finding  settlers  and  purchasers  when  he  had  established  a  good  communica- 
tion between  his  new  tract  and  Philadelphia,  and  as  the  old  road  was  by  way  of 
New  York  and  Albany,  Williamson  opened  a  road  which  has  shortened  the  distance 
three  hundred  miles.  He  has  also  continued  his  roads  from  Kath  to  Geneva,  to 
Canandaigua,  and  to  Great  Sodus,  and  several  roads  of  communication.  He  has 
already  erected  ten  mills — three  corn  and  seven  sawing — has  built  a  great  many 
houses,  and  has  begun  to  clear  land.  He  put  himself  to  the  heavy  expense  of  trans- 
porting eighty  families  from  Germany  to  his  settlements;  but  owing  to  a  bad  choice 
made  by  his  agent  at  Hamburg,  they  did  little,  and  after  a  short  time  set  off  for 
Canada.  He  succeeded  better  in  the  next  set,  who  were  mostly  Irish.  They  put 
the  roads  into  condition,  and  gave  such  a  difference  to  the  whole  that  the  lands  which 
he  sold  at  one  dollar  an  acre  was  soon  worth  three  and  he  disposed  of  eight  hundred 
thousand  acres  in  this  way  so  as  to  pay  the  first  purchase,  the  whole  expense  incurred, 
and  has  made  a  profit  of  fifty  pounds.  The  rapid  increase  of  property  is  owing  to 
to    the    money    first    advanced,    but    the  great   advantage   is  Williamson's  constant 

became  a  seat  of  putrefaction.  .  .  In  the  Autumn  of  1796  along  an  extent  of  four 
miles  of  a  thinly-inhabited  road,  '24  deaths  took  place  from  dysentery." 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  51 

residence  on  the  settlement,  which  enables  him  to  conclude  any  contract  or  to  remove 
any  difficulty  which  may  stand  in  the  way;  besides,  his  land  is  free  from  all  dispute 
or  question  of  occupancy,  and  all  his  settlement  is  properly  ascertained  and  marked 
out.  There  has  been  a  gradual  rise  in  values,  and  a  proviso  is  always  inserted 
in  the  deed  of  sale  to  those  who  purchase  a  large  quantity,  that  a  certain 
number  of  acres  shall  be  cleared,  and  a  certain  number  of  families  settled,  within 
eighteen  months.  Those  who  buy  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  acres  are  only 
obliged  to  settle  one  family.  These  clauses  are  highly  useful,  as  they  draw  an 
increase  of  population  and  prevent  the  purchase  of  lands  for  speculation  only. 

Captain  Williamson,  however,  never  acts  up  to  the  rigor  of  his  claim  where  any 
known  obstacles  impede  the  execution.  The  terms  of  payment  are  to  discharge  half 
the  purchase  in  three  years,  and  the  remainder  in  six,  which  enables  the  industrious 
to  pay  from  the  produce  of  the  land.  The  poorer  families  he  supplies  with  an  ox,  a 
cow,  or  even  a  home.  To  all  the  settlements  he  establishes,  he  takes  care-  to  secure 
a  constant  supply  of  provisions  for  the  settlers,  or  supplies  them  from  his  own  store. 
When  five  or  six  settlers  build  together,  he  always  builds  a  house  at  his  own  expense, 
which  soon  sells  at  an  advanced  price.  Every  year  he  visits  each  settlement,  which 
tends  to  diffuse  a  spirit  of  industry  and  promote  the  sale  of  lands,  and  he  employs 
every  other  means  he  can  suggest  to  be  useful  to  the  inhabitants.  He  keeps  stores 
of  medicines,  encourages  races  and  amusements,  and  keeps  a  set  of  beautiful  stallions. 
He  has  nearly  finished  his  great  undertaking,  and  proposes  to  take  a  voyage  to  Eng- 
land to  purchase  the  best  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  implements  of  agriculture,  etc. 
Captain  Williamson  has  not  only  the  merit  of  having  formed,  and  that  in  a  judicious 
manner,  this  fine  settlement,  but  he  has  the  happiness  to  live  universally  respected, 
honored  and  beloved.  Bath  is  the  chief  settlement,  and  it  is  to  be  the  chief  town  of 
the  county  of  the  same  name.  At  the  town  he  is  building  a  school,  which  is  to  be 
endowed  with  some  hundred  acres  of  land.  The  salary  of  the  master,  Williamson 
means  to  pay  until  the  instruction  of  the  children  shall  be  sufficient  for  his  support. 
He  has  built  a  session  house  and  a  prison,  and  one  good  inn,  which  he  has  sold  for  a 
good  profit,  and  is  now  building  another  which  is  to  contain  a  ball-room.  He  has 
also  constructed  a  bridge,  which  opens  a  free  and  easy  communication  with  the  other 
side  of  the  river.  He  keeps  in  his  own  hands  some  small  farms  in  the  vicinity  of  Bath, 
which  are  under  the  care  of  a  Scotchman,  and  which  appear  to  be  better  plowed  and 
managed  than  most  in  America.  In  all  the  settlements  he  reserves  one  estate  for 
himself,  the  stock  on  which  is  remarkably  good.  These  he  disposes  of  occasionally 
to  his  friends,  on  some  handsome  offers.  To  the  settlements  already  mentioned  he 
is  now  adding  two  others,  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  the  other  at  Braddock, 
thirty  miles  farther  inland.  Great  Sodus,  on  the  coast  of  this  district,  promises  to 
afford  a  safe  and  convenient  place  for  ships,  from  the  depth  of  water,  and  it  may  be 
easily  fortified.  The  climate  here  is  much  more  temperate  than  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  winter  seldom  lasts  more  than  four  months,  and  the  cattle  even  in  that  season, 
graze  in  the  forest  without  inconvenience.  These  settlements  are,  however,  rather 
unhealthy,  which  Captain  Williamson  ascribes  to  nothing  but  the  natural  effects  of 
the  climate  on  new  settlers,  and  is  confined  to  a  few  fits  of  fever  with  which 
strangers  are  seized  the  first  or  second  year  of  their  arrival.  The  inhabitants  all 
agree,  however,  that  the  climate  is  unfavorable,   and   the   marshes   and   pieces  of 


52  LANDMARKS   OF 

stagnant  water  are  thickly  spread  over  the  country ;  but  these  will  be  drained  as 
the  population  increases.  On  the  whole,  it  promises  to  be  one  of  the  most  con- 
siderable settlements  in  America. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Circumstances  of  the  Pioneers — Current  Prices  of  Produce — Inconvenience  of  Dis- 
tant Markets — Gradual  Improvement  of  Roads — Old  Stage  Lines — Erection  of  Early 
Mills— Outbreak  of  the  War  1812— Effects  of  the  Conflict  in  Wayne  County— Military 
Operations  at  Sodus  Bay — Account  of  a  Skirmish — Descent  Upon  Pultneyville — 
General  Improvements  Following  the  Close  of  the  War. 

With  the  establishment  of  peaceful  relations  with  the  Indians  and  the 
British,  the  further  opening  of  roads,  and  the  rapid  influx  of  settlers 
during  the  first  ten  years  of  the  present  century,  came  an  era  of  com- 
parative prosperity  to  the  pioneers  of  Wayne  county. J  Hardships  and 
privation  were,  of  course,  still  common  to  all.  The  area  of  cleared 
land  was  yet  small,  and  difficult  of  tillage;  prices  of  crops  were  low 
and  markets  far  distant ;  and  sickness,  which  seems  to  prevail  in  all 
new  settlements,  was  still  general  in  many  localities.  A  partial  idea 
of  what  the  community  had  to  contend  with  in  some  respects  may  be 
gained  from  the  following  list  of  prices  of  1801:  Wheat,  seventy-five - 
cents;  corn,  three  shillings;  rye,  fifty  cents;  hay,  six  to  twelve  dol- 
lars per  ton ;  butter  and  cheese,  eleven  to  sixteen  cents  a  pound ;  salt 
pork,  eight  to  ten  dollars  per  cwt.  ;  whisky,  fifty  to  seventy-five  cents 
per  gallon;  salt,  five  dollars  per  barrel;  sheep,  two  to  four  dollars  per 
head;  milch  cows,  sixteen  to  twenty-five  dollars  a  head ;  horse,  10<>  to 
125  dollars  per  span;  working  oxen,  fifty  to  eighty  dollars  per  yoke; 
laborers,  wages,  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  a  month,  with  board.  A  home- 
made suit  of  clothes  sold  for  four  to  five  dollars. 

In  1805  a  settler  on  the  Purchase  began  building  a  frame  house,  and 
wanted  a  small  quantity  of  glass  and  nails.  They  were  not  to  be  easily 
obtained.      He  started  with  an  ox  team  and  sled,    and  fifty   bushels  of 

1  The  reader  will  have  noticed  that  we  often  use  the  name  of  Wayne  county  in  de- 
scribing events  that  occurred  long  before  the  county  was  organized.  In  doing  so, 
reference  is  made  only  to  the  territory  afterwards  embraced  in  the  county.  We 
adopt  this  course  to  avoid  useless  repetition  and  explanation. 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  58 

wheat,  for  Utica,  more  than  a  hundred  miles  distant,  where  he  sold  the 
grain  for  $1.68  per  bushel  to  Watts  Sherman,  the  early  merchant  of 
that  place,  bought  the  wrought  nails  for  eighteen  cents  per  pound,  and 
two  boxes  of  glass  for  $7.50.  The  bill  of  goods  was  made  out  by 
B.  Gibson,  the  subsequent  prominent  banker  of  Canandaigua.  Stephen 
Durfee  left  a  record  that  wheat  in  the  few  first  years  of  settlement  sold 
often  at  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents,  and  on  one  occasion  at  twenty- 
five  cents  a  bushel.  In  the  fall  of  1804  a  hundred  bushels  of  wheat 
were  taken  on  a  wagon  from  this  locality  to  Albany,  with  the  help  of 
four  yoke  of  oxen — two  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  The  wheat  was 
bought  in  Bloomfield  for  five  shillings  currency  per  bushel ;  it  sold  in 
Albany  for  seventeen  and  one-fourth  shillings.  This  was  a  good  profit; 
but  it  was  a  long  distance  to  haul,  and  over  very  poor  roads.  In  fact 
it  was  seen  clearly  enough  that  the  conditions  of  transportation  from 
one  point  to  another  governed  prices  of  crops  and  merchandise,  and 
that  the  great  need  of  the  new  country  was  better  roads.  As  the  high- 
ways were  improved,  and  the  quantity  of  grain,  and  particularly  of 
wheat,  grown  in  the  county  and  vicinity  greatly  increased,  many  hardy 
men  engaged  in  teaming  and  the  roads  eastward  presented  a  bus)7 
scene.  The  so-called  "Pennsylvania  wagons"  were  numerous,  drawn 
by  six  horses,  and  carrying  immense  loads.  This  business  was  very 
prosperous  until  about  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  canal.  In  the 
latter  part  of  this  period  wheat  was  sometimes  carried  to  Albany  at 
two  shillings  and  sixpence  per  bushel.  Large  quantities  of  grain  went 
into  the  distilleries  and  were  turned  into  whisky,  which  found  a  ready 
sale.  Small  distilleries  were  very  numerous,  though  few  were  large, 
and  many  of  them  were  built  of  logs.  Their  operation  constituted  a 
large  part  of  the  business  enterprise  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  present 
century,  and  whisky  drinking  was  as  common  as  water  drinking.  The 
sale  of  ashes  and  the  manufacture  of  crude  potash  was  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  pioneers.  The  ashes  cost  nothing  but  the  transporta- 
tion, for  their  production  was  incumbent  upon  the  clearing  of  land, 
and  as  late  as  1815  their  sale  was  a  principal  source  of  obtaining 
groceries  and  occasionally  a  little  money. 

Stages  were  running  regularly  over  the  great  turnpike  from  Utica  to 
Canandaigua  at  the  beginning  of  the  century.  The  long  bridge  at 
Cayuga  was  finished  in  1800,  and  many  branch  roads  were  laid  out  and 
somewhat  improved  before  1815.  Ganargwa  Creek  was  made  a  public 
highway  in  1799,  with  many  other  streams  of  this   section.      In    1800  a 


54  LANDMARKS   OF 

good  road  was  made  twelve  miles  westward  from  the  Genesee  River  at 
the  site  of  Avon;  and  at  the  road  called  the  "new  State  road"  between 
Lewiston  and  Rochester,  on  the  accompanying  map  of  1809,  was  begun 
about  the  same  time.  But  the  roads  westward  from  the  county  were 
of  little  importance  to  the  settlers,  as  far  as  improving  their  markets 
was  concerned.  In  1804  a  road  was  made  through  Galen  and  Palmyra, 
and  onward  to  the  Genesee  River.  There  was  only  one  mail  between 
Canandaigua  and  Rochester  in  1812,  and  that  was  carried  on  horse- 
back, and,  as  related,  part  of  the  time  by  a  woman.  As  late  as  1813 
the  ridge  road  between  Rochester  and  Lewiston  was  almost  impassable 
in  many  places,  and  $5,000  were  appropriated  by  the  Legislature  for 
cutting  out  the  path  and  bridging  the  streams.  For  a  considerable 
period,  it  was  thought  that  land  transportation  from  Wayne  county 
eastward  would  never,  or  at  least  not  in  many  years,  compete  with  the 
water  route.  It  was  this  belief  that  led  to  the  building  of  Durham 
boats  at  Palmyra  and  elsewhere  at  a  very  early  date. 

The  erection  of  the  first  grist  mills  in  the  county  created  another 
avenue  for  disposing  of  a  part  of  the  wheat  crops,  and  at  the  same  time 
supplied  one  of  the  greatest  necessities  of  the  pioneers.  A  mill  was 
built  at  Lyons  in  1800,  and  one  at  Palmyra  still  earlier.  Augustus 
Porter  built  and  operated  several  mills  in  different  localities  in  this  sec- 
tion, and  in  L812  advertised  that  he  would  pay  one  dollar  a  bushel  for 
wheat  at  any  of  his  mills.  Within  a  year  later  it  was  worth  eleven 
shillings.  The  multiplication  of  early  stores  for  barter  enabled  the 
farmers  who  were  raising  crops  prior  to  he  war  of  1812,  to  exchange 
them  for  household  goods,  bringing  long-missed  comforts  to  their 
homes,  but  generally  at  high  prices.  School -houses  sprang  up  in  the 
wilderness,  as  they  always  have  done  in  the  track  of  the  American 
pioneer,  and  simultaneously  churches  were  organized  at  various  points. 
The  Presbyterian  church  at  Palmyra  came  into  existence  in  L797,  and 
was  followed  by  the  Baptist  in  1800.  In  the  latter  year,  also,  the 
Presbyterian  church  at  Lyons  was  organized.  All  of  these  subjects 
will  be  further  treated  in  the  subsequent  histories  of  the  several  towns 
of  the  county.  At  the  close  of  the  first  decade  of  this  century  the 
population  of  Wayne  had  reached  only  1,110.  The  entire  population 
of  what  is  now  Monroe  county,  east  of  the  river;  Wayne,  excepting 
the  eastern  towns,  and  Ontario,  Yates  and  Livingston,  was:  Males, 
21,835;  females,  L9,681;  slaves,  211;  total,  42,026. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  55 

A  number  of  the  pioneers  brought  skives  into  the  country  with  them 
at  an  early  day  and  held  them  in  bondage  for  considerable  periods.  In 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Huron,  Thomas  Helms,  who  settled  about  the 
year  1800,  brought  about  seventy  slaves  from  Maryland  and  settled  at 
Port  Glasgow,  on  Big  Sodus  Bay.  There  is  no  doubt  but  he  expected 
to  establish  the  institution  permanently.  He  is  reported  as  a  brutal 
character  who  cruelly  treated  the  slaves,  by  whose  labor  about  a  hun- 
dred acres  around  the  bay  were  cleared  up.  Upon  the  death  of  Helms 
the  hated  institution  soon  expired  in  that  region,  but  under  what  con- 
ditions we  have  not  learned. 

Col.  Peregrine  Fitzhugh,  who  was  also  from  Maryland,  brought  his 
slaves  with  him  to  Sodus  Point.  The  colonel  had  been  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier,  and  lived  in  Geneva  three  years  before  settling  at  the  Point. 
His  family,  including  the  slaves,  numbered  forty  persons.  These 
slaves  were  freed  within  a  few  years  after  their' arrival,  and  with  others, 
formed  a  little  colony  on  the  "  out-lots  "at  "  the  city." 

An  act  of  the  Legislature  passed  April  5,  1810,  provided  that  all  per- 
sons who  emigrated  hither  from  Virginia  and  Maryland  in  the  preced- 
ing ten  years,  "  who  held  in  their  own  right  slaves,  which  they  brought 
with  them  from  the  said  States,  be  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  to 
hire  out  said  slaves  to  any  citizen  of  this  State  for  a  term  not  exceeding 
seven  years."  At  the  end  of  this  term  the  slaves  so  hired  out  were  to 
be  free. 

The  peaceful  and  hopeful  conditions  which  we  have  briefly  pictured 
as  existing  in  Wayne  county  down  to  about  1812,  were  now  to  be  rudely 
dispelled  by  the  culmination  of  the  persistent  injustice  of  Great  Britain 
in  her  assertion  of  the  right  to  search  neutral  vessels  for  deserters  from 
the  royal  navy,  under  which  claim  hundreds  of  Americans  had  been 
taken  from  American  vessels  under  the  pretense  that  they  were  sus- 
pected of  desertion,  and  compelled  to  serve  under  a  flag  which  thev 
especially  detested.  On  the  20th  of  June,  1812,  President  Madison,  by 
authority  of  Congress,  declared  war  against  the  mother  country. 
Wayne  county  constituted  a  part  of  the  frontier,  and,  as  such,  her  in- 
habitants appreciated  their  exposed  situation  and  were  correspondingly 
agitated  at  their  immediate  prospects.  Opposite  Buffalo  was  Fort  Erie 
with  a  small  garrison.  At  the  mouth  of  Niagara  River  was  Fort  George, 
an  insignificant  work,  and  a  little  above  the  falls  was  Fort  Chippewa, 
also  a  small  stockade.  The  war  began  in  the  West  and  on  the  ocean, 
but  we  are  concerned  only  with  the  operations  of  Northern  New  York, 


56  LANDMARKS   OF 

which  did  not  commence  till  considerably  later.  A  general  order  of 
the  War  Department,  issued  April  21,  L812,  organized  the  detached 
militia  of  the  State  into  two  divisions  and  eight  brigades.  Of  one  of 
these  brigades  William  Wadsworth,  of  Ontario  county,  was  made  com- 
mander. The  capture  of  two  trading  vessels  at  Ogdensburg  in  the 
spring  of  L812  began  hostilities  in  Northern  New  York.  On  a  Sabbath 
morning  late  in  July,  a  conflict  took  place  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  between 
five  British  vessels,  and  the  Oneida,  an  American  vessel  under  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  Melancthon  Woolsey,  with  a  few  guns  on  shore.  The 
British  vessels  were  defeated  in  a  humiliating  manner  and  driven  off. 
The  command  of  Lake  Ontario  now  seemed  more  than  ever  important. 
Gen.  Henry  Deaborn  was  made  commander-in-chief  of  the  Northern 
Department.  The  battle  at  Oueenston  in  October  followed,  in  which 
the  Americans  were  finally  defeated,  losing  in  one  day  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners,  about  1,100  men.  But  this  disaster  was 
avenged  by  several  memorable  and  successful  battles  on  the  ocean.  An 
unsuccessful  attack  was  made  upon  Ogdensburg  in  September;  and 
early  in  November,  Commodore  Isaac  Chauncey  appeared  on  Lake  On-, 
tario  with  a  little  squadron  of  American  schooners.  With  these  he 
blockaded  a  British  squadron  in  Kingston  harbor,  disabled  the  Royal 
George,  destroyed  one  armed  schooner,  captured  three  merchant  ves- 
sels, and  took  several  prisoners.  He  then  returned  to  Sackett's  Har- 
bor. On  the  21st  of  November  (1812),  a  heavy  bombardment  was 
made  by  the  British  upon  old  Fort  Niagara,  which  led  to  preparations 
for  the  invasion  of  Canada  by  General  Smythe,  in  command  at  Buffalo; 
but  his  loudly  proclaimed  intention  ended  in  nothing  but  words. 
Meanwhile  there  were  active  operations  in  the  West.  September  !(>, 
L813,  Commodore  Perry  won  his  memorable  victory  on  Lake  Eric  and 
sent  his  immortal  message  to  his  superior,  General  Harrison:  "We  have 
met  the  enemy  and  they  arc  ours."  On  the  2*2d  of  February,  L813, 
( )gdensburg  was  sacked  and  partially  burned.  In  April,  the  fortified 
position  at  York,  Canada,  was  captured  by  the  Americans,  who,  flushed 
with  victory,  sailed  in  considerable  force  from  Sackett's  Harbor  to 
attack  Fort  George.  This  work  was  captured,  and  Forts  Erie  and 
Chippewa  were  abandoned,  leaving  the  Canadian  frontier  in  possession 
of  the  Americans.  On  the  29th  of  May  a  large  force  attacked  the  post 
at  Sackett's  Harbor,  which  was  abandoned  by  the  Americans,  and  an 
immense  quantity  of  stores  was  lost.  The  other  principal  events  of 
L813  were  ah  attack  by  the  British  on  Schlosser  on  the  night  of  July  4, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  57 

and  an  unsuccessful  attack  by  the  British  on  the  post  of  Black  Rock, 
whence  they  were  driven  back  by  the  Americans  under  Gen.  Peter  B. 
Porter.  In  August  there  was  activity  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  Platts- 
burg  was  seized,  plundered  and  partly  burned  by  a  British  land  and 
water  force.  In  October  a  large  force  sailed  from  Sackett's  Harbor, 
destined  to  Montreal,  but  after  severe  hardships  and  considerable  fight- 
ing in  the  freezing  weather,  the  expedition  as  planned  was  given  up  and 
the  flotilla  went  into  winter  quarters  at  French  Mills  on  the  Salmon 
River.  Still  more  distressing  events  were  to  occur  before  the  cam- 
paign closed.  Early  in  December  General  McClure  abandoned  Fort 
George  as  untenable,  and  crossed  over  to  Fort  Niagara;  before  leaving 
the  Canada  shore  he  burned  the  little  village  of  Newark.  Fierce  re- 
taliation quickly  followed.  The  enraged  British  captured  Fort  Niagara 
and  massacred  a  part  of  the  garrison ;  sacked  and  burned  Buffalo  and 
Black  Rock  and  drove  the  poor  inhabitants  far  through  the  winter 
snows.  Meanwhile  the  naval  operations  of  1813  were  important  and 
resulted  generally  in  success  to  the  American  cause. 

The  British  began  vigorous  operations  with  the  opening  of  the  cam- 
paign of  1814,  the  events  of  which  can  only  be  briefly  alluded  to  here. 
Both  parties  to  the  conflict  had  been  preparing  during  the  winter  to 
gain  the  mastery  of  Lake  Ontario.  Sir  James  Yeo  appeared  on  the 
lake;  left  Kingston  harbor  when  the  ice  went  out,  in  command  of  a 
large  squadron  and  about  3,000  men.  Proceeding  to  Oswego  he  cap- 
tured that  post  on  the  5th  of  May.  They  abandoned  their  purpose  of 
penetrating  up  the  Oswego  River  and  withdrew  on  the  7th,  carrying  away 
several  prisoners.  In  June  General  Brown  marched  from  Sackett's 
Harbor  and  on  the  1st  of  July  was  near  the  site  of  burned  Buffalo. 
Opposite  him  on  the  Canadian  side  was  the  principal  military  force  un- 
der command  of  Lieutenant-General  Drummond.  Brown  was  under 
orders  to  invade  Canada.  His  force  consisted  of  two  brigades  of  infan- 
try, one  of  them  commanded  by  Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  and  some  artil- 
lery. This  force  crossed  the  river  early  in  the  morning  of  July  3,  ap- 
peared before  the  fort,  and  at  6  o'clock  the  little  garrison  surrendered. 
At  the  same  time  General  Riall,  a  brave  British  officer  in  command 
under  Drummond,  was  marching  towards  Fort  Erie,  when  he  heard  of 
its  investment  and  capture.  He  resolved  to  attack  the  invaders,  and 
was  soon  joined  by  reinforcements  from  York.  General  Scott  was  sent 
with  his  brigade  to  meet  this  force,  accompanied  by  Towson's  artillery. 
Scott  moved  on  the  morning  of  July  4,  pushed  on  toward  Chippewa, 


58  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  drove  in  an  advanced  detachment  of  British.  There  he  was  joined 
by  Brown's  whole  force,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  the  two  con- 
tending armies  were  only  two  miles  apart.  A  fiercely-fought  and  san- 
guinary battle  followed  in  which  604  British  and  355  Americans  were 
killed  and  wounded.  It  was  a  crushing  defeat  for  the  enemy  in  that 
section.  Prompt  advantage  was  taken  of  this  situation  and  the  mem- 
orable and  successful  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane  wras  fought  and  won  on 
the  24th,  in  which  General  Scott  gained  undying  fame;  the  immediate 
fruits  of  the  victory,  however,  were  not  important.  From  the  7th  to 
the  14th  of  August  the  British  besieged  Fort  Erie,  but  the  Americans 
successfully  resisted  the  operations.  The  British  force  continued  to 
invest  the  works,  and  on  September  17  the  Americans  made  a  brillliant 
sortie  from  the  fort  and  captured  the  advanced  works  of  the  enemy, 
who  were  driven  back  to  Chippewa  with  a  loss  of  1,000  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners.  These  several  victories,  with  the  triumph  of 
the  American  arms  at  Plattsburg,  caused  great  joy  throughout  the 
country. 

In  October,  General  Izard  came  to  the  Niagara  frontier  with  5,000 
troops  and  took  command,  his  rank  being  higher  than  General  Brown's. 
The  entire  force  now  numbered  about  8,000  men.  Before  they  could 
attack  Drummond,  he  withdrew  to  Fort  George.  Early  in  November 
General  Izard  caused  Fort  Erie  to  be  blown  up  and  he  then  crossed  the 
river  and  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Buffalo  and  Black  Rock.  Dur- 
ing most  of  this  campaign  Commodore  Chauncey  had  been  blockaded 
at  Sackett's  Harbor.  He  suffered  from  sickness,  but  after  his  partial 
recovery  went  out  on  a  cruise  and  blockaded  Kingston  Harbor.  Dur- 
ing the  occurrence  of  these  events  in  Northern  New  York,  important 
operations  of  the  war  were  conducted  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  the 
course  of  which  need  not  be  followed  here;  they  are  found  described 
on  the  pages  of  general  history  in  numerous  works.  The  bloody  battle 
of  New  Orleans,  fought  on  the  8th  of  January,  L815,  was  the  last  en- 
gagement of  the  war,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed  between 
the  two  countries  on  the  24th  of  December,  L814,  which  was  ratified  by 
the  British  government  on  the  28th  of  December,  and  by  the  United 
States  on  the  17th  of  February,  1815. 

At  the  time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  Sod  us  Point  had  not 
ceased  to  be  regarded  as  a  place  of  great  importance.  Its  exceptionally 
tine  harbor  and  its  situation  on  the  line  of  east  and  west  lake  naviga- 
tion, seemed  to  assure  it  a  future  of  consequence  as  a   lake  port.      Its 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  59 

retention  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans  was  hence  considered  impera- 
tive. Some  military  stores  were  placed  there  early  in  the  struggle  and 
in  1813  a  military  force  was  established  to  guard  the  locality  and 
particularly  to  protect  the  property  of  the  government.  A  company  of 
which  Enoch  Morse  was  captain,  Noble  Granger,  lieutenant,  and  Mil- 
ton Granger,  orderly  sergeant,  was  posted  at  the  Point,  which  had  been 
threatened  by  the  fleet  of  British  vessels.  On  the  12th  of  June,  the 
fleet  having  retired,  the  local  militia  started  for  their  homes.  On  the 
same  day,  the  British  fleet  returned  in  force  of  some  ninety  vessels, 
and  threatened  a  landing.  To  avert  the  impending  invasion,  a  horse- 
man rode  rapidly  away  towards  South  Sodus,  shouting  to  the  inhab- 
itants to  turn  out  to  meet  the  foe.  A  logging  bee  was  in  progress  at 
South  Sodus,  and  those  engaged  hurriedly  left  for  the  Point,  some  of 
the  men  not  waiting  to  go  to  their  homes.  From  Sodus  village,  too, 
where  about  forty  men  had  just  returned  from  a  "raising,"  they  all 
huried  off  to  the  threatened  locality.  The  following  carefully  prepared 
account  of  the  ensuing  events  was  prepared  in  1877  for  the  Everts  & 
Ensign  history  of  the  county,  and  is  worthy  of  transcription: 

The  space  of  cleared  land  was  limited  to  a  small  area,  and  a  dense  growth  of  trees 
and  brush  came  across  the  public  square.  This  was  almost  impassable,  save  by  one 
road  north  to  the  present  lighthouse,  thence  west  along  the  lake  bank,  bearing  south 
and  intersecting  the  present  road.  A  foot  path  from  near  the  site  of  the  Methodist 
Church  led  off  southwest.  Part  of  the  stores  had  been  taken  from  the  warehouse  and 
lay  concealed  in  a  ravine  between  what  is  now  West  and  Ontario  streets.  During 
the  early  evening.  Elder  Seba  Norton  was  the  leader,  but  Col.  Elias  Hill,  of  Lyons, 
arriving,  he  took  command.  The  night  was  dark  and  a  slight  rain  was  falling,  when 
it  was  agreed  to  form  in  the  skirt  of  the  bushes  and  advance  upon  a  reconnoissance. 
If  the  enemy  was  met  a  volley  was  to  be  fired,  and  then  "each  for  himself."  On  the 
high  ground  a  little  south  of  the  present  (1877)  Johnson  house,  they  heard  the  enem}- 
advancing  and  displaying  a  few  lights.  Amasa  Johnson  shot  down  one  light  and 
drew  the  British  random  fire.  A  volley  from  the  militia  and  then  followed  a  British 
retreat  of  marvellous  celerity.  The  enemy  re-embarked,  having  captured  two  men, 
a  Mr.  Britton  and  Harry  Skinner,  whom  they  set  on  shore  the  next  day.  Nathaniel 
Merrill  and  Major  Farr  each  thought  the  other  the  enemy.  The  major  got  entangled 
in  fallen  timber  and  brush  and  could  not  extricate  himself  until  daylight.  George 
Palmer  passed  Elder  Norton,  who  had  been  at  Monmouth  and  Saratoga,  and  the 
veteran  refused  to  run.  Chester  Eldridge  from  the  bushes  shouted,  "I  am  killed;  I 
am  killed."  Examination  showed  that  a  bullet  had  cut  a  gash  in  his  throat  which 
bled  profusely.  One  Knight  was  wounded,  and  a  Mr.  Terry  was  so  badly  injured  as 
to  die  from  the  effects  of  a  shot.  Next  day  the  enemy  threw  a  few  cannon  shot, 
landed  a  small  force,  and  took  away  the  contents  of  the  storehouse.  The  British 
evidently  feared  the  presence  of  a  heavy  force,  and  dared  not  venture  from  the  land- 
ing.    Mr.  Warner  was  mortally  wounded  by  the  British  soldiers.     All  the  buildings 


60  LANDMARKS   OF 

save  one  were  burned.  The  tavern  of.  Nathaniel  Merrill,  the  store  of  Mr.  Wickham, 
with  its  contents,  his  dwelling,  the  Fitzhugh  house,  the  bouse  of  William  Edus,  a 
warehouse,  and  perhaps  others,  were  destroyed.  The  building  saved  was  a  part  of 
the  Mansion  House,  then  recently  erected  by  Barakins  &  Hoylarts.  In  this  house 
Mr.  Warner  was  placed  and  there  he  died.  It  is  said  that  the  British  placed  a  pitcher 
of  water  near  him,  and  that  the  officers  twice  extinguished  a  lire  kindled  by  the  men 
to  destroy  the  building.  Following  is  a  list  of  those  at  the  Sodus  skirmish:  Elder 
Seba  Norton,  George  Palmer,  Byram  Green,  Timothy  Axtell,  Freeman  Axtell, 
Knight,  Terry,  and  Warner,  Lyman  Dunning,  Elias  Hull,  Alanson  M.  Knapp, 
Amasa  Johnson,  Nathaniel  Morrill,  Major  Farr,  Isaac  Lemmon,  Robert  Carpthers, 
John  Hawley,  Joseph  Ellis,  Alanson  Corey,  Galusha  Harrington,  Chester  Eldridge, 
Ammi  Ellsworth,  Isaac  Davis,  Payne,  Pollock,  Benjamin  Blanchard,  Robert  A.  Pad- 
dock, Britton,  Jenks  Pullen,  Daniel  Norton,  John  Holcomb,  Thomas  Johnson,  Lyman 
Seymour,  Harry  Skinner,  Daniel  Arms,  and  Alexander  Knapp. 

Among  other  citizens  of  Sodus,  who  took  part  in  the  general  service 
were  George  Palmer,  Daniel  Norton,  Alexander  Morrow,  Dr.  Gibbs, 
Byram  Green,  and  others. 

This  is  not  the  record  of  a  great  battle,  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  there  were  not  probably  2,000  persons  in  the  county  at  that  time, 
which  would  indicate  about  200  heads  of  families.  It  is  well  known 
that  most  of  these  took  part  in  the  war  in  some  capacity  and  for  longer 
or  shorter  periods.  At  any  rate,  Wayne  is  one  of  the  few  counties  of 
interior  and  Western  New  York  that  was  hallowed  by  the  blood  of  the 
enemy  in  the  last  war  with  the  mother  country. 1 

One  of  the  companies  of  the  early  militia  was  in  existence  at  Lyons 
as  early  as  1808,  having  been  recruited  in  the  vicinity.  It  was  com- 
manded in  the  year  named  by  Capt.  William  Paton,  Lieut.  Peter  Per- 
rine,  Ensign  James  Beard,  and  Orderly  Sergeant  William  Duncan. 
When  the  war  began  a  large  share  of  this  company  entered  the  service 
and  went  to  the  Niagara  frontier.  At  that  time  the  officers  were : 
Captain,  Elias  Hull;  lieutenant,  David  Perrine;  ensign,  William  C. 
Guest.  The  following  account  of  the  part  taken  by  this  company  in 
the  action  at  Sodus  Point  is  taken  from  the  files  of  the  Lyons  Republi- 
can : 

At  an  early  day  Sodus  Point  was  regarded  as  destined  to  become  a  place  of  com- 
mercial importance.  Here  was  safe  and  commodious  anchorage  for  vessels,  and  here 
was  an  outlet  for  the  produce  of  a  large  section   of  country.      Long  lines  of  wagons 

1  In  these  humble  annals,  let  it  be  recordedasan  actof  justice,  withheld  by  partial 
historians  of  the  war,  that  citizen  soldiers  who  had  faltered  under  inefficient  leaders, 
won  laurels,  vindicated  this  branch  of  national  defense,  when  better  leaders  and  bet- 
ter auspices  prevailed. —  Turner  s  Plielps  and  Cor  ham' s  Purchase,  p.  jjg. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  01 

were  often  to  be  seen  passing  northward  through  Lyons,  from  Phelps,  Geneva,  and 
other  places,  loaded  with  flour,  pork  and  potatoes — in  those  (Hays  the  principal  articles 
of  export.  The  declaration  of  war,  in  1812,  was  received  with  serious  alarm  by  the 
people  living-  along  our  northern  borders.  This  was  increased  by  tidings  of  the  sur- 
render of  Detroit  and  our  northern  army  under  General  Hull,  and  we  were  illy  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  incursions  of  our  hostile  neighbors.  There  was  a  small  fleet  on 
Lake  Ontario,  but  it  was  altogether  inadequate  to  protect  the  coast.  Volunteers 
were  therefore  called  to  defend  our  county.  Age  and  youth  vied  with  each  other  in 
filling  the  ranks,  and  soon  a  very  formidable  army  appeared  at  Sodus  Point.  These 
were  organized  and  placed  under  command  of  General  Swift.  Hastily  gathered 
under  strong  excitement,  hardship  soon  cooled  their  ardor  and  and  a  desire  to  return 
home  prevailed.  The  general  gave  orders  for  a  dismissal.  Preliminaries  were  soon 
settled  and  the  men  freed  from  the  restraint  and  the  monotony  of  camp  life. 

A  large  quantity  of  government  property  lay  concealed  in  the  woods  some  distance 
from  the  Point.  The  company  under  Capt.  Elias  Hull  was  detailed  to  guard  these 
stores.  The  captain  had  been  some  time  in  service  without  opportunity  of  dis- 
tinguishing himself,  and  conceived  the  time  had  arrived.  He  therefore  ordered  a 
night  march  down  to  the  Point,  and  gave  command  to  his  men,  if  they  met  the  foe, 
to  give  him  one  volley,  and  then  fall  back  in  good  order  behind  the  barrels  and  await 
the  enemy's  advance.  Captain  Hull  was  cautious  as  he  was  ambitious.  Arrived  in 
one  of  the  small  hollows  near  the  Point,  he  halted,  drew  the  command  up  in  line, 
and  sent  two  men,  Pease  and  Gibbs,  forward  to  reconnoitre.  They  had  just  reached 
the  top  of  the  hill  when  they  met  two  platoons  of  British  regulars  marching  up  the 
opposite  side.  The  scouts  fired  and  gave  the  alarm.  Captain  Hull  shouted,  "Fire," 
and  a  wild,  harmless  volley  whistled  through  the  trees ;  then,  "Retreat,"  and  the  cap- 
tain rapidly  led  the  way  to  the  rear,  and  took  shelter  under  a  large  hemlock  log, 
where  he  passed  the  night.  The  British  moved  quickly  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  re- 
turned the  fire,  and,  advancing  on  the  double-quick,  caught  sight  of  the  long  line  of 
barrels,  Avhich  assumed  the  apparent  character  of  a  battery.  They  halted,  then  beat 
a  hasty  retreat,  and  burnt  the  mills  on  their  return  to  the  bay.  The  command  to 
halt  not  being  given  several  of  the  company  were  seen  in  Lyons  early  next  morning 
and  "lived  to  fight  another  day." 

At  a  town  meeting  held  in  1814  in  Sodus,  the  following-  resolutions 
were  adopted.  They  indicate  the  general  feeling  of  all  this  region 
along  the  frontier : 

Resolved,  That  we  deem  it  inexpedient  to  send  delegates  to  the  convention  to  be 
held  at  Canandaigua  the  15th  of  September.  This  town  being  most  exposed  to  the 
enemy,  it  is  deemed  best  to  provide  ourselves  for  the  defense  of  the  frontier. 

Resolved,  That  we  make  immediate  preparation  for  defense. 

Resolved,  That  William  M.  Loomis,  AVilliam  Wickham,  John  Fellows,  Thomas 
Wafer,  and  Ashur  Doolittle  be  a  committee  for  the  town  of  Sodus. 

Resolved,  That  a  notice  signed  by  a  majority  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  giving 
notice  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  be  sufficient  to  justify  said  office. 

Resolved,  That  said  committee  offer  a  subscription  to  the  good  people  of  Sodus 
for  funds  to  defend  said  town,  and  that  such  subscription  be  demanded  only  in  case 
of  the  enemy  obtaining  command  of  Lake  Ontario. 


62  LANDMARKS   OF 

This  was  patriotic  action  and  shows  that  the  people  appreciated  their 
exposed  situation  and  were  prepared  to  defend  their  homes. 

A  descent  of  the  British  upon  Pultneyville  wasa  part  of  the  campaign 
by  the  British  in  June,  1814.  Commodore  Yeo  was  then  cruising  along 
the  lake  coast  with  his  squadron,  and  landed  a  considerable  force  at 
this  point.  Gen.  John  Swift  was  in  command  of  the  small  force  of 
militia  at  that  time,  and  sent  out  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  commander  of 
the  fleet.  Under  this  a  stipulation  was  made  by  which  the  invaders 
were  allowed  to  take  all  the  public  property  in  the  place,  and  requiring 
that  private  property  and  the  persons  of  inhabitants  should  be  respected. 
The  government  stores  had  been  largely  removed  previous  to  this  time. 
The  British  boats  landed  and  a  quantity  of  flour  from  the  storehouse 
was  taken  on  board,  the  militia  remaining  meanwhile  stationed  some 
distance  to  the  rear.  It  was  the  understanding  of  the  militia  that  the 
British  would  confine  their  operations  to  the  warehouse  and  its  yard  ; 
and  when  two  or  three  of  them  came  outside  they  were  fired  upon  by 
the  militia  and  a  British  officer  was  wounded.  A  signal  to  the  fleet 
caused  it  to  open  fire  upon  the  place,  while  the  soldiers  who  had  landed 
proceeded  to  the  tavern  and  captured  Richard  White  and  Russell  Cole, 
and  thence  to  the  storehouse  and  took  Prescott  Fairbanks.  Cole  escaped 
before  he  could  be  put  in  a  boat ;  the  others  were  taken  to  Montreal. 
Fairbanks  was  soon  afterward  released  and  White  was  exchanged  later. 
It  is  believed  that  the  fleet  was  thereupon  called  to  other  points,  fort- 
unately for  Pulteneyville,  and  the  party  who  had  landed  hurried  to 
their  boats  and  rowed  away.  Two  of  the  British  were  killed  and  two 
wounded  in  the  little  skirmish. 

There  are  no  accessible  records  showing  in  full  the  names  or  numbers 
of  those  Wayne  settlers  who  shared  in  the  war  of  1812;  but  we  may 
safely  assume  that  nearly  all  able-bodied  men  did  so.  Micajah  Harding, 
of  the  town  of  Marion,  who  raised  a  company  of  sharpshooters  and 
went  to  the  front,  left  a  statement  that  the  draft  took  nearly  all  the 
men  in  that  town;  that  there  were  more  soldiers  than  families.  Asa 
Swift,  who  attained  the  military  position  of  brevet-general,  and  who 
was  the  first  male  child  born  in  the  town  of  Palmyra,  was  in  the  battle 
of  Queenston,  and  led  a  party  against  Fort  George.  He  was  wounded 
there,  taken  prisoner,  and  died  shortly  afterwards.  He  was  buried  on 
the  12th  of  July,  1  s  1 4.  William  Rogers,  of  Williamson,  served  through 
the  war,  was  made  a  major,  and  afterwards  kept  a  tavern  until  IS  Id. 
Col.    Ambrose   Salisbury,    who  settled   at  East    Palmyra  after  the  war, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  63 

was  conspicuous  in  that  conflict.  He  volunteered  when  the  first  call 
was  made  for  volunteers  ;  but  his  services  were  not  then  needed.  Again 
a  few  months  later  he  marched  to  the  Niagara  frontier  as  orderly 
sergeant  of  Capt.  Selma  Stanley's  company  in  the  31st  Regiment.  At 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  six  months,  he  returned  home;  and  in 
June,  1813,  went  out  again  as  substitute  for  his  uncle,  in  a  company 
from  Geneva.  In  later  years  he  held  the  post  of  ensign  in  the  militia 
and  gradually  rose  to  colonel  in  1834.  Gilbert  Howell,  of  Lyons,  was 
in  the  army  and  was  at  one  period  an  aid  to  General  Swift.  Daniel 
Patterson,  of  Wolcott,  was  drafted  and  served  at  New  York  harbor. 
Ephraim  Green,  of  Macedon,  was  a  captain  in  the  service.  Turner 
says :  "  Most  of  the  immediate  recruits  for  frontier  defences  were  drawn 
from  the  local  militia  of  Western  New  York ;  men  who  left  the  plow  in 
the  furrow,  the  new  fallow  unfenced,  their  recently  cultivated  fields 
ripe  for  the  scythe  and  the  sickle,  the  axe  and  the  maul,  the  rude  mill, 
manufactory  or  workshop,  to  go  out  and  contend  with  a  powerful  foe." 
The  same  writer  testifies  that  "never  at  any  period,  in  any  exigency, 
did  men  more  cheerfulty  or  promptly  take  up  arms,  and  from  citizens 
become  soldiers,  than  did  most  of  the  able-bodied  men  of  all  this  region, 
on  the  breakiug  out  of  the  war  of  1812." 

The  effects  of  the  war  on  the  inhabitants  of  Wayne  county  were 
momentous.  In  the  first  place,  it  almost  stopped  immigration.  People 
who  dwelt  in  the  better  protected  Eastern  States  and  portions  of  this 
State,  were  not  disposed  to  jeopardize  their  lives  and  property  on  the 
frontier.  A  few  adventurous  families,  who  had  already  made  arrange- 
ments to  remove  westward,  persisted  in  their  purpose  and  on  some 
occasions  met  refugees,  both  soldiers  and  civilians,  fleeing  from  the 
frontier.  While  many  of  the  settlers  had  left  their  homes  on  account 
of  sickness,  privation  and  hardship  prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  the  number  was  augmented  by  the  event,  though  many  who  left, 
returned  after  the  close  of  the  conflict. 

The  high  prices  that  prevailed  for  whatever  could  be  sold  by  the 
the  settlers  during  the  war  and  the  active  markets  created  through  its 
influence,  were  some  compensation  for  the  hardships  and  anxieties  of 
the  people.  None  of  the  settlements  had  increased  and  in  many  locali- 
ties the  opposite  was  true,  while  improvement  in  all  material  respects 
almost  ceased.  All  of  Western  New  York  was  left  in  a  deplorable  con- 
dition by  the  war;  and  many  sections  showed  its  devastating  effects 
much  more  than  Wayne  county.      But  after  the  establishment  of  peace 


fi4  LANDMARKS   OF 

the  country  responded  quickly  to  better  conditions,  and  the  year  L815 
was  devoted  to  recovery  from  the  paralyzing-  effects  of  the  conflict. 
Those  who  had  fled  from  their  homes  and  those  who  had  entered  the 
service,  returned ;  the  high  prices  of  the  necessaries  of  life  dropped 
rapidly,  and  all  the  avocations  of  peace  were  taken  up  with  renewed 
energy. 

Improvement  in  public  roads  and  bridges;  building  of  churches  and 
schools;  clearing  the  lands  and  the  tillage  of  those  already  cleared; 
establishment  of  mills  and  places  for  trade  progressed  with  encouraging 
speed,  only  to  receive  a  severe  check  by  the  memorable  cold  season  of 
1 S 1 6-17.  The  summer  of  1810  has  probably  never  been  equaled  for  cold, 
severe  frosts  occurring  as  late  as  June  and  destroying  crops  every 
where.  Fields  had  the  appearance  in  many  places  of  having  been  burned 
over,  so  complete  was  the  destruction  of  all  vegetation.  The  hopes  and 
dependence  of  the  settlers  were  dissipated.  The  wheat  harvest  was 
light  and  protracted  till  later  than  usual,  and  many  families  actually 
suffered  for  food.  The  price  of  wheat  rose  to  from  $2  to  $3  per 
bushel,  and  the  lightness  of  the  crop  kept  up  the  price  even  after  the 
harvest.  Some  settlers  paid  the  Indians  on  the  Genesee  River  $2  a 
bushel  for  corn  that  they  had  kept  over  from  1815.  In  some  of  the 
newer  settlements  wheat  and  corn  were  shelled  out  while  "in  the  milk" 
and  boiled  and  eaten  instead  of  bread,  while  others  subsisted  largely  on 
milk  and  the  roots  and  herbs  of  forest  and  field. 

The  following  season  was  an  especially  fruitful  one  and  the  condition 
of  the  people  would  have  changed  suddenly  from  destitution  to  com- 
parative luxury,  had  there  been  ready  markets  for  surplus  produce. 
As  it  was  the  relief  was  wide-spread  and  gratefully  appreciated.  Such 
was  the  condition  of  the  people  in  Wayne  county  and  adjacent  territory, 
when  the  first  whisperings  began  to  be  heard  of  the  possibility  of  there 
being  constructed  a  great  water  way  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  sea,  which 
should  pass  through  the  very  heart  of  this  great  fertile  region,  and 
enable  the  farmers  and  manufacturers  and  the  merchants  to  place  their 
products  and  their  wares  upon  immense  boats  to  be  easily  wafted  to 
the  best  markets  of  the  country.  The  history  of  that  great  enterprise 
is  left  for  another  chapter. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  65 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Further  Improvement  in  Means  of  Transportation — Discussion  of  the  "Grand 
Canal" — Investigation  and  Surveys — Progress  and  Completion  of  the  Great  Work — 
Its  Effect  Upon  Wayne  County — Other  Public  Improvements — The  First  Railroad — 
The  Railroads  of  Wayne  County — Brief  History  of  Mormonism — Inception  of  Spir- 
itualism. 

The  reader  of  the  foregoing"  chapters  cannot  have  failed  to  perceive 
the  supreme  importance  to  the  inhabitants  of  Wayne  county  of  better 
means  of  transportation  and  communication  between  their  homes  and 
the  eastern  markets,  and  the  consequent  deep  interest  manifested  by 
them  in  the  preliminary  discussions,  surveys,  etc.,  which  finally  cul- 
minated in  the  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal.  Not  that  they  were 
for  several  years  convinced  of  the  practicability  of  the  future  accom- 
plishment of  the  great  work,  for  they  were  not.  It  is  the  destiny  of 
all  daring  innovations  and  new  and  important  projects,  to  call  out  the 
sneers  and  ridicule  and  opposition  of  the  pessimists;  and  the  Erie  Canal 
was  no  exception  to  this  universal  experience.  Outside  of  a  few  prac- 
tical engineers  and  men  who  had  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  feasibility 
and  existence  of  similar  waterways  in  other  countries,  the  masses  of 
the  people  were  unbelievers  and  scoffers,  and  even  the  well-informed 
long  doubted  the  success  of  the  various  measures  necessary  to  the 
completion  of  the  project. 

The  inhabitants  of  Wayne  county,  as  well  as  those  in  other  districts 
along  the  line  of  the  proposed  canal,  continued  their  efforts  in  opening 
and  improving  highways,  and  clung  persistently  to  the  settled  belief 
that  over  them,  or  by  way  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  transportation  of  their 
surplus  products  and  their  incoming  merchandise  must  continue  in- 
definitely. In  this  connection  a  legislative  act  of  April  15,  1816,  named 
commissioners  to  lay  out  a  road  from  "the  bridge  at  the  Canandaigua 
outlet  to  Great  Sodus  Bay,  where  vessels  that  navigate  Lake  Ontario 
can  conveniently  come."  Another  act  of  the  same  month  and  year, 
designated  commissioners  to  open  a  road  "from  the  bridge  crossing 
the  Genesee  River  opposite  the  village  of  Rochester  on  the  most  direct 
•      9 


66  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  eligible  route  to  the  Four  Corners,  on  the  Ridge  road,  in  the  town 
of  Murray  "  (then  in  Genesee  county).  Prior  to  the  enactment  of 
these  laws,  and  on  March  31,  1815,  the  Legislature  had  incorporated 
the  Montezuma  Turnpike  and  Bridge  Company,  which  was  authorized 
to  build  a  road  from  Throopville  to  the  village  of  Montezuma,  and 
"  from  the  west  side  of  the  marsh  lying  along  the  border  of  the  Sen- 
eca River  opposite  said  village  of  Montezuma  to  the  village  of  Pal- 
myra." This  company  was  afterwards  authorized  to  extend  their  road 
eastward  to  Camillus  in  Onondaga  county. 

On  the  Uth  of  March,  1817,  the  Oswego  Falls  and  Sodus  Bay  Turn- 
pike Company  was  incorporated,  its  purpose  being  to  construct  a  road 
from  "the  west  side  of  the  Oswego  River,  near  the  termination  of  the 
road  from  Utica, "  to  Port  Glasgow,  "on  the  eastern  shore  of  Sodus 
Bay." 

Again,  in  April,  181!)  (in  which  month  and  year  the  village  of  Pal- 
myra was  incorporated),  the  Sodus  Bay  Bridge  Company  was  incor- 
porated, to  build  a  bridge  "  over  Great  Sodus  Bay  at  or  near  the  route 
of  the  Niagara  Ridge  or  State  Road,  in  the  town  of  Wolcott."  On 
the  22d  of  March,  1822,  commissioners  were  named  by  the  Legislature 
to  lay  out  a  road  "from  Adams'  Mills,  in  the  town  of  Wolcott,  and 
from  Cooper's  Mills,  in  the  town  of  Sterling,  to  the  bridge  over  the 
Seneca  River  in  the  town  of  Conquest, "  aud  thence  "to  the  State 
Prison  in  Auburn."  A  year  later,  April  3,  1823,  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  lay  out  a  road  from  near  Oswego  Falls  to  Hannibal,  and 
thence  through  Sterling  to  Wolcott  Cemetery  "  (to  connect)  "with  one 
of  the  present  roads  leading  to  the  bridge  at  the   head  of  Sodus  Bay." 

The  reader  will  clearly  observe  the  general  trend  of  these  several 
improvements;  they  were  a  part  of  the  general  struggle  to  obtain  bet- 
ter means  of  communication  with  the  East,  a  struggle  that  was  to 
largely  cease  after  the  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal. 

It  is  not  necessary  in  these  pages  to  enter  into  a  lengthy  and  detailed 
account  of  the  inception  and  progress  of  the  canal.  Every  intelligent 
reader  has  been  made  familiar  with  it  through  one  or  more  of  the  very 
numerous  publications  in  which  its  history  is  found.  The  subject  of 
water  communication  from  the  Hudson  River  westward  was  discussed 
some  years  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  in  1792 
the  Western  Inland  and  Lock  Navigation  Company  was  organized,  and 
within  the  next  few  years  completed  the  canal  around  the  rapids  at 
Little  Falls    and    improved  the  channels    of  the   Mohawk  and  Wood 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  G7 

Creek,  greatly  facilitating  navigation  from  the  Hudson  to  Oneida  Lake 
and  conferring  vast  benefit  on  the  State  at  large. 

The  claim  is  made  that  Gouverneur  Morris  suggested  the  construc- 
tion of  a  canal  westward  to  Lake  Erie  to  Simeon  De  Witt,  then  sur- 
veyor-general, as  early  as  1803,  and  that  De  Witt,  like  most  others  at 
that  time,  considered  the  scheme  wildly  visionary. 1  Morris  talked 
with  James  Geddes,  a  practical  engineer  of  Onondaga  county,  about 
the  project,  and  he  believed  the  scheme  a  feasible  one,  and  began  cor- 
respondence with  other  engineers  on  the  subject,  thus  awakening  gen- 
eral interest.  In  1805  Jesse  Hawley,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  was  buy- 
ing wheat  in  the  Genesee  Valley,  transporting  it  to  a  mill  at  Seneca 
Falls,  and  thence  carrying  the  flour  to  the  Albany  market.  However 
he  may  have  become  impressed  with  the  desirability  of  a  canal,  he 
wrote  a  series  of  newspaper  articles  in  favor  of  the  undertaking,  which 
created  considerable  favorable  influence.  The  subject  finally  became 
a  political  issue  and  was  taken  in  hand  by  Hon.  Josuha  Forman,  of 
Syracuse,  who  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  on  the  "canal  ticket." 
Mr.  Forman  from  that  time  on  until  the  canal  was  an  accomplished 
fact  was  its  enthusiastic  advocate,  and  to  him  as  much  as  to  any  other 
person  is  due  the  credit  for  the  great  work.  He  secured  a  small  appro- 
priation of  $600  and  Mr.  Geddes  received  authority  to  make  a  prelim- 
inary survey.  As  between  the  two  proposed  routes,  the  one  by  way  of 
Lake  Ontario  and  the  other  direct  to  Lake  Erie,  Mr.  Geddes  reported 
in  favor  of  the  latter.  This  took  the  line  directly  along  or  across  the 
southern  part  of  Wayne  county,  and  we  quote  as  follows  regarding  the 
local  features  of  the  project: 

Mr.  Geddes  suggested  that  there  might  ' '  be  found  some  place  in  the  Ridge  that 
bounds  the  Tonawanda  Valley  on  the  north,  as  low  as  the  level  of  Lake  Erie,  where 
a  canal  may  be  led  across  and  conducted  onward  without  increasing  the  lockage  by 
rising  to  the  Tonawanda  Swamp."     The  latter  difficulty  was  involved  in  the  route 

1  There  is  a  tradition  that  Governor  Colden  as  early  as  1724  expressed  the  hope  that 
sometime  the  western  part  of  this  State  might  be  penetrated  by  boats  independent  of 
Lake  Ontario.  In  his  memoir  on  the  fur  trade,  written  in  the  year  just  named,  cer- 
tainly occurs  the  following  passage:  "  There  is  a  river  which  comes  from  the  country 
of  the  Sinnekes  and  falls  into  the  Onondaga  River,  by  which  we  have  an  easy  car- 
riage into  that  country  without  going  near  the  Cataracqui  (Ontario)  Lake.  The 
head  of  this  river  goes  near  to  Lake  Erie  and  probably  may  give  a  very  near  passage 
into  that  lake,  much  more  advantageous  than  the  way  the  French  are  obliged  to  take 
by  the  way  of  the  great  falls  of  Niagara."  It  seems  possible  that  the  old  governor 
had  a  faint  vision  of  clear  water  communication  to  Lake  Erie. 


68  LANDMARKS   OF 

that  had  been  contemplated  by  Joseph  Ellicott.  He  supposed  the  summit  on  that 
line  would  not  be  more  than  twenty  feet  above  Lake  Erie,  and  that  upon  it  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  water  might  be  obtained  from  Oak  Orchard  Creek  and  other  streams. 
In  this  he  was  mistaken;  the  summit  was  found  to  be  seventy-five  feet  above  Lake 
Erie,  and  to  be  supplied  with  no  adequate  feeder. 

It  is  entirely  probable  that  the  canal  could  never  have  been  a  suc- 
cess through  Western  New  York,  except  for  the  discovery  through  the 
great  genius  of  Mr.  Geddes,  that  it  could  follow  the  course  finally 
adopted,  permitting  a  continuous  flow  eastward  from  Lake  Erie. 

Commissioners  were  appointed  at  the  legislative  session  of  1810  to 
thoroughly  explore  the  proposed  routes  of  water  communication  across 
the  State,  which  they  did  and  reported  on  the  2d  of  March,  1811.  They 
recommended  the  route  favored  by  Mr.  Geddes.  The  estimated  cost 
of  the  work  was  $5,000,000.  The  Legislature  approved  this  report  by 
continuing  the  commission  and  voting  $15,000  for  further  operations. 
Attempts  to  obtain  congressional  aid  for  the  undertaking  failed,  and  in 
the  following  year  the  Legislature  authorized  the  commissioners  to 
borrow  $5,000,000  on  the  State  credit,  for  the  construction  of  the  canal. 
The  oncoming  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain  put  a  stop  to  the  under- 
taking; but  in  1815,  it  was  revived  and  public  meetings  were  held  in 
various  parts  of  the  State,  where  enthusiastic  speakers  advocated  the 
speedy  completion  of  the  work.  The  Legislature  of  1810  appointed  a 
new  canal  commission,  and  in  the  next  year  Governor  Clinton  pre- 
pared an  act  authorizing  the  beginning  of  the  work.  The  canal  was 
divided  into  three  sections,  eastern,  middle  and  western,  Mr.  Geddes 
being  made  chief  engineer  of  the  western  section.  Up  to  the  year  1820 
nothing  but  the  survey  had  been  accomplished  on  this  division,  aside 
from  the  adoption  of  the  route  advised  by  Mr.  Geddes.  In  1820  he 
was  succeeded  by  David  Thomas,  who  in  that  year  made  an  examina- 
tion of  the  course  adopted  from  Rochester  to  Pendleton  and  made  some 
modification  east  of  Oak  Orchard  Creek  in  Orleans  county.  A  more 
important  change  was  made  in  reference  to  the  point  of  passing  the 
mountain  ridge  in  Niagara  county,  and  which  determined  the  site  of 
the  city  of  Lockport.  The  whole  western  part  of  the  canal  was  put 
under  contract  in  L821.  The  work  was  pushed  energetically  and  dur- 
ing tlie  autumn  of  1825  the  canal  was  navigable  as  far  west  on  the 
western  section  as  Holley  (Orleans  county),  and  during  the  following 
season  readied  the  loot  of  the  ridge  at  Lockport.  The  great  rock-cut- 
ting   at   the  latter    place    was   the    last    piece   of   work  finished  between 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  09 

Buffalo  and  Albany.  William  C.  Bouck,  afterwards  governor  of  the 
State,  was  the  commissioner  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  west- 
ern portion  of  the  canal.  On  the  20th  of  September,  1825,  he  wrote 
from  Lockport  to  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  another  commissioner,  as 
follows : 

Sir:  The  unfinished  parts  of  the  Erie  Canal  will  be  completed  and  in  a  condition  to 
admit  the  passage  of  boats  on  Wednesday,  the  26th  day  of  October  next.  It  would 
have  been  gratifying  to  have  accomplished  this  result  as  eaidy  as  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber, but  embarrassments  which  I  could  not  control  delayed  it. 

On  this  grand  event,  so  auspicious  to  the  character  and  wealth  of  the  citizens  of 
New  York,  permits  me  to  congratulate  you. 

By  extra  exertion  the  final  filling  was  finished  on  the  25th  of  Octo- 
ber, and  in  the  forenoon  or  the  next  day  a  flotilla  of  five  boats  left  Buf- 
falo, laden  with  the  highest  State  officers  and  other  prominent  men. 
Cannon  had  been  stationed  a  few  miles  apart  along  the  whole  line  of 
the  canal,  to  be  discharged  in  order  as  fast  as  they  were  reached  by  the 
boats.  A  few  boats  had  started  westward  from  Lockport  about  the 
time  of  the  sailing  of  the  flotilla  from  Buffalo,  and  met  the  latter  in 
Tonawanda  Creek,  whence  all  sailed  on  eastward. 1  Enthusiastic 
crowds  of  people,  among  them,  we  may  be  sure,  many  who  had 
ridiculed  and  opposed  the  undertaking,  met  the  fleet  at  the  various 
villages — Newark  (what  there  was  of  it),  Palmyra,  Lyons,  and  Clyde — 
in  a  general  celebration  of  the  event. 2 

The  Erie  canal  was  at  first  302  miles  long,  and  its  original  cost  was 
$7,143,780.86.  Under  an  act  of  Legislature  of  May,  1835,  the  canal  was 
enlarged  from  a  width  of  forty  feet  at  top  and  twenty-eight  at  bottom, 
to  seventy  feet  at  top  and  fifty-two  and  one-half  at  bottom,  and  so  much 
straightened  as  to  reduce  its  length  to  350  and  1-2  miles.  The  cost  of 
the  enlargement  was  more  than  $30,000,000. 

xIt  was  considered  an  impossibility  to  make  the  Erie  Canal.  People  said  it  might 
be  possible  to  make  water  run  up  hill,  but  canal  boats  never.  Some  said  the}-  would 
be  willing  to  die,  having  lived  long  enough,  when  boats  in  a  canal  should  float 
through  their  farms;  but  afterwards  when  they  saw  the  boats  passing  by,  they 
wanted  to  live  more  than  ever,  to  see  what  would  be  done  next. — Reminisce?ices 
of  George  E.  Mix. 

2  At  the  prominent  points  from  Rochester  to  Albany,  where  the  fleet  was  to  pass 
by  daylight,  celebrations  had  been  arranged:  there  were  processions,  congratulatory 
addresses,  firing  of  cannon,  music  and  other  demonstrations  of  popular  enthusiasm; 
even  when  small  villages  were  passed  in  the  night,  crowds  were  assembled,  and  some 
form  of  greeting  tendered.  "It  was,"  said  one  of  the  western  committee  men,  "like 
a  continuous  or  protracted  Fourth  of  July  celebration." 


70  LANDMARKS   OF 

This  great  waterway  was  quite  generally  known  in  early  years  as 
"the  grand  canal;"  and  its  wonderful  influence  upon  the  material  con- 
ditions in  Wayne  county  and  Western  New  York  generally,  it  was 
"grand"  indeed.  Those  who  had  from  the  first  ridiculed  the  project, 
were  now  either  silent  or  converted  into  enthusiastic  eulogists,  as  they 
saw  the  laden  freight  boats  and  the  well-patronized  packets  silently  and 
rapidly  (as  compared  with  other  existing  means  of  travel)  floating  east- 
ward and  westward  along  the  turbid  tide.  Wayne  county  lands,  even 
to  the  lake  shore,  appreciated  in  value;  farmers  were  encouraged  to 
new  energy  and  to  extend  their  planting  and  sowing ;  money  became 
more  plenty,  and  freights  fell  from  $100  per  ton  to  Albany,  to  ten  dol- 
lars; a  new  era  of  prosperity  began.  Villages  along  the  canal  line  that 
already  had  an  insignificant  existence,  took  on  new  life  and  growth, 
while  others  sprang  into  being  around  the  warehouses  and  docks  that 
were  built  especially  to  accommodate  the  active  traffic.  Clyde,  Lyons, 
Newark  and  Palmyra,  with  other  points  of  shipment  in  the  county, 
promptly  felt  the  influence  of  the  canal  (while  Newark  ma}-  be  said  to 
owe  its  existence  to  the  same  influence). 

The  first  boat  on  this  division  of  the  canal  left  the  basin  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Genesee  River  at  Rochester,  loaded  with  flour  for  Little 
Falls,  on  the  20th  of  October,  1822.  The  first  cargo  of  wheat  from 
Ohio  reached  Rochester  in  1831,  the  vanguard  of  the  great  current  of 
western  grains  that  have  since  gradually  grown  into  active,  if  not 
ruinous,  competition  with  those  of  New  York  State.  When  navigation 
opened  in  1823,  10,000  barrels  of  flour  were  shipped  eastward  from 
Rochester  in  the  first  ten  days  after  the  opening. 

Among  those  who  were  early  engaged  in  the  canal  trade  in  this 
county  were  Joel  and  Levi  Thayer,  of  Palmyra,  who  built  a  number  of 
freight  boats.  The  two  men  were  twins,  and  on  that  account  one  of 
their  boats  was  named  "The  Twin  Brothers."  Davenport,  Barnes  & 
Co.  were  extensive  produce  and  commission  men  at  Jessup's  Basin,  and 
were  succeeded  by  S  L.  Thompson  &  Co.  Aaron  Griswold  built  a 
boat  near  King's  Bridge  in  1822,  which  plied  between  that  point  and 
Lyons  and  was  the  first  boat  to  run  into  the  town.  Mr.  Griswold,  in 
association  with  Stephen  Ferguson,  built  two  boats  in  1820,  near  Lock- 
Berlin,  one  of  the  settlements  that  was  born  of  the  canal.  Griswold 
was  an  early  merchant  at  that  place.  Seymour  Scovell  was  an  early 
merchant  of  Palmyra;  became  a  canal  contractor  and  built  the  boat 
"Myron  Holley,"  one  of  the  early  crafts  on  the  canal.     Esbon  and  Ran- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  71 

som  Blackmar  were  merchants  and  extensive  shippers  by  canal  in  New- 
ark, a  village  that  was  practically  created  by  the  great  waterway. 
There  were  occasions  during-  the  most  active  period  of  canal  business, 
previous  to  the  opening  of  railroads,  when  fifty  or  more  teams  were  in 
waiting  to  unload  produce  at  the  warehouses  and  docks  in  Newark. 
The  active  market  for  grain  and  kindred  products  thus  established,  led 
to  the  building  of  quite  a  number  of  flouring  and  grist  mills  in  Lyons 
and  elsewhere  within  the  county.  In  March,  1827,  the  Palmyra  Manu- 
facturing Company  was  incorporated,  with  $30,000  capital,  to  produce 
flour,  etc.,  by  George  Palmer,  Joel  McCollum,  and  Thomas  Rogers, 
2d;  and  in  the  same  spring  the  Pultneyville  Steam  Mill  Company  was 
incorporated  by  Daniel  Grandin,  Joseph  Granger,  Andrew  Cornwall, 
Russell  Whipple,  Roswell  Nichols,  Jeremiah  B.  Selly,  and  Philander  B. 
Royce.     The  capital  stock  was  $15,000  and  the  purpose  to  grind  grain. 

Every  phase  of  this  condition  of  prosperity  was  shared,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  by  all  the  towns  of  Wayne  county,  and  the  influence 
thereof  is  felt  to  the  present  day. 

Following  soon  upon  the  opening  of  the  canal,  and  on  April  14, 
1827,  the  Legislature  incorporated  the  Canal  Turnpike  Company,  to 
build  "a  good  and  sufficient  road  along  the  north  bank  of  the  canal 
from  Lyons,  through  Clyde,  to  intercept  the  Montezuma  turnpike 
on  the  Cayuga  marsh."  The  capital  of  the  company  was  $20,000.  In 
April  of  the  following  year  (1828),  commissioners  were  named  in  an 
act  of  the  Legislature  to  lay  out  a  road  between  Palmyra  and  Man- 
chester in  Ontario  county.  Other  similar  improvements  followed  in 
later  years. 

The  immediate  and  unequivocal  success  of  the  Erie  Canal  inaugu- 
rated what  may  be  termed  a  period  of  "canal  fever"  throughout 
the  State  of  New  York  and  to  a  less  extent  in  several  other  States. 
During  the  ten  years  succeeding  the  opening  of  the  Erie,  the  various 
Legislatures  were  besieged  with  petitions  and  bills  for  the  incorpora- 
tion of  canal  companies,  as  they  were  a  little  later  in  the  interest  of 
railroads.  The  first  of  the  canal  schemes  having  a  direct  bearing  on 
Wayne  county  was  the  Sodus  Canal  Company,  incorporated  March 
19,  182!),  with  capital  stock  of  $200,000.  This  company  was  authorized 
to  construct  a  canal  from  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  or  Seneca  River, 
"where  the  Erie  Canal  crosses  said  streams,  near  Montezuma,  to 
such  convenient  place  on  Great  Sodus  Bay  as  is  accessible  to  vessels 
navigating  Lake  Ontario."     This  canal  was  to  be  finished  in  ten  years, 


72  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  was  designed  to  open  a  large  waterway  from  Lake  Ontario  to  the 
head  of  Cayuga  Lake,  at  Ithaca,  with  a  possibility  of  future  connection 
with  the  Susquehanna  River  and  Chesapeake  Bay.  It  was  a  most 
attractive  scheme!  In  Tompkins  county,  and  especially  at  Ithaca,  it 
commanded  widespread  attention,  as  that  place  was  belived  to  be  the 
one  that  would  be  most  benefited  by  it.  Eloquent  speakers  advocated 
the  project  and  inspired  visions  of  future  commercial  greatness  for 
the  little  village  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  as  well  as  for  the  less  important 
trade  centers  of  Wayne  county.  An  old  painting  of  Ithaca  and  the 
lake  in  that  vicinity,  made  just  after  the  canal  was  projected,  shows 
the  water  thickly  studded  with  vessels,  many  of  them  apparently  large 
sea-going  ships.  A  little  work  was  done  on  the  canal  at  Soclus  Bay, 
after  subscriptions  to  the  stock  had  begun,  and  later  the  State  Legis- 
lature was  asked  to  aid  the  undertaking.  This  request  was  refused  and 
the  project  began  to  languish.  Capitalists  did  not  support  it  as  had 
been  expected,  and  in  1861,  after  repeated  amendments  and  extensions, 
the  charter  expired  by  limitation.  In  1862  a  new  act  was  passed  pro- 
viding that  if  the  general  government  would  supply  money  to  finish 
the  canal,  it  should  have  perpetual  right  of  transit  through  its  waters 
for  government  vessels,  free  of  toll.  But  Uncle  Sam  declined  the 
speculation  and  the  Great  Sodus  Canal,  like  very  many  other  similar 
projects,  died  from  lack  of  nutrition.  It  is  probable  that  this  canal 
scheme  was  in  some  measure  due  to  lingering  influence  of  the  early 
hopes  we  have  before  alluded  to,  of  a  southern  water  outlet  for  the 
products  of  the  Genesee  country. 

The  only  other  canal  company  in  which  Wayne  county  felt  a  direct 
interest  was  called  the  Ontario  Canal  Campany,  which  had  its  incep- 
tion at  a  public  meeting  held  in  Canandaigua  August  21,  1820.  There 
the  plan  was  discussed  of  building  a  lateral  canal  from  Canandaigua 
Lake  to  "the  Grand  Canal."  A  committee  was  appointed  consisting 
of  John  C.  Spencer,  James  D.  Bemis  (long  a  conspicuous  newspaper 
publisher  of  Canandaigua),  Asa  Stanley,  Dudley  Marvin,  and  William 
H.  Adams,  to  locate  a  route  for  the  canal.  Their  report  was  made 
December  21,  1820,  to  the  effect  that  the  proposed  waterway  would  lie 
nineteen  and  one-half  miles  long;  that  its  northern  terminus  should  be 
at  the  Erie  Canal  three  and  one-half  miles  west  of  Palmyra  village ; 
that  the  descent  from  the  lake  to  Ganargwa  Creek  was  22.')  feet,  requir- 
ing twenty-three  locks  in  the  canal;  that  the  gross  cost  would  he  not 
more  than  $60,000.      The   proposed   eapital   of  the   company  was  $100,- 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  73 

000.  A  committee  of  fifteen  persons  was  then  appointed  to  petition 
the  Legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation,  and  the  desired  act  was 
passed  March  31,  L821.  Stock  subscription  books  were  opened  May 
23,  by  Commissioners  Nathaniel  Gorham,  Zachariah  Seymour,  Asa 
Stanley,  P.  P.  Bates,  and  William  H.  Adams.  Subscriptions  were 
liberal  at  the  first,  and  ultimately  reached  about  $50,000,  when  the 
following  persons  were  elected  directors  of  the  company:  Evan  Johns, 
H.  B.  Gibson,  Israel  Chapin,  Asa  Stanley,  John  C.  Spencer,  Mark  H. 
Sibley,  Robert  Pomeroy,  and  H.  M.  Mead.  At  this  stage  for  some 
reason  the  project  was  abandoned.  It  is  propable  that  the  extensive 
shipping  facilities  supplied  by  the  Erie  Canal  led  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  lateral  canal  would  not  prove  a  paying  investment. 

The  next  event  of  importance  in  chronological  order,  with  which  we 
are  interested,  was  the  erection  of  Wayne  county  on  the  11th  of  April, 
L823.  (For  act  of  Legislature  creating  the  county  see  Session  Laws, 
1823).  The  new  county,  with  Ontario,  Seneca  and  Yates,  was  made 
to  constitute  the  Twenty-sixth  Congressional  District,  and  with  Cay- 
uga, Onondaga,  Ontario,  Seneca  and  Yates,  constitute  the  Seventh 
Senatorial  District.  By  subsequent  enactments  changes  were  made  in 
these  districts  as  follows:  By  act  of  June  29,  1832,  Wayne  and  Seneca 
counties  became  the  Twenty-fifth  Congressional  District;  by  act  of  Sep- 
tember 6,  1842,  the  same  counties  were  made  the  Twenty-seventh 
District;  act  of  July  19,  1851,  Cayuga  and  Wayne  were  made  the 
Twenty-fifth  District;  act  of  April  23,  1862,  Wayne,  Cayuga  and  Sen- 
eca were  made  the  Twenty-fourth  District.  In  1836  Cortland  county 
was  added  to  those  above  named  as  constituting  the  Seventh  Senatorial 
District.  (Lists  of  the  various  officials  of  the  county  will  be  given  in 
their  proper  plaee  on  a  later  page). 

Closely  following  the  formation  of  the  county  the  various  courts 
were  established,  as  described  in  a  later  chapter;  civil  officers  were 
elected,  and  all  the  machinery  of  county  government  was  soon  working 
harmoniously.  A  kind  of  local  enthusiasm  pervaded  the  inhabitants 
of  the  county,  as  would  naturally  follow  their  separation  from  the 
larger  and  more  widely-diffused  population  of  Ontario  county,  and 
various  public  improvements  were  inaugurated  to  closely  precede  the 
oncoming  of  the  first  railroad — and  Mormonism. 

A  legislative  act  of  February  15,  1825,  divided  the  town  of  Lyons 
and  erected  Arcadia;  and  on  April  18,  of  the  same  year,  the  town  of 
Williamson   was   divided  and  the  town    of  Winchester   (now  Marion) 

10 


74  LANDMARKS   OF 

erected.  February  25,  18*20,  the  towns  of  Butler  and  Rose  were  erected 
from  Wolcott;  and  April  20,  1820,  Walworth  was  erected  from  Ontario. 

An  attempt,  which  was  not  very  successful,  was  made  under  legis- 
lative sanction  of  April,  1825,  to  drain  Crusoe  Lake,  in  the  town  of 
Savannah.  Andrew  Chapin,  David  Arne,  jr.,  and  Merritt  Candee  were 
appointed  commissioners  to  direct  the  work,  which  was  to  consist  of 
cutting  ditches  to  the  channel  of  "  the  stream  which  runs  to  Lake  On- 
tario through  the  town  of  Wolcott,  on  which  the  furnaces  in  Wolcott 
are  situated." 

On  the  20th  of  April,  1825,  William  Patrick,  John  G.  Gillespie,  and 
Paul  Reeves  were  named  by  the  Legislature  as  commissioners  to  lay 
out  a  road  from  Lyons  to  the  Ridge  road  "near  the  dwelling  of  P. 
Reeves,  in  the  western  part  of  Williamson ;"  and  in  April,  1826,  a  road 
was  authorized  from  Main  street  in  Canandaigna  to  Palmyra,  the  com- 
missioners being  Nathan  Barlow,  of  Canandaigua;  Stimson  Harvey, 
of  Farmington ;  and  Thomas  Rogers,  of  Palmyra. 

Meanwhile  evidences  of  prosperity  were  visible  in  all  directions. 
The  several  villages  of  the  county  were  growing,  though  their  relative 
status  and  prospects  were  soon  to  be  changed  by  the  railroads;  schools 
and  churches  multiplied  in  number  and  improved  in  character  and  in- 
fluence; banks  were  established ;  additional  newspapers  were  founded, 
and  other  institutions  indicating  healthful  growth  came  into  being. 
What  was  called  the  Palmyra  High  School  was  incorporated  in  March, 
1820,  by  James  White,  Ovid  Lord,  Henry  Jessup,  and  others.  It  was 
a  stock  organization  with  capital  of  $12,000.  This  school  absorbed  the 
house  and  lot  of  district  number  one.  The  Wayne  Count}'  Bank,  at 
Palmyra,  was  chartered  April  30,  1820,  and  the  Bank  of  Lyons  was  in- 
corporated May  14,  1836.  Miller's  Bank  was  established  in  Clyde  in 
1837.  These  financial  institutions,  as  well  as  the  people  at  large,  and 
particularly  tradesmen,  were  destined  to  suffer  considerably  from  the 
financial  stringency  and  succeeding  revulsion  which  swept  over  the 
country  in  1836-8;  but  Wayne  county  was,  as  it  is  at  present,  largely 
agricultural,  and  hence  felt  the  effects  of  the  stringency  less  severely 
than  many  other  localities. 

The  first  railroad  in  the  State  of  New  York  was  built  between  Albany 
and  Schenectady  by  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  River  Railroad  Company, 
and  was  finished  in  1831  :  its  length  was  sixteen  miles.  The  cars  were 
at  first  drawn  by  horses,  but  soon  after  the  completion  of  the  road  a 
steam  locomotive  was  brought  from  England  and   the  first  steam  rail- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  15 

road  passenger  train  in  America  was  run  over  the  road.  In  spite  of 
the  very  many  objectionable  features  of  this  pioneer  railroad  and  its 
equipment,  it  was  clear  to  sagacious  men  that  a  rival  of  the  canal  was 
at  hand.  The  Auburn  and  Rochester  Railroad  was  chartered  in  1836, 
but  the  construction  was  not  commenced  until  1838.  The  first  time 
table  for  this  road  was  made  public  September  8,  1840,  and  trains  were 
run  on  the  10th  over  a  part  of  the  line.  The  work  of  construction  was 
energetically  continued  and  on  July  5,  1841,  an  excursion  train  passed 
over  the  road  between  Rochester  and  Seneca  Falls.  In  November,  of 
that  year  trains  were  running  between  Rochester  and  Albany. 

As  yet  no  railroad  passed  through  Wayne  county ;  but  the  immediate 
success  of  the  existing  lines  led  to  the  early  agitation  of  the  subject  of 
building  many  others.  As  early  as  1836  a  meeting  was  held  in  Lyons 
to  consider  the  project  of  constructing  a  road  that  should  extend  east- 
ward from  Rochester  and  pass  through  Palmyra,  Lyons,  Clyde,  etc., 
to  Syracuse.  While  it  was  several  years  before  further  steps  were 
taken  in  this  direction,  it  was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  sooner  or  later 
the  rich  territory  now  traversed  by  the  direct  road,  as  it  is  termed, 
between  Rochester  and  Syracuse  would  be  favored  with  railroad  com- 
munication. A  company  was  finally  organized  under  the  corporate 
name  of  the  Rochester  and  Syracuse  Direct  Railroad  Company  and  the 
road  was  rapidly  pushed  to  completion.  This  company  with  the 
Auburn  and  Syracuse,  and  the  Auburn  and  Rochester  companies  were 
consolidated  in  1850  as  the  Rochester  and  Syracuse  Railroad  Company. 
The  first  regular  passenger  train  passed  over  the  road  on  May  30,  1853. 
The  improvement  was  welcomed  in  general  rejoicing  in  the  several  vil- 
lages of  Wayne  county  and  elsewhere.  An  act  of  Legislature  passed  April 
2,  1853.  authorized  the  consolidation  of  several  companies  then  existing, 
as  follows:  Albany  and  Schenectady,  Syracuse  and  Utica  direct,  Sche- 
nectady and  Troy,  Utica  and  Schenectady,  Mohawk  Valley,  Syracuse 
and  Utica,  Rochester  and  Syracuse,  Rochester,  Lockport  and  Niagara 
Falls,  Buffalo  and  Rochester,  and  Buffalo  and  Lockport.  This  consoli- 
dated company  took  the  name  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad 
Company,  which  in  later  years  absorbed  various  other  lines  and  added 
"Hudson  River"  to  its  title.  The  consolidation  described  went  into 
effect  on  the  17th  of  May,  1853.  The  combined  capital  of  the  company 
was  $23,085,600.  This  road  was  laid  with  a  double  track  in  1849  and 
with  two  additional  tracks  during  the  seventies.  It  was  the  first  railroad 
in  the  world  having  four  tracks  and  is  in  other  respects  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  best  managed  railroad  in  the  United  States. 


76 


LANDMARKS   OF 


The  Sodus  Point  and  Southern  Railroad  was  projected  during  the 
fall  of  1851,  by  a  company  bearing-  that  title,  and  was  to  run  directly 
through  Wayne  county  in  a  general  northern  and  southern  direction, 
from  Newark  to  Sodus  Bay.  A  general  survey  was  made,  the  right  of 
way  was  secured  without  much  difficulty  and  the  work  of  construction 
was  begun.  The  company  became  embarrassed  for  funds  and  work  was 
suspended  in  L854,  leaving  a  long  line  of  grading,  which  was  afterwards 
utilized  and  is  now  a  part  of  the  road. 

The  Lake  Ontario  Shore  Railroad,  as  it  was  originally  termed, 
traverses  the  northern  tier  of  towns  of  Wayne  county  and  has  been  of 
great  utility.  Its  termini  are  Oswego  and  Lewiston.  The  company 
for  its  construction  was  organized  in  Oswego  March  17,  L868,  and 
Gerrit  Smith  was  elected  president;  Oliver  P.  Scoville,  vice-president; 
and  Abraham  P.  Grant,  treasurer.  De  Witt  Parshail,  of  Lyons,  was  a 
member  of  the  first  board  of  directors.  Work  was  begun  at  Red  Creek 
August  23,  1871,  amid  the  firing  of  cannon  and  the  cheers  of  a  mul- 
titude of  people.  The  road  was  finished  in  L876.  It  finally  passed 
under  control  of  the  Rome,  Watertown  and  Ogdensburg  Railroad  Com- 
pany, and  with  the  other  lines  operated  by  that  company,  was  absorbed 
by  the  great  New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  system. 

The  New  York,  West  Shore  and  Buffalo  Railroad  was  completed 
from  New  York  to  Buffalo  and  opened  on  January  1,  1884;  but  about 
two  years  later  it  was  leased  by  the  New  York  Central.  It  never  espe- 
cially affected  Wayne  county,  running  as  it  docs,  nearly  parallel  with 
the  Central. 


Tine  Mormon   IIii.i — From  an  Old  Print. 


Most  readers  of  this  work,  it  may  be  presumed,  arc  familiar  with  the 
general  history  of  Mormonism;  but   from   the   fact  that  its  originator 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  77 

lived  within  the  limits  of  what  is  now  Wayne  county,  and  that  his  early 
operations  were  conducted  in  or  near  Palmyra  village,  it  seems  proper 
that  it  shall  receive  brief  mention  in  these  pages,  for  future  reference, 
if  for  no  other  reason.  It  will  also  preserve  for  reference  by  future 
generations,  facts  regarding  the  beginning  of  what  became  a  stupend- 
ous religious  movement,  which  might  otherwise  be  lost.  For  this  pur- 
pose we  can  do  no  better  than  condense  from  the  writing  of  the  late  O. 
Turner  in  his  history  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorham  Purchase  (1851): 

"Joseph  Smith,  the  father  of  the  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  jr.,  was 
from  the  Merrimack  River,  N.  H.  He  first  settled  in  or  near  Palmyra 
village,  but  as  early  as  1819  was  the  occupant  of  some  new  land  on 
'Stafford  street,'  in  the  town  of  Manchester  near  the  line  of  Palmyra. 
'Mormon  Hill'  is  near  the  plank  road  about  half  way  between  the  vil- 
lages of  Palmyra  and  Manchester.  The  elder  Smith  had  been  a  Uni- 
versalist,  and  subsequently  a  Methodist;  was  a  good  deal  of  asmatterer 
in  scriptural  knowledge;  but  the  seed  of  revelation  was  sown  on  weak 
ground;  he  was  a  great  babbler,  credulous,  not  especially  industrious, 
a  money-digger,  prone  to  the  marvellous ;  and  withal  a  little  given  to 
difficulties  with  neighbors  and  petty  law  suits.  Not  a  very  propitious 
account  of  the  father  of  a  prophet — the  founder  of  a  state ;  but  there 
was  '  a  woman  in  the  case. '  Mrs.  Smith  was  a  woman  of  strong, 
uncultivated  intellect;  artful  and  cunning;  imbued  with  an  illy-regu- 
lated religious  enthusiasm.  The  incipient  hints,  the  first  givings-out 
that  a  prophet  was  to  spring  from  her  humble  household,  came  from 
her;  and  when  matters  were  maturing  for  denouement,  she  gave  out 
that  such  and  such  ones — always  fixing  upon  those  who  had  both 
money  and  credulity — were  to  be  the  instruments  in  some  great  work 
of  revelation.  The  old  man  was  rather  her  faithful  co-worker,  or  ex- 
ecutive exponent.  Their  son,  Alva,  was  originally  intended  or  desig- 
nated by  fireside  consultations  and  solemn  and  mysterious  outdoor 
hints,  as  the  forthcoming  prophet.  The  mother  and  father  said  he  was 
the  chosen  one;  but  Alva,  however  spiritual  he  might  have  been,  had 
a  carnal  appetite;  eat  too  many  green  turnips,  sickened  and  died. 
Thus  the  world  lost  a  prophet  and  Mormonism  a  leader;  the  designs 
impiously  and  wickedly  attributed  to  providence,  defeated;  and  all  in 
consequence  of  a  surfeit  of  raw  turnips.  Who  will  talk  of  the  cackling 
geese  of  Rome,  or  any  other  small  and  innocent  causes  of  mighty 
events,  after  this?  The  mantle  of  the  prophet  which  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  Smith  and  one  Oliver  Cowdery  had  wove  of  themselves — 
every  thread  of  it — -fell  upon  the  next  eldest  son,  Joseph  Smith,  jr. 


78  LANDMARKS   OP 

"A  most  unpromising  recipient  of  such  a  trust  was  this  same  Joseph 
Smith,  jr.,  afterwards,  'Joe  Smith.'  He  was  lounging,  idle  (not  to 
say  vicious) ;  and  possessed  of  less  than  ordinary  intellect.  The  author's 
own  recollections  of  him  are  distinct  ones.  He  used  to  come  into  the 
village  of  Palmyra  with  little  jags  of  wood  from  his  backwoods  home; 
sometimes  patronizing  a  village  grocery  too  freely;  sometimes  find  an 
odd  job  to  do  about  the  store  of  Seymour  Scovell;  and  once  a  week  he 
would  stroll  into  the  office  of  the  old  Palmyra  Register  for  his  father's 
paper.  How  impious,  in  us  young  'dare-devils'  to  once  and  awhile 
blacken  the  face  of  the  then  meddling,  inquisitive  lounger — but  after- 
wards prophet,  with  the  old-fashioned  ink  balls  when  he  used  to  put 
himself  in  the  way  of  the  old-fashioned  Ramage  press!  The  editor  of 
the  Cultivator  at  Albany — esteemed  as  he  may  justly  consider  himself 
for  his  subsequent  enterprise  and  usefulness,  may  think  of  it  with  con- 
trition and  repentance,  that  he  once  helped  to  thus  disfigure  the  face 
of  a  prophet,  and  remotely  the  founder  of  a  state. 

"  But  Joseph  had  a  little  ambition;  and  some  very  laudable  aspira- 
tions; the  mother's  intellect  occasionally  shone  out  in  him  feebly, 
especially  when  he  used  to  help  us  solve  some  portentous  question  of 
moral  or  political  ethics  in  our  juvenile  debating  club,  which  we  moved 
down  to  the  old  red  school-house  on  Durfee  street,  to  get  rid  of  the  an- 
noyance of  critics  that  used  to  drop  in  on  us  in  the  village;  and  subse- 
quently, after  catching  a  spark  of  Methodism  in  the  camp  meeting, 
away  down  in  the  woods  on  the  Vienna  road,  he  was  a  very  passable 
exhorter  in  evening  meetings. 

"  Legends  of  hidden  treasure  had  long  designated  Mormon  Hill  as  the 
depository.  Old  Joseph  had  dug  there,  and  young  Joseph  had  not  only 
heard  his  father  and  mother  relate  the  marvellous  tales  of  buried 
wealth,  but  had  accompanied  his  father  in  the  midnight  delvings  and 
incantations  of  the  spirits  that  guarded  it. 

"If  a  buried  revelation  was  to  be  exhumed,  how  natural  it  was  that 
the  Smith  family,  with  their  credulity,  and  their  assumed  presentiment 
that  a  prophet  was  to  come  from  their  household,  should  be  connected 
with  it;  and  that  Mormon  Hill  was  the  place  where  it  would  be  found. 

"It  is  believed  by  those  who  are  best  acquainted  with  the  Smith 
family,  and  most  conversant  with  the  old  Gold  15ible  movement,  that 
there  is  no  foundation  for  the  statement  that  their  original  manuscript 
was  written  by  a  Mr.  Spaulding,  of  Ohio.  A  supplement  to  the  Gold 
Bible,    'The 'Book  of  Commandments,'  in  all  probability  was  written  by 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  79 

Rio-don,  and  lie  may  have  been  aided  by  Spatilding's  manuscripts;  but 
the  book  itself  is,  without  doubt,  a  production  of  the  Smith  family, 
aided  by  Oliver  Cowdery,  who  was  a  school  teacher  on  Stafford  street, 
an  intimate  of  the  Smith  family,  and  identified  with  the  whole  matter. 
The  production,  as  all  will  conclude  who  have  read  it,  or  even  given  it 
a  cursory  review,  is  not  that  of  an  educated  man  or  woman.  The 
bungling  attempt  to  counterfeit  the  style  of  the  Scriptures ;  the  inter- 
mixture of  modern  phraseology;  the  ignorance  of  chronology  and 
geography;  its  utter  crudeness  and  baldness,  as  a  whole,  stamp  its 
character,  and  clearly  exhibit  its  vulgar  origin.  It  is  a  strange  medley 
of  scripture,  romance  and  bad  composition. 

"  The  primitive  designs  of  Mrs.  Smith,  her  husband,  Joe  and  Cow- 
dery, was  money  making;  blended  with  which,  perhaps,  was  a  desire 
for  notoriety,  to  be  obtained  by  a  cheat  and  a  fraud.  The  idea  of  being 
the  founders  of  a  new  sect  was  an  after-thought,  in  which  they  were 
aided  by  others. 

"The  projectors  of  the  humbug,  being  destitute  of  means  for  carry- 
ing out  their  plans,  a  victim  was  selected  to  obviate  that  difficulty. 
Martin  Harris  was  a  farmer  of  Palmyra,  the  owner  of  a  good  farm, 
and  an  honest,  worthy  citizen  ;  but  especially  given  to  religious  enthu- 
siasm, new  creeds,  the  more  extravagant  the  better;  a  monomaniac,  in 
fact.  Joseph  Smith,  upon  whom  the  mantle  of  prophecy  had  fallen 
after  the  sad  fate  of  Alvah,  began  to  make  demonstrations.  He  in- 
formed Harris  of  the  great  discovery,  and  that  it  had  been  revealed  to 
him  that  he  (Harris)  was_a  chosen  instrument  to  aid  in  a  great  work  of 
surprising  the  world  with  a  new  revelation.  They  had  hit  upon  the 
right  man.  He  mortgaged  his  fine  farm  to  pay  for  printing  the  book, 
assumed  a  grave,  mysterious,  and  unearthly  deportment,  and  made 
here  and  there  among  his  acquaintances  solemn  enunciations  of  the 
great  event  that  was  transpiring.  His  version  of  the  discovery,  as 
communicated  to  him  by  the  prophet  Joseph  himself,  is  well  remem- 
bered by  several  respectable  citizens  of  Palmyra,  to  whom  he  made 
earty  disclosures.      It  was  in  substance  as  follows: 

"The  prophet  Joseph,  was  directed  by  an  angel  where  to  find,  by  ex- 
cavation, at  the  place  afterwards  called  Mormon  Hill,  the  gold  plates; 
and  was  compelled  by  the  angel,  much  against  his  will,  to  be  the  in- 
terpreter of  the  sacred  record  they  contained,  and  publish  it  to  the 
world.  That  the  plates  contained  a  record  of  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  this  country,  'engraved  by  Mormon  the  son  of  Nephi.'     That  on  the 


80  LANDMARKS   OF 

top  of  the  box  containing  the  plates,  'a  pair  of  large  spectacles  were 
found,  the  stones  or  glass  set  in  which  were  opaque  to  all  but  the 
prophet;'  that  'these  belonged  to  Mormon,  the  engraver  of  the  plates, 
and  without  them  the  plates  could  not  be  read.'  Harris  assumed  that 
himself  and  Cowdery  were  the  chosen  amanuenses,  and  that  the  prophet 
Joseph,  curtained  from  the  world  and  them,  with  his  spectacles,  read 
from  the  gold  plates  what  they  committed  to  paper.  Harris  exhibited 
to  an  informant  of  the  author  the  manuscript  of  the  title  page.  On  it 
were  drawn  rudely  and  bunglingly,  concentric  circles,  between,  above 
and  below  which  were  clear  characters,  with  little  resemblance  to  let- 
ters. Apparently  a  miserable  imitation  of  hieroglyphics  the  writer  may 
have  somewhere  seen.  To  guard  against  profane  curiosity,  the  prophet 
had  given  out  that  no  one  but  himself,  not  even  his  chosen  co-opera- 
tors, must  be  permitted  to  see  them,  on  pain  of  instant  death.  Harris 
had  never  seen  the  plates,  but  the  glowing  accounts  of  their  massive 
richness  excited  other  than  spriritual  hopes,  and  he  upon  one  occasion 
got  a  village  silversmith  to  help  him  estimate  their  value;  taking  as  a 
basis,  the  prophet's  account  of  their  dimensions.  It  was  a  blending  of 
the  spiritual  and  utilitarian,  that  threw  a  shadow  of  doubt  on  Martin's 
sincerity.  This,  and  some  anticipations  he  indulged  in,  as  to  the  profits 
that  would  arise  from  the  sale  of  the  Gold  Bible,  made  it  then,  as  it  is 
now,  a  mooted  question,  whether  he  was  altogether  a  dupe. 

"  The  wife  of  Harris  was  a  rank  infidel  and  heretic,  touching  the 
whole  thing;  and  decidedly  opposed  to  her  husband's  participation  in 
it.  With  sacrilegious  hands  she  seized  over  a  hundred  of  the  manu- 
script pages  of  the  New  Revelation  and  burned  or  secreted  them.  It 
was  agreed  by  the  Smith  family,  Cowdery  and  Harris,  not  to  transcribe 
these  again,  but  to  let  so  much  of  the  New  Revelation  drop  out,  as  the 
'  evil  spirit  would  get  up  a  story  that  the  second  translation  did  not  agree 
with  the  first.'  A  very  ingenious  method,  surely,  of  guarding  against 
the  possibility  that  Mrs.  Harris  had  preserved  the  manuscript  with 
which  they  might  be  confronted  should  they  attempt  an  imitation  of 
their  own  miserable  patchwork.  The  prophet  did  not  get  his  lesson 
well  upon  the  start,  or  the  household  of  imposters  were  in  the  fault. 
After  he  had  told  his  story,  in  his  absence,  the  rest  of  the  family  made 
a  new  version  of  it  to  one  of  their  neighbors  They  showed  him  such 
a  pebble  as  may  any  day  be  picked  up  on  the  shore  of  Lake  (  )ntario — 
the  common  hornblende — carefully  wrapped  in  cotton  and  kept  in  a 
mysterious  box.      They  said    it  was   by  looking  at   this  stone,  in  a  hat, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  81 

the  light  excluded,  that  Joseph  discovered  the  plates.  This  it  will  be 
observed,  differs  materially  from  Joseph's  story  of  the  angel.  It  was 
the  stone  the  Smiths  had  used  in  money  digging  and  in  some  pretended 
discoveries  of  stolen  property. 

"  Long  before  the  Gold  Bible  demonstration,  the  Smith  family  had 
with  some  sinister  object  in  view,  whispered  another  fraud  in  the  ears 
of  the  credulous.  They  pretended  that  in  digging  for  money,  at  Mor- 
mon Hill,  they  came  across  'a  chest,  three  feet  by  two  in  size,  covered 
with  a  dark-colored  stone.  In  the  center  of  the  stone  was  a  white  spot 
about  the  size  of  a  sixpence.  Enlarging,  the  spot  increased  to  the  size 
of  a  24-pound  shot,  and  then  exploded  with  a  terrible  noise.  The  chest 
vanished  and  all  was  utter  darkness.' 

"  It  may  be  safely  presumed  that  in  no  other  instance  have  prophets 
and  the  chosen  and  designated  of  angels  been  quite  as  calculating  and 
worldly  as  were  those  of  Stafford  street,  Mormon  Hill  and  Palmyra. 
The  only  business  contract — veritable  instrument  in  writing,  that  was 
ever  executed  by  spiritual  agents,  has  been  preserved,  and  should  be 
among  the  archives  of  the  new  State  of  Utah.  It  is  signed  by  the 
Prophet  Joseph  himself  and  witnessed  by  Oliver  Cowdery,  and  secures 
to  Martin  Harris  one-half  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  Gold  Bible 
until  he  was  fully  reimbursed  in  the  sum  of  $2,500,  the  cost  of  printing. 

"  The  after-thought  that  has  been  alluded  to:  the  enlarging  of  orig- 
inal intentions — was  at  the  suggestion  of  Sidney  Rigdon,  of  Ohio,  who 
made  his  appearance  and  blended  himself  with  the  poorly-devised 
scheme  of  imposture  about  the  time  the  book  was  issued  from  the 
press.  He  unworthily  bore  the  title  of  a  Baptist  elder,  but  had  by 
some  previous  freak,  if  the  author  is  rightly  informed,  forfeited  his 
standing  with  that  respectable  denomination.  Designing,  ambitious, 
and  dishonest,  under  the  semblance  of  sanctity  and  assumed  spiritual- 
ity, he  was  just  the  man  for  the  uses  of  the  Smith  household  and  their 
half-dupe  and  half-designing  abettors;  and  they  were  just  the  fit  in- 
struments he  desired.  He  became  at  once  the  Hamlet,  or  more  appro- 
priately perhaps,  the  maw-worm  of  the  play. 

"  Under  the  auspices  of  Rigdon  a  new  sect,  the  Mormons,  was  pro- 
jected, prophecies  fell  thick  and  fast  from  the  lips  of  Joseph;  old  Mrs. 
Smith  assumed  all  the  airs  of  a  mother  of  a  prophet;  that  particular 
family  of  Smiths  were  singled  out  and  became  exalted  above  all  their 
legion  of  namesakes.  The  bald,  clumsy  cheat  found  here  and  there  an 
enthusiast,  a  monomaniac,  or  a  knave,  in  and  around  its  primitive 
11 


82  LANDMARKS   OF 

locality,  to  help  it  upon  its  start;  and  soon,  like  another  scheme  of  im- 
posture (that  had  a  little  dignity  and  plausibility  in  it),  it  had  its  hegira 
or  flight  to  Kirtland;  then  to  Nauvoo;  then  to  a  short  resting'  place  in 
Missouri,  and  then  on  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
Banks,  printing  offices,  temples,  cities,  and  finally  a  State  have  arisen 
under  its  auspices.  Converts  have  multiplied  to  tens  of  thousands; 
while  its  illegal  and  disgusting  practice  of  polygamy  called  down  upon 
it  the  detestation  of  all  civilized  people  and  the  wrath  and  interference 
of  the  general  government." 

It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  coincidence  that  another  pseudo-religious 
movement,  the  consecmences  of  which  were  ultimately  scarcely  less  mo- 
mentous than  those  of  Mormonism,  should  have  had  its  rise  in  Wayne 
county.  Reference  is  made  to  the  very  beginning  of  what  is  now 
known  throughout  the  world  by  the  general  name  of  spiritualism.  Like 
Mormonism,  this  other  new  doctrine  had  its  origin  in  deception.  It 
began  in  the  little  hamlet  of  Hydeville  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  where 
Tohn  Fox  and  his  family  settled.  Mr.  Fox  bore  a  good  reputation  and 
carried  on  his  trade  of  blacksmithing.  On  the  night  of  March  31, 
1849,  the  two  daughters  of  Mr.  Fox,  Margaret  and  Catharine,  and  their 
cousin,  Elizabeth  Fish,  claimed  to  have  heard  a  mysterious  rapping 
which  greatly  frightened  them.  A  simple  system  of  brief  communi- 
cation was  devised,  probably  by  the  girls  and  their  mother,  the  latter 
being  possibly  deceived  by  her  daughters,  and  the  sounds  were  attrib- 
uted to  spirits  from  another  world,  Among  the  communications  said 
to  have  been  received  through  the  rappings,  was  one  to  the  effect  that 
a  man  named  John  Bell  had  killed  a  peddler  and  buried  the  body  in  his 
cellar.  This  created  much  excitement,  the  news  spread,  and  digging 
was  begun  to  find  the  remains  of  the  murdered  man.  The  little  place 
was  visited  by  hundreds  of  people  from  the  near  by  villages.  The 
diggers  struck  a  vein  of  flowing  water,  which  prevented  further  inves- 
tigation in  that  line.  As  the  mysterious  rappings  continued,  thousands 
of  people  visited  the  Fox  home,  some  of  whom  believed  in  the  super- 
natural origin  of  the  sounds,  while  others  ridiculed  the  whole  thing. 
It  was  not  long  before  a  financial  return  became  a  part  of  the  plans  of 
the  daughters,  and  to  reach  a  larger  audience  they  removed  to  Roches- 
ter and  appeared  in  public,  their  operations  becoming  widely  known  as 
the  "  Rochester  Rappings. "  The  alleged  intercourse  with  disembod- 
ied spirits  led  to  the  evolution  of  so-called  "  mediums"  who  professed 
to  be  especially  adapted  for  the   reception  of  the   news  from  the  other 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  83 

world.  From  the  simple  rappings  of  the  Fox 'sisters,  was  developed 
by  others  still  more  bold  in  their  deceptions,  the  appearance  of  ap- 
paritions, the  sound  of  voices,  and  various  other  demonstrations.  The 
mania  spread  in  its  later  varied  phases  until  ultimately  it  reached  over 
the  civilized  world.  Late  in  the  life  of  the  Fox  sisters  they  claimed  to 
explain  the  mystery  of  the  Tappings,  stating  that  they  were  produced 
by  certain  movements  of  some  of  their  joint  bones,  which  could  be 
moved  without  detection. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


End  of  the  Reign  of  Peace — The  First  Gun — Military  Enthusiasm — Wayne  Coun- 
ty— The  President's  First  Proclamation — The  First  Company  Recruited  in  Wajne 
Count}' — Sketches  of  the  Various  other  Wayne  County  Organizations. 

The  long  reign  of  prosperous  peace  in  America  was  rudely  and  ruth- 
lessly closed  when  citizens  of  one  of  the  Southern,  States  fired  the  first 
hostile  gun  upon  Fort  Sumter  in  1861.  Almost  before  the  echoes  of 
that  cannonade  had  died  away,  a  tide  of  patriotic  enthusiasm  and  indig- 
nation swept  over  the  entire  North,  and  the  call  to  arms  found  an  echo 
in  every  loyal  heart,  while  thousands,  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor, 
native  and  alien,  sprang  forward  to  offer  their  services  and  their  lives 
at  the  altar  of  their  country. 

The  history  of  the  civil  war  has  been  written  and  rewritten,  and  al- 
most every  intelligent  citizen  has  become  familiar  with  the  story  of  the 
great  contest.  Were  this  not  true,  it  would  be  manifestly  impossible 
to  follow  in  detail  the  various  campaigns  in  which  Wayne  county  sol- 
diers honorably  shared,  or  to  trace  in  detail  the  career  of  those  brave 
officers  and  privates  who  fell  on  the  battlefield.  Such  records  are  for 
the  general  historian  who  has  ample  space  at  his  command.  The  mus- 
ter rolls  of  the  State,  too,  that  have  been  deposited  in  every  county 
clerk's  office,  are  accessible  to  all  and  enable  the  reader  to  see  at  a  glance 
the  noble  part  performed  by  the  soldiers  in  the  great  struggle  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  Union.  As  a  rule  the  several  calls  of  the  president 
for  volunteers  were  freely  met,  and  though  a  draft  was  held  in  the 
county  on  two  occasions,  it  did  not  reach  all  of  the  towns,  and  its  re- 
quirements were  promptly  complied  with. 


84  LANDMARKS  OF 

Prior  to  the  actual  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion,  the  president  issued  a 
proclamation  calling  forth  "the  militia  of  this  State  (as  well  as  of  the 
other  Northern  States),  to  the  aggregate  number  of  75,000,  in  order  to 
suppress  combinations,  and  to  cause  the  laws  to  be  duly  executed." 
Following  this  and  the  first  gun  of  the  great  conflict,  the  principal  vil- 
lages of  this  county  became  at  once  centers  of  military  activity  and  en- 
thusiasm. 

( )n  Monday,  April  15,  1861,  the  State  Legislature  passed  a  bill  ap- 
propriating $3,000,000  and  providing  for  the  enrollment  of  30,000  men 
to  be  subject  to  call  in  aid  of  the  general  government.  The  volunteers 
under  this  call  were  to  enlist  in  the  State  service  for  two  years  and  be 
subject  at  any  time  to  transfer  into  the  Federal  service.  This  measure 
caused  intense  excitement  throughout  the  State,  and  the  villages  of 
Wayne  county  were  ablaze  with  enthusiasm. 

The  following  brief  sketches  of  the  complete  organizations  that  left 
Wayne  county  for  the  Southern  battlefields  will  give  a  general  glimpse 
of  their  service. 

Recruiting  began  here  promptly  after  the  first  call  for  volunteers  was 
issued,  and  before  the  close  of  May,  1861,  Company  I,  which  joined  the 
17th  Regiment,  was  chiefly  raised  in  Newark  and  its  immediate  vicinity. 
Andrew  Wilson  was  captain  and  Isaac  M.  Lusk,  first  lieutenant.  In 
this  early  regiment  were  a  considerable  number  of  recruits  outside  of 
Company  I.  The  latter  company  joined  the  regiment  in  New  York 
city  and  was  there  mustered  in  for  two  years,  under  command  of  Col- 
onel Lansing.  The  first  engagement  in  which  the  17th  took  part  was 
at  Hanover  Court  House.  A  part  of  the  command  shared  in  the  Seven 
Days  battle,  and  later  the  regiment  was  in  the  Second  battle  of  Bull 
Run,  where  Company  I  suffered  the  loss  of  Captain  Wilson.  In  the 
battle  of  Antietam  this  regiment  was  actively  engaged  and  again  en 
December  13,  1861,  at  Fredericksburg.  The  regiment  was  mustered 
out  June  2,  1863. 

Company  B  of  the  27th  Regiment  was  chiefly  recruited  in  Lyons  in 
1861.  The  regiment  was  organized  at  Elmira  in  May  of  that  year,  un- 
der command  of  Col.  W.  H.  Slocum,  of  Syracuse,  who  subsequently 
attained  the  highest  military  honors.  The  Lyons  company  was  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Alexander  D.  Adams,  and  left  Lyons  May  10.  There 
were  also  many  other  volunteers  from  Wayne  county  in  this  regiment, 
outside  of  Company  B.  The  27th  was  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  May  2'.t,    1861,   and  proceeded  to  Washington.     The  principal 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  85 

engagements  in  which  it  took  part  were  at  Bull  Run  (where  Colonel 
Slocuni  was  wounded),  Fairfax,  West  Point,  Mechanicsville,  Gaines's 
Mills  (where  the  Lyons  company  lost  one  killed  and  twenty-three 
wounded),  Manassas,  Crampton  Gap  (in  18G2),  and  Fredericksburg  in 
L863.  The  regiment  was  conspicuous  for  brave  and  gallant  conduct 
before  the  enemy. 

The  33d  Regiment,  recruited  chiefly  in  Rochester  in  1861,  contained 
one  company  (B)  from  Wayne  county,  most  of  whom  were  from  Pal- 
myra. This  organization  became  considerably  depleted,  and  in  Sep- 
tember, 1861,  received  240  recruits.  The  regiment  was  commanded  by 
Col.  Robert  F.  Taylor,  of  Rochester,  and  left  Elmira  for  Washington 
July  8,  1861.  It  was  under  fire  at  Yorktown  in  April,  1861,  for  fifty- 
four  hours,  and  soon  afterwards  fought  at  Williamsburg.  In  the  fight 
at  Mechanicsville  in  May,  1862,  the  regiment  participated,  and  in  its 
movements  reached  a  point  within  six  miles  of  Richmond.  Other  en- 
gagements in  which  the  33d  shared  were  Malvern  Hill,  Second  Bull 
Run,  Antietam  (where  fifty  were  killed  and  wounded  in  this  regiment). 
The  recruits  before  mentioned,  many  of  whom  were  from  Wayne  county, 
joined  the  regiment  October  29,  1862.  Then  followed  the  battles  of 
Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville  (in  1863),  and  and  the  charge  on  Fred- 
ericksburg Heights  (May  5,  1863.)  The  regiment  returned  to  Elmira 
May  12,  1863,  and  was  mustered  out. 

The  44th  Regiment  (known  as  the  People's  Ellsworth  Regiment), 
which  was  designed  to  be  recruited  in  all  the  counties  of  this  State,  re- 
ceived its  proportionate  number  from  Wayne,  eight  of  whom  were  from 
Sodus.  The  regiment  was  organized  in  the  fall  of  1861  and  served  to 
October  11,  1864.      Its  principal  battle  was  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1863. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1861  an  attempt  was  made, to  raise  a 
full  regiment  in  Wayne  county ;  but  when  about  400  men  had  been  re- 
cruited, an  order  was  given  for  consolidation,  and  the  Wayne  volunteers 
were  organized  into  three  companies  and  united  with  seven  other  com- 
panies from  Franklin  county  to  form  the  98th  Regiment.  William  Dut- 
ton,  a  Wayne  county  graduate  of  West  Point,  was  made  colonel  of  the 
regiment.  The  Wayne  county  men  had  remained  in  Camp  Rathbone, 
at  Lyons,  until  February,  1862 ;  the  three  companies  were  lettered  F, 
I,  and  K.  They  were  respectively  commanded  by  Captains  Kreutzer, 
principal  of  the  Lyons  Union  School,  Birdsall,  a  Lyons  merchant,  and 
Wakely.  Dr.  William  G.  David,  a  leading  physician  of  the  county, 
went  out  as  surgeon.     The  regiment  left  Lyons  February  21,  1862.      In 


86  LANDMARKS   OF 

the  movement  upon  Yorktown  in  the  spring-  of  1862  the  regiment  par- 
ticipated, and  afterwards  in  the  bloody  engagement  at  Fair  Oaks.  This 
was  the  last  important  battle  in  which  the  98th  participated  down  to 
February,  L864,  when  the  men  re-enlisted  as  veterans  and  went  home 
on  furlough.  In  April  of  that  year  they  were  again  at  Yorktown,  and 
they  soon  became  known  as  one  of  the  best  disciplined  and  equipped  or- 
ganizations in  "  Baldy  "  Smith's  18th  Corps.  In  the  operations  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  before  Richmond  in  the  summer  of  1804,  the  reg- 
iment was  in  active  participation,  fought  in  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor, 
June  1-4,  where  heavy  loss  was  sustained.  Within  twelve  days  at  this 
period  the  98th  lost  121  killed  and  wounded.  The  regiment  was  then 
sent  to  take  part  in  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  and  on  June  21  entered  the 
trenches  and  continued  to  share  in  the  operations  in  that  vicinity  until 
about  August  29.  In  the  capture  of  Fort  Harrison,  September  29,  the 
regiment  lost  sixty  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  on  October  27  at 
Fair  Oaks  it  bore  an  honorable  part  in  the  second  engagement  on  that 
field.  The  98th  enjoyed  comparative  quiet  from  this  time  until  the 
evacuation  of  Richmond,  and  on  the  3d  of  April,  1865,  was  among  the 
first  to  enter  the  Confederate  capital.  August  31  the  muster-out  order 
came  and  the  men  returned  to  their  homes. 

The  111th  Regiment,  Col.  Jesse  Segoine,  was  recruited  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1862,  in  Wayne  and  Cayuga  counties,  to  serve  three  years.  Five 
companies,  A,  B,  C,  D,  and  E,  were  from  this  count)*.  The  regiment 
left  Auburn  for  Harper's  Ferry  August  2,  on  which  day  they  were 
surrendered  by  General  Miles  to  Stonewall  Jackson,  and  were  paroled 
and  sent  to  Chicago,  and  remained  till  December  and  were  then  trans- 
ferred. After  this  regiment  was  transferred  and  camped  near  Wash- 
ington, Col.  vSegoine  resigned,  and  Lieut. -Col.  C.  D.  MacDougall  was 
appointed  colonel.  A.  P.  Seely  succeeded  Colonel  MacDougall,  who 
was  promoted  to  brevet  brigadier  general.  During  its  term  of  service 
the  111th  participated  in  engagements  at  Harper's  Ferry  on  September 
15,  1862,  and  camped  near  Washington  during  the  succeeding  winter; 
B  and  C  companies  were  detached,  and  the  balance  of  the  regiment 
was  in  the  battles  at  Gettysburg  (where  120  were  killed  and  wounded); 
at  Bristow  Station,  October  14;  Blackburn's  Ford,  October  15-17: 
Mine  Run,  November  \!8-30,  and  Morton's  Ford,  February  6,  I  Kill. 
In  the  Wilderness,  early  in  May  the  111th  shared  bravely  in  three 
days  of  almost  continuous  lighting,  losing  forty-four  killed,  126  wound- 
ed, and   twenty  missing — 190  out  of  386  effective  men.     At  Po  River, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  87 

May  10-1-2,  Spottsylvania,  May  13,  14,  18;  North  Anna.  May  23-4; 
Tolopotomy,  May  31  and  June  1,  and  in  several  minor  engagements 
between  June  3  and  1G,  the  regiment  was  conspicuous  for  its  heroic 
deeds.  On  June  21  the  111th  participated  in  the  movement  upon  the 
Jerusalem  Pland  Road;  fought  at  Deep  Bottom  July  26-8,  and  again 
August  12-14;  at  Reams's  Station,  August  25;  in  garrison  at  Fort 
Hell  was  long  under  constant  fire;  and  March  25,  18G5,  repulsed  a  fierce 
attack  upon  their  lines.  At  Gravelly  Run,  March  30  and  31,  the  regi- 
ment shared  in  the  fierce  battle  and  then  took  up  the  pursuit  of  the  fly- 
ing Lee,  which  ended  only  at  Appomattox.  The  regiment  returned 
home  after  the  consummation  of  the  great  conflict,  and  was  discharged 
June  6,  1865. 

The  138th  Regiment  was  locally  known  as  the  Second  Wayne  and 
Cayuga,  and  was  recruited  immediately  succeeding  the  111th,  in  Au- 
gust, 1862.  It  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Joseph  Welling,  of  Wayne; 
lieutenant  colonel,  Wm.  H.  Seward,  of  Cayuga;  major,  Edward  P.  Taft, 
of  Wayne;  surgeon,  Theodore  Dimon,  of  Cayuga;  quartermaster,  Henry 
P.  Knowles,  of  Wayne;  adjutant,  William  R.  Wasson,  of  Cayuga;  first 
assistant-surgeon,  Samuel  A.  Sabin,  of  Wayne ;  second  assistant-surgeon 
Byron  De  Witt,  Cayuga;  chaplain,  Warham  Mudge,  Wayne;  sergeant- 
major,  Lyman  Comstock,  Cayuga.  Six  of  the  ten  companies  were 
raised  in  Wayne  county  and  were  lettered  A,  B,  D,  G,  H,  and  K.  The 
regiment  left  camp  September  12,  and  proceeded  to  Albany  and  thence 
to  Washington,  going  into  camp  on  Arlington  Heights.  There  the  or- 
ganization was  changed  to  the  9th  Artillery  and  placed  in  charge  of 
forts  near  Georgetown.  In  the  spring  of  1864  the  artillery  shared  in 
the  fighting  at  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  and  North  Anna.  At  the 
beginning  of  June  the  command,  as  part  of  Burnside's  9th  Corps,  saw 
active  service  at  Cold  Harbor.  The  regiment  was  engaged  in  skirmish 
or  battle  between  June  1st  and  9th  and  lost  during  that  time  nine  killed 
and  forty-two  wounded.  Other  engagements  in  which  the  9th  partici- 
pated were  at  Monocacy  Junction  July  9,  losing  heavily;  on  August  7 
four  companies  were  detached  for  service  in  the  Washington  defenses, 
the  other  eight  joining  the  6th  Corps  and  going  into  Western  Virginia, 
where,  under  Sheridan,  in  the  fall  of  1864,  they  participated  in  the 
brilliant  operations  of  that  great  commander.  On  the  25th  of  March, 
1865,  the  9th  was  posted  at  the  extreme  front  before  Petersburg,  took 
part  in  the  recapture  of  Fort  Steadman;  was  engaged  April  2,  and  again 
on  the  6th,  at  Sailor's  Creek.  The  greater  part  of  the  regiment  was 
mustered  out  in  April,  1865. 


88  LANDMARKS   OF 

What  became  the  160th  Regiment,  and  the  third  from  Wayne  and 
Cayuga  counties,  was  recruited  from  the  last  of  August,  1802,  through 
September.  The  first  company  (B)  was  raised  in  Palmyra  and  went 
into  the  barracks  August  29.  The  other  three  Wayne  companies  were 
A  from  Newark;  C,  from  Lyons;  and  D,  from  Marion.  The  regiment 
went  out  under  command  of  Colonel  Dwight,  left  Auburn  November  18 
and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  New  York  on  the 
21st.  Embarked  on  a  transport,  the  regiment  then  constituted  a  part 
of  General  Banks's  celebrated  expedition,  and  proceeded  to  Ship  Island 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  reaching  there  December  14.  In  the 
extended  operations  to  the  southward  of  New  Orleans,  having  the  cap- 
ture of  that  city  as  their  main  object,  in  January,  February,  March  and 
April,  the  IGOth  took  part,  while  attached  to  Weitzel's  Brigade.  While 
this  duty  was  arduous,  the  losses  were  small.  In  April  the  regiment 
advanced  with  the  brigade  to  Opelousas,  and  thence  by  a  rapid  three 
davs'  march  to  Alexandria.  On  the  24th  of  May  Weitzel's  Brigade 
reached  Simmsburg,  at  the  head  of  the  Atchafalaya  River,  whence  it 
went  on  transports  to  St.  Francisville,  fourteen  miles  by  land  above  Port 
Hudson.  By  easy  marches  the  rear  of  Port  Hudson  was  reached  on  the 
25th  of  May.  Here  a  part  of  the  regiment  shared  in  the  attack  on  Port 
Hudson,  and  on  the  27th  Company  B  lost  one  man  killed  and  the  regi- 
ment about  twenty  wounded.  In  the  succeeding  charge  of  June  14 
Richard  Jones  was  killed  and  thirty-five  wounded.  Following  the  sur- 
render of  Vicksburg,  on  the  7th  of  July,  Port  Hudson  did  likewise  on 
the  8th,  and  on  the  9th  Weitzel's  Brigade  was  the  first  to  enter  the 
works.  At  evening  the  regiment  embarked  and  the  next  day  landed 
at  Donaldsonville,  and  on  August  I,  proceeded  to  New  Thibedeaux,  and 
went  into  camp.  On  Thursday,  January  7,  1864,  the  regiment  with  the 
1 9th  Corps  started  for  Franklin.  In  March  Weitzel's  Brigade  was  broken 
up  and  the  IGOth  was  brigaded  with  three  Maine  and  one  Pennsylvania 
regiments.  The  next  movement  of  importance  in  which  the  160th 
shared  was  the  Red  River  expedition  under  General  Banks.  On  this 
service  the  IGOth  found  severe  fighting  several  days  and  after  an  engage- 
ment on  the  Dth  of  March,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Van  Petten  was  called 
to  headquarters  to  receive  for  his  regiment  the  thanksof  Generals  Banks, 
Emory,  and  McMullen.  It  was  said  that  the  heroism  of  the  160th 
turned  the  tide  of  the  day's  battle.  Eight  of  the  regiment  were  killed, 
among  them  two  captains;  thirty-seven  were  wounded  and  fourteen 
missing.     The   19th  Corps   was   now   ordered  north   to   form  a  part  of 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  89 

Sheridan's  army  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  In  the  active  operations 
in  that  region  this  regiment  performed  its  allotted  share.  At  the  battle 
of  Winchester,  September  19,  the  160th  behaved  with  great  gallantry, 
and  saw  the  hardest  fighting  in  which  the  regiment  had  participated. 
The  loss  was  about  twenty  killed  and  fifty  wounded.  After  the  rebels 
were  driven  out  of  the  valley  the  regiment  was  sent  first  to  Savannah, 
Ga.,  and  then  to  Hawkinsville,  whence  it  proceeded  to  Elmira  and  was 
there  mustered  out  in  November,  1865.  The  number  of  men  mustered 
out  then  was  about  240,  under  commond  of  Lieut.  Col.  H.  B.  Under- 
bill. 

The  First  Regiment  of  Veteran  Cavalry  contained  a  considerable 
number  of  Wayne  county  men,  who  were  chiefly  from  Palmyra.  The 
regiment  was  composed  of  several  bodies  of  men,  many  of  whom  were 
veterans,  that  had  been- recruited  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1863,  and 
was  mustered  in  on  the  24th  of  October.  The  regiment  was  sent  into 
Virginia  over  ground  that  was  familiar  to  many  of  the  veterans.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  follow  in  detail  the  operations  of  a  body  of  cavalry. 
In  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1864, 
the  regiment  was  constantly  in  active  duty  and  acquired  distinction  for 
its  gallantry.  On  June  1  the  regiment,  with  the  28th  Ohio  Infantry, 
was  sent  across  the  mountains  in  charge  of  1,200  prisoners.  The  dis- 
tance to  Beverly,  110  miles,  was  made  in  four  days.  During  the  re- 
mainder of  the  summer  the  Veteran  Cavalry  was  in  the  saddle  the  larger 
part  of  the  time,  and  in  October  was  placed  in  guard  of  the  salt  works 
of  Kanawha,  in  Camp  Piatt,  Western  Virginia.  On  the  8th  of  January, 
1865,  the  regiment  went  into  camp  at  Gauley  Bridge,  at  the  headwaters 
of  the  Kanawha.  After  two  or  three  other  changes  in  location  the  reg- 
iment returned  home  about  the  last  of  July  and  was  mustered  out. 

The  Eighth  Regiment  New  York  Cavalry  was  organized  for  three 
years'  service,  in  Rochester,  in  the  fall  of  1861, was  sent  to  Washington 
and  into  Camp  Selden.  Though  having  enlisted  to  serve  as  cavalry, 
the  men  were  not  mounted  for  nearly  a  year.  Meanwhile  the  regiment 
was  posted  for  a  time  along  the  Potomac  and  Winchester  Railroad.  On 
the  morning  of  May  24,  1862,  four  companies  were  ordered  to  Winches- 
ter and  participated  in  fighting  at  that  point.  Colonel  Samuel  J.  Crooks 
resigned  in  February,  and  the  command  was  given  to  Benjamin  F.  Davis, 
of  the  Regular  Army,  his  commission  bearing  date  of  July  7.  On  the 
8th  the  regiment  was  stationed  at  the  Relay  House,  and  in  a  short  time 

12 


90  LANDMARKS   OF 

the  efficient  commander  had  his  men  well  disciplined,  mounted  and  the 
regiment  recruited  up  to  full  number. 

On  the  11th  of  September  the  8th  was  surrounded  by  Jackson's  force 
at  Harper's  Ferry.  When  it  was  seen  the  place  could  not  be  held,  Colo- 
nel Davis  asked  and  was  refused  permission  to  break  through  the  ene- 
my's lines.  He,  however,  called  his  officers  together  on  the  night  of 
the  14th,  expressed  his  determination,  and  about  midnight  led  his  com- 
mand across  the  pontoon  bridge,  dashed  through  the  rebel  army,  cap- 
tured Lee's  ammunition  train,  which  was  on  its  way  to  Antietam,  and 
arrived  at  Greenfield  at  noon  of  the  15th,  there  finding  McClellan'sarmy 
marching  towards  Antietam.  After  sharing  in  the  fighting  of  the  17th, 
the  8th  pursued  and  harassed  the  rear  of  the  retreating  army,  and  after 
a  short  rest  at  Hagerstown,  pursued  the  rebels  up  the  Shenandoah  to- 
wards the  Rappahannock.  Other  minor  engagements  of  the  remainder 
of  the  year  in  which  the  8th  shared  were  at  Snicker's  Gap,  Philemont, 
Union,  Upperville,  Barber's  Cross  Roads,  and  Amosville.  The  regi- 
ment went  into  camp  at  Belle  Plain.  A  summary  of  the  other  principal 
conflicts  in  which  this  regiment  took  part  were  at  Freeman's  Ford,  April 
14,  1863;  Rapidan  Bridge,  May  4;  at  Chancellorsville,  Beverly  Ford, 
Middleburg,  Gettysburg  (on  which  field  it  is  said  that  the  8th  was  the 
first  to  fire  a  gun),  at  Culpepper,  Raccoon  Ford,  and  at  Germania  Ford, 
October  10;  Stevensburg,  October  11;  Brandy  Plains,  October  13;  Oak 
Hill,  October  15;  Belton  Station,  October  26;  Muddy  Run,  November 
8;  Locust  Grove,  November  27;  at  Barnett's  Ford,  February  6,  1864 
(after  wintering  at  Culpepper  Court  House);  Germania  Ford,  May  5; 
White  Oak  Swamp,  June  13;  Malvern  Hill,  June  15;  Nottoway  Court 
House,  June  23;  Roanoke  Station,  June  25;  Stony  Creek,  June  28; 
Winchester,  August  16;  Kearneysville,  August  25;  Occoquan  Creek, 
vSeptember  19 ;  Front  Royal,  September  21;  Milford,  September  23; 
Fisher's  Hill,  September  30;  Jones's  Brook,  October  9;  Winchester, 
November  12,  after  having  gone  into  winter  quarters;  Lacy  Springs, 
December  31;  Waynesboro,  March  2,  1865,  where  the  Eighth  displayed 
the  most  daring  gallantry.  Soon  after  this  Major  Compson  was  detailed 
by  General  Sheridan  as  a  bearer  of  dispatches  to  the  secretary  of  war, 
taking  with  him  seventeen  captured  battle  flags,  ten  of  which  had  been 
taken  by  the  Eighth.  In  the  operations  in  front  of  Petersburg  in  the 
spring  of  1865,  which  practically  closed  the  war,  this  regiment  was  con- 
stantly active.  After  the  surrender  at  Appomattox  the  8th  returned  to 
Petersburg  and  thence  went  to  Washington  and  took  part  in  the  grand 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  91 

review,  May  22.  It  reached  Rochester  June  28,  with  190  of  the  940 
men  who  went  away  in  1861.  The  battle  flag  bore  the.  name  of  sixty- 
four  actions.  Among  the  slain  of  the  regiment  were  one  colonel,  eleven 
captains,  two  lieutenants,  and  one  color-bearer.  The  regiment  was 
disbanded  Jnly  3. 

The  22d  Regiment  of  Cavalry  was  organized  at  Rochester,  contained 
a  number  of  Wayne  county  men,  and  was  mustered  into  service  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1864.  It  was  mustered  out,  after  a  comparatively  brief  term, 
August  1,  1805.  In  the  various  military  operations  in  Virginia  of  the 
last  campaign,  the  regiment  performed  efficient  service.  It  formed  a 
part  of  the  First  Brigade,  Third  Cavalry  Division.  An  order  issued 
April  9,  1865,  after  the  surrender,  paid  the  highest  compliments  to  the 
valor  of  this  division. 

These  very  brief  incomplete  sketches  of  the  several  organizations 
which  contained  one  or  more  companies  or  considerable  numbers  of 
Wayne  county  men,  do  not,  of  course,  exhibit  in  detail  the  deeds  of  the 
men  who  took  their  lives  in  their  hands  in  defense  of  the  country.  To 
do  this  would  require  an  entire  volume ;  and  it  is  a  gratifying  fact  that 
such  a  work  has  been  well  performed  in  Wayne  county  by  Prof.  Lewis 
H.  Clark  of  Sodus,  which  permanently  preserves  the  deeds  of  the  sol- 
diers of  Wayne  county. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Since  the  War — Internal  Improvements — Legislative  Acts — Agricultural  Produc- 
tions— Peppermint — Statistics,  etc. — Civil  List — Recapitulation. 

The  general  history  of  Wayne  county  since  the  close  of  the  civil  war 
may  be  briefly  written,  exept  as  it  will  be  found  in  more  detail  in  the 
later  town  histories  and  chapters  devoted  to  specific  topics.  With  the 
close  of  the  war  we  entered  upon  a  period  of  inflation  and  expansion  in 
all  mercantile  and  manufacturing  centers.  Money  was  plenty,  prices 
of  farmers'  products  were  high,  markets  were  active,-  and  a  general 
spirit  of  recklessness  was  abroad.  New  enterprises  of  various  kinds 
were  established,  while  the  older  ones  which  had  passed  through  a  period 
of  success  on  a  rising  market,  were  not,  as  a  rule,  prepared  for  the  time 
of  retrenchment  that  should,  perhaps,  have  been  more  generally  fore- 


92  LANDMARKS   OF 

seen.  As  a  consequence,  when  the  inevitable  reaction  came,  in  1872-73, 
all  kinds  of  business  suffered  severely.  But  the  same  reasons  existed 
to  lighten  the  burden  in  Wayne  county  to  which  we  have  alluded  in  re- 
lation to  earlier  periods  of  financial  stringency.  The  county  is  largely 
agricultural,  and  such  districts,  if  healthful  in  other  directions,  are  the 
last  to  feel  the  effects  of  financial  revulsion.  During  the  period  now  in 
question  the  general  statement  may  be  made  that  the  people  of  this 
county  have  enjoyed  a  fair  degree  of  prosperity. 

Considerable  legislation  has  been  effected  since  that  before  chronicled 
in  which  the  county  at  large  was  interested.  Among  the  more  impor- 
tant of  these  acts  was  the  incorporation  of  the  Palmyra  Academy  and 
the  Palmyra  Savings  Bank  in  1842,  both  of  which  are  described  in  later 
pages;  the  act  of  April  11,  1853,  providing  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
court  house  and  jail ;  an  act  of  March  24,  1859,  giving  Hiram  W.  Brad- 
shaw  permission  to  establish  a  ferry  across  Sodus  Bay  "from  where 
the  bridge  road  approaches  on  the  west  side,  to  the  highway  on  the  east 
side;"  the  incorporation  of  the  Wayne  County  Savings  Bank,  April  13, 
1861  ;  acts  authorizing  the  building  of  iron  bridges  over  the  canal  in  the 
town  of  Macedon  and  at  other  points.  In  the  appropriation  bill  of  187] , 
the  sum  of  $5,400  was  set  aside  for  the  vertical  wall  of  the  canal  in  Mace- 
don, and  $2,000  for  improvement  of  the  canal  in  Newark ;  act  of  April 
26,  1871,  appropriating  $3,000  for  a  bridge  over  Sodus  Bay  "  at  or  near 
the  site  of  the  old  bridge  at  Port  Glasgow."  This  sum  was  to  be  raised 
by  tax,  and  Edwin  H.  Draper,  ofWolcott;  De  Witt  Parshall,  of  Lyons; 
Merritt  Thornton,  of  Sodus;  James  M.  Cosad and  William  W.  Gatchell, 
of  Huron,  were  made  the  commissioners.  Act  of  April  24,  1872,  au- 
thorizing the  Canandaigua,  Palmyra  and  Ontario  Railroad  to  construct 
a  draw  bridge  over  the  canal  at  or  near  Palmyra  village;  (this  was  not, 
of  course,  ever  built. )  Act  of  May  12,  1873,  for  the  protection  of  fish 
in  the  Clyde  and  Seneca  Rivers  (a  part  of  the  extensive  and  beneficent 
legislation  of  the  past  twenty  years  tending  to  the  preservation  of  the 
fish  supply  of  this  State.)  Act  of  May  19,  1887,  authorizing  the  super- 
intendent of  public  works  to  build  a  hoist  bridge  over  the  canal  at  Glas- 
gow street  in  Clyde;  and  a  similar  act  of  June  9,  1888,  for  a  bridge 
over  the  canal  at  Geneva  street,  Lyons,  for  which  $10,000  was  appro- 
priated. Act  of  April  15,  1887,  authorizing  the  supervisor  of  the  town 
of  (  hitario  to  pay  and  cancel  the  bonds  constituting  the  town  indebted- 
ness. Act  of  April  9,  189],  authorizing  the  superintendent  of  the  town 
of  Galen  to  .borrow  $5,000  on  the  town  credit,  to  pay  Thomas  Reynolds 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  93 

for  damages  and  injury  sustained  by  falling  off  of  a  defective  bridge. 
Act  of  February  24,  1891,  making  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Wayne  county 
a  salaried  office,  with  salary  of  $1,200.  Many  other  other  acts  have  been 
passed  in  recent  years  incorporating  various  institutions  in  the  county 
and  amending  the  several  village  charters,  to  place  them  in  line  with 
the  best  governed  municipalities  of  the  State. 

The  reader  of  the  foregoing  pages  has  learned  that  the  attention  of 
the  farmers  of  this  county  was  largely  devoted  to  the  growing  of  wheat 
in  early  years.  It  was  the  grain  that  would  sell  most  readily  and,  of 
course,  supplied  the  inhabitants  with  flour.  Other  grains  were  culti- 
vated, but  in  a  more  limited  way ;  and  the  surplus  of  all  was  converted 
into  whisky  in  the  numerous  small  distilleries  that  abounded  in  every 
town. 

Apples  and  pears  have  always  been  extensively  produced  in  Wayne 
county.  For  the  first  named  fruit  the  soil  and  climate  seem  to  be  par- 
ticularly well  adapted  and  the  quality  of  the  fruit  rivals  that  of  Orleans 
and  Niagara  counties,  which  is  the  highest  praise  that  can  be  given  it. 
The  first  settlers  in  Sodus,  Palmyra,  and  at  other  points,  planted  apple 
seeds  almost  as  soon  as  they  arrived,  and  ere  long  they  were  supplied 
with  the  ever-welcome  fruit,  the  excellent  quality  of  which  led  to  the 
extensive  planting  of  orchards.  Large  quantities  are  shipped  annually 
to  market.  The  first  grafted  apples  brought  to  Wayne  county  were 
brought  by  William  Bond  from  Long  Island  and  were  termed  the  Long 
Island,  the  Long  Island  Greening,  and  the  Billy  Bond.  Pears  also  have 
been  produced  successfully  in  the  county,  the  locally  celebrated  Sheldon 
pear  and  the  Osband  pear  having  originated  in  the  towns  of  Huron  and 
Palmyra  respectively. 

In  recent  years  raspberries  have  been  extensively  cultivated,  espe- 
cially in  the  north  and  northwest  parts  of  the  county.  This  fruit  is  mar- 
keted generally  in  an  evaporated  form. 

Another  product  which  has  given  Wayne  county  a  world-wide  fame 
is  peppermint.  The  first  production  of  this  herb  was  about  1820,  and 
from  1825  until  quite  recently  the  quantity  grown  was  on  the  increase. 
For  many  years  the  quantity  of  oil  distilled  in  this  county  constituted 
by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  product  of  the  world.  By  the  year  1837 
considerable  quantities  of  the  herb  were  offered  for  sale.  In  1841  H.  G. 
Hotchkiss  was  keeping  a  country  store  at  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  and 
in  the  course  of  his  dealings  with  the  farmers  of  that  vicinity  he  had 
taken  their  peppermint  oil  in  payment  for  goods  until  he  had  on  hand 


94  LANDMARKS   OF 

so  much  that  he  would  lose  money  if  he  could  not  dispose  of  the  lot  for 
§1,000.  He  attempted  to  sell  it  in  New  York  but  without  success. 
This  led  to  the  attempt  to  produce  oil  at  home  and  was  the  initial  step 
in  what  became  a  very  extensive  and  profitable  manufacture.  After 
the  year  1841  Mr.  Hotchkiss  gave  his  entire  attention  to  this  business. 
Other  enterprising  men  took  up  the  work  of  manufacturing  the  oil,  and 
the  farmers  were  thus  inspired  to  further  ciiltivation  of  the  herb,  until 
it  became  almost  if  not  quite  the  chief  agricultural  product  of  the  coun- 
ty. The  average  annual  yield  of  peppermint  oil  in  this  county  is  150, 
ooo  pounds,  nine-tenths  of  which  is  controlled  by  the  Hotchkiss  family 
of  Lyons,  which  is  virtually  dictating  the  peppermint  oil  market,  as 
Wayne  county  is  practically  the  only  peppermint-growing  district  where 
the  plant  is  cultivated  and  the  oil  distilled.  Wayne  county  oil  com- 
mands from  forty  to  fifty  cents  a  pound  more  than  any  other  peppermint 
oil.  Twenty-five  pounds  of  oil  to  the  acre  is  the  lowest  general  average 
of  the  crop.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  the  market  to  reach  $3  a  pound, 
and  it  has  been  as  high  as  $5  a  pound.  Some  farmers  distill  their  own 
oil,  but  the  product  is  usually  treated  by  regular  distillers,  of  whom 
there  are  about  100  in  Wayne  county.  They  toll  the  crop  for  the  dis- 
tilling. 

In  1801  the  prices  for  various  products  were  as  follows :  wheat,  75 
cents;  corn,  3  shillings;  rye,  50  cents;  hay,  $6  to  $12  per  ton;  butter 
and  cheese,  11  to  16  cents;  salt  pork,  8  to  10  cents;  whisky,  50  to  75 
cents  per  gallon;  salt,  $5  per  barel;  sheep,  $2  to  $4  per  head;  neat  cat- 
tle, $3  to  $4  per  cwt.  ;  milch  cows,  $16  to  $25  per  head;  horses,  $100  to 
$125  a  span;  working  oxen,  $50  to  $80  per  yoke;  laborer's  wages,  in- 
cluding board,  $10  to  $15  per  month;  suit  of  clothes,  $4  to  $5;  shoes, 
$1.75  to  $2  per  pair. 

In  1858  the  county  had  254,451  acres  improved  land;  real  estate  val- 
ued at  $12,308,024;  personal  property,  $1,364,222;  there  were  that 
year  23,964  male  and  22,796  female  inhabitants,  8,708  dwellings,  9,376 
families,  6,844  freeholders,  219  school  districts,  17,222  school  children, 
1  t,  928  horses,  21,695  oxen  and  calves,  104,845  sheep,  29,799  swine;  the 
county  produced  that  year  45,272  tons  hay,  289,734  bushels  winter  and 
L, 918, 572  bushels  spring  wheat.  261,403  bushels  potatoes,  509, 626  bush- 
els-apples, 1,446,080  pounds  butter,  L63, 764  pounds  cheese;  and  13,065 
yards  domestic  cloths. 

The  population  of  Wayne  county  by  decades  isas  follows:  1800,  1,410; 
1810,  6,575;  1820,  20,309;  L830,  33,643;  1840,  42,057;  1850,  44,953; 
1860,  47,762;   L870,   17,710;   L880,  51,700;  and  1890,  49,729. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  95 

In  1855  the  county  had  226  blacksmiths,  205  shoemakers,  05  cabinet- 
makers and  dealers,  .501  carpenters,  83  clergymen,  126  wagonmakers, 
etc.,  150  coopers,  6,494  farmers,  66  grocers,  4:5  tavern-keepers,  43  law- 
yers, 44  machinists,  161  masons,  etc.,  180  merchants,  07  millers,  103 
milliners,  83  painters,  etc.,  110  physicians,  14 printers,  85  harness  mak- 
ers, etc.,  257  tailors,  45  tanners  and  curriers,  203  teachers,  4!)  tinsmiths, 
and  7  weavers. 

In  1893  the  349,012  acres  of  land  in  the  county  were  assessed  at  $13, 
252,206;  village  and  mill  property,  $0,121,401 ;  value  of  railroads  and 
telegraphs,  $4,010,470;  personal  property,  value,  $2,398,508;  total  as- 
sessed value,  $25,782,  230. 

Schedule  of  taxes,  1893:  town  contingent  funds,  $32,009.33;  town 
poor  funds,  $12,798.48;  roads  and  bridges, $6, 914. 42;  special  town  tax- 
es, $34,389.17;  re-assessed  on  towns, $254. 53;  audited  by  supervisors, 
$4,015.73;  reimburse  county  poor  fund,  $7,195.14;  school  taxes,  $23,- 
588.81;  county  tax,  $50,438.93;  state  tax,  $31,100.91;  state  insane  tax, 
$8,023.41.     Total  tax,  $210,728.80;  dog  tax,  $2,077.50. 

The  county  has  forty-five  election  districts,  and  at  the  general  elec- 
tion in  1893  polled  9,143  votes. 

Wayne  county  is  divided  into  two  school  commissioner  districts,  named 
respectively  First  and  Second.  The  First  district  comprises  the  towns 
of  Butler,  Galen,  Huron,  Lyons,  Rose,  Savannah,  Sodus,  and  Wolcott, 
and  the  annual  report  of  Everett  O'Neill,  school  chmmissioner,  for  1892 
-93  gives  the  following;  Districts  with  school  houses,  114;  teachers 
employed  during  legal  term,  170;  whole  number  of  children  attending 
school,  0,138;  value  school  buildings  and  sites,  $202,530;  assessed  val- 
uation of  districts,  $13,300,408;  public  money  received  from  the  State, 
$23,993.11;  raised  by  local  tax,  $40,007.24;  trees  planted  in  1893,  121. 

The  Second  school  commissioner  district  embraces  the  towns  of  Ar- 
cadia, Macedon,  Marion,  Ontario,  Palmyra,  Walworth,  and  Williamson, 
and  from  the  report  of  M.  C.  Finley,  commissioner,  for  1892-93,  is  ob- 
tained the  following:  Districts  with  school  houses,  101;  teachers  em- 
played  during  legal  term,  132;  whole  number  of  children  attending 
school,  5,172;  value  of  school  buildings  and  sites,  $153,040;  assessed 
valuation  of  districts,  $12,003,000;  public  money  received  from  the 
State,  $18,450.74;  raised  by  local  tax,  $34,048.62;  trees  planted  in  1893, 
121. 


96  LANDMARKS   OF 

Civil  List. 

At  the  convention  held  in  Albany  in  Oetober,  1801,  to  consider  the 
powers  of  the  governor  and  of  the  Council  of  Appointments  (which  were 
decided  as  equal)  the  number  of  vState  senators  was  fixed  at  thirty-two 
and  assemblymen  at  one  hundred.  Members  of  this  convention  from 
Onondaga,  Ontario  and  Steuben  were  Messrs.  Carpenter,  Moses  At- 
water,  and  John  Knox.  A  canal  commissioner  was  appointed  on  April 
17,  1810,  from  Lyons,  Wayne  county,  in  the  person  of  Myron  Holley. 
The  second  constitution  was  adopted  by  an  election  held  in  February, 
1822.  Many  changes  were  made  and  a  large  number  of  offices  were 
made  elective.  These  measures  were  carried  by  a  vote  of  71,732,  to 
41,102.  The  constitution  finally  grew  into  disfavor,  and  a  third  consti- 
tution was  formed  during  the  year  1810.  The  delegates  to  this  conven- 
tion from  Wayne  county  were  Ornon  Archer  and  Horatio  N.  Taft. 

By  act  act  of  April  17,  1822,  Ontario,  Seneca,  Wayne,  erected  in  182:;, 
and  Yates,  same  date,  were  constituted  the  Twenty-sixth  Congressional 
District.  By  act  of  June  2!),  1832,  Senecaand  Wayne  became  the  Twen- 
ty-fifth District,  changed  to  the  Twenty-seventh  by  act  of  September  0, 
1812.  Cayuga  and  Wayne  were  made  the  Twenty-fifth  District  by  act 
of  July  19,  1851,  and  Seneca  was  added  by  act  of  April  23,  1802,  and 
the  three  constituted  the  Twenty-fourth  District.  By  act  of  April  13 
L892,  Wayne,  Cayuga,  Cortland,  Ontario  and  Yates  were  made  the 
Twenty-eighth  District.  The  following  citizens  of  Wayne  county  have 
been  elected  to  Congress:  Esbon  Blackmar,  1818-19;  Martin  Butter- 
field,  1859-01;  George  W.  Cowles,  1809;  John  M.  Holley,  1847-48; 
John  H.  Camp,  1876. 

The  office  of  presidential  elector  has  been  held  by  the  following  res- 
idents of  Wayne  county:  Solomon  W.  John,  appointed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1824.  John  Beal,  elected  in  1828;  Alanson  M.  Knapp,  1830; 
Charles  Bradish,  1810;  Jonathan  Boynton,  1814 ;  Joseph  W.  Gates,  IS  is  ; 
William  VanMarter,  1800;  and  George  W.  Knowles,  1870. 

The  State  of  New  York  was  divided  into  eight  senatorial  districts, 
and  each  entitled  to  four  senators;  term  four  years,  one  elected  each 
year.  On  April  11,  L823,  Wayne  was  annexed  to  the  Seventh  District, 
which  then  included  Cayuga,  ( )nondaga,  (  hitario,  Seneca,  Yates,  Wayne, 
and,  in  L836,  Cortland  counties.  By  an  act  passed  April  30,  1892,  Wayne, 
Cayuga,  Tompkins,  Ontario  and  Yates  were  made  the  Twenty-sixth 
Senatorial  •  District.      Senators  from   Wayne  have  been  By  ram  Green, 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  97 

L823-24;  Truman  Hart,  1826-29;  Thomas  Armstrong,  L830^37;  Lyman 
Sherwood,  1840-41;  William  Clark,  1854-55;  Alexander  B.  Williams, 
L858-61;  Stephen  K.  Williams,  1864-69,  Samuel  C.  Cuyler,  1846-47; 
Thomas  Robinson,  1884-85 ;  Charles  T.  Saxton,  1889,  the  present  sen- 
ator. 

Upon  the  organization  of  Wayne  county  it  was  entitled  to  two  repre- 
sentatives by  appointment.  The  following'  persons  have  held  the  office 
from  Wayne  county  from  the  respective  dates  given:  1824,  James  Dick- 
son, Russell  Whipple;  1825,  Wm.  H.  Adams,  Enoch  Moore;  1820, 
Thomas  Armstrong,  Jonathan  Boynton;  1830,  Luther  Chapin,  Seth 
Eddy;  1831,  A.  Wells,  Seth  Eddy;  1832-33,  James  Humeston,  A.  Salis- 
bury; 1834,  James  P.  Bartle,  Russell  Whipple;  1835,  E.  Benjamin, 
W.  D.  Wylie;  1836,  Reuben  H.  Foster,  Robert  Alsop;  1837,  David 
Arne,  jr.,  Pomeroy  Tucker ;  1838,  John  M.  Holley,  Esbon  Blackmar; 
1839,  T.  Armstrong,  A.  Salisbury;  1840,  Horace  Morley,  Durfee  Os- 
band;  1841,  J.  M.  Halley,  E.  Blackmar;  1842,  James  M.  Wilson,  The- 
ron  R.  Strons;  1843,  Philip  Sours,  Fred  U.  Sheffield;  1844,  Austin  Roe, 
Isaac  R.  Sanford;  1845,  John  J.  Dickson,  A.  M.  Knapp;  1846,  James 
T.  Wisner,  Elias  Durfee;  1847,  I.  R.  Southard,  S.  Moore;  1848,  E. 
Pettit,  John  Lapham;  1849,  Isaac  Leavenworth,  Peter  Boyce;  1850, 
James  M.  Wilson,  Elihu  Dunfee;  1851,  Ed.  W.  Bottom,  T.  G.  Yeomans; 
1852,  William  Dutton,  T.  G.  Yeomans;  1853,  B.  H.  Streeter,  L.  Whit- 
comb;  1854,  Willis  G.  Wade,  John  P.  Bennett;  1856,  Harlow  Hyde, 
Thomas  Barnes;  1857,  Thomas  Johnson,  Joseph  Peacock;  1858,  Ed- 
ward W.  Sentell,  Charles  Estes;  1859,  Henry  K.  Graves,  John  A.  Laing; 
1860,  James  M.  Servis,  Abel  J.  Bixby;  1861,  J.  S.  L'Amoreaux,  J.  W. 
Corning;  1862,  E.  N.  Thomas,  Abram  Payne;  1863-64,  Thaddeus  W. 
Collins,  Lemuel  Durfee;  1865,  Thaddeus  W.  Collins,  W.  H.  Rogers; 
1866,  John  Vandenburg,  W.  H.  Rogers;  1867,  John  Vandenburg,  Ornon 
Archer;  1868,  De  Witt  Parshall,  Elijah  M.  K.  Glenn;  1869,  Merritt 
Thornton,  Elijah  M.  K.  Glenn;  1870,  Anson  S.  Wood,  Amasa  Hall; 
1871,  Anson  S.  Wood,  Henry  Durfee;  1872-73,  Edward  B.  Wells,  Lu- 
cien  T.  Yeomans;  1874,  Emory  W.  Gurnee,  H.  H.  Clark;  1875,  Will- 
iam H.  Clark,  A.  S  Russell;  1876,  Emory  W.  Gurnee,  A.  S.  Russell; 
1877,  Jackson  Valentine,  Jeremiah  Thistlethwaite ;  1878,  Jackson  Val- 
entine, James  H.  Miller;  1879,  John  A.  Munson,  Jefferson  Sherman; 
1880,  Alfred  P.  Crafts,  Jefferson  Sherman;  1881,  Rowland  Robinson, 
Addison  W.  Gates;  1882,  Oscar  Weed,  William  E.  Greenwood;  1883, 
Oscar  Weed,    Lemon   Hotchkiss;  1884,   Ammon  S.    Farnum,    Silas   S. 

13 


98  LANDMARKS   OF 

Pierson;  1885,  Amnion  S.  Farnum,  Edwin  K.  Burnham  ;  188(5,  William 
Wood,  Barnet  H.  Davis;  1887-88,  Charles T.  Saxton,  Barnet  H.  Davis; 
L889,  Charles  T.  Saxton,  Richard  P.  Groat;  1890,  John  P.  Bennett, 
Richard  P.  Groat;  1801,  Elliott  B.  Norris,  Richard  P.  Groat;  1802, 
George  W.  Brinkerhoff,  Flynn  Whitcomb.  By  the  act  of  April  30, 
1  <S'.r>,  Wayne  county  was  entitled  to  but  one  member  of  assembly.  1893, 
;  1804,  George  S.  Horton. 

Prior  to  1857  school  commissioners  were  appointed  by  the  Boards  of 
Supervisors;  since  then  they  have  been  elected  by  ballot.  The  first 
election  under  the  act  was  held  in  November,  1850.  In  Wayne  county 
the  commissioners  of  the  First  District  have  been  as  follows :  Mortimer 
F.  Sweeting,  Thomas  Robinson,  Alonzo  M.  Winchester,  John  McGon- 
egal,  Joseph  G.  L.  Roe,  Sidney  G.  Cook,  E.  C.  Delano,  Everett  O'Neill, 
and  Samuel  Cosad.  In  the  Second  District :  Albert  S.  Todd ;  Myron 
W.  Reed,  Jefferson  Sherman,  Ethel  M.  Allen,  W.  T.  Goodnough,  M. 
C.  Finley,  and  Freeman  Pintler. 

County  Treasurers. — Bartlett  R.  Rogers,  1848;  Philander  P.  Brad- 
ish,  1851;  John  Adams,  1857;  Smith  A.  Dewey,  1802,  re-elected  1865, 
and  1868;  Wm.  B.  Stultz,  1871,  and  re-elected  1874  and  1877;  L.  F. 
Taylor,  appointed  1870;  Dr.  A.  F.  Sheldon,  1870,  and  re-elected  1882 
and  1885;  Volney  H.  Sweeting,  1888,  present  imcumbent. 

Sheriffs  during  the  colonial  period  were  appointed  annuall)'  in  Octo- 
ber, unless  otherwise  noticed.  Under  the  first  constitution  they  were 
appointed  annually  by  the  council  of  appointment,  and  no  person  could 
hold  the  office  more  than  four  successive  years.  The  sheriff  could  hold 
no  other  office  and  must  be  a  freeholder  in  the  county  to  which  appointed. 
Since  the  constitution  of  1821,  sheriffs  have  been  elected  for  a  term  of 
three  years,  and  are  ineligible  for  election  for  the  succeeding  term. 

The  following  persons  have  held  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Wayne  county 
from  the  respective  dates  given ;  The  elections  have  been  held  in  No- 
vember of  each  year.  Reuben  H.  Foster,  1825;  Cullen  Foster,  1828; 
Calvin  D.  Palmeter,  1831;  Truman  Heminway,  1834;  Hiram  Mann, 
L837;  vSimon  V.  W.  Stout,  1840;  John  Borrowdale,  1843;  George  W. 
Barnard,  1846;  Chester  A.  Ward,  1840;  George  W.  Paddock,  1852; 
William  P  Nottingham,  1855;  Adrastus  Snedeker,  1858;  John  P.  Ben- 
nett, L861;  Bartlett  R.  Rogers,  1864;  John  P.  Bennett,  18(17;  John  N. 
Brownell,  1870;  Richard  P.  Groat,  1873;  Thomas  M.  Clark,  187<i;  Wil- 
liam J.  Glenn,  1870;  Vernon  R.  Howell,  1882;  Rossman  J.  Parshall, 
lssf);  Charles  E.  Reed,  1888;  Geo.  W.  Knowles,  1890,  appointed; 
Walter  Thornton,  1801;  Chas.  H.  Ford,  1894,  appointed. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  99 

In  the  comparatively  brief  period  of  a  century — a  period  that  is  some- 
times lived  through  by  one  person — what  a  transformation  has  been  ef- 
fected in  the  region  of  Western  New  York  which  embraces  the  county 
of  which  this  work  treats !  The  mind  that  is  accustomed  only  to  super- 
ficial thought  and  observation,  fails  utterly  to  comprehend  it.  At  the 
one  extreme  of  the  period  was  a  wilderness,  untrodden  by  man  other 
than  the  red  natives  who  are  now  fast  disapearing  from  the  face  of  the 
earth.  A  wilderness  of  forest  and  stream  and  lake;  thickly  peopled. by 
wild  animals  and  feathered  tribes.  At  the  other  extreme  of  the  cen- 
tury we  look  upon  as  fair  a  land  as  lies  beneath  the  sun.  Every  evi- 
dence of  civilization  greets  the  observer's  eye.  Surely  the  deeds  of  the 
men  and  women  who  have  wrought  this  marvelous  transformation  de- 
serve to  be  enshrined  on  the  pages  of  history. 

Our  forefathers  did  not  begin  their  work  under  favorable  conditions. 
They  had  just  passed  through  a  long  and  harassing  war,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  period  of  stagnation  of  all  kinds  of  business,  leading  to  con- 
tinued privation  and  suffering  at  many  firesides.  One  observant  writer 
has  said  that  "  as  a  nation,  or  a  people  in  the  aggregate,  ours  was  the 
poorest  that  had  ever  entered  upon  the  experience  of  separate  and  in- 
dependent existence ;  and  the  settlement  of  this  region  [Western  New 
York]  commenced  at  the  lowest  point  of  depression.  Those  who  had 
homes  in  New  England  and  elsewhere- -the  means  of  comfortable  sub- 
sistence— generally  chose  to  remain  where  they  were,  leaving  it  mostly 
for  those  who  were  impelled  to  it  by  necessity  to  encounter  the  then 
hard  task  of  settling  and  improving  the  wilderness.  No  new  region  of 
our  entire  country  has  been  settled  by  a  class  of  emigrants  as  poor,  in 
the  aggregate,  as  were  the  pioneers  of  the  Genesee  country.  The  in- 
stances of  those  who  had  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  of  immigration, 
get  possession  of  their  lands,  and  make  any  considerable  improvements, 
were  few;  those  who  had  enough  to  place  themselves  in  their  new 
homes  and  purchase  the  necessaries  of  life,  until  they  could  produce 
them,  were  not  numerous;  while  the  great  bulk  of  the  pioneers  had 
but  little  left  when  they  had  planted  themselves  in  the  forest  and  erected 
their  rude  log  cabins.  The  instances  were  not  few  of  those  who  parted 
with  necessary  raiment,  with  household  furniture  that  could  not  easily 
be  spared — with  things  essential  to  their  comfort — either  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  emigration,  or  to  piece  out  the  means  of  subsistence. 

"Located  in  a  widely  extended  forest,  in  sparse  settlements,  or  in 
solitar3T  or  detached  homes — the  long  and  tedious  journey  of  emigration 


100  LANDMARKS   OF 

consummated,  log  huts  erected,  small  openings  made,  and  a  rude  and 
primitive  agriculture  commenced — they  had  but  just  entered  upon  a 
long  series  of  difficulties  and  hindrances;  disease  and  apprehensions  of 
Indian  wars,  came  upon  them  in  their  years  of  extreme  weakness;  in 
busy  seasons  when  health  and  strength  were  most  needed,  whole  house- 
holds and  neighborhoods  were  stricken  down  with  agues  and  fevers, 
and  the  services  of  households  and  neighborhoods  that  escaped  would 
be  required  to  aid  those  less  fortunate;  then  would  come  Indian  alarms, 
demonstrations  of  renewal  of  Indian  hostilities  which  would  render  the 
tenure  by  which  they  held  their  wilderness  homes  precarious — desertion 
and  flight,  not  an  improbable  necessity.  These  difficulties  subsiding 
and  warded  off,  when  lands  that  been  cleared,  soil  that  had  been  sub- 
dued, began  to  yield  a  surplus,  they  had  no  markets;  their  wheat 
moulded  in  the  stack  or  in  the  bark-covered  log  barns ;  or,  when  thrashed 
and  drawn  over  long  and  tedious  wood  roads,  at  a  low  price,  could  not 
be  exchanged  for  many  of  the  most  common  necessaries  of  life.  A 
gleam  of  sunshine  came,  a  better  day  dawned  for  a  brief  season,  but 
soon  came  the  national  exigencies  of  embargo  and  non-intercourse, 
which  bore  especcially  hard  on  all  this  region. 

"When  all  these  difficulties  had  been  surmounted,  to  which  should 
have  been  added,  at  least,  one  unfruitful  season,  and  consequent  scar- 
city of  food  for  man,  and  hay  and  grain  for  stock,  causing  in  many  lo- 
calities actual  suffering — when  the  whole  region  of  the  Genesee  country 
had  just  begun  to  realize  something  of  prosperity,  war  upon  its  imme- 
diate borders,  in  its  weak  and  exposed  condition,  came  upon  it — a  local 
calamity,  the  magnitude  of  which  can  now  hardly  be  realized." 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  101 


CHAHTER  X. 

Comparison  of  State  Law  with  the  Common  Law — Evolution  of  the  Courts — The 
Court  of  Appeals — The  Supreme  Court — The  Court  of  Chancery — The  County  Court 
— The  Surrogate's  Court — Justice's  Court — District  Attorneys — Sheriffs — Court 
House — Judicial  Officers — Personal  Notes. 

The  statement  is  commonly  expressed  that  the  judicial  system  of 
the  State  of  New  York  is  largely  founded  upon  the  common  law  of 
England.  While  this  is  true  to  a  great  extent,  there  are  important 
differences  revealed  by  a  close  study  of  the  history  of  the  laws  of  this 
State,  showing  that  our  system  is  in  many  important  respects  an 
original  growth.  In  the  simple,  yet  initiative  matter  of  entitling  a 
criminal  process  for  example,  there  is  a  radical  difference  between  our 
method  and  that  which  must  be  followed  in  England.  Here  it  is  "  The 
People  Versus  the  Criminal;  "  there,  "  Rex  versus  the  Criminal."  In 
the  one  it  is  an  independent  judiciary  responsible  directly  to  the 
people ;  in  the  other  to  the  king. 

This  principle  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  over  our  laws,  as  well 
as  their  dominance  in  other  respects,  has  had  a  slow,  conservative,  yet 
steadily  progressive  and  systematic  growth.  In  the  colonial  history  of 
the  State  the  governor  was  in  effect  the  maker,  interpreter  and  en- 
forcer of  the  laws.  He  was  the  chief  judge  of  the  court  of  final  resort, 
while  his  councillors  were  generally  his  obedient  followers.  The  execu- 
tion of  the  English  and  Colonial  statutes  rested  with  him,  as  did  also 
the  exercise  of  royal  authority  in  the  province ;  and  it  was  not  until  the 
adoption  of  the  first  Constitution,  in  1777,  that  he  ceased  to  contend  for 
these  prerogatives  and  to  act  as  though  the  only  functions  of  the  court 
and  councillors  were  to  do  its  bidding  as  servants  and  helpers,  while 
the  Legislature  should  adopt  only  such  laws  as  the  executive  should 
suggest  and  approve.  By  the  first  Constitution  the  governor  wras 
wholly  stripped  of  the  judicial  power  which  he  possessed  under  the 
Colonial  rule,  and  such  power  was  vested  in  the  lieutenant-governor 
and  the  Senate,  the  chancellor  and  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court; 
the  former  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  and  the  latter  to  be  appointed 
by  the  council.      Under  this  Constitution  there  was  the  first  radical 


102  LANDMARKS   OF 

separation  of  the  judicial  and  the  legislative  powers,  and  the  advance- 
ment of  the  judiciary  to  the  position  of  a  co-ordinate  department  of  the 
government,  and  subject  to  the  limitation  consequent  upon  the  ap- 
pointment of  its  members  by  the  council. 

But  even  this  restriction  was  soon  felt  to  be  incompatible,  though  it 
was  not  until  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1840  that  the  last  con- 
nection between  the  purely  political  and  the  judicial  parts  of  the  State 
government  was  abolished;  and  with  it  disappeared  the  last  remaining 
relic  of  the  colonial  period  as  regards  the  laws.  From  this  time  on  the 
judiciary  became  more  directly  representative  of  the  people  in  the 
election  by  them  of  its  members.  The  development  of  the  idea  of  the 
responsibility  of  the  courts  to  the  people,  from  the  time  when  all  its 
members  were  at  the  beck  and  nod  of  one  well-nigh  irresponsible 
master,  to  the  time  when  all  judges,  even  of  the  court  of  last  resort, 
are  voted  for  by  the  people,  has  been  remarkable.  Yet,  through  all 
this  change  there  has  prevailed  the  idea  of  one  ultimate  tribunal  from 
whose  decision  there  can  be  no  appeal. 

Noting  briefly  the  present  arrangement  and  powers  of  the  courts  of 
this  State  and  the  elements  from  which  they  have  grown,  we  see  that 
the  whole  scheme  is  involved  in  the  idea  of,  first,  a  trial  before  a  magis- 
trate and  jury — arbiters  respectively  of  law  and  fact — and  then  a  review 
by  a  higher  tribunal  of  the  facts  and  law,  and  ultimately  of  the  law  by 
a  court  of  last  resort.  To  accomplish  the  purposes  of  this  scheme 
there  has  been  devised  and  established,  first,  the  present  Court  of 
Appeals,  the  ultimate  tribunal  of  the  State,  perfected  in  its  present 
form  by  the  Conventions  of  1807  and  1868,  and  ratified  by  a  vote  of  the 
people  in  1809;  and  taking  the  place  of  the  old  "Court  for  the  trial  of 
impeachment  and  correction  of  errors"  to  the  extent  of  correcting 
errors  of  law.  As  first  organized  under  the  Constitution  of  1846,  the 
Court  of  Appeals  was  composed  of  eight  judges,  four  of  whom  were 
elected  by  the  people  and  the  remainder  chosen  from  the  justices  of 
the  Supreme  Court  having  the  shortest  time  to  serve.  As  organized 
in  1861),  and  now  existing,  the  court  consists  of  the  chief  judge  and  six 
associates  judges,  who  hold  office  for  a  term  of  fourteen  years  from  and 
including  the  first  day  of  January  after  their  election.  This  court  is 
continually  in  session  at  the  capitol  in  Albany,  except  as  it  takes  recess 
from  time  to  time  on  its  own  motion.  It  has  full  power  to  correct  or 
reverse  the  decisions  of  all  inferior  courts  when  properly  before  it  for 
review.      Five  judges  constitute  a  quorum,  and   four   must   concur   to 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  103 

render  judgment.  If  four  do  not  agree  the  case  must  be  reargued; 
hut  no  more  than  two  rehearings  can  be  had,  and  if  then  four  judges 
do  not  concur,  the  judgment  of  the  court  below  stands  affirmed.  The 
Legislature  has  provided  by  statute  how  and  when  proceedings  and 
decisions  of  inferior  tribunals  may  be  reviewed  in  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
and  may  in  its  discretion  alter  or  amend  the  same.  Upon  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  court  in  1869  its  work  was  far  in  arrears,  and  the  law 
commoniy  known  as  the  "  Judiciary  Act "  provided  for  a  commission 
of  appeals  to  aid  the  Court  of  Appeals.  And  still  more  recently,  in 
1888,  the  Legislature  passed  a  concurrent  resolution  that  section  6 
of  article  6  of  the  Constitution  be  amended  so  that  upon  the  certificate 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals  to  the  governor  of  such  an  accumulation  of 
causes  on  the  calendar  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  that  the  public  interests 
required  a  more  speedy  disposition  thereof,  the  governor  may  desig- 
nate seven  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  act  as  associate  judges,  for 
the  time  being,  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  to  form  a  second  division 
of  that  court,  and  to  be  dissolved  by  the  governor  when  the  necessity 
for  their  services  ceased  to  exist.  This  amendment  was  submitted  to 
the  people  of  the  State  at  the  general  election  of  that  year  and  was 
ratified,  and  in  accordance  therewith  the  governor  selected  seven 
Supreme  Court  justices,  who  were  constituted  the  Second  Division  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals. 

Second  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  rank  and  jurisdiction  stands  the 
Supreme  Court,  which,  as  it  now  exists,  is  made  up  of  many  and  widely 
different  elements,  it  was  originally  created  by  act  of  the  Colonial 
Legislature  May  6,  1691,  and  finally  by  ordinance  of  the  governor  and 
council  May  15,  1699,  and  empowered  to  try  all  issues  to  the  same  ex- 
tent as  the  English  Courts  of  King's  Bench,  Common  Pleas  and  Exche- 
quer, except  in  the  exercise  of  equity  powers.  It  had  jurisdiction  in 
actions  involving  $100  and  over,  and  to  revise  and  correct  the  decisions 
of  inferior  courts.  An  appeal  lay  from  it  to  the  governor  and  council. 
The  judges — at  first  there  were  five  of  them — annually  made  a  circuit 
of  the  counties,  under  a  commission  naming  them,  issued  by  the  gov- 
ernor, and  giving  them  Nisi  Prius,  Oyer  and  Terminer,  and  jail  de- 
livery powers.  Under  the  first  Constitution  the  court  was  reorganized, 
the  judges  being  then  named  by  the  council  of  appointment.  All  pro- 
ceedings were  directed  to  be  entitled  in  the  name  of  the  people  instead 
of  that  of  the  king. 


104  LANDMARKS  OF 

By  the  Constitution  of  1821  many  and  important  changes  were  made 
in  the  character  and  methods  of  this  court.  The  judges  were  reduced 
in  number  to  three  and  appointed  by  the  governor,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  hold  office  during  good  behavior,  or  until  sixty  years  of 
age.  They  were  removable  by  the  Legislature  when  two-thirds  of  the 
Assembly  and  a  majority  of  the  Senate  so  voted.  Four  times  each 
year  the  full  court  sat  in  review  of  their  decisions  upon  questions  of 
law.  By  the  Constitution  of  1840  the  Supreme  Court,  as  it  then  ex- 
isted, was  abolished,  and  a  new  court  of  the  same  name,  and  having 
general  jurisdiction  in  law  and  equity,  was  established  in  its  place. 
This  court  was  divided  into  General  Terms,  Circuits,  Special  Terms, 
and  Oyer  and  Terminer.  Its  members  were  composed  of  thirty-three 
justices,  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  and  to  reside,  five  in  the  first  and 
four  in  each  of  the  other  seven  judicial  districts  into  which  the  State 
was  divided.  By  the  judiciary  act  of  1847  General  Terms  were  to  be 
held  at  least  once  in  each  year  in  counties  having  more  than  forty 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  in  other  counties  at  least  once  in  two  years; 
and  at  least  two  Special  Terms  and  two  Circuit  Courts  were  to  be  held 
yearly  in  each  county  except  Hamilton.  By  this  act  the  court 
was  authorized  to  name  the  times  and  places  of  holding  its  terms,  and 
those  of  Oyer  and  Terminer;  the  latter  being  a  part  of  the  Circuit 
Court  and  held  by  the  justice,  the  county  judge  and  two  justices  of 
sessions.  Since  1882  the  Oyer  and  Terminer  has  consisted  of  a  single 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

It  is  proper  at  this  point  to  describe  one  of  the  old  courts,  the  powers 
of  which  have  been  vested  in  the  Supreme  Court.  We  refer  to  the 
Chancery  Court,  an  heirloom  of  the  Colonial  period,  which  had  its 
origin  in  the  Court  of  Assizes,  the  latter  being  invested  with  equity 
powers  under  the  duke's  laws.  The  court  was  established  in  1G83,  and 
the  governor  or  such  person  as  he  should  appoint,  assisted  by  the  coun- 
cil, was  designated  as  its  chancellor.  In  1698  the  court  went  out  of 
existence  by  limitation ;  was  revised  by  ordinance  in  1701;  suspended 
in  1703,  and  re-established  in  the  next  year.  At  first  the  Court  of 
Chancery  was  unpopular  in  the  province,  the  Assembly  and  the 
colonists  opposing  it  with  the  argument  that  the  crown  had  no  authority 
to  establish  an  equity  court  in  the  colony,  and  they  were  doubtful  of 
the  propriety  of  constituting  the  governor  and  council  such  a  court. 
Under  the  Constitution  of  1777  the  court  was  recognized,  but  its 
chancellor  was  thereby  prohibited  from  holding  any  other  office  except 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  105 

delegate  to  Congress  on  special  occasions.  Upon  the  reorganization  of 
the  court  in  L778,  by  convention  of  representatives,  masters  and  ex- 
aminers in  chancery  were  provided  to  be  appointed  by  the  council  of 
appointment;  registers  and  clerks  by  the  chancellor.  The  latter 
licensed  all  solicitors  and  counsellors  of  the  court.  Under  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1821  the  chancellor  was  appointed  by  the  governor  and  held  office 
during  good  behavior,  or  until  sixty  years  of  age.  Appeals  lay  from 
the  Chancery  Court  to  the  Court  for  the  Correction  of  Errors.  Under 
the  second  Constitution  equity  powers  were  vested  in  the  circuit  judges, 
and  their  decisions  were  reviewable  on  appeal  to  the  chancellor.  But 
this  equity  character  was  soon  taken  from  the  circuit  judges  and  there- 
after devolved  upon  the  chancellor,  while  the  judges  alluded  to  acted  as 
vice-chancellors  in  their  respective  circuits.  But,  by  the  radical 
changes  made  by  the  Constitution  of  1843,  the  Court  of  Chancery  was 
abolished,  and  its  powers,  duties  and  jurisdiction  vested  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  as  before  stated. 

By  act  of  the  Legislature  adopted  in  1848,  and  entitled  the  "  Code  of 
Procedure,"  all  distinctions  between  actions  at  law  and  suits  in  equity 
were  abolished,  so  far  as  the  manner  of  commencing  and  conducting 
them  was  concerned,  and  one  uniform  method  of  practice  was  adopted. 
Under  this  act  appeals  lay  to  the  General  Term  of  the  Supreme  Court 
from  judgments  rendered  in  justice's,  mayor's  and  recorder's,  and 
county  courts,  and  from  all  orders  and  decisions  of  a  justice  at  special 
term  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

The  judiciary  article  of  the  Constitution  of  1846  amended  in  1869, 
authorizing  the  Legislature,  not  more  often  than  once  in  five  years, 
to  provide  for  the  organization  of  General  Terms,  consisting  of  a  pre- 
siding justice  and  not  more  than  three  associates;  but  by  chapter  408  of 
the  laws  of  1870  the  then  organization  of  the  General  Term  was  abro- 
gated and  the  State  divided  into  four  departments  and  provision  made 
for  holding  General  Terms  in  each.  By  the  same  act  the  governor  was 
directed  to  designate  from  among  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  a 
presiding  justice  and  two  associates  to  constitute  a  General  Term  in 
each  department.  Under  the  authority  of  the  constitutional  amend- 
ment adopted  in  1882,  the  Legislature  in  1883  divided  the  State  into 
five  judicial  departments,  and  provided  for  the  election  of  twelve 
additional  justices  to  hold  office  from  the  first  Monday  in  June,  1884. 

In  June,  1887,  the  Legislature  enacted  the  code  of  civil  procedure  to 
take  the  place  of  the  code  of  1848.      By  this  many  minor  changes  were 

14 


106  LANDMARKS   OF 

made,  among  them  a  provision  that  every  two  years  the  justices  of  the 
General  Terms,  and  the  chief  judges  of  the  Superior  City  Courts, 
should  meet  and  revise  and  establish  general  rules  of  practice  for  all 
the  courts  of  record  in  the  State,  except  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

Such  are,  in  brief,  the  changes  through  which  the  Supreme  Court  of 
this  State  has  passed  in  its  growth  from  the  prerogative  of  an  irrespon- 
sible governor,  to  one  of  the  most  independent  and  enlightened  instru- 
mentalities for  the  protection  and  attainment  of  the  rights  of  citizens 
of  which  any  State  or  nation  can  rightfully  boast.  So  well  is  this  fact 
understood  by  the  people,  that  by  far  the  greater  amount  of  business, 
which  might  be  done  in  inferior  courts  at  less  expense,  is  taken  to  this 
court  for  settlement.  The  only  man  from  Wayne  county  ever  elected 
Supreme  Court  judge  was  Theron  R.    Strong  of  Palmyra. 

Next  in  inferiority  to  the  Supreme  Court  is  the  County  Court,  held 
in  and  for  each  county  of  the  State  at  such  times  and  places  as  its 
judges  may  direct.  This  court  had  its  origin  in  the  English  Court  of 
Sessions,  and,  like  that  court,  had  at  first  criminal  jurisdiction  only. 
By  an  act  passed  in  1663,  a  Court  of  Sessions,  having  power  to  try  both 
civil  and  criminal  causes  by  jury,  was  directed  to  be  held  by  three 
justices  of  the  peace,  in  each  of  the  counties  of  the  province  twice  each 
year,  with  an  additional  term  in  Albany  and  two  in  New  York.  By 
the  act  of  1691  and  the  decree  of  1600,  all  civil  jurisdiction  was  taken 
from  this  court  and  conferred  upon  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  By 
the  sweeping  changes  made  by  the  Constitution  in  1846,  provision  was 
made  for  a  County  Court  in  each  county  of  the  State,  excepting  New 
York,  to  be  held  by  an  officer  to  be  designated  the  county  judge,  and 
to  have  such  jurisdiction  as  the  Legislature  might  prescribe.  Under 
authority  of  this  Constitution  the  County  Courts  have  been  given, 
from  time  to  time,  jurisdiction  in  various  classes  of  actions  which  need 
not  be  enumerated  here,  and  have  also  been  invested  with  certain 
equity  powers  in  the  foreclosure  of  mortgages;  to  sell  infants'  real 
estate;  to  partition  lands;  to  admeasure  dower  and  care  for  the  persons 
and  estate  of  lunatics  and  habitual  drunkards.  The  Judiciary  Act  of 
L869  continued  the  existing  jurisdiction  of  County  Courts,  and  confer- 
red upon  them  original  jurisdiction  in  all  actions  in  which  the  defend- 
ants lived  within  the  county,  and  the  damages  claimed  did  not  exceed 
$1,000,  which  sum  has  since  been  extended  to  $2,000.  Like  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  County  Court  now  has  its  civil  and  its  criminal 
side.      In  Criminal  matters  the   county  judge  is  assisted  by  two  justices 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  107 

of  sessions,  elected  by  the  people  from  among  the  justices  of  the  peace  in 
the  county.  It  is  in  the  criminal  branch  of  this  court,  known  as  the  Ses- 
sions, that  all  the  minor  criminal  offenses  are  now  disposed  of.  All 
indictments  of  the  grand  jury,  excepting  for  murder  or  some  very 
serious  felony,  are  sent  to  it  for  trial  from  the  Oyer  and  Terminer. 
By  the  codes  of  1848  and  1877,  the  methods  of  procedure  and  practice 
were  made  to  conform  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  practice  in  the 
Supreme  Court.  This  was  done  with  the  evident  design  of  attracting 
litigation  into  these  courts,  thus  relieving  the  Supreme  Court.  In  this 
purpose  there  has  been  failure,  litigants  much  preferring  the  shield 
and  assistance  of  the  broader  powers  of  the  higher  court.  By  the 
Judiciary  Act  the  term  of  office  of  county  judges  was  extended  from 
four  to  six  years.  Under  the  code  the  judges  can  perform  some  of  the 
duties  of  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  at  Chambers.  The  County 
Court  has  appellate  jurisdiction  over  actions  arising  in  Justice's  Courts 
and  Courts  of  Special  Sessions.  Appeals  lay  from  the  County  Court 
to  the  General  Term.  County  judges  were  appointed  until  1847,  after 
which  the)^  were  elected. 

First  judges  in  the  old  court  of  Common  Pleas  were  originally  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  and  Senate  for  a  term  of  five  years.  None  of 
those  appointed  previous  to  the  formation  of  Wayne  county  was  from 
within .  the  present  limits  of  Wayne.  Their  names  were :  Oliver 
Phelps,  May,  1789-93;  Timothy  Hosmer,  October,  1793-1802;  John 
Nicholas,  January,  1803-1819;  Nathaniel  W.  Howell,  March,  1818. 

Those  appointed  since  the  formation  of  Wayne  county  are  as  follows : 
John  W.  Hallet,  April  19,  1825;  Alexander  R.  Tiffany,  March  28, 
1827;  William  Sisson,  January  30,  1830 ;  Hiram  K.  Jerome,  January 
29,  1840;  Oliver  H.  Palmer,  April  12,  1843;  William  H.  Adams,  May 
12,  1846. 

Those  who  have  held  the  office  since  it  was  made  elective  are  as  fol- 
lows: George  H.  Middleton,  June,  1847;  Leander  S.  Ketcham, 
November,  1851;  Lyman  Sherwood,  November,  1859;  George  W. 
Cowles,  November,  1863,  and  November,  1867;  Charles  McLouth, 
(appointed)  November  1,  1869;  Luther  M.  Norton,  November,  1869; 
George  W.  Cowles,  November,  1873;  Thaddeus  W.  Collins,  Novem- 
ber, 1879;  George  W.  Cowles,  November,  1879;  George  W.  Cowles, 
November,  1885;  L.  M.  Norton,  1891,  incumbent. 

Surrogate's  Courts,  one  of  which  exists  in  each  of  the  counties  of 
the  State,   are  now  courts  of  record    having  a    seal.      Their    special 


108  LANDMARKS   OF 

jurisdiction  is  the  settlement  and  care  of  estates  of  persons  who  have 
died  either  with  or  without  a  will,  and  of  infants.  The  derivation  of 
the  powers  and  practice  of  the  Surrogate's  Court  in  this  State  is  from 
the  Ecclesiastical  Court  of  England  through  a  part  of  the  colonial  coun- 
cil, which  existed  during  the  Dutch  rule  here,  and  exercised  its 
authority  in  accordance  with  the  Dutch  Roman  law,  the  custom  of 
Amsterdam  and  the  law  of  Aasdom ;  the  Court  of  Burgomasters  and 
Scheppens,  the  Court  of  Orphan  Masters,  the  Mayor's  Court,  the  Pre- 
rogative Court  and  the  Court  of  Probates.  The  settlement  of  estates 
and  the  guardianship  of  orphans  which  was  at  first  invested  in  the 
director-general  and  council  of  New  Netherlands,  was  transferred  to 
the  Burgomasters  in  1053,  and  soon  afterwards  to  the  orphan  masters. 
Under  the  colony  the  Prerogative  Court  controlled  all  matters  in  rela- 
tion to  the  probate  of  wills  and  settlement  of  estates.  This  power  con- 
tinued until  1692,  when  by  act  of  legislation  all  probates  and  granting 
of  letters  of  administration  were  to  be  under  the  hand  of  the  governor 
or  his  delegate ;  and  two  freeholders  were  appointed  in  each  town  to 
take  charge  of  the  estates  of  persons  dying  without  a  will.  Under  the 
duke's  laws  this  duty  had  been  performed  by  the  constables,  overseers 
and  justices  of  each  town.  In  1778  the  governor  was  divested  of  all 
this  power  excepting  the  appointment  of  surrogates,  and  it  was  confer- 
red upon  the  Court  of  Probates.  Under  the  first  Constitution  surro- 
gates were  appointed  by  the  council  of  appointment;  under  the  second 
Constitution,  by  the  governor  with  the  approval  of  the  Senate.  The 
Constitution  of  184G  abrogated  the  office  of  surrogate  in  all  counties 
having  less  than  40,000  population,  and  conferred  its  powers  and  duties 
upon  the  county  judge.  By  the  code  of  civil  procedure  surrogates 
were  invested  with  all  the  necessary  powers  to  carry  out  the  equitable 
and  incidental  requirements  of  their  office. 

The  following  persons  held  the  office  of  surrogate  in  Ontario  county 
previous  to  the  formation  of  Wayne:  John  Cooper,  Ma)*  5,  1789; 
Samuel  Mellish,  March  22,  1702;  Israel  Chapin,  jr.,  March  18,  L795; 
Amos  Hall,  February  23,  1790;  Dudlay  Saltonstall,  January  25,  1798; 
Reuben  Hart,  February  10,  1809;  Eliphalet  Taylor,  February  13, 
lsio;  Reuben  Hart,  February  5,  1811;  Eliphalet  Taylor,  March  9,  L813; 
Reuben  Hart,  March  17,  1815:  Stephen  Phelps,  April  10,  1817;  Ira 
Selby,  March  5,  1821;  Jared  Wilcox,  March  38,  1S2:*». 

The  following  persons  have  held  this  office  in  Wayne  county:  John 
S.   Tallmadge,    April   18,    L823;    Frederick    Smith,    January    11,    L826; 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  109 

Graham  H.  Chapin,  March  10,  1826;  Lyman  Sherwood,  February  12, 
1833;  James  C.  Smith,  April  10,  1844;  (after  1847,  the  office  was 
merged  in  that  of  county  judge. ) 

The  onl}T  remaining  courts  which  are  common  to  the  State  are  the 
Special  Sessions,  held  by  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  trial  of  minor 
offences,  and  justice  courts  with  limited  civil  jurisdiction.  Previous  to 
the  Constitution  of  1821,  modified  in  1826,  justices  of  the  peace  were 
appointed ;  since  that  date  they  have  been  elected.  The  office  and  its 
duties  are  descended  from  the  English  office  of  the  same  name,  but  are 
much  less  important  here  than  there,  and  under  the  laws  of  this  State 
are  purety  the  creature  of  the  statute.  The  office  is  now  of  little  im- 
portance in  the  administration  of  law,  and  with  its  loss  of  old-time 
power  has  lost  also  much  of  its  former  dignity. 

The  office  of  district  attorney  was  formerly  known  as  assistant 
attorney-general.  The  districts  then  embraced  several  counties  in 
each  and  were  seven  in  number.  On  the  loth  of  April,  1817,  upon  the 
organization  of  Tompkins  county,  a  new  district  was  formed,  number 
the  eighth,  which  included  Broome,  Cortland,  Seneca  and  Tompkins 
counties.  At  first  the  office  was  filled  by  the  governor  and  council  dur- 
ing pleasure.  The  office  of  district  attorney,  as  now  known,  was  cre- 
ated April  4,  1801.  By  a  law  passed  in  April,  1818,  each  county  was 
constituted  a  separate  district  for  the  purposes  of  this  office.  During 
the  era  of  the  second  Constitution  district  attorneys  were  appointed  by 
the  County  Courts  in  each  county. 

The  following  persons  have  held  the  office  of  district  attorney  for 
Wayne  county  from  and  including  the  year  given  in  each  case:  William 
H.  Adams,  1823:  Graham  H.  Chapin,  September  26,  1829;  William 
H.  Adams,  September  29,  1830;  John  M.  Holley,  February,  2,  1831; 
Theron  R.  Strong,  January  31,  1835;  Charles  D.  Lawton,  September 
26,  1839;  John  M.  Holley,  October  5,  1842;  George  H.  Middleton, 
September  26,  1845;  Lyman  Sherwood,  May  30,  1846;  Coles  Bashford, 
June,  1847;  George  Olmstead,  October  4,  1850;  Stephen  K.  Williams, 
November,  1850;  Joseph  Welling,  November,  1853;  Jared  F.  Harri- 
son, November,  1856;  Jacob  B.  Decker,  November,  1858;  William  F. 
Aldrich,  November,  1861;  George  N.  Williams,  jr  ,  November,  1864; 
John  H.  Camp,  November,  1867;  Charles  H.  Roy,  November,  1870; 
Murganzy  Hopkins,  November,  1873;  Marvin  I.  Greenwood,  Novem- 
ber, 1876;  John  Vandenburg,  November,  1879;  Jefferson  W.  Hoag, 
November,  1882;  Charles  H.  Ray,  November,  1885;  Samuel  M. 
Sawyer,  November,  1888;  re-elected  November,  1891. 


110  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  legal  business  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  of  Wa)me 
county,  was,  of  course,  done  in  Ontario  county  previous  to  1K23.  The 
public  buildings  were  situated,  as  now,  in  Canandaigua.  We  learn  from 
the  records  that  the  first  court  in  Ontario  county  was  held  in  the  un- 
finished chamber  of  Moses  Atwater's  house  on  the  first  Tuesday  in 
June,  1792:  Oliver  Phelps,  judge;  Nathaniel  Gorham,  jr.,  clerk; 
Judah  Colt,  sheriff.  Vincent  Mathews  of  Newtown  was  the  only 
attorney  present  when  the  court  opened.  The  first  business  in  the 
Surrogate's  Court  of  the  county  was  the  settlement  of  the  estate  of 
Captain  Jonathan  Whitney,  who  died  in  1793. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  April  9,  1792,  the  supervisors  of  Ontario 
county  were  authorized  to  raise  by  tax  the  sum  of  six  hundred  pounds 
for  building  a  court  house.  Under  this  act  the  first  court  house  was 
erected  on  the  square  in  Canandaigua.  The  first  jail  was  a  block-house 
which  had  been  built  as  a  protection  against  the  Indians. 

With  the  erection  of  Wayne  county  all  the  necessary  measures  were 
adopted  for  the  transfer  of  the  courts  to  the  new  community.  The 
act  contains  the  following  provisions : 

"  There  shall  be  held  in  and  for  the  county  a  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  and  a  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and  there  shall  be 
three  terms  of  said  court  in  every  year,  to  commence  and  end  as  fol- 
lows: The  terms  of  said  court  shall  begin  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  of 
January,  May  and  September,  and  may  continue  to  be  held  until  the 
Saturday  following  inclusive. 

"That  the  first  term  of  the  said  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  General 
Sessions  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  Wayne  county  shall  be  held  in  the 
Presbyterian  meeting  house  in  the  village  of  Lyons,  and  all  subsequent 
terms  shall  be  holden  in  the  same  place  until  the  completion  of  the 
court  house." 

Meanwhile  prisoners  were  to  be  confined  in  the  jail  of  Ontario 
county.  The  act  appointed  William  D.  Ford,  of  Jefferson  county; 
Samuel  Strong,  of  Tioga  county,  and  Oliver  P.  Ashley,  of  Greene 
county,  as  "commissioners  for  examining  and  determining  a  proper 
site  for  a  court  house  and  jail. " 

The  supervisors  of  Wa5me  county  were  authorized  to  meet  at  the 
house  of  Henry  L.  Woolsey,  in  Lyons,  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  October, 
L823,  and  '.'  cause  to  be  assessed,  collected  and  paid  into  the  treasury 
of  said  county  of  Wayne,  the  sum  of  $2,500;  and  also  at  their  next 
annual  meeting  the  further  sum  of  $2,500,  in  like  manner  as  taxes  to 
defray  the  contingent  expenses  of  the  county." 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  Ill 

In  pursuance  of  this  legislation  the  church  in  Lyons  was  prepared 
for  its  new  purpose.  The  upper  part  of  the  pulpit  was  removed;  a 
platform  was  built  over  the  small  chancel  in  front,  a  carpet  was  laid, 
tables  and  chairs  provided,  and  there  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  in  May, 
L823,  the  first  courts  of  Wayne  county  were  held.  John  S.  Tallmadge 
was  first  judge,  and  Enoch  Moore  and  William  Sisson,  judges.  Hugh 
Jameson  was  sheriff ;  William  H.  Adams,  district  attorney;  Israel  J. 
Richardson,  county  clerk;  George  W.  Scott,  deputy  clerk;  Andrew  J. 
Lowe  and  George  Sisson,  coroners. 

The  resident  attorneys  of  the  county  admitted  to  practice  at  the 
organization  of  the  courts  were:  William  H.  Adams,  Graham  H. 
Chapin,  Frederick  Smith,  Orville  L.  Holley,  Hiram  K.  Jerome, 
William  J.  Hough,  Joseph  S.  Colt  John  Fleming,  jr.,  Hugh  Jameson, 
William  Wells,  Thomas  P.  Baldwin,  Alexander  R.  Tiffany,  Charles  F. 
Smith,  Edward  M.  Coe. 

Names  of  the  first  grand  jurors  empaneled  in  the  county:  John 
Adams,  Abner  F.  Lakey,  William  D.  Wiley,  John  Baber,  jr.,  Lemuel 
Spear,  David  Warner,  Ephraim  Green,  William  Voorhies,  James 
Mason,  Abel  Wyman,  David  Russell,  Cephas  Moody,  Stephen  Sher- 
man, William  Wilson,  William  Plank,  Alexander  Beard,  Jacob  Butter- 
field,  Daniel  Chapman,  Jeremiah  B.  Pierce,  Freeman  Rogers,  Newell 
Taft,  Pliny  Foster,  Joseph  Lane. 

The  first  court  house  was  built  in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  the 
Legislative  act  before  noted.  The  building  committee  consisted  of 
Simeon  Griswold,  of  Galen,  a  Mr.  Kellogg,  of  Sodus,  and  another 
gentleman,  name  unknown;  Joseph  Hull  was  the  architect;  John  Mc- 
Carn  and  Harry  Gale  were  the  masons.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  with 
Masonic  ceremonies,  Henry  Seymour  officiated,  and  Gen.  William  H. 
Adams  delivered  the  address.  The  building  was  of  brick  and  stood  in 
the  center  of  the  present  park  in  Lyons.  It  was  burned  in  185G,  and 
the  clerk's  office  erected.  The  old  court  house  had  long  been  inade- 
quate and  inconvenient  for  the  county  business  before  steps  were  taken 
in  1852-3  towards  providing  a  better  one.  A  Legislative  act  of  April 
11,  1853,  appointed  John  Adams,  Stephen  Marshall  and  Francis  E. 
Cornwell,  commissioners  for  the  erection  of  a  new  court  house  and 
jaii.  The  State  comptroller  was  authorized  to  loan  the  county  $12,000 
from  the  school  fund,  to  be  repaid  in  four  annual  installments ;  and  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1855,  another  loan  of  $10,000  was  made.  Through 
the  efforts  of  a  committee   consisting  of  William  D.  Perrine,   S.  Har- 


112  LANDMARKS   OF 

rington,  S.  Marshall,  John  Knowles,  and  P.  P.  Bradish,  the  commis- 
sioners secured  title  to  two  lots  of  land  on  the  north  side  of  Church 
street,  opposite  and  north  of  the  court  house  site.  Its  style  of  architec- 
ture is  imposing  and  appropriate  and  the  cost  of  the  building  about 
$50,000. 

The  first  county  clerk's  office  stood  west  of  the  park  on  Pearl  street. 
It  was  used  until  it  became  apparent  that  it  was  both  unsafe  and  in- 
adequate, when  measures  were  adopted  for  the  erection  of  a  new  one. 
A  lot  was  purchased  a  little  west  of  the  old  office,  on  the  same  street, 
and  in  1874  the  present  commodious  fire-proof  structure  was  erected  at 
a  cost  of  about  $14,000. 

The  county  jail  is  a  stone  structure  in  the  west  part  of  Lyons,  and 
is  well  adapted  for  its  purposes. 

The  following  document  has  a  quaint  interest  in  this  connection  : 

DECLARATION. 

I  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  have  not  been  engaged  in  a  duel,  by  sending  or  accept- 
ing a  challenge  to  fight  a  duel,  or  by  fighting  a  duel,  or  in  any  other  manner,  in 
violation  of  the  act  entitled,  "An  act  to  suppress  dueling,"  since  the  first  day  of 
July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixteen  ;  nor  will  I 
be  concerned  either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  duel  during  the  continuance  of  the 
said  act,  and  while  an  inhabitant  of  this  State. — May  27,  1823. 

William  H.  Adams,  William  Wells,  Lem.  W.  Ruggles, 

Fred  K.Smith,  'Edward  M.  Coe,  Mark  H.   Sibley, 

Orville  L.  Holley,  Chas.  F.  Smith,  Alex.  R.  Tiffany, 

Wm.  J.    Hough,  Th.  P.  Baldwin,  Hiram  K.  Jerome, 

John  Fleming,  jr.  David  Hudson,  Rodney  J.  Church, 

Graham  H.  Chapin,  Jeff  Clark.  George  W.  Scott, 

Hugh  Jameson,  Jared  Willson,  Joseph  Skinner. 

Samuel  Dickinson,  Nathan  Park, 

This  document  is  on  file  in  the  county  clerk's  office.  It  gives  the 
names  of  the  lawyers  here  at  that  early  date,  with  a  few  from  Ontario 
county  who  desired  to  practice  here. 

In  the  year  1856  the  number  of  lawyers  in  the  county  had  reached 
thirty-six,   and  they  were  distributed  as  follows: 

Clyde. — George  W.  Cowles  (still  in  practice),  L.  S.  Ketch um,  C.  D. 
Lawton,  William  S.  Stow,  Joseph  Welling,  J.  Van  Dcnburgh. 

Lyons.— William  II.  Adams,  G.  H.  Arnold,  R.  W.  Ashley,  G,  W. 
Benton,  William  Clark,  F.  E.  Cornwell,  D.  H.  Devoe,  E.  A.  Griswold, 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  113 

John  T.  Mackenzie,  D.  W.  Parshall,  Lyman  Sherwood,  William  Sis- 
son,  William  Van  Marter,  John  N.  York. 

Newark.— Stephen  Culver,  G.  W.  Middleton,  L.  M.  Norton,  S.  K. 
Williams  (still  in  practice.) 

Palmyra. — W.  F.  Aldrich,  Ornon  Archer,  Joseph  W.  Corning, 
James  Peddie,  S.  B.  Mclntyre,  J.  F.  Harrison,  G.  W.  Cuyler,  Frederick 
Smith. 

Red  Creek.— J.  B.  Decker.  Sodus.—  C.  C.  Teal.  South  Butler.— A. 
S.  Wood.     Wolcott.— Chauncey  F.  Clark. 

Very  few  of  these  are  now  living.  In  1860  the  number  had  increased 
to  fifty-five,  and  at  the  present  time  (1894)  there  are  fifty-three  as 
follows : 

Lyons. — Chester  G.  Blaine,  Frank  Brown,  Dwight  S.  Chamberlain, 
John  L.  Cole,  Thaddeus  W.  Collins,  Thaddeus  W.  Collins,  jr.,  James 
W.  Dunwell,  Burton  Hammond,  William  Kreutzer,  William  U. 
Kreutzer,  George  Kent,  Edson  W.  Hamm,  William  R.  Mason,  Charles 
H.  Ray,  John  W.  Van  Etten.  Palmyra. —David  S.  Aldrich,  jr.,  Fred 
E.  Converse,  Henry  R.  Durfee,  Mark  C.  Finley,  Addison  W.  Gates, 
Murganzy  Hopkins,  Charles  McLouth,  Samuel  B.  Mclntyre,  Samuel 
N.  Sawyer,  Pliny  T.  Sexton,  George  Tinklepaugh.  Newark. — Edwin 
K.  Burnham,  Marvin  I.  Greenwood,  Joseph  Gilbert,  C.  W.  Esty,  Edgar 
D.  Miller,  Luther  M.  Norton,  Henry  L.  Rupert,  Byron  C.  Williams, 
Stephen  K.  Williams.  Clyde. — George  O.  Baker,  George  W.  Cowles, 
Thomas  Robinson,  Charles  T.  Saxton,  De  Lancey  Stow.  Wolcott. — 
Jefferson  W.  Hoag,  Edward  H.  Kellogg,  Joel  Fanning,  Anson  S;  Wood, 
William  Roe,  George  S.  Horton,  A.  C.  Brink.  Sodus.— Mync  M. 
Kelly,  Benjamin  B.  Seaman.  Red  Creek. — Jacob  B.  Decker,  Charles 
O.  Peterson.  Marion. — Henry  R.  Taber.  Lincoln. — Charles  E. 
Yale. 

The  Wayne  County  Bar  Association  was  organized  November  10, 
1890,  with  the  following  officers:  S.  B.  Mclntyre,  president;  John 
Vandenburg  and  William  Roe,  vice-presidents;  Burton  Hammond, 
secretary;  Henry  R.  Durfee,  treasurer;  S.  B.  Mclntyre,.  T.  W.  Col- 
lins, George  W.  Cowles,  and  L.  M.  Norton,   executive  committee. 

One  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  at  the  bar  of  Wayne  county 
was  Theron  R.  Strong.  He  was  born  at  Salisbury,  Conn. ,  November 
7,  1802.  His  father  was  Martin  Strong,  for  many  years  a  State 
senator   and    county    judge    of  Litchfield   county,   Conn.      His  grand- 

15 


11  1  LANDMARKS   OF 

father    was   Judge  Adonijah  Strong,    who  was  also  a  colonel  in    the 
Revolutionary  war. 

Theron  R.  Strong  was  intended  for  other  than  professional  pursuits, 
but  his  inherited  love  of  the  law  led  him  to  its  study  and  finally  after 
much  opposition  he  was  permitted  to  pursue  his  studies  in  the  justly 
celebrated  law  school  of  Judge  Gould  in  Litchfield  for  one  year.  He 
then  sought  the  West,  as  it  was  then  called,  and  for  a  time  located  in 
Washington  county,  where,  in  the  office  of  Cornelius  L.  Allen,  later  a 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  he  continued  his  studies.  After  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  he  sought  a  permanent  location,  and  with  means  in- 
sufficient to  support  himself  in  one  of  the  cities  of  the  State,  he  finally 
selected  Palmyra  as  his  field  of  practice. 

His  early  years  were  those  of  struggle  and  hardship,  and  his  slender 
means  were  often  at  so  low  an  ebb  as  to  deprive  him  of  the  necessaries 
of  life.  But  his  sterling  worth,  although  hidden  by  a  natural  diffi- 
dence and  modesty,  was  soon  discovered  and,  equipped  with  a  thorough 
familiarity  with  legal  principles,  he  won  the  confidence  of  and  attracted 
as  clients  the  most  desirable  citizens  of  Wayne  county.  He  was  as- 
sociated many  years  in  business  with  Hon.  O.  H.  Palmer,  and  the  firm 
of  Strong  &  Palmer  was  for  many  years  among  the  leaders  of  Wayne 
county.  Many  years  subsequently  the  late  Hon.  Oscar  Craig  was  his 
partner  in  Rochester,  as  was  subsequently  the  late  George  M.  Mum- 
ford. 

He  was  chosen  in  1831  district  attooney.  In  1839  he  was  elected 
member  of  Congress.  In  1842  he  became  member  of  assembly  and  in 
1851  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  filled  this  posi- 
tion eight  years,  during  one  of  which  he  sat  as  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals.  His  record  in  that  tribunal  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  of 
all  the  opinions  from  the  eight  members  of  the  court  regarded  as  valu- 
able for  publication,  the  greatest  number  came  from  his  pen,  excepting 
only  three  written  by  Judge  Denio. 

In  his  early  years  his  office  was  sought  by  two  students  who  not  only 
absorbed  their  law  in  his  society,  but  also  shared  his  hardships,  sleep- 
ing in  the  same  bed  and  cutting  the  wood  for  the  office  fire.  One  was 
Hon.  William  W.  Campbell,  later  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
the  other  Hon.  Thomas  M.  Cooley,  late  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Michigan,  chief  interstate  commerce  commissioner,  and 
author  of  learned  works  on  municipal  law  and  constitutional  limitation. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  115 

Judge  Strong,  after  retiring  from  the  bench,  practiced  several  years 
with  conspicuous  success  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  subsequently  with 
even  greater  success  in  New  York  city.  His  grasp  of  legal  principles, 
his  remarkably  soimd  judgment,  his  power  of  application,  his  patient 
industry,  his  unassuming  and  courteous  demeanor,  won  for  him  as  a 
practitioner  unlimited  confidence  and  commanded  for  him  as  a  judge 
the  respect  and  regard  of  the  bar;  and  among  all  classes  in  Wayne 
count}*,  the  name  of  Theron  R.  Strong  was  synonymous  with  the  high- 
est qualities  of  Christian  citizenship.  He  died  in  New  York  city  on 
May  14,  1873,  honored  by  the  bench  and  bar  of  that  city. 

Ezra  Jewell  was  probably  the  first  lawyer  in  Lyons,  and  must  have 
been  one  of  the  earliest  in  the  county.  He  came  in  about  1812  and 
died  about  1822.  He  held  the  office  of  judge  in  Ontario  county,  of 
which  Wayne  then  formed  a  part. 

Graham  H.  Chapin  was  a  prominent  lawyer  of  early  times,  who  came 
to  Lyons  about  1819.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability.  He  was  elected  to  the  Twenty-fourth  Congress 
and  served  with  credit  one  term. 

Gen.  William  H.  Adams,  although  not  so  conspicuous  at  the  bar  of 
Wayne  county  as  some  others,  owing  to  his  devotion  to  public  and 
private  interests  in  other  directions,  was  nevertheless  for  many  years 
one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  community.  Born  in  Berkshire,  Mass., 
in  May,  1787,  he  began  law  practice  in  Canandaigua  long  before 
Wayne  county  was  created.  He  was  an  officer  in  the  war  of  1812  and 
in  1820  settled  in  Lyons  as  a  partner  of  Hugh  Jamison,  the  firm  soon 
securing  a  large  and  successful  business  for  those  times.  For  twenty- 
five  years  these  men  were  well  in  the  front  of  the  local  bar.  Mr. 
Adams  was  a  warm  and  active  supporter  of  the  Erie  Canal  project  and 
eventually  sunk  his  competence  in  an  effort  to  construct  the  Sodus 
Canal,  an  account  of  which  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  He  held 
the  office  of  district  attorney  in  1823,  1&30,  and  was  county  judge  in 
1846.  Public  spirited,  full  of  business  energy,  General  Adams  accom- 
plished much  good  in  this  county.     He  died  in  Alloway  April  7,  1865. 

Hiram  K.  Jerome  settled  in  Palmyra  as  an  attorney  in  1823  and  soon 
assumed  a  leading  position  at  the  bar.  In  1848  he  ran  on  the  Whig 
ticket  under  the  new  constitution  for  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but 
was  defeated  through  a  bolt  at  Canandaigua.  This  was  a  grievous 
disappointment  to  him,  and  as  he  had  already  engaged  to  some  extent 
in   produce   business,   he   still   further   neglected   his  practice   for  that 


116  LANDMARKS   OF 

occupation.  He  was  not  successful  and  removed  to  Bloomington, 
111.,  where  he  practiced  to  about  1860,  when  he  returned  to  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  but  remained  there  only  a  short  time.  Again  locating  in 
Palmyra  he  opened  a  law  office,  but  not  securing  the  business  he  de- 
sired he  again  went  to  Rochester,  where  he  died  about  fifteen  years 
ago.  He  held  the  office  of  county  judge  of  Wayne  county  one  term 
beginning  in  1840. 

Lyman  Sherwood,  who  died  in  Lyons,  September  2,  1865,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-three  years,  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  bar  and  judiciary 
of  Wayne  county.  He  was  for  many  years  at  the  head  of  the  law  firm 
of  Sherwood  &  Smith,  which  was  in  the  front  rank  in  Western  New 
York.  Originally  a  Democrat  in  politics,  Mr.  Sherwood  gave  his 
allegiance  to  the  Republicans  upon  the  organization  of  that  party  and 
remained  in  its  ranks  until  his  death.  He  was  elected  surrogate  in 
1833.  In  1842  he  was  appointed  to  the  State  Senate,  vice  Mark  H. 
Sibley  resigned.  In  the  fall  of  1859  he  was  elected  county  judge  and 
surrogate,  holding  the  office  until  1863.  Judge  Sherwood  is  remem- 
bered as  a  man  of  good  ability  and  extremely  conscientious  in  perform- 
ing what  he  considered  his  duty  ;  he  was  consequently  highly  esteemed, 
not  only  in  his  profession,  but  by  the  public  at  large.  He  was  father 
of  Lyman  Sherwood,  long  a  well-known  citizen  of  Lyons,  father  of 
Mr.  Sherwood,  now  publisher  of  the  Lyons  Republican. 

John  M.  Holly  was  born  in  Connecticut,  November  10, 1802;  entered 
Yale  in  1818,  studied  law  in  the  Litchfield  Law  School  and  in  the  offices 
of  his  uncle,  Orville  L.  Holley,  of  Lyons,  and  Joseph  Kirkland,  of 
Utica,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1825.  He  began  practice  at  once 
in  Buffalo,  but  a  year  later  located  in  Wayne  count}7,  where  he  attained 
a  prominent  position,  and  was  honored  by  his  fellow  citizens.  He  was 
for  a  period  partner  with  Graham  H.  Chapin.  In  1831  he  was  chosen 
district  attorney  and  again  in  1842.  In  1841  he  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature.  In  1847  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  but  his  health  had 
been  broken  and  his  very  promising  career  was  cut  short  by  death  at 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  March  8,   is  is. 

John  H.  Camp  was  born  in  Ithaca,  April  4,  1840,  and  graduated  from 
the  Albany  Law  School  at  the  age  of  twenty- one.  He  located  in  Lyons 
in  1861  and  entered  the  office  of  Justice  Robert  Ashley,  and  in  L863 
went  into  the  office  of  the  surrogate.  Mr.  Camp  began  his  political  career 
early  in  life  by  stumping  the  district  for  Lincoln  in  1860.  He  was  an 
eloquent  and  persuasive  speaker  and  he  soon  gained  a   considerable  in- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  117 

fluencein  political  circles.  He  was  soon  made  chairman  of  the  County 
Committee.  He  was  elected  district  attorney  in  November,  18G7,  and 
served  with  credit  one  term.  In  1872  he  was  a  presidential  elector, 
and  in  1876  was  elected  to  Congress,  where  he  served  three  terms  with 
marked  ability.  In  1883  he  was  a  candidate  for  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  but  failed  of  election. through  factional  differences.  From  1877 
to  his  death  Mr.  Camp  was  senior  in  the  firm  of  Camp  &  Dunwell, 
one  of  the  foremost  legal  firms  in  Western  New  York.  Mr.  Camp  was 
attorney  for  the  N.  Y.  C.  railroad.  In  1891  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court.      He  died  in  October,  1892. 

Conspicuous  among  the  early  lawyers  and  judges  of  Wayne  county 
was  William  Sisson.  He  settled  in  Lyons  about  the  year  1816,  and 
soon  entered  the  front  rank  of  practitioners.  He  long  held  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace  and  was  also  master  in  chancery.  In  1830  he 
was  appointed  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  held  the  office 
with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  his  fellow  citizens  for  the  long 
period  of  seventeen  years.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  never 
an  aspirant  for  political  office  nor  especially  active  in  the  political  field. 
•He  became  noted  for  the  correctness  of  his  decisions  and  his  earnest- 
ness and  persistent  study  to  enable  himself  to  do  nothing  but  justice  in 
all  cases  that  came  before  him.  His  children  were  three  sons  and  a 
daughter.  He  died  in  Lyons,  December  7,  1863,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six  years. 

Coles  Bashford,  a  native  of  Putnam  county,  N.  Y.,  came  to  Lyons 
with  his  parents  in  1822.  He  was  educated  in  the  seminary  at  Lima, 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1842.  He  advanced 
rapidly  in  his  profession,  and  was  elected  district  attorney  in  1847.  In 
1850  he  removed  to  Wisconsin,  and  in  1863  to  Arizona,  where  he  died 
April  25,  1878.  He  became  conspicuous  as  a  politician  and  office 
holder  in  the  West. 

R.  W.  Ashley  died  in  Lyons,  December  12,  1863,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
six  years.  He  was  a  son  of  Dr.  Ashley,  an  early  physician,  studied 
law  with  Judge  Sherwood  and  became  a  popular  and  successful 
attorney.      He  was  justice  of  the  peace  about  fifteen  years. 

W.  F.  Aldrich  was  born  in  Mendon,  Mass.,  October  22,  1815.  He 
came  to  Palmyra  while  young  and  while  clerk  in  the  collector's  office, 
took  up  the  study  of  law.  He  subsequently  entered  the  office  of  Judge 
Theron  R.  Strong,  and  began  practice  in  1839.  He  had  as  partners  at 
different  periods  George  W.  Cuyler,  a  Mr.  Hopkins  (a  brilliant  young 


118  LANDMARKS   OF 

lawyer  who  died  early  in  his  career),  Thomas  Ninde,  and  finally  Charles 
McLouth,  with  whom  he  became  associated  in  1858,  and  continued 
until  18G6.  In  that  year  he  went  to  New  York  city  and  substantially 
made  that  his  residence,  gaining  a  large  practice.  He  was  elected  dis- 
trict attorney  of  Wayne  county  in  1861.  Besides  his  law  business  in 
New  York,  Mr.  Aldrich  assisted  in  organizing  the  Union  Trust  Com- 
pany and  was  its  secretary.  He  was  also  appointed  b)r  the  courts  re- 
ceiver for  large  estates.      He  died  November  14,  1878. 

James  Peddie  was  a  native  of  Fulton  county,  N.  Y.  He  came  to 
Palmyra  after  having  taught  school  a  few  years,  and  began  practice. 
He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  a  speaker  of  considerable  ability,  gener- 
ous hearted,  and  became  very  popular.  He  held  the  office  of  town 
superintendent  of  schools  and  justice  of  the  peace.  Late  in  life  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  place  and  died  there. 

L.  S.  Ketchum  was  conspicuous  in  the  early  bar  of  the  county.  He 
was  probably  a  native  of  Chautauqua  county  and  settled  in  Clyde  early 
in  his  career.  He  was  elected  judge  of  the  county  in  1851,  and  re- 
elected in  1856,  holding  the  office  eight  successive  years.  He  married 
Mary  Young  of  Marion.  Judge  Ketchum  was  noted  among  his 
brethren  for  his  kindness  and  consideration  towards  young  lawyers 
who  appeared  before  him  ;  for  his  unfailing  generosity,  and  for  a  sturdy 
and  outspoken  honesty  which  would  never  permit  any  misrepresenta- 
tions of  witnesses  or  other  questionable  practices  by  attorneys.  Several 
local  lawyers  studied  in  his  office  who  subsequently  became  prominent. 
Among  them  are  George  W.  Cowles,  of  Clyde,  and  Charles  Mc- 
Louth, of  Palmyra.  He  was  quite  prominent  in  politics  and  altogether 
attained  a  position  of  honor  among  his  fellow  citizens.  He  died  in 
Clyde  about  twenty  years  since. 

George  H.  Middleton  came  to  Wayne  county  from  New  London, 
Conn.,  either  with  or  about  the  same  time  of  his  father  who  settled 
first  in  Newark  village.  The  father  died  in  the  town.  The  son  had 
been  admitted  to  practice  before  his  removal  to  Wayne  county,  and  for 
many  years  was  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  this  section.  He  was 
elected  county  judge  in  1847  and  held  the  office  one  term.  He  was 
twice  married,  his  second  wife  being  a  sister  of  H.  K.  Jerome.  Judge 
Middleton  removed  to  Syracuse  where  he  died. 

William  S.  Stow  was  born  in  Middlebury,  Vt.,  October  6,  1797; 
studied  law  with  Elisha  Williams  in  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  August  19,  1818.      He  began  his  practice  in   Cherry  Valley 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  Ill) 

in  1819;  removed  to  Bainbridge,  N.  Y.,  in  1820,  where  he  married  a 
sister  of  William  S.  De  Zeng,  and  removed  to  Clyde  in  1825.  He  was 
a  man  of  very  active  mind  and  possessed  good  ability  as  a  lawyer.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  St.  John's  Episcopal  church  in  1840;  a  trus- 
tee of  Clyde  High  School  at  its  organization  in  1835;  was  for  thirty- 
eight  years  a  warden  and  vestrymen  in  St.  John's  church;  twenty-eight 
years  a  delegate  to  the  Diocesan  Council,  and  was  a  persistent  collector 
of  local  historical  material.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity from  1823  until  his  death.  His  son,  De  Lancey  Stow,  is  now 
in  practice  in  Clyde. 

Clark  Mason  was  born  in  West  Woodstock,  Conn.,  in  1809,  and  came 
to  Newark  in  1828.  He  lived  there  until  1863,  when  he  was  elected 
county  clerk  and  removed  to  Lyons.  He  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1850  and  practiced  in  Lyons,  where  he  died  in  January  30, 
1882.  From  1829  to  1863  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Newark,  and 
was  six  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  in  Lyons;  he  was 
also  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  latter  town  from  1878  to  1882.  He 
married  in  1847  Emeline  Petrie,  who  survived   him. 

Charles  D.  Lawton  was  a  native  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  where  he  was 
born  September  7,  1802.  He  was  educated  at  Hamilton  College,  and 
studied  law  with  Hiram  K.  Jerome,  of  Palmyra,  and  was  admitted 
about  1831.  In  1833  he  began  practice  in  Clyde.  In  1837  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court.-  Elected  district  attorney,  he 
removed  to  Lyons  in  1844  and  in  1848  went  to  New  York  city  where 
he  was  in  practice  with  his  brother  Cyrus.  About  a  year  later  he  re- 
turned to  Clyde,  where  he  died  August  31,  1877.  He  was  a  lawyer  of 
good  ability  and  high  ideals  of  his  profession. 

Hon.  Horatio  N.  Taft  was  born  in  Savoy,  Mass.,  in  1806  and  came  to 
Lyons  in  1822,  where  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Union  school. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  advanced  in  his  profession.  In  1845 
he  was  elected  judge  and  in  .1846  was  sent  to  Congress.  In  1876  he 
was  appointed  chief  examiner  in  the  U.  S.  patent  office.  He  left 
Washington  in  1866  and  for  about  twelve,  years  was  one  of  the  editorial 
staff  of  the  Scientific  American.  He  subsequently  settled  in  Sag 
Harbor. 

Luther  M.  Norton,  of  Newark,  was  born  in  Groveland,  Livingston 
county,  N.  Y.,  in  February,  1832.  He  studied  law  in  Mt.  Morris  in 
that  county  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  December,  1855.  He  re- 
moved to  Newark  and  for  one  year  was  a  partner  with  the  late  Judge 


120  LANDMARKS   OF 

George  H.  Middleton.  He  soon  assumed  a  prominent  position  as  a  gen- 
eral practitioner,  and  took  considerable  interest  in  politics.  He  held  the 
office  of  justice  of  sessions  and  in  1870  was  elected  county  judge  and 
surrogate,  holding  the  office  one  term.  In  1892  he  was  again  elected 
to  the  same  office  and  is  the  present  incumbent.  Judge  Norton  enjoys 
the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  county  bar  and  the  public  at  large. 

Charles  H.  Roys  was  born  in  Lyons  in  1837  and  was  adopted  when 
a  child  by  his  maternal  grandfather,  Samuel  Westfall.  He  graduated 
from  Hamilton  College  in  1861;  raised  a  company  of  volunteers  in 
Clinton  and  went  to  the  war  as  lieutenant;  was  promoted  to  a  captain 
in  117th  Regiment  and  brevetted  major.  Returning  he  studied  law 
with  John  T.  McKenzie,  in  Lyons.  He  was  elected  district  attorney 
in  1870.  Mr.  Roys  is  a  brilliant  orator,  well  versed  in  the  principles 
of  his  profession  and  has  had  a  successful  career. 

Thomas  Robinson  was  born  in  Rose  in  1837.  He  was  a  son  of  Henry 
Robinson,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  settled  in  Rose  in  1835,  and  died  in 
1874.  The  son  was  educated  in  Red  Creek  Academy  and  Falley 
Seminary;  was  elected  school  commissioner  in  I860  and  served  four 
years,  meanwhile  reading  law  with  George  W.  Cowles;  was  admitted 
in  1865,  and  remained  in  the  office  with  Judge  Cowles  until  1881,  when 
he  began  practice  by  himself.  He  was  elected  State  senator  in  the 
fall  of  1883  and  served  two  years. 

George  H.  Arnold  was  a  promising  young  attorney  of  Lyons  whose 
career  was  closed  by  death  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven  years;  he  died 
July  2,  1867.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  law  school  at  Poughkeepsie 
and  began  practice  in  the  office  of  Smith  &  Cornell  in  Lyons. 

In  Part  II  of  this  volume  will  be  found  personal  sketches  of  numer- 
ous other  living  attorneys  of  Wayne  county. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  I'-'l 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 

Wayne  County  Medical  Society — Wayne  County  Homeopathic  Medical  Society — 
Sketches  and  Reminiscences. 

Previous  to  the  formation  of  Wayne  county  the  medical  profession 
was,  of  course,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Ontario  County  Society, 
which  had  its  origin  early  in  the  present  century.  There  is  now  no  prac- 
ticable means  of  learning  the  number  of  members  of  that  society,  or  the 
officers,  if  any,  who  were  from  within  the  present  limits  of  Wayne 
county,  except  as  they  maybe  inferred  from  the  list  of  those  who  shared 
in  organizing  the  Wayne  County  Society. 

A  meeting  of  physicians  and  surgeons  was  held,  pursuant  to  a  call, 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Lyons  on  June  2,  1823,  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  a  medical  society  in  the  new  county.  Dr.  Gain  Robinson 
was  chosen  to  preside,  and  William  White  acted  as  secretary.  The  fol- 
lowing named  persons  were  found  competent  and  authorized  to  practice 
medicine,  and  enrolled  their  names :  Seth  Tucker,  C.  S.  Button,  Samuel 
Moore,  Abraham  L.  Beaumont,  Robert  W.  Ashley,  Daniel  Chapman, 
William  White,  Joseph  P.  Roberts,  Henry  Hyde,  Elisha  Mather,  Levi 
Gaylord,  Gain  Robinson,  Durfee  Chase,  Allen  H.  Howland,  John  Lewis, 
William  A.  Gilbert,  J.  B.  Pierce,  Henry  C.  Hickox,  Jonathan  Corwin, 
Morris  T.  Jewell,  Timothy  Johnson,  and  John  R.  Taintor. 

This  made  a  membership  of  twenty-two.  The  election  of  officers  fol- 
lowed with  this  result:  President,  Gain  Robinson;  vice-president,  John 
Lewis;  secretary,  William  White;  treasurer,  Elisha  Mather;  censors, 
J.  B.  Pierce,  sr. ,  A.  L.  Beaumont,  Robert  Ashley,  Morris  T.  Jewell, 
Durfee  Chase. 

The  preparation  of  by-laws  for  the  society  was  entrusted  to  a  commit- 
tee consisting  of  Seth  Tucker,  J.  B.  Pierce,  and  William  White.  Will- 
iam H.  Adams  and  Alexander  R.  Tiffany  were  admitted  honorary  mem- 
bers of  the  society  and  chosen  its  attorneys.  A  committee  was  also 
selected  to  procure  a  society  seal,  to  bear  the  symbol  of  a  lancet. 

16 


122  LANDMARKS   OF 

It  was  determined  to  hold  two  meetings  each  year,  in  Jime  and  in 
February.  At  the  second  meeting,  which  was  held  in  Sodus,  four  new 
members  were  elected:  Alexander  Mclntyre,  Josiah  Bennett,  Jacob  S. 
Arden,  and  Hiram  Mann.  After  this  meetings  were  held  in  the  vari- 
ous more  prominent  villages  of  the  county. 

That  the  Wayne  County  Medical  Society  early  determined  to  open  a 
war  upon  illegal  practitioners  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  at  the  meet- 
ing held  in  Newark  in  1824  a  committee  was  appointed  from  each  town 
to  report  illegal  practitioners  to  the  attorneys  of  the  society,  and  a  reso- 
lution was  adopted  that  a  fine  of  twenty-five  dollars  be  imposed  upon 
any  member  who  should  in  any  way  assist  or  countenance  such  illegal 
practice.  This  was  an  unusually  severe  penalty  for  an  offense  that  in 
early  times  was  often  difficult  to  avoid.  A  resolution  was  adopted  at  a 
later  meeting,  that  representatives  of  the  county  in  the  Legislature  be 
requested  to  endeavor  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  law  making  it  a 
felony  to  practice  illegally.  The  beneficent  law  of  1880,  which  makes 
it  imperative  for  every  physician  intending  to  practice  in  any  county  to 
register  his  name,  place  and  date  of  birth,  when  and  where  graduated, 
etc.,  in  the  county  clerk's  office,  renders  such  regulations  unnecessary  in 
these  later  times,  and  at  the  same  time  supplies  a  record  which  may  be 
read  by  both  professional  and  layman. 

Eight  new  members  were  admitted  to  the  society  in  June,  1824.  At 
the  annual  meeting  of  1825,  held  in  Newark,  an  effort  was  inaugurated 
to  procure  the  removal  of  the  medical  college  at  Fairfield,  Herkimer 
county,  to  some  point  farther  west,  with  the  expectation  that  it  might 
be  ultimately  located  in  Wayne  county.  The  annual  meeting  of  1826 
was  held  in  Palmyra,  and  Dr.  Alexander  Mclntyre  was  chosen  as  the 
first  delegate  to  the  New  York  State  Medical  Society. 

During  the  period  between  the  formation  of  the  society  and  1840  this 
society  seems  to  have  experienced  a  period  of  prosperity  and  activity, 
during  which  117  members  were  admitted;  but  the  act  of  May  G,  1S44, 
removing  to  a  great  extent  the  restrictions  on  physicians,  and  ignoring 
their  qualifications,  struck  a  severe  blow  at  all  medical  societies,  and  for 
a  few  years  the  Wayne  society  was  discouraged.  About  1S50  interest 
again  awakened,  members  became  active  and  earnest  in  working  for 
the  general  welfare  and  good  reputation  of  this  profession,  and  the  so- 
ciety has  flourished  ever  since.  Many  able  and  important  papers  have 
been  prepared  and  read  before  the  society  by  its  officers  and  members. 
In  1SS4  this  society  withdrew   from   the  New   York  State  Medical  So- 


•J^-t^-^C    I     £^<^__ 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  123 

ciety  and  joined  the  New  York  State  Medical  Association,  of  which  it 
has  since  been  a  member. 

The  successive  presidents  of  the  Wayne  county  society  have  been  as 
follows:  Gain  Robinson,  1823-26;  Robert  W.  Ashley,  1827;  J.  B.  Pierce, 
1 828  ;  Gain  Robinson,  1 829-30 ;  Robert  W.  Ashley,  1831 ;  John  Delamatcr, 
1832-34;  A.  Mclntyre,  1835-38;  J.  M.  Wilson,  1839-41;  A.  Mclntyre, 
1842-43;  Nelson  Peck,  1844-45;  Dr.  Gaylord,  sr.,  1846;  A.  Mclntyre. 
1847-8;  J.  B.  Pierce,  1849;  from  1850  to  1876  the  following:  C.  G.  Pom- 
eroy,  Darwin  Colvin,  L.  M.  Gaylord,  S.  Weed,  E.  W.  Bottom,  J.  E. 
Smith,  A.  F.  Sheldon;  C.  M.  Kingman,  1876;  J.  N.  Arnold,.  1877 ;  L. 
S.  Sprague,  1878;  Alexander  Sayres,  1879;  H.  F.  Seaman,  1880;  L.  A. 
Crandall,  1881;  C.  G.  Pomeroy,  1882;  J.  W.  Putman,  1883;  D.  B.  Hor- 
ton,  1884;  Darwin  Colvin,  1885;  D.  B.  Horton,  1886;  J.  W.  Arnold, 
1887;  W.  J.  Hennessy,  1888;  N.  E.  Landon,  1889;  A.  A.  Young,  1890; 
George  D.  York,  1891;  M.  E.  Carmen,  1892;  Darwin  Colvin,  1893. 

The  annual  meeting  of  this  society  for  1894  was  held  at  the  court- 
house in  Lyons  on  July  10.  The  annual  address  was  read  by  the  presi- 
dent, Dr.  Darwin  Colvin,  on  the  subject:  "Medical  Men  and  Medical 
Literature  Fifty  Years  Ago."  It  was  a  valuable  and  interesting  paper. 
Committees  were  appointed  to  prepare  resolutions  of  respect  and  sym- 
pathy upon  the  death  of  Drs.  John  A.  Patterson,  of  Harwick,  Mass., 
and  Frank  PI.  Finley,  of  Macedon.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  the 
retiring  secretary,  Dr.  J.  M.  Turner,  for  her  long  and  faithful  service. 
The  following  officers  were  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year;  Dr.  L.  H. 
Smith,  of  Palmyra,  president;  Dr.  T.  H.  Hallett,  of  Rose,  vice-presi- 
dent; Dr.  A.  A.  Young,  of  Newark,  secretary;  Dr.  Darwin  Colvin,  of 
Clyde,  treasurer;  Drs.  M.  A.  Veeder,  N.  E.  Landon.  W.  J.  Hennessey, 
and  A.  A.  Arnold,  censors ;  S.  B.  Mclntyre,  esq. ,  of  Palmyra,  attorney. 

Following  is  a  list  of  the  members  of  the  society  for  1894:  Thomas 
H.  Hallett,  Rose;  Charles  H.  Towlerton,  Lyons;  M.  Alice  Brownell, 
Newark;  L.  A.  Crandall,  Palmyra;  J.  N.  Arnold,  Clyde;  J.  W.  At- 
wood,  Marion;  G.  D.  Barrett,  Clyde;  H.  N.  Burr,  Palmyra;  H.  L. 
Chase,  Palmyra;  Darwin  Colvin,  Clyde;  E.  H.  Draper,  Wolcott;  W. 
J.  Hennessey,  Palmyra;  N.  E.  Landon,  Newark;  James  W.  Putnam, 
Lyons;  H.  F.  Seaman,  Alton;  A.  F.  Sheldon,  Lyons;  J.  E.  Smith, 
Clyde;  L.  H.  Smith,  Palmyra;  J.  L.  Sprague,  L.  S.  Sprague,  William- 
son; Miss  J.  M.  Turner,  M.  H.  Veeder,  Lyons;  George  D.  York,  Hu- 
ron; A.  A.  Young,  Newark;  M.  E.  Carmen,  Lyons;  Frank  S.  Barton, 
Clyde;  F.  L.  Wilson,  Sodus;  M.  W.  T.  Negus,  South  Sodus;  W.  F. 
Nutten,  Newark, 


124  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  society  now  holds  annual  meetings  on  the  2d  Tuesday  of  July, 
at  which  officers  are  elected,  and  semi-annual  meetings  on  the  2d  Tues- 
day of  January.  Since  L880,  194  physicians  have  registered  in  the 
county  clerk's  office  in  Lyons. 

Wayne  Count\-  Homeopathic  Medical  Society. — Ever  since  the  intro- 
duction into  this  country  of  the  school  of  medical  practice  founded  by 
Hahnemann,  Wayne  county  has  had  its  representatives,  and  among 
them  have  been  men  of  high  character  and  intelligence,  who  have  been 
favored  with  large  practice.  All  this  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  as 
early  as  1864,  on  February  9,  a  society  of  physicians  of  this  school  was 
organized  at  Lyons,  at  the  office  of  Dr.  S.  D.  Sherman.  Dr.  M.  P. 
Sweeting,  at  South  Butler,  was  chosen  chairman.  The  society  organ- 
ized by  the  election  of  the  following  officers  :  I  hirfee  Chase,  president; 
M.  V.  Sweeting,  vice-president;  E.  R.  Heath,  secretary  and  ti'easurer. 
A  code  of  by-laws  and  a  constitution  was  prepared  and  at  a  later  meet- 
ing was  adopted.  It  was  at  first  determined  to  hold  semi-annual  meet- 
ings, and  afterwards  quarterly.  Besides  the  officers  before  named  the 
following  constituted  the  original  membership:  A.  G.  Austen,  O.  C. 
Parsons,  S.  B.  Sherman,  L.  Goedicke,  and  A.  P.  Troop.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  (1894)  the  society  has  twelve  members.  The  last  body  of  of- 
ficers was  elected  in  1880  as  follows:  President,  J.  A.  Reed,  of  Newark; 
secretary,  William  H.  Sweeting,  of  Savannah.  Dr.  Sweeting  has  held 
the  office  of  secretary  continuously,  since  1881.  The  following  have 
held  the  office  of  president  of  this  society:  Drs.  Durfee  Chase,  1864- (55: 
S.  I).  Sherman,  1866:  M.  F.  Sweeting,  1867-73-76 ;  A.  G. Austin,  1868 
-69;  S.  D.  Sherman,  1870-71;  W.  B.  Brown,  1872;  G.  C.  Childs,  is;; 
?9;  H.  P.  Van  Deusen,  L880-85;  J.  C.  McPherson,  1881-84;  D.  Mc- 
Pherson,   L886-88;  J.  A.  Reed,  1889. 

Biographical  memoranda  of  the  early  physicians  of  Wayne  county  is 
very  difficult  to  obtain,  excepting  in  such  instances  as  it  has  been  con- 
tributed by  direct  descendants.  Even  then  it  is  often  fragmentary  and 
incomplete. 

In  the  original  town  of  Wolcott  Dr.  Zenas  Hyde  was  prominent  as  a 
physician  and  useful  as  a  citizen.  His  first  settlement  was  made  in 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Huron,  in  January,  L808.  A  child  of  his  was 
the  second  person  born  in  the  town.  In  the  winter  following  he  per- 
formed the  first  surgical  operation  in  that  town  by  amputating  the  leg 
of  I  laniel  Grand)-,  which  had  been  badly  crushed  by  a  falling  tree.  It 
is  a  tradition  that    the  doctor  had  no  regfular  surgical  instruments  and 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  125 

cut  the  off  leg  with  a  razor,  a  handsaw,  and  a  darning  needle,  and  that  the 
operation  was  successful.  He  was  afterwards  taken  to  task  by  his  pro- 
fessional brethren  for  working  with  such  unorthodox  instruments. 

Artemas  W.  Hyde  was  a  doctor  who  settled  very  early  in  the  town 
of  Arcadia,  but  probably  practiced  very  little,  if  at  all.  He  built  a  tav- 
ern at  Hydeville,  which  he  kept  as  a  popular  resort  during  his  life. 

The  first  physician  in  Lyons  was  Dr.  Prescott,  and  came  probably  as 
early  as  1800.  A  Dr.  Willis  also  settled  there,  but  did  not  like  the 
prospect  and  went  away.  Dr.  William  Ambler  located  there  a  little 
later  and  lived  in  a  log  house  on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Pearl  streets. 
He  afterwards  removed  to  Sodus. 

Dr.  Pierce  was  in  practice  about  fifty  years  in  Lyons,  and  died  in  the 
village.  Dr.  E.  Ware  Sylvester  located  in  Lyons  as  a  dentist,  though 
he  was  educated  as  a  regular  physician.  He  practiced  many  years, 
and  finally  established  the  Lyons  nurseries,  and  was  instrumental  in 
developing  the  fruit  industry  of  the  county. 

Dr.  Edward  Wheeler  Bottum  was  born  in  Red  Hook,  N.  Y. ,  June 
22,  1811.  He  graduated  from  the  Castleton  (Vt. )  Medical  College, 
began  practice  in  Victory,  N.  Y.,  removed  to  Huron,  and  settled  in 
Lyons  in  1856,  where  he  was  afterwards  associated  with  Dr.  William 
G.  David,  and  Drs.  Chamberlain,  Gillette  and  Veeder.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  New  York  State  and  Wayne  County  Medical  Societies, 
and  was  member  of  Assembly  in  1851.      He  died  February  29,  1888. 

Dr.  Hiram  D.  Vosburg  was  born  in  Herkimer  county  in  1831,  attend- 
ed Fairfield  Academy,  moved  to  Macedon  in  1849,  and  the  next  year 
began  the  study  of  medicine  in  Palmyra  with  Dr.  Hoyt.  He  gradu- 
ated from  the  medical  college  at  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  in  1853.  He  also 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1862  he  went  into  the 
army  as  surgeon  of  the  8th  New  York  Cavalry,  was  disabled  and  assigned 
to  Columbia  Hospital,  Washington.  In  1865  he  settled  in  Monroe 
county,  and  in  1870  removed  to  Lyons,  where  he  died,  March  25,  1870. 

Dr.  Fletcher  J.  Sherman  practiced  in  Lyons  from  about  1881  to  the 
date  of  his  death  in  October,  1887.  He  was  born  in  1852,  graduated  at 
the  Rochester  University  in  1876,  and  studied  his  profession  in  the 
New  York  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons. 

Dr.  Richard  P.  Williams  was  an  early  physician  in  Newark,  and  built 
the  house  afterwards  occupied  by  Dr.  Charles  G.  Pomeroy.  Dr.  Button 
was  also  located  early  in  Newark. 


126  LANDMARKS   OF 

Dr.  Charles  G.  Pomeroy  was  a  native  of  Madison  county,  N.  Y. ,  and 
settled  in  Fairville  in  L838,  where  he  practiced  seven  years,  and  then 
located  in  Newark.  He  was  for  many  years  a  leading-  physician  in  this 
county,  was  president  of  the  Medical  Society  many  times,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Medical  Society, 

Dr.  William  N.  Lummis  migrated  from  Philadelphia  to  Sodus  Point 
in  1804,  and  was  among  the  very  early  and  prominent  physicians  of 
what  is  now  Wayne  county.  He  was  born  in  Woodbury,  N.  J.,  April 
15,  1755.  He  had  previously  explored  more  or  less  of  the  Genesee 
country,  and  selected  Sodus  for  his  home.  When  the  war  of  1812 
began  he  removed  two  miles  west,  where  he  built  mills  and  a  forge. 
His  former  house  at  the  Point  was  burned  during  the  attack  of  the 
British.  He  held  various  town  offices,  and  was  in  all  respects  a  public- 
spirited  and  useful  citizen.  Turner's  History  says  of  Dr.  Lummis: 
"To  indefatigable  industry  and  perseverance  he  added  extraordinary 
business  talent,  and  to  a  vigorous  intellect  he  added  a  thorough  edu- 
cation, cultivated  literary  tastes  and  pursuits,  which,  in  hours  of  relax- 
ation from  the  sterner  duties  of  life,  made  him  an  agreeable  and  in- 
structive companion."    He  died  April  1G,  1833. 

Dr.  Thomas  G.  Lawson,  from  England,  was  an  early  settler  at  Sodus 
Point,  where  he  purchased  lands  and  spent  money  freely  in  their  im- 
provement.     Pie  returned  to  England  after  a  few  years. 

Other  early  physicians  of  Sodus  were:  Drs.  Coon,  Gibbs,  and  Johnson. 
After  1810  Dr.  Elisha  Mather  practiced  in  the  town.  He  was  from 
Saybrook,  Conn.,  located  first  on  a  farm,  and  in  1821  settled  in  Sodus 
Center,  where  his  son  afterwards  resided.  Dr.  Levi  Gaylord,  who  died 
in  1852,  practiced  thirty  years  in  the  community,  and  left  his  son,  Dr. 
Levi  M.  Gaylord,  to  follow  in  his  footsteps.  He  was  born  March  \!T, 
1823,  and  died  in  Sodus,  January  20,  1890,  where  he  had  practiced 
about  forty-five  years.  Dr.  H.  H.  Ostrom  was  the  pioneer  physician  at 
Alton,  and  father  of  Dr.  H.  Ostrom.  Dr.  P.  S.  Rose,  a  native  of 
( )neida  county,  settled  at  Sodus  Center  in  1847.  Dr.  John  C.  Lamont, 
a  native  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland  graduated  from  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York,  and  settled  in  Sodus  to  begin 
practice  in  1871;  he  died  December  13,  1887.  He  was  a  prominent 
Mason. 

Dr.  Darwin  Colvin,  of  Clyde,  comes  of  a  family  distinguished  for 
professional  ability  and  honor.  His  father  was  Dr.  Nathan  P.  Colvin, 
formerly  of-  Washington  county,  N.  Y.,  who  was  in  practice  more  than 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  127 

sixty  years.  The  ancestors  of  the  family  came  from  Rhode  Island.  Dr. 
Colvin  was  born  on  the  Gth  of  July,  1822.  When  nine  years  of  age  his 
father  moved  from  Washington  county  to  Wayne  county.  The  son  at- 
tended the  academy  at  Clyde.  Then  for  three  years  he  was  under 
special  instruction  in  the  classics  with  a  view  of  preparing  himself  for 
West  Point  United  States  Military  Academy.  He  was,  however,  born 
to  be  a  physician.  For  awhile  he  was  in  a  drug  store,  then  he  com- 
menced studying  medicine  with  his  father,  and  later  still  with  his  uncle, 
Dr.  Robert  T.  Paine,  who  was  associated  with  his  father  in  the  practice 
of  medicine.  In  January,  1844,  he  graduated  from  the  Geneva  Medical 
College,  and  commenced  practiced  at  Clyde.  He  was  associated  with 
his  father  for  about  five  years.  Then  he  moved  to  the  office  he  now 
occupies  on  the  corner  of  Sodus  and  Genesee  streets.  In  this  office  he 
has  practiced  for  thirty-three  continous  years.  In  1845  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Linus  Ely,  of  Seneca  county.  He  has 
one  child,  who  is  the  wife  of  George  J.  Oaks,  a  merchant  of  Rochester. 
Dr.  Colvin 's  devotion  to  the  Democratic  party  has  been  very  marked. 
Many  times  has  he  gone  to  county  and  State  conventions.  In  1874  he 
became  a  member  of  the  State  Democratic  Committee  and  remained  as 
such  until  the  close  of  1876.  This  was,  as  will  be  remembered,  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Tilden  campaign.  The  doctor  was  an  ardent  supporter 
of  the  governor  throughout  these  years.  Many  years  ago  Dr.  Colvin 
was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  to  the  office  of  county  coroner.  He 
has  spent  three  years  as  a  member  of  the  School  Board,  and  recently 
has  received  the  appointment  of  Regents'  examiner,  and  will  assist  the 
principal  in  conducting  all  regent  examinations.  For  many  years  he 
was  health  officer  of  the  village.  Four  times  was  he  elected  president 
of  the  village,  during  the  years  of  '65,  '66,  '67  and  '77.  In  1850  he  be- 
came connected  with  the  Wayne  County  Medical  Society,  and  served  as 
secretary  and  president.  Now  he  is  its  treasurer.  About  1850  the 
society  became  considerably  demoralized,  and  he  was  in  conjunction 
with  Dr.  Pomeroy  of  Newark  principally  instrumental  in  reorganizing 
it.  He  was  a  member  of  the  old  New  York  State  Medical  Society,  and 
is  now  a  retired  permanent  member  of  that  society.  He  is  at  present 
a  member  of  the  New  York  State  Medical  Association,  having  been  at 
its  organization,  seven  years  ago,  one  of  its  founders.  He  has  been 
vice-president  of  the  Fourth  District,  and  a  delegate  to  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Society.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  and  in  1887  was  by  acclamation  elected  its  second 


128  LANDMARKS   OF 

vice-president.  Frequently  has  Dr.  Colvin  been  a  contributor  to  med- 
ical journals.  In  1885  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Hill  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  New  York  State  Custodial  Asylum  for 
feeble-minded  women,  at  Newark,  N.  Y.,  and  is  still  a  member.  Dr. 
Colvin  on  many  occasions  has  been  called  upon  to  testify  as  an  expert 
in  insanity  and  other  cases,  and  has  now  a  large  consultation  practice. 
He  is  a  gentleman  who  is  still  in  active  practice,  and  though  in  some- 
what advanced  life,  is  both  in  professional  and  political  circles  a  power 
in  the  land. 

Dr.  William  Greenwood  settled  in  Ontario  village  in  181,1,  as  the  pio- 
neer physician  of  that  town,  and  he  continued  in  practice  until  his  death 
in  1829.      He  was  much  respected  as  a  physician  and  as  a  citizen. 

A  Dr.  Bigelow  settled  in  Williamson  before  1815,  and  was,  perhaps, 
the  first  physician  in  the  town.  After  seven  or  eight  years  he  sold  out 
to  Dr.  Josiah  Bennett,  who  practiced  there  until  his  death,  being  the 
second  physician  in  the  town.  Dr.  Bennett  came  in  1815.  He  was 
the  father  of  Hon.  John  P.  and  Charles  Bennett,  who  reside  in  Will- 
iamson village.  John  B.  Bennett  is  the  foremost  citizen  of  the  town; 
he  held  the  office  of  sheriff,  member  of  assembly  in  1890,  and  has  been 
supervisor  since  1879. 

Dr.  Gain  Robinson  was  practicing  in  Palmyra  in  1812,  and  was  prob- 
ably  preceded  a  few  years  by  Dr.  Reuben  Town.  Dr.  Robinson  was 
from  Massachusetts  and  continued  in  practice  until  his  death  in  1830. 
He  also  conducted  the  first  drug  store  in  the  village.  Dr.  L.  Cowen 
also  practiced  early  in  that  village  and  carried  on  a  drug  store. 

Dr.  Peter  Valentine  settled  in  what  is  now  the  town  of  Rose  about 
!Sli).  He  was  the  first  postmaster,  appointed  in  1827,  the  office  being 
named  "Valentine's,"  afterwards  "Albion,"  and  finally  "  Rose."  Dr. 
Valentine  was  the  first  physician  in  the  town  and  the  first  supervisor. 

Dr.  John  J.  Dickson,  born  in  1807,  practiced  medicine  in  Rose  forty- 
five  years.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace  twenty  years,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  in  1845.  He  settled  in  the  town  about  1829,  and 
died  in  1874. 

Hon.  Allen  S.  Russell  was  educated  as  a  physician  in  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York,  graduating  with  honor  in  1864. 
He  served  as  assistant  surgeon  and  brigade  surgeon  in  the  Civil  War. 
Returning  to  Marion  he  engaged  in  practice  and  has  carried  on  a  drug 
business.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  L875  and  again  in  the  fol- 
lowing year. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  129 

Dr.  James  M.  Wilson,  of  Wolcott,  was  born  in  Washington  county  in 
L807.  He  graduated  from  the  Vermont  Medical  College  in  1829,  and 
soon  afterward  settled  in  Huron.  Three  years  later  he  located  in  Wol- 
cott, where  he  was  very  successful  in  his  practice.  He  was  supervisor 
ten  years;  was  elected  to  the  assembly  in  1842  and  in  1850.  In  184(3  he 
was  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for  member  of  Congress,  but 
was  defeated  by  a  small  majority.  He  died  August  17,  1881.  His  son, 
Benjamin  Wilson,  is  also  a  successful  physician. 

Dr.  Alfred  P.  Crafts  was  born  in  Cherry  Valley,  N.  Y.,  in  1826;  grad- 
uated from  Union  College  in  1851,  and  from  the  Buff alo  Medical  College 
in  1855,  He  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  at  Washington  in  1862, 
and  after  the  close  of  the  war  settled  in  Wolcott.  He  had  previously 
practiced  in  Sodus  and  Huron.  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  1879. 
He  died  in  Wolcott,  December  18,  1880. 

Dr.  S.  Hiram  Plumb  was  born  in  Greenfield,  N.  Y. ,  February  19, 
1819.  He  attended  lectures  in  the  medical  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  New  York,  and  began  practice  in  1846.  He  enlisted  from  Vic- 
tor, N.  Y.,  in  the  24th  N.  Y.  Volunteers,  and  later  was  made  surgeon 
of  the  82d  Regiment,  still  later  was  brigade  surgeon  of  the  1st  Brigade, 
2d  Corps,  and  chief  of  the  operating  staff  of  the  division.  During  the 
last  year  of  the  war  he  was  surgeon-in-chief  of  the  2d  Division,  2d  Corps, 
with  rank  of  colonel.  Mustered  out  in  June,  1865,  he  returned  to  Red 
Creek,  where  he  died  full  of  professional  honor  August  13,  1880. 

Dr.  David  Arne  went  to  Wolcott  village  in  early  years.  He  was  act- 
ive, capable,  and  very  ambitious,  soon  acquiring  a  large  practice.  He 
also  was  active  in  public  affairs,  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  subsequently  was  side  judge  of  the  County  Court.  He  was  the  first 
supervisor  of  the  present  town  of  Wolcott  in  1826,  and  was  member  of 
assembly  one  term.  He  finally  removed  to  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  and  died 
there.  His  son,  George  H.  Arne,  resided  in  Wolcott,  and  built  a  fine 
residence  on  New  Hartford  street. 

Dr.  RomainC.  Barless,  twin  brother  of  Rollin  C,  was  born  in  Hoosick, 
N.  Y.,  October  19,  1833,  studied  medicine  with  his  father-in-law,  Dr. 
Thompson,  of  Sandy  Creek,  and  began  practice  in  Rose  Valley  in  1858. 
He  served  as  a  musician  three  years  in  the  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery, 
and  has  since  resided  in  Rose.  His  son,  Clayton  J.,  is  owner  and  edi- 
tor of  the  Farmer's  Counsel  and  Times  at  Rose. 

Dr.  Robert  Ashley,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  came  to  Lyons  about 
1805.     He  owned  a  lot  on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Queen  streets,  and 

17 


130  LANDMARKS   OF 

built  a  frame  house  there,  which  was  afterwards  sold  to  Lyman  Sher- 
wood. He  was  a  man  of  fine  personal  appearance,  and  a  good  physi- 
cian and  citizen. 

Dr.  Charles  Culver,  who  died  in  Lyons,  October  18,  1854,  was  one  of 
the  older  and  more  prominent  physicians  of  that  village. 

Dr.  Linus  Ely,  of  Clyde,  died  in  that  village  April  30,  1864,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-nine  years.  His  professional  career  was  long  and  honor- 
able. 

Dr.  Jeremiah  B.  Pierce,  a  man  of  prominence  both  in  and  outside  of 
his  profession,  died  in  Lyons  on  the  10th  of  April,  1862,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two  years. 

John  Knowles,  sr. ,  practiced  long  in  Lyons,  and  died  there  Novem- 
ber 19,  1864,  aged  sixty-nine  years. 

Dr.  Nelson  Peck  settled  in  Lyons  about  1827.  He  was  a  public  spir- 
ited man  and  mingled  considerably  in  political  affairs,  and  held  the  of- 
fice of  inspector  of  schools  many  years.  Kindhearted  and  benevolent, 
he  lived  a  long  and  upright  life,  and  died  much  respected  May  28,  1866. 

Dr.  William  May  died  in  Palmyra,  September  10,  1865,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-seven  years.  He  was  a  successful  physician  and  respected  as  a 
man. 

Dr.  S.  Olin  was  one  of  the  older  physicians  of  Sodus,  to  which  town 
he  went  in  early  years  and  died  at  South  Sodus,  April  5,  1865,  aged 
sixty-seven  years. 

Dr.  Ryland  J.  Rogers  was  born  in  Palmyra,  May  14,  1819,  and  be- 
came a  prominent  practitioner.  He  removed  to  Suspension  Bridge  in 
1854. 

Dr.  Hiram  Mann,  who  died  in  Lyons,  October  2,  1865,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven,  was  not  only  a  leading  physician,  but  was  conspicuous 
in  public  affairs.      He  held  the  office  of  sheriff  in  1837-40. 

Dr.  William  G.  David,  of  Lyons,  died  August  17,  1877.  He  was  a 
native  of  New  Hampshire,  a  graduate  of  Williams  College,  and  of  the 
Harvard  Medical  College  in  1855.  He  settled  in  Lyons  about  1859,  was 
surgeon  of  the  98th  Regiment  in  the  Rebellion,  and  was  universally  es- 
teemed as  a  physician  and  a  citizen. 

Dr.  Lawrence  Johnson  was  born  in  Savannah  in  L845;  left  Falley 
Seminary  early  in  the  late  war,  enlisted  in  the  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  and 
served  to  L865.  Returning  home  he  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  C.  M. 
Lee,  of  Fulton,  N.  Y.,  and  at  Bellevue,  graduating  in  L868.  He  be- 
came a  leading  physician,  removed  to  New  York,  and  died  there  March 
is,  is-.):;. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  131 

Dr.  William  Vosburg  died  in  Lyons,  June  15,  1870,  aged  forty-four 
years.      He  was  prominent  in  his  profession  and  an  excellent  citizen. 

Dr.  George  P.  Livingston  was  born  in  Amsterdam,  N.  Y.,  in  1826, 
and  settled  in  Clyde  in  1850,  coming  here  from  Brockport,  where  he  had 
practiced  medicine  and  dentistry.  He  graduated  from  the  Albany  Medi- 
cal College  in  1847  ;  served  in  the  navy  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  stationed 
at  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard;  held  the  office  of  coroner  nine  years;  and 
was  a  prominent  Mason  and  Odd  Fellow.  He  died  in  Clyde,  Decem- 
ber 22,  1888. 

Dr.  Charles  M.  Kingman,  who  died  at  Centralia,  Va.,  in  April,  1886, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years,  practiced  medicine  in  Palmyra  more  than 
twenty  years  with  success.      He  was  a  graduate  of  Hamilton  College. 

Dr.  Hurlburt  Crittenden  was  the  first  physician  in  Walworth  in  1810. 
Dr.  Seth  Tucker  was  the  pioneer  of  his  profession  in  Marion,  and  prac- 
ticed there  many  years. 

Dr.  Mortimer  Franklin  Sweeting  was  born  in  Marcellus,  Onondaga 
county,  N.  Y.,  in  August,  1817.  He  graduated  as  a  physician  from  the 
Geneva  Medical  College  in  1850,  and  settled  in  South  Butler  in  1852, 
where  he  succeeded  Dr.  Clarendon  Campbell.  Dr.  Sweeting  had  a  long 
and  successful  career.  He  was  the  father  of  A^olney  H.  Sweeting,  of 
Lyons,  and  of  Dr.  Sweeting,  of  Savannah. 

The  reader  will  find  in  Part  II.  of  this  work  personal  notes  of  many 
other  physicians  of  the  county. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  PRESS  OF  WAYNE  COUNTY. 

The  inhabitunts  of  Wayne  county,  as  it  is  now  constituted,  were  fa- 
vored with  local  newspapers  before  the  organization  of  the  county,  not 
only  those  published  in  Cananclaigua  and  Geneva,  but  others  in  the  vil- 
lages of  Palmyra  and  Lyons.  While  the  newspaper  death-roll  in  this 
county  is  as  long  as  usual  in  similar  communities,  it  is  true  that  public 
journals  have  been  founded  here  and  are  still  in  existence  that  give 
their  readers  the  world's  news,  and  wield  a  powerful  influence  on  the 
politics,  morals  and  general  public  affairs  of  this  section  of  the  State. 


132  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  what  is  now  Wayne  county,  was  the 
Palmyra  Register,  the  first  number  of  which  appeared  November  26, 
1817.  It  was  founded  by  Timothy  C.  Strong,  who  continued,  with  sev- 
eral changes  of  title  to  October,  1823,  when  the  business  passed  to 
Pomeroy  Tucker  and  E.  P.  Grandin ;  they  changed  the  name  of  the  pa- 
per from  the  Western  Farmer  and  Canal  Advocate,  to  the  less  cumber- 
some title  of  Wayne  Sentinel.  Mr.  Grandin  soon  retired  from  the  firm, 
and  for  nearly  forty  years  thereafter  the  Sentinel  enjoyed  a  prosperous 
career,  under  Mr.  Tucker's  direction.  Mr.  Tucker  was  a  native  of  Pal- 
myra, and  a  man  of  exceptional  qualifications  as  a  politician  and  writer. 
A  firm  and  consistent  Democrat,  he  gave  his  journal  a  reputation  and 
prestige  gained  by  few  other  country  newspapers,  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State.  The  managers  of  the  old  Whig  party  in  this  vicinity  met 
in  the  Sentinel  and  its  editors,  foes  that  were  valiant  in  the  field.  John 
M.  Francis,  who  became  one  of  the  leading  editors  of  Troy,  and  a  fore- 
most journalist  of  the  State,  was  with  Mr.  Tucker  twenty-eight  years, 
and  there  learned  well  the  details  of  newspaper  management.  Mr. 
Tucker  died  in  Palmyra,  in  July,  1870.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
Free  Soil  party  in  1848,  the  Sentinel  espoused  its  principles  and  sup- 
ported Van  Buren.  In  1852  Henry  Harrington  purchased  the  estab- 
lishment, and  sold  it  to  A.  J.  Mathewson  in  1855  and  in  1857  it  was 
bought  by  W.  N.  Cole,  who  continued- the  publication  to  1860,  when  it 
was  discontinued. 

The  next  paper  started  in  Palmyra  was  the  Palmyra  Freeman,  first 
issued  March  11,  1828,  by  P.  D.  Stephenson.  Shortly  afterwards  it  was 
sold  to  J.  A.  Hadley,  who  removed  the  business  to  Lyons. 

A  monthly  publication  called  the  Reflector  had  an  existence  in  Pal- 
myra from  1828  to  1830.  It  was  started  by  O.  Dogberry,  and  on  Jan- 
uary 9,  1830,  Luther  Howard  and  Erastus  Shepard  began  publishing 
the  Western  Spectator  and  Anti-Masonic  Star.  It  was  soon  afterwards 
merged  with  the  Anti-Masonic  Inquirer  at  Rochester.  The  Paln^ra 
Whig  was  begun  in  February,  1 838,  by  William  A.  Cole  and  Samuel  Cole, 
and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  was  removed  to  Lyons. 

The  Palmyra  Courier  was  established  in  1838,  by  Frederick  Morley, 
who  continued  it  to  1852,  when  it  was  sold  to  J.  C.  Benedict.  In  Jan- 
uary, L853,  B.  C.  Beebe  bought  the  establishment,  changed  the  name 
of  the  paper  to  the  Palmyra  Democrat  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
again  changed  it  to  the  Palmyra  American.  In  August,  1856,  E.  S. 
Averill  purchased  the  business.      The  Republican   party   was  then  just 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  133 

organized  and  Mr.  Averill  restored  the  journal  to  its  former  name — 
Palmyra  Courier —  and  turned  its  support  to  the  new  party.  Up  to  that 
time  little  attention  had  been  given  in  the  local  press  to  home  news, 
a  condition  which  Mr.  Averill  at  once  corrected,  enlarging  his  paper  for 
the  purpose.  He  was  promply  rewarded  with  an  increased  circulation, 
which  encouraged  him  to  make  a  second  enlargement.  In  April,  1857, 
he  purchased  an  entire  new  dress  for  the  paper  and  otherwise  improved 
it,  and  in  the  next  year  enlarged  it,  making  it  one  of  the  largest  as  well 
as  one  of  the  ablest  journals  in  Western  New  York.  In  1865  another 
enlargement  was  made,  and  the  Courier,  now  about  forty  years  under 
Mr.  Averill's  control,  is  still  a  power  in  the  Republican  party  and  a 
source  of  honor  and  profit  to  its  owner. 

E.  S.  Averill,  the  oldest  newspaper  man  in  service  in  Wayne  county, 
was  born  in  Albany  in  1835.  He  was  collector  of  canal  tolls  at  Pal- 
myra from  1863  to  1868;  was  postmaster  in  1871-72,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Palmyra  Board  of  Education.  He  is  married  and  has 
four  children. 

The  Wayne  County  Journal  was  established  in  Palmyra  on  the  first 
Thursday  in  July,  1871,  by  Anson  B.  Clemons  and  his  son,  Fred.  W. 
Clemons.  This  was  the  first  printing  office  in  Wayne  county  to  intro- 
duce steam  power.  The  Journal  was  successful  from  the  beginning 
and  earnestly  and  ably  supported  the  Republican  party.  A.  B.  Clem- 
ons was  a  writer  of  ability  and  especially  well  informed  in  political  his- 
tory. His  death  took  place  on  May  27,  1873,  the  business  being  there- 
after conducted  by  his  son.  A  building,  a  part  of  which  was  designed 
for  the  printing  business,  was  erected  in  1875.  A  fire  on  September  17, 
1876,  almost  wholly  destroyed  the  printing  plant  and  building,  but  both 
were  promptly  replaced.  On  the  14th  of  November  following  the  front 
of  this  structure  was  partially  burned.  During  about  one  year  the 
establishment  was  in  control  of  Miles  Davis,  but  Mr.  Clemons  practically 
owned  it  until  about  1883,  when  an  incendiary  fire  destroyed  the  prop- 
erty and  the  paper  was  discontinued. 

The  Wayne  County  Dispatch  was  founded  in  Palmyra  September  21, 
1892,  by  F.  G.  Crandall,  proprietor,  and  A.  F.  Du  Bois,  editor.  The 
Dispatch  is  Republican  in  politics,  four  pages  with  eight  columns  to 
the  page,  and  a  handsome  and  able  example  of  modern  country  jour- 
nalism. It  has  steadily  increased  in  circulation  since  its  first  number. 
On  September  1,  1893,  Mr.  Du  Bois  was  succeeded  in  the  editorial 
chair  by  R.  N.  Backus,  but  it  is  now  edited  and  published  by  Mr.  Cran- 


134  LANDMARKS   OF 

dall.  Mr.  Crandall  conducted  a  job  printing  business  in  Palmyra  since 
January,  1885. 

The  Palmyra  Democrat  was  founded  in  August,  1885,  by  Cole  &  Os- 
goodby.  It  was  a  four-page,  eight-column  paper  and  supported  the 
Democratic  party.  Mr.  Cole  went  out  of  the  firm  at  the  end  of  about 
two  years,  but  soon  returned  and  Osgoodby  retired.  F.  W.  Cole  then 
continued  the  publication  until  April,  1894,  when  it  suspended,  except- 
ing brief  periods  when  he  leased  the  office  to  other  persons,  while  he 
filled  the  position  of  traveling  correspondent  of  the  Buffalo  Horse 
World. 

A  Baptist  journal,  named  The  Record,  was  started  in  Palmyra  by 
Rev.  J.  R.  Henderson  in  October,  1891,  and  discontinued  September 
12,  1893. 

Purdy's  Fruit  Recorder  and  Evaporator,  a  quarterly,  the  character  of 
which  is  indicated  by  its  title,  was  started  in  Palmyra  by  A.  M.  Purdy 
several  years  ago,  and  a  new  series  commenced  in  1890.  During  about 
a  year  past  it  has  been  issued  monthly,  with  eight  pages  of  four  columns 
each. 

The  Worker  and  Shareholder  was  started  in  Palmyra  in  May,  1889, 
by  F.  G.  Crandall,  as  a  four-page  monthly,  in  the  interest  of  building 
and  loan  associations,  and  kindred  organizations.  It  is  still  continued 
by  him. 

The  Palmyra  Journal  was  established  in  Palmyra,  July  11,  1894,  by 
the  Journal  Printing  Company,  consisting  of  Edwin  K.  Burnham, 
George  W.  Knowles,  and  John  E.  Weier,  the  latter  acting  as  editor. 
The  suspension  of  the  Democrat  seemed  to  this  company  to  leave  a  good 
field  for  a  staunch  Democratic  paper,  and  the  Journal  will  endeavor  to 
occupy  the  field.  It  is  a  handsome,  well-edited  paper,  and  deserves  the 
patronage  of  its  constituents. 

John  E.  Weier  is  a  native  of  Lewis  county,  and  son  of  Rev.  E.  A. 
Weier,  who  settled  in  Lyons  as  pastor  of  the  Evangelical  Church,  and 
died  in  Albany,  November  11,  1890.  The  son  learned  the  printing 
trade  in  Buffalo,  beginning  in  1887,  and  continuing  it  in  Albany  and 
Rochester.  He  located  in  Newark  in  1S9-2,  where  he  was  associate 
editor  of  the  Newark  Courier,  and  continued  until  he  assumed  his  con- 
nection with  the  Palmyra  Journal. 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  Lyons  began  its  existence  prior  to 
the  erection  of  Wayne  county,  the  first  number  having  appeared  August 
3,   1821,  with  the  title  of  The  Lyons   Republican.      George  Lewis  was 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  135 

the  publisher.  The  paper  was  20x28  inches  in  size,  four  pages  of  five 
columns  each,  two  dollars  per  year.  It  contained  about  five  columns 
of  advertising.  This  journal  was  short-lived,  its  last  issue  bearing  date 
in  February,  1822. 

The  Lyons  Advertiser  was  established  in  May,  1822,  by  Hiram  T. 
Day.  In  1828  he  sold  out  to  E.  J.  Whitney,  who  changed  the  name  of 
the  paper  to  Wayne  County  Patriot,  and  later  had  as  partner  W.  W. 
Whitney.  In  1830  the  establishment  passed  to  Barber  &  Chapman, 
who  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  The  Western  Argus,  and  made 
it  active  in  support  of  the  anti-Masonic  party  of  that  period.  Soon  after- 
ward Mr.  Barber  sold  his  interest  to  G.  H.  Chapin,  and  the  new  firm 
continued  until  1835,  when  the  property  passed  to  W.  F.  Ashley  & 
Company.  They  sold  in  1838  to  Ezra  Jewell,  who  died  in  the  next 
year,  and  the  establishment  passed  to  Marsh  &  Poucher,  who  moved  it 
into  what  is  now  the  rear  of  the  Getman  building  on  William  street, 
and  enlarged  the  paper  to  six  columns  to  the  page.  In  1841  Mr.  Marsh 
retired,  and  in  September  of  that  year  William  Van  Camp  bought  the 
business.  In  1842  he  transferred  it  to  Charles  Poucher,  who  removed 
the  office  to  the  Center  building,  which  now  constitutes  a  part  of  the  Ira 
Mirick  malt  house.  In  1849  S.  W.  Russell  purchased  the  establishment 
and  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  The  Lyons  Gazette.  He  con- 
tinued it  until  1852,  when  William  Van  Camp  again  became  proprietor, 
continuing  to  June,  1856,  when  he  purchased  from  Pomeroy  Tucker  of 
Palmyra  a  new  establishment,  from  which  had  been  issued  five  numbers 
of  The  Wayne  Democratic  Press,  and  consolidated  the  two  papers, 
retaining  the  latter  title.  An  additional  column  was  put  on  the  paper, 
and  an  era  of  prosperity  in  its  career  began,  which  has  ever  since  con- 
tinued, and  during  which  it  has  been  recognized  as  a  leading  organ  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  Western  New  York.  In  1869  the  office  was 
removed  to  the  Masonic  Block.  In  1872  power  presses  and  other  im- 
proved facilities  were  added  to  the  plant,  and  the  paper  was  enlarged 
to  eight  columns  to  the  page.  The  journal  continued  to  increase  in 
circulation  and  influence,  and  from  1884  to  1890  was  conducted  by 
William  and  H.  T.  Van  Camp,  sons  of  William,  sr.  (before  mentioned). 
Since  1890  William  Van  Camp  has  conducted  the  business  alone.  The 
office  is  admirably  equipped  with  the  best  and  latest  improved  presses, 
type,  etc. 

William  Van  Camp,   sr.,  was  born  in  Madison  county  in  1820,  and 
went  with  his  parents,  while  young,  to  Seneca  county  on  a  farm.     He 


136  LANDMARKS   OF 

began  work  at  the  printing-  trade  in  Palmyra,  acting  as  clerk  in  his 
employer's  book  store  evenings.  He  bought  the  Lyons  Gazette,  and 
later  of  Pomeroy  Tucker  the  Wayne  County  Democratic  Press,  and  con- 
solidated the  two  papers.  He  died  in  Michigan,  March  24,  1884.  He 
was  father  of  three  children,  William,  jr.,  Harry  T.,  and  Mrs.  E.  W. 
Hamm,  all  living  in  Lyons.  William  Van  Camp,  jr.,  was  born  in  1855, 
and  was  associated  with  his  father,  on  whose  death  he  with  his  brother 
Harry  took  the  business. 

We  mentioned  a  page  back  the  starting  of  the  Lyons  Republican  by 
by  George  Lewis,  August  3,  1821,  and  the  suspension  of  the  paper  in 
February,  1822.  Mr  Lewis  went  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died  in 
1839.  The  present  Lyons  Republican  and  its  legitimate  predecessors 
passed  through  a  long  and  varied  career.  The  Palmyra  Freeman,  which 
had  been  published  by  D.  D,  Stephenson,  was  sold  to  Jonathan  A. 
Hadley  in  1830,  who  removed  the  plant  to  Lyons  and  changed  the  name 
of  his  paper  to  The  Lyons  Countryman.  In  1831,  when  the  anti-Masonic 
excitement  was  prevailing,  the  title  "Anti-Masonic  Recorder"  was 
added  to  the  former  name  of  the  paper,  and  Myron  A.  Holley  was  as- 
sociated with  Mr.  Hadley  in  the  business.  The  issue  of  the  paper  was 
suspended  the  same  year,  but  Mr.  Holley  at  once  began  the  publication 
of  the  Lyons  American,  which  in  1835  he  transferred  to  William  H. 
Childs,  who  removed  it  to  Clyde.  In  1839  the  Palmyra  Whig  was  re- 
moved to  Lyons  by  William  N.  Cole,  and  the  name  changed  to  The 
Wayne  County  Whig.  Mr.  Cole  was  for  a  time  in  partnership  with 
Frederick  Morley,  and  also  with  his  brother,  James  Cole,  and  continued 
his  connection  with  the  Whig  until  1850.  In  that  year,  when  Millard 
Fillmore  was  president,  Mr.  Cole  was  postmaster  at  Lyons,  and  knowing 
that  a  majority  of  the  Whig  party  in  Wayne  county  held  views  adverse 
to  his  own,  he  decided  to  sell  his  paper.  He  resided  in  Lyons  until  1863, 
and  was  afterwards  publisher  of  the  Wayne  Sentinel  in  Palmyra. 
Bartlett  R.  Rogers  succeeded  as  publisher  of  the  Whig;  John  Layton 
next,  who  sold  to  Saxon  B.  Gavitt  and  Alexander  B.  Williams.  About 
a  year  and  a  half  later  they  sold  out  to  Silas  A.  Andrews,  who  trans- 
ferred the  property  to  William  Van  Marter.  In  the  fall  of  1852  it 
passed  to  Rodney  L.  Adams,  who  infused  new  life  into  the  business, 
enlarged  the  paper  and  started  it  on  a  paying  basis.  In  L855  the  name 
of  the  paper  was  changed  to  The  Lyons  Republican,  and  it  soon  became 
a  journal  of  influence  and  high  character.  In  1859  Mr.  Adams  sold  to 
William  T.  Tinsley,  who  had  been  his  foreman  and  assistant  in  editorial 


^^. 


dTdZ 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  137 

work!  The  paper  lost  nothing-  by  this  change.  Mr.  Tinsley  was  a 
practical  printer  as  well  as  newspaper  man,  possessed  of  high  intel- 
ligence, an  able  writer,  and  a  man  of  sound  practical  judgment.  He 
soon  made  the  Republican  a  power  in  politics,  and  a  welcome  guest 
with  a  large  number  of  patrons.  He  continued  the  publication  to 
October  1,  1889,  when  he  sold  to  William  G.  David,  formerly  editor  of 
the  Canandaigua  Journal.  Mr.  David  sold  on  January  1,  1891,  to  the 
firm  of  Tinsley  &  Sherwood  (W.  T.  Tinsley,  the  former  publisher,  and 
C.  R.  Sherwood).  Mr.  Tinsley  died  April  28,  1893,  and  Mr.  Sherwood 
became  sole  proprietor.  In  1882  Mr.  Tinsley  built  the  handsome  brick 
structure  on  William  street  for  his  business,  and  removed  thither  from 
Church  street.  The  plant  is  now  one  of  the  largest  and  most  complete 
in  this  county. 

William  T.  Tinsley  was  born  at  Whittlesea,  England,  June  13,  1833, 
his  second  birthday  occurring  on  shipboard  while  with  his  parents  on 
their  way  to  America.  His  father  was  William  Tinsley,  an  artist  of 
merit  and  a  somewhat  eccentric  genius.  The  son's  education  was  ob- 
tained in  the  common  schools,  but  is  was  constantly  added  to  and 
broadened  through  his  life  by  reading  and  habits  of  close  observation. 
His  private  library  was  one  of  the  largest  in  Wayne  county.  At  an 
early  age  he  entered  the  office  of  the  Watkins  Express,  and  there  learned 
the  printing  trade.  Afterwards  as  a  journeyman  printer  he  found  work 
in  many  of  the  villages  of  Western  New  York  and  in  Freeport,  111.  In 
the  latter  place  he  met  Emma  Guiteau,  whom  he  married  in  1858,  soon 
after  settling  in  Lyons.  In  1859  Mr.  Tinsley,  who  had  for  some  time 
been  foreman  of  the  Lyons  Republican,  purchased  the  establishment, 
and  in  a  short  time  built  up  a  business  and  produced  a  journal  that 
ranked  among  the  leading  Republican  newspapers  of  the  interior  of  this 
State.  Mr.  Tinsley  possessed  all  of  the  attributes  of  the  successful 
editor,  as  well  as  of  the  progressive  business  man.  His  integrity  was 
unimpeachable,  and  while  of  a  retiring  disposition,  he  could  assert  his 
rights  and  maintain  them.  In  June,  1886,  he  visited  his  old  home  in 
England,  returning  in  the  fall.  The  Republican,  up  to  his  death,  ex- 
cept three  years  when  it  was  owned  by  William  G.  David,  received  the 
best  energies  of  Mr.  Tinsley's  mind  and  hand.  In  January,  1891,  as 
above  noted,  it  passed  to  Tinsley  &  Sherwood.  In  March,  1891,  Mr. 
Tinsley  underwent  the  operation  of  lithotomy,  and  from  that  time  until 
his  death,  March  28,  1893,  he  gradually  failed.  Mrs.  Tinsley  died  in 
March,  1882.     Their  children  were  as  follows: 

18 


138  LANDMARKS   OF 

Henry  G.  Tinsley,  of  The  Pomona  (Cal. )  Progress;  Mrs.  Francies  A. 
Leach,  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.  ;  Mrs.  Boyd  P.  Hill,  of  Freeport,  111.  ;  and 
Mrs.  Clement  R.  Sherwood  and  Miss  Emma  Tinsley,  of  Lyons.  In 
December,  1885,  Mr.  Tinsley  married  Hannah  Rogers  Taft,  who  sur- 
vives him,  as  do  also  two  brothers — Charles  Tinsley,  of  Minneapolis, 
and  James  H.  Tinsley,  of  Brooklyn. 

In  a  brief  view  of  Mr.  Tinsley's  life,  read  at  the  twenty-seventh  con- 
vention of  the  New  York  Press  Association,  June  28,  1893,  it  was  said: 
As  a  citizen  he  was  helpful  and  courageous ;  as  an  editor  keenly  alive  to 
the  possibilities  of  his  high  calling  and  a  faithful  herald  for  the  good 
and  true  in  all  things,  quick  to  see  the  gist  of  anything  offered  for  his 
columns,  and  apt  in  putting  it  into  presentable  shape ;  as  a  writer  meth- 
odical, careful,  able  and  often  brilliant;  as  a  publisher  far  sighted  and 
progressive;  as  a  business  man  prompt,  industrious  and  reliable;  as  a 
comrade  genial  and  generous ;  as  a  politician  brave,  powerful  and  aggres- 
sive; as  a  Christian  a  meek  and  lowly  follower  of  the  Saviour;  as  a  hus- 
band always  the  lover;  as  a  parent  tender  and  affectionate;  as  a  friend 
intuitively  considerate,  chivalric  and  true.  Indeed,  it  was  in  this  last 
phase  of  his  character  that  we  knew  him  best.  He  drew  his  friends  to 
him  with  cords  of  love  which  bound  like  hooks  of  steel.  Once  your 
friend  he  was  always  your  friend,  and  stood  ready  to  prove  his  friend- 
ship, not  by  words,  but  in  deeds. 

Clement  R.  Sherwood,  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Republican,  was 
born  in  Lyons,  January  28,  1867,  and  is  a  son  of  Rev.  L.  H.  Sherwood, 
founder  and  for  many  years  principal  of  the  Lyons  Musical  Academy. 
He  is  a  grandson  of  Lyman  Sherwood,  formerly  county  judge  and  sur- 
rogate of  Wayne  county,  and  State  senator.  He  learned  the  printer's 
trade  in  the  Republican  office  under  Mr.  Tinsley,  was  a  reporter  on  the 
Syracuse  Standard  in  1885,  and  during  five  years  thereafter  held  an 
editorial  position  on  the  Rochester  Morning  Herald.  In  1891  he  be- 
came associated  with  Mr.  Tinsley  as  above  stated.  Mr.  Sherwood  is  a 
forcible  and  versatile  writer,  is  well  informed  on  all  general  subjects, 
and  fully  capable  in  all  respects  of  upholding  the  high  character  of  his 
journal.      He  was  married  in  1889  to  Mr.  Tinsley's  third  daughter. 

The  Lyons  Courant  was  founded  June  3,  1882,  under  the  name  of  the 
Grin  and  Bear  It,  by  John  H.  Atkinson,  a  lawyer,  who  came  to  Lyons 
from  Cohoes  about  1877.  He  practiced  law  about  five  years  before  es- 
tablishing the  newspaper,  and  was  an  intelligent  and  educated  man. 
Until  October,  1882,  the  paper  was  issued  from  the  office  of  the  Newark 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  130 

Union,  when  Mr.  Atkinson  found  a  copartnership  with  his  brother,  J. 
William  Atkinson,  then  day  foreman  of  the  New  York  Tribune  compos- 
ing room,  and  a  practical  printer.  They  purchased  machinery  and  t3^pe, 
and  the  paper  was  then  issued  from  their  own  office  in  Lyons,  in  the 
building  now  used  as  the  village  police  station.  The  partnership  be- 
tween the  Atkinsons  lasted  but  a  few  months,  when  it  was  dissolved, 
J.  William  returning  to  New  York,  and  John  continuing  the  publica- 
tion of  the  paper  here.  In  July,  1884,  the  paper  was  purchased  by  Mar- 
cus J.  and  Irving  J.  Van  Marter,  two  brothers,  and  the  name  changed 
to  the  Lyons  Sentinel.  Irving  J.  was  a  practical  newspaper  man,  hav- 
ing been  connected  with  the  daily  newspapers  of  Peoria,  111.  Marcus 
J.  for  several  years  was  employed  as  a  copyist  in  the  Wayne  county 
clerk's  office.  Irving  Van  Marter  died  June  12,  1887,  and  on  Decem- 
ber 28,  1887,  Marcus  also  died,  when  the  business  was  taken  by  Joseph 
Van  Marter.  their  father.  He  conducted  the  business  until  February 
15,  188S,  when  Frank  Stanton  purchased  it.  He  carried  it  on  until  July, 
1888,  when  it  went  into  the  hands  of  E.  P.  Boyle  and  A.  Noble.  In 
November  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Noble  sold  his  interest  to  N.  C.  Mirick. 
In  May,  1890,  the  paper  was  changed  to  a  daily  and  named  the  Daily 
Courant.  This  was  an  unsuccessful  venture,  however,  and  in  April, 
1891,  it  was  again  changed  to  a  weekly  edition  under  the  name  of  The 
Lyons  Courant,  Mr.  Boyle  retiring.  The  Courant  had  always  been  in- 
dependent in  politics  until  March  23,  1892,  when  it  was  changed  to  a 
Republican  paper. 

In  the  village  of  Clyde  several  newspapers  were  started,  only  to  die 
through  want  of  nutrition.  The  first  of  these  was  The  Clyde  Standard, 
which  was  established  January  6,  1830,  by  Eber  P.  Moon.  It  lived  only 
about  six  months.  The  only  copy  of  this  paper  known  to  be  in  exist- 
ence is  No.  1,  Vol.  1,  in  possession  of  Sylvester  H.  Clark,  of  Clyde.  In 
May,  1837,  the  Lyons  American  was  removed  to  Clyde,  its  name  changed 
to  the  Clyde  Gazette,  and  published  by  Denison  Card  until  some  time 
in  1838,  when  it  returned  to  Lyons  and  became  the  Lyons  Whig. 

In  1844  the  Clyde  Eagle  was  established  by  B.  Frazee.  Within  a  few 
3^ears  it  passed  through  the  hands  of  a  Mr.  Dyer,  Stephen  Salisbury,  and 
in  1847  to  Rev.  Charles  G.  Ackly  and  William  Tompkins,  who  changed 
its  name  to  the  Clyde  Telegraph.  Within  a  few  years  it  passed  to  Rev. 
W.  W.  Stroiker,  who  sold  it  to  William  R.  Fowle.  After  a  brief  effort 
to  make  the  business  pay  he  suspended.  In  February,  1850,  the  plant 
was  taken  by  Payn  &  Smith,  and  the  paper  was  revived  under  the  name 


140  LANDMARKS   OF 

of  the  Ctyde  Industrial  Times.  Joseph  A.  Payn  soon  purchased  his 
partner's  interest,  and  some  time  in  1851  changed  the  name  of  the  jour- 
nal to  the  Clyde  Weekly  Times.  Payn  sold  out  to  James  M.  Scarritt, 
who  eliminated  the  word  "  weekly  "  from  the  title  of  the  paper  and  con- 
tinued the  publication  until  January  4,  1872.  At  this  time  the  estab- 
lishment was  purchased  by  Irwin  A.  Forte.  On  January  1,  1876,  he  took 
his  brother,  Irving  C,  as  a  partner,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year  the  firm 
was  dissolved,  after  which  date  Irwin  A.  Forte  has  successfully  con- 
ducted the  business  until  August,  1894,  when  he  sold  out  to  Albert  M. 
Ehart.  The  Times  is  an  earnest  and  able  Republican  organ,  and  has  a 
large  circulation. 

Irwin  A.  Forte,  son  of  Allen-  H.,  was  born  in  Cazenovia,  N.  Y. ,  April 
20,  1844.  He  was  educated  in  Cazenovia  Seminary  and  Morrisville 
Union  School,  and  for  about  three  years,  in  partnership  with  his  brother 
Irving  C,  and  alone,  was  engaged  in  the  editorship  and  publication  of 
the  Cazenovia  Republican.  He  came  to  Clyde  in  1872  and  purchased  of 
James  M.  Scarritt  the  Clyde  Times.  June  20,  1871,  Mr.  Forte  married 
Ellen  C,  daughter  of  Stephen  Chaphe,  of  Cazenovia,  by  whom  he  has 
one  daughter,  Eileen  Muguette. 

The  Northern  Methodist  Protestant  was  started  in  and  published 
about  a  year  from  the  office  of  the  Telegraph  by  the  proprietors  of  the 
latter  newspaper. 

In  the  spring  of  1862  William  Daley  established  the  Clyde  Commer- 
cial, which  had  an  existence  of  a  few  years,  and  suspended  publication. 

About  1872  Philip  Grimsha  began  the  publication  of  the  Local  Preach- 
er's Advocate,  but  within  a  year  suspended  its  publication  for  want  of 
support. 

The  Clyde  Commercial  Advertiser  was  started  by  A.  V.  Forbes  in 
the  spring  of  1880,  but  after  a  year  it  was  discontinued. 

Cyrus  Conklin  came  to  Clyde  from  Wolcott  about  1885,  and  estab- 
lished the  Independent  and  Commercial,  which  he  continued  some  six 
months. 

July  4,  18K5,  W.  E.  Churchill  founded  the  Clyde  Democrat,  contin- 
ued the  publication  until  about  December  1,  1887,  and  sold  out  to  Al- 
bert C.  Lux,  who  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  the  Democratic 
Herald.  As  indicated  by  its  title,  the  paper  is  Democratic  in  politics 
and  commands  the  approval  of  a  large  constituency  in  that  part}-  in 
Wayne  county,  by  whom  it  is  commended  for  its  aggressive  and  pro- 
gressive policy.      It  began  the  contest  which  resulted  in  making  first  the 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  141 

sheriff  and  later  the  county  clerk,  salaried  officers.  The  Herald  was  a 
four-page  paper  when  Mr.  Lux  purchased  it,  but  in  September,  1890, 
he  enlarged  it  to  an  eight-page,  fifty-six  column  journal. 

Albert  C.  Lux  was  born  October  15,  1864,  in  Clyde,  whither  his  father 
came  from  Alsace,  France,  in  1852.  He  graduated  from  the  Clyde  High 
School  in  1883  and  in  1884  from  the  Hopkins  Grammar  School,  of  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  preparatory  to  entering  Yale  College.  At  the  death  of 
his  father,  October  25,  1885,  he  was  compelled  to  return  home.  He 
was  engaged  then  in  closing  up  his  father's  hotel  business  until  he  pur- 
chased the  printing  plant.  In  1889  he  served  as  village  trustee  and  in 
1890,  as  village  president,  filling  the  offices  with  credit. 

The  enterprising  village  of  Newark  also  has  its  list  of  dead  newspa- 
pers whose  brief  existence  preceded  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
local  journal.  The  first  of  them  was  the  Newark  Republican,  which 
was  started  in  November,  1829,  by  Jeremiah  O.  Balch.  It  lived  until 
some  time  in  1831.  The  village  was  then  without  a  paper  until  1838, 
when  Daniel  M.  Keeler  began  publishing  the  Wayne  Standard,  in  sup- 
port of  the  old  Whig  party;  in  August,  1839,  he  sold  out  to  Barney  T. 
Partridge,  J.  P.  Bartle,  and  Stephen  Culver,  the  latter  acting  as  edi- 
tor. The  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  New  J3gis  and  in  Jan- 
uary, 1840,  a  transfer  to  one  Norton  was  made.  The  paper  suspended 
in  the  following  May.  In  July  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Keeler  again  took 
the  editorial  chair  and  the  paper  was  revived  under  the  original  title  of 
the  Wayne  Standard.  He  continued  until  1843,  sold  to  H.  L.  Wenants, 
who  stopped  the  publication  at  the  end  of  the  year.  In  1850  Henry 
Fairchild  purchased  the  plant  and  during  one  year  published  the  Wayne 
County  Democrat,  selling  out  to  B.  F.  Jones,  who  changed  the  title  of 
the  paper  to  the  Newark  Journal.  In  1854  the  establishment  passed  to 
George  D.  A.  Bridgeman  who  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  the 
Newark  Whig  and  continued  it  to  September,  1856.  Charles  T.  White 
then  bought  the  office  and  changed  the  title  of  the  paper  to  the  Newark 
Weekly  Courier,  making  it  neutral  in  politics.  From  him  the  office 
passed  to  Arthur  White  who  in  turn  sold  to  B.  H.  Randolph  in  1864. 
The  paper  was  now  made  a  four-page,  thirty-six-column  sheet,  largely 
devoted  to  local  news,  and  was  well  patronized.  In  1869  Jacob  Wilson 
purchased  the  establishment,  changed  the  politics  of  the  paper  to  Dem- 
ocratic a  little  later  and  has  ever  since  continued  the  publication,  con- 
stantly on  the  alert  to  add  improvements,  until  now  the  Courier  is  an 
excellent  example  of  the  first  class  country  newspaper. 


142  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  Newark  Union  was  established  in  1872  as  a  Greeley  campaign 
sheet,  but  on  January  1,  1873,  began  its  career  as  a  permanent  publi- 
cation in  support  of  Democratic  principles,  with  James  Jones  as  editor 
and  proprietor.  The  paper  was  successful  and  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Jones,  the  establishment  passed  to  his  son,  Frank  H.  Jones,  in  January, 
1883.  He  continued  the  business  until  November,  1885,  when  it  was 
sold  to  the  present  proprietor,  H.  H.  Fisk,  the  politics  of  the  paper 
having  meanwhile  been  changed  to  Republican  in  1884.  The  Union  is 
now  a  thirty-six  column,  four-page  paper,  carefully  and  ably  edited  and 
reaching  a  large  clientage. 

On  the  6th  of  April,  1887,  the  Burgess  Brothers  (W.  C.  and  F.  D. 
Burgess),  who  had  for  about  a  year  been  doing  a  successful  job  printing 
business  in  Newark,  began  the  publication  of  the  Arcadian  Weekly  Ga- 
zette, as  an  independent,  modern  newspaper.  This  journal  was  a  suc- 
cess from  the  start  and  at  the  end  of  about  a  year  was  enlarged  from 
forty  columns  to  forty-eight.  In  1891  the  Gazette  was  turned  to  the 
support  of  the  Republican  party,  and  in  April,  1804:,  in  carrying  out 
their  determination  to  make  the  paper  a  leader  among  the  journals  of 
Central  and  Western  New  York,  the  proprietors  added  twelve  more 
columns.  The  Gazette  is  now  one  of  the  best  and  handsomest  papers 
in  Wayne  county  and  enjoys  a  circulation  of  1,900.  The  Burgess 
Brothers  are  sons  of  Rev.  A.  P.  Burgess,  who  settled  in  Newark  in  1874 
as  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  Savannah  was  the  Savannah  News, 
first  issued  in  1876,  by  Frank  Conklin,  to  aid  in  advancing  the  precarious 
fortunes  of  the  Greenback  party,  and  in  support  of  the  candidacy  of 
James  Deady  for  member  of  assembly.  It  lived  only  one  year  and  the 
plant  went  back  to  the  dealers. 

The  Savannah  News,  as  it  now  exists,  was  founded  March  4,  1887, 
by  W.  J.  Deady,  son  of  James  Deady  before  mentioned.  The  paper 
contained  four  pages  of  six  columns  each.  In  July,  1887,  A.  J.  Conroe 
bought  the  business,  and  in  October  following  admitted  George  W. 
Cooper  as  partner.  In  March,  1888,  Mr.  Cooper  took  entire  control 
and  has  since  conducted  the  paper.  The  News  was  originally  independ- 
ent in  politics,  but  when  Mr.  Cooper  assumed  its  sole  management,  he 
made  it  as  it  has  since  been,  aggressively  Democratic.  It  is  ably  edited 
and  exerts  considerable  influence. 

George  W.  Cooper  was  born  May  5,  1869,  in  Theresa,  Jefferson 
county,  N.  Y.,  and  is  a  son  of  Captain  Jerome  Cooper.      He  was  edu- 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  143 

cated  at  Theresa  and  served  a  printer's  apprenticeship  in  the  office  of 
the  Watertown  Post.  He  located  in  Savannah  in  1888,  and  was  chosen 
town  clerk  in  1891,  the  first  Democratic  clerk  in  the  town.  From  1890 
to  1894  inclusive  he  has  held  the  office  of  village  clerk. 

The  Savannah  Times  was  started  April  7,  1894,  by  A.  J.  Conroe,  who 
has  been  a  merchant  of  the  village  twenty-four  years,  and  conducts  the 
printing  business  in  connection.  The  Times  is  independent,  with  a 
leaning  towards  Republicanism.  Mr.  Conroe  is  a  native  of  Dutchess 
county,  where  he  was  born  in  1845.  He  removed  with  his  mother  to 
Savannah  in  1848. 

Besides  these  two  papers  Savannah  had  the  Savannah  Reporter, 
started  as  a  Republican  organ  in  December,  1889,  by  O.  C.  Silver,  which 
endured  one  year;  and  the  Savannah  edition  of  the  Wayne  County 
Dispatch,  one  year  from  April,  1893,  printed  in  Palmyra  by  F.  G. 
Crandall. 

The  town  of  Sodus  has  had  a  newspaper  since  1873,  when  George  W. 
Tummonds  started  the  Sodus  Enterprise.  Shortly  afterwards  the  firm 
of  Tummonds  &  Collins  was  formed,  and  about  1875  Galen  Oderdirk 
became  proprietor  of  the  paper  and  changed  its  name  to  The  Wayne 
County  Alliance,  at  the  same  time  effecting  a  consolidation  with  the 
Ontario  Sun  (which  had  been  issued  for  a  time  in  the  town  of  Ontario), 
and  the  Williamson  Enterprise  of  Williamson.  In  1878  the  establish- 
ment passed  to  the  firm  of  Claven  &  Gilmore ;  the  latter  soon  afterwards 
died,  and  the  office  again  changed  hands,  going  to  E.  W.  Gurnee&  Co., 
who  employed  E.  A.  Benedict  as  editor.  On  September  1,  1882,  they 
sold  out  to  B.  H.  Cuddeback  and  Willis  C.  Teall.  This  firm  continued 
to  September,  1890,  when  Mr.  Teall  became  sole  proprietor  and  has 
since  continued  the  business.  In  1878  the  paper  was  enlarged  from  a 
four- column  folio  to  its  present  seven-column  size.  The  Alliance  has 
always  been  independent  in  politics. 

Willis  C.  Teall  was  born  in  Romulus,  Seneca  county,  in  1852,  was 
educated  in  Geneva  and  Sodus  Academy,  his  parents  having  removed 
to  this  town  in  1853.  He  began  learning  the  printer's  trade  with  Galen 
Oderdirk,  and  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Alliance  in  1882,  as  above 
stated. 

The  Williamson  Sentinel  was  started  as  the  Williamson  Banner  in 
1884,  by  G.  W.  Tummonds,  by  whom  the  plant  was  removed  from 
Ontario.  In  April,  1886,  he  sold  out  to  the  present  proprietor,  Dr. 
H.  N.  Burr.     The  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  in  1885.     Dr.  Burr 


144  LANDMARKS   OF 

publishes  the  Sentinel  in  connection  with  his  medical  practice.  A  sketch 
of  his  life  is  given  elsewhere  in  these  pages. 

The  Shut-in  Visitor  was  started  in  Williamson  in  January,  1883,  by 
Mrs.  Kate  Sumner  Burr,  wife  of  Dr.  H.  N.  Burr.  In  January,  1885, 
the  name  was  changed  to  The  Invalid's  Visitor.  In  May,  1886,  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Burr  removed  to  Williamson,  taking  the  journal  with  them.  It  is 
an  octavo  of  sixteen  pages,  monthly,  and  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
invalids.     It  has  a  very  extended  circulation. 

The  Macedon  News  was  first  issued  in  the  village  of  Macedon  in  the 
fall  of  1885,  by  M.  Allen  Eddy,  who  has  successfully  conducted  it  since. 
He  was  then  only  fourteen  years  old  and  attending  school.  The  size 
of  the  paper  was  then  six  by  nine  inches.  It  has  been  three  times  en- 
larged, and  now  is  an  eight-page,  seven-column  journal.  When  the 
last  enlargement  was  made  the  name  was  changed  to  The  Newsgatherer. 
Since  October,  1890,  W.  S.  Eddy  has  been  business  manager  for  his 
brother,  the  publisher,  M.  Allen  Eddy,  who  is  on  the  city  start  of  the 
Chicago. Herald.  M.  Allen  Eddy  was  born  in  Macedon,  December  14, 
1870,  and  graduated  from  the  Macedon  Academy  in  the  class  of  '86. 
He  served  as  reporter  two  years  on  the  Oswego  Palladium.  William 
S.  Eddy  was  born  in  Macedon,  February  18,  1868,  and  educated  in 
Macedon  Academy.  They  are  sons  of  Marvin  A.  Eddy,  who  settled  in 
Macedon  from  Williamson,  where  his  father,  Joseph,  was  a  pioneer. 

The  Marion  Enterprise  was  founded  by  E.  Curtis  in  1880,  and  by  his 
ability  as  an  editor  and  his  practical  business  qualifications,  has  made  it 
a  success.  Mr.  Curtis  was  born  in  Madison,  Madison  county,  N.  Y., 
July  17,  1825,  and  is  the  youngest  living  of  eight  children  of  Eli  and 
Hulda  Curtis.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  Augusta 
Academy,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  began  teaching,  which  occupation 
he  followed  thirty  years;  was  four  years  a  teacher  in  Marion  Collegiate 
Institute,  of  which  his  son-in-law,  Charles  E.  Allen,  was  principal  at  the 
same  time,  while  the  wife  of  the  latter  was  preceptress,  and  a  daughter 
of  our  subject,  Evangeline,  was  assistant.  The  family  thus  conducted 
the  institution  four  years.  On  September  24,  1880,  Mr.  Curtis  estab- 
lished the  Enterprise,  as  above  stated.  In  the  conduct  of  this  journal 
he  is  assisted  by  his  son,  Rollo  D.  Mr.  Curtis  was  associated  with  C.  A. 
White  in  the  purchase  of  the  Gorham  Intelligence  in  1878;  he  bought 
out  his  partner  in  1879,  and  continued  thereuntil  he  founded  the  Enter- 
prise. Through  the  public  spirit  of  Mr.  Curtis  a  telephone  office  was 
established- in    Marion.      He    married  in    1845,    Laura  A.    Dudley,    of 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  145 

Augusta,  N.  Y.,  daughter  of  Rev.  Ira  J.  and  Laura  Hurd  Dudley, 
early  settlers  in  Oneida  county,  and  they  have  had  four  children: 
Genevieve,  died  August  18,  1889;  Evangeline  L.,  wife  of  C.  Frank 
Radcler,  of  Marion ;   Rollo  D.,  a  graduate  of  Yates  Polytechnic  Institute. 

The  Ontario  Sun  was  established  in  Ontario  village  in  1873,  by  Galen 
Oderdirk,  who  soon  afterwards  took  his  uncle,  Rev.  G.  M.  Hardie,  as 
partner.  They  sold  out  to  William  H  Spencer,  who  changed  the  name 
of  the  paper  to  The  Lake  Shore  Independent.  The  journal  was  dis- 
continued within  a  few  years. 

The  first  newspaper  in  the  town  and  village  of  Rose  was  an  amateur 
journal,  called  the  Rose  Times,  published  by  Burt  E.,  son  of  Jackson 
Valentine,  in  the  fall  of  1886.      He  continued  it  about  fourteen  months. 

Another  amateur  sheet,  called  the  Rose  Union,  was  started  a  week 
after  the  beginning  of  the  Times,  by  Elmo  R.  Barless,  son  of  Dr.  R.  C. 
Barless.  In  June,  1887,  the  establishment  was  purchased  by  Clinton 
J.  Barless,  and  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  The  Farmers' 
Counsel,  also  changing  its  character  to  correspond.  In  the  fall  of  1887 
it  was  made  a  local  journal.  In  January,  1888,  the  Rose  Times  and  the 
Farmers'  Counsel  were  consolidated  by  Barless  &  Valentine,  and  has 
since  been  continued  as  such.  In  March,  1888,  Valentine  sold  his  part 
of  the  material  to  G.  A.  Sherman,  job  printer,  and  C.  J.  &  C.  L.  Barless 
formed  a  partnership,  which  continued  till  the  summer  of  that  year, 
when  C.  L.  Barless  retired.  The  partner  continued  alone  to  1891,  when 
the  firm  of  C.  L.  &  E.  R.  Barless  was  formed,  and  continued  to  1893. 
Since  then  C.  L.  Barless  has  carried  on  the  business.  The  paper  is  a 
nine-column  folio,  neutral  in  politics. 

In  the  spring  of  1887  W.  J.  Deady  started  in  Rose  Valley  the  Jeffer- 
sonian  Democrat,  which  lived  about  six  months.  In  1893  a  monthly  pa- 
per called  Our  Home  was  founded  and  printed  in  the  office  of  C.  J. 
Barless,  who  still  continues  it.     It  is  a  household  paper. 

J.  S.  Cross  started  a  six  column  weekly  at  North  Rose  about  1890, 
called  the  North  Rose  Herald.  He  sold  it  in  the  same  year  to  C.  J. 
Barless  and  the  publication  is  discontinued. 

The  Lake  Shore  News  is  a  very  successful  weekly  journal  published 
in  Wolcott  village.  It  was  founded  October  8,  1874,  by  its  present  ed- 
itor and  proprietor,  William  H.  Thomas.  It  is  independent  in  politics, 
and  one  of  the  best  journals  in  the  county. 

William  H.  Thomas  is  a  native  of  Mentz,  Cayuga  count}*,  and  was 
born  November  5,  1832.      He  learned  the  printing  trade  in  the  North- 

19 


146  LANDMARKS   OF 

era  Christian  Advocate  office,  in  Auburn.  After  a  period  of  journey- 
man work  he  purchased  in  1S55  an  interest  in  the  Port  Byron  Chronicle, 
but  lie  soon  sold  out  and  went  west.  Three  years  later  he  returned  and 
enlisted  in  the  111th  N.  V.  Vols.  August  8,  L862,  and  remained  three 
years.  Returning  to  Wolcott,  he  started  a  job  printing  office  and  nine 
years  later  founded  the  News. 

The  first  newspaper  on  the  death-roll  in  Wolcott  was  started  by  John 
Mclntyre  in  1851,  and  called  the  Wayne  Banner.  It  was  short  lived. 
Joseph  A.  Payne  made  the  next  and  equally  abortive  attempt.  Charles 
I).  Smith  started  the  Wolcott  Standard  in  1S74,  and  it  also  soon  fol- 
lowed its  predecessors.  The  Wolcott  Independent,  a  weekly  Greenback 
organ,  started  in  1881  by  Cyrus  Conkling,  was  soon  removed  to  Clyde 
where  it  became  the  Clyde  Citizen  and  Independent. 

The  town  of  Wolcott  supports  another  journal  in  the  village  of  Red 
Creek.  The  Red  Creek  Herald  was  started  March  15,  1894,  by  its  pres- 
ent editor  and  proprietor,  W.  G.  Phippin.  It  is  a  seven-column  folio, 
neutral  in  politics  and  is  ably  conducted.  Mr.  Phippin  is  a  native  of 
Iowa  and  was  born  January  5,  1867;  learned  the  trade  in  Oswego  and 
Watertown;  in  1802  established  the  Wayland  Register  in  Steuben 
county,  which  he  sold  in  L893  and  came  to  Red  Creek. 

The  Red  Creek  Press,  a  six-column  paper  was  started  in  ( )ctober,  1*',]. 
by  Wm.  A.  Spencer  and  A.  Sayles,  jr.,  it  was  soon  discontinued. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SECRET  SOCIETIES. 

FREE    AXJ)    ACCEPTED     M  Avon's. 

The  first  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  what  is  now  Wayne 
county,  was  organized  in  1811,  as  Pultneyville  Lodge  No.  L59.  It  con- 
tinued work  with  a  fair  degree  of  prosperity  until  the  Morgan  anti-Ma- 
sonic warfare  swept  over  this  State,  when  it  succumbed.  It  was  reor- 
ganized after  1850  under  the  same  name,  with  Philander  B.  Rovce, 
master.  Its  meetings  were  continued  there  until  1872,  when  the  lodge 
ami  its  property  were  removed  to  Williamson  village,  where  it  has  since 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  1  17 

remained.  At  the  time  of  its  organization  it  had  only  seven  members; 
it  now  has  twenty-seven,  and  the  following  principal  officers  for  1894: 
J.»hn  E.  Tufts,  W.  M.  ;  Mortimer  P.  Tufts,  S.  W.  ;  Arthur  Shipley, 
f.  \V.  ;  George  F.  Cheetham,  treasurer;  William  Pound,  secretary. 

Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  organized  in  Sodus  village  in 
1856,  with  the  following  first  officers:  Asahel  Yale,  W.  M.  ;  John  A. 
Paddock,  S.  W. ;  William  Shaver,  J.  W.  ;  J.  R.  Sweeney,  treasurer; 
Riley  Belden,  secretary.  The  following  persons  have  been  past  mas- 
ters of  this  lodge:  Dr.  Asahel  Yale,  1850-58  and  1860-61;  W.  Tillott- 
son,  1859;  A.  P.  Warren,  1862-64;  Amos  Case,  1865-66;  John  A.  Boyd, 
1867;  W.  P.  Rogers,  1868;  E.  Thornton,  1869;  C.  C.  Teall,  1870;  Dr. 
William  G.  Thirkell,  1871,  1874-76,  and  1878-79;  R.  S.  Borradaile, 
1872;  C.  D.  Gaylord,  1873;  William  Kansier,  1877;  A.  W.  Brower, 
1880;  L.  D.  F.  Vaughn,  1881-82;  John  C.  Hill,  1883;  Ward  Smith, 
1884-85;  James  Stebbins,  1886;  L.  D.  V.  Vaughn,  1887;  C.  C.  Field, 
1888-89;  Edward  Pullman,  1890-91;  L.  D.  F.  Vaughn,  1892;  C.  C. 
Field,  1893.  The  officers  for  1894  are:  W.  A.  Nichols,  W.  M.  ;  Dr.  F. 
L.  Wilson,  S.  W.  ;  Eugene  Merenus,  J.  W.  ;  M.  F.  Boyd,  treasurer; 
W.  G.  Thirkell,  secretary.  This  lodge  is  very  prosperous  and  has  about 
115  members,  who  are  zealous  in  upholding  the  high  principles  of  the 
order;  this  fact  is  indicated  by  the  circumstance  that  they  watched  dur- 
ing 186  successive  nights  with  the  Rev.  David  Moir,  Episcopal  minis- 
ter of  the  village,  and  a  member  of  De  Molay  Lodge  No.  409,  of  Buffalo, 
when  he  was  sick.  The  Buffalo  lodge  on  April  11,  1893,  presented 
Sodus  Lodge  with  a  handsome  engrossed  memorial  embodying  resolu- 
tions of  thanks. 

Wayne  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  No.  276  was  organized  in  Sodus  village 
April  16,  1880,  and  was  chartered  February  8,  1881,  with  the  following 
members:  O.  W.  Bates,  H.  P.  ;  Dr.  W.  G.  Thirkell,  K.;  WTard  Smith, 
scribe;  Dr.  L.  M.  Gaylord,  treasurer;  C.  D.  Gaylord,  secretary;  J.  P. 
Canfield,  S.  Bloss,  E.  D.  Ailing,  R.  B.  Belden,  E.  A.  Green,  and  J.  A. 
Paddock.  The  high  priests  of  this  chapter  have  been:  O.  W.  Bates, 
1880-83;  Dr.  W.  G.  Thirkell,  1884-87;  H.  S.  Dennis,  1888-89;  C.  C. 
Field,  1890-92;  Dr.  W.  G.  Thirkell,  1893-94.  The  officers  for  1894  are 
as  follows:  Dr.  W.  G.  Thirkell,  H.  P.  ;  George  E.  Philo,  K.  ;  William 
Horn,  scribe ;  L.  D.  F.  Vaughn,  treasurer  and  secretary.  This  chap- 
ter has  now  about  fifty-two  members. 

Humanity  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  No.  283. — This  was  one  of  the  more 
conspicuous  of  the  early  Masonic  lodges  of  Wayne  and  its  roll  of  mem- 


148  LANDMARKS   OF 

bership  embraces  many  names  of  early  citizens  and  others  down  to  recent 
years,  who  were  prominent  in  the  community  in  many  ways.  Prelim- 
inary to  the  ceremony  of  installation  in  the  old  lodge  a  meeting  of  those 
interested  met  in  a  building  owned  by  Moses  Hurlbert  on  the  14th  of 
August,  1817.  Here  a  procession  was  formed  which  marched  to  the 
Methodist  meeting-house  where  a  discourse  was  delivered  by  Brother 
Farley,  following  which  Humanity  Lodge  was  duly  installed  with  its 
officers,  by  Philetus  Swift,  D.  G.  M.,  assisted  by  others  of  the  Grand 
Lodge.  The  following  were  the  first  officers  of  this  lodge:  Ezra  Jew- 
ell, W.  M.  ;  David  June,  S.  W.  ;  Gabriel  Rogers,  J.  W.  ;  Josiah  Wright, 
treasurer;  Hiram  Payne,  secretary;  Henry  Seymour,  S.  D. ;  William 
Stills,  J.  D.  ;  Peter  Eisenlord  and  Oliver  Granger,  stewards;  Samuel 
Davis,  tyler.  The  first  persons  initiated  by  this  lodge  were  Jacob 
Leach,  and  Moses  B.  Hurlburt.  The  committee  to  prepare  b)Maws 
were  H.  Payne,  Ezra  Jewell,  and  Gabriel  Rogers.  The  following  is  a 
nearly  complete  list  of  those  who  signed  the  by-laws  during  the  life  of 
the  lodge,  and  is  of  interest  as  naming  many  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
that  day:  Caleb  Gilber,  Jacob  Leach,  Samuel  Rossitur,  Jenks  Pullen, 
W.  Perrine,  Edward  Swail,  Moses  B.  Hurlburt,  Nathan  Worden,  Wil- 
liam C.  Guest,  Peter  Eisenlord,  Jeremiah  S.  Jenkins,  Joseph  M.  Dem- 
mon,  Jacob  M.  Gilbert,  John  Varnum,  Jesse  Gulick,  Charles  Champ- 
lin,  William  C.  Perrine,  James  Lamon,  Oliver  Granger,  Upton  Dorsey, 
Charles  Raynor,  William  Clark,  Stephen  M.  Palmer,  Adam  Learn, 
Newell  Taft,  Sawyer  Bullock,  Francis  Pomeroy,  Andrew  Dorsey,  Ed- 
ward Jones,  John  Gilbert,  Horatio  G.  Kingsbury,  Thomas  E.  Dorsey, 
John  Lewis,  William  Trowbridge,  Abraham  Knapp,  Lyman  Granger, 
Harris  West,  Sanford  Lipan,  James  J.  Bernet,  Pardon  Worden,  Thomas 
Hawley,  William  G.  Hough,  Peleg  Betteys,  John  W.  Carrigan,  Alex- 
ander Beard,  Abraham  L.  Beaumont,  Freeman  Rogers,  William  Sisson, 
James  Sears,  John  Condit,  Calvin  D.  Palmeter,  Nelson  Aldrich,  Or- 
ville  L.  Holley,  L.  Hazen,  L.  R.  Lalett,  William  Parker,  Edward  Bur- 
rell,  Elisha  Sisson,  Graham  H.  Chapin,  John  Drake,  Cyrus  Hum-, 
Michael  Miller,  John  S.  Hall,  John  S.  Tallmadge,  Phineas  B. Austin, 
Hiram  S.  Day,  Reuben  H.  Forster,  Stephen  Ferguson,.  Daniel  Dunn, 
Abraham  Fairchild,  Daniel  R.  Rozell,  David  Peterson,  Oliver  Allen, 
Joseph  Enns.  Henry  Beaumont,  Abner  Brown,  Eli  Blair,  Nehemiah 
Sprague,  Abner  Pease,  Henry  Yerington,  John  Perrine,  jr.,  John 
Adams,  Robert  Knnis,  Hugh  Brown,  jr. ,  Peter  Carney,  Aaron  Griswold, 
Orin  \V.  Giles,  William  Efner,    Ora  Piatt,    James  West  fail,  Ziba  Lane, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  149 

Joseph  Hall,  Aaron  S.  Boylan — a  total  of  101  names.  The  masters  of 
this  lodge  were  Ezra  Jewell,  Jacob  M.  Gilbert,  and  Henry  Seymour. 
The  last  recorded  meeting  of  old  Humanity  Lodge  tood  place  April  8, 
1824,  and  doubtless  the  wave  of  anti-Masonry  caused  the  surrender  of 
the  charter. 

Humanity  Lodge  No.  406,  was  instituted  in  May,  1856,  under  dis- 
pensation from  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Odd  Fellows  Hall,  Lyons,  with 
fourteen  charter  members  as  follows:  William  H.  Sisson,  Henry  Gra- 
ham, jr.,  Southard  Lewis,  J.  Welling,  Daniel  Ford,  Zebulon  Moore, 
John  Gilbert,  Daniel  R.  Rozell,  Newell  Taft,  Ziba  Lane,  Darius  H. 
Denton,  and  A.  I.  Van  Camp.  The  first  officrs  were:  William  H.  Sis- 
son,  W.  M.  ;  Henry  Graham,  jr.,  S.  W.  ;  S.  Lewis,  J.  W. ;  J.  Welling, 
secretary;  Daniel  Ford,  tyler.  The  past  masters  have  been:  J.  Wel- 
ling, who  served  eight  years;  Henry  Graham,  jr.,  Joseph  McCall,  Seth 

C.  Searle,  Beardsley  Van  Alstyne,  Milton  E.  Mirick,  Daniel  Althen, 
William  E.  Hines,  John  B.  Stoll,  George  W.  Koester,  William  E.  Mc- 
Collum.  The  dedication  of  the  rooms  in  Masonic  Block  took  place  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1869,  and  thither  the  lodge  removed.  The  membership  is  now 
over  100,  and  the  following  are  the  officers  for  1894:  Charles  N.  Crom- 
well, W.  M. ;  F.  H.  McOmber,  S.  W.  ;  C.  E.  Ernst,  J.  W. ;  Joseph  Mc- 
Call, treasurer;  R.  W.  Ashley,  secretary. 

Freemasonry  began  early  in  Clyde,  the  organization  of  Galen  Lodge 
No.  367,  dating  back  to  1823,  and  the  warrant  bearing  date  June  7,  of 
that   year.     The    officers    were:    Joseph    Enos,    G.    M.  ;    John    Brush, 

D.  G.  M. ;  Nathaniel  Allen,  S.  G  W.  ;  Thomas  Barker,  J.  G.  W.  ;  John 
Lewis,  M.  ;  Henry  Northrup,  S.  W.  ;  Artemus  Humiston,  J.  W.  The 
lodge  began  work  in  a  chamber  in  Sylvester  Clark's  storehouse,  October 
15,  1823,  and  continued  in  prosperity  until  1826,  when  with  a  member- 
ship of  sixty-six,  it  was  persecuted  and  driven  from  place  to  place  under 
the  Morgan  excitement,  finally  settling  in  the  ball  room  of  the  Clyde 
Hotel  on  the  26th  of  January,  1831.  There  a  few  of  the  faithful  con- 
tinued to  meet  until  February  15,  1832,  when  it  was  determined  to 
suspend  work  until  the  excitement  subsided.  The  officers  at  that  time 
were:  John  Condit,  W.  M.  ;  Thomas  J.  Whiting,  S.  D.  ;  A.  Pendleton, 
J.  D.  ;  Samuel  M.  Welch,  tyler;  Arza  Lewis,  treasurer. 

Ctyde  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. ,  No.  341,  was  organized  in  1854,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  jewels,  furniture,  etc.,  of  the  old  Galen  Lodge.  The 
petitioners  for  the  warrant  were:  John  Condit,  Joseph  Watson,  Joseph 
Welling,   William  C.  Ely,  Aaron  Griswold,  S.  J.  Childs,  William  G.  T. 


150  LANDMARKS   OF 

Elliott,  and  John  J.  Dickson.  The  warrant  is  dated  July  6,  1854,  at 
which  time  John  Condit  was  appointed  W.  M.  ;  Joseph  Watson,  S.  W.  ; 
Joseph  Welling,  J.  W.  This  lodge  has  always  prospered,  and  now  has 
ninety-one  members.  Following  are  the  officers  for  1894:  H.  A.  Water- 
bury/  W.  M.;  W.  R.  Vrooman,  S.  W. ;  B.  N.  Marriott,  J.  W. ;  J.  J. 
Cookingham,  treasurer;  J.  E.  McGinnis,  secretary;  G.  R.  Bacon, 
chaplain;  A.  C.  Lux,  S.  D.  ;  H.  B.  Exner,  J.  D.  ;  C.  R.  Kennedy, 
vS.  M.  C  ;  C.  E.  Jones,  J.  M.  C.  ;  Clark  Potts,  tyler. 

Griswold  Chapter  No.  201,  R.  A.  M.,  of  Clyde,  was  chartered  Febru- 
ary 7,  1807,  and  on  the  6th  of  March  following  the  first  officers  were 
installed;  they  were  as  follows:  Aaron  Griswold,  M.  E.  high  priest; 
J.  Hasbrook  Suhler,  E.  king;  Robert  Dobyns,  E.  scribe;  Hugh  Boyd, 
tyler;  Seth  Smith,  captain  of  host;  Dr.  James  M.  Home,  principal  so- 
journer; John  Trempor,  Royal  Arch  captain;  Edward  B.  Wells,  master 
of  third  vail ;  Jacob  Strauss,  master  of  second  vail ;  George  O.  Baker, 
master  of  first  vail.  This  chapter  came  into  existence  in  place  of  the 
old  Lyons  Chapter,  which  was  chartered  in  1824,  with  Oliver  Allen, 
high  priest,  and  James  P.  Bartlett,  secretary.  Mr.  Allen  was  succeeded 
in  his  office  by  William  Sisson,  who  continued  until  the  suspension 
about  1828,  during  the  anti-Masonic  warfare.  The  officers  of  the 
chapter  for  1894  are  as  follows:  G.  R.  Bacon,  H.  P.  ;  H.  A.  Waterbury, 
K.  ;  E.  B.  Wells,  S.  ;  J.  Strauss,  secretary;  J.  E.  McGinnis,  C.  H.  ;  J.  J. 
Cookingham,  P.  S.  ;  E.  M.  Ellinwood,  R.  A.  C. ;  W.  W.  Legg,  M,  3d 
V.  ;  W.  R.  Vrooman,  M.  2dV.  ;  E.  R.  Bockoven,  M.  1st  V. ;  Clark  Potts, 
tyler. 

Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  chartered  June  5,  1824. 
James  P..  Bartle  was  the  first  master;  Theodore  Partridge,  S.  W.  ;  J.  C. 
Roberts,  J.  W.  The  anti-Masonic  war  affected  this  lodge  seriously, 
and  in  March,  1827,  nine  out  of  fifteen  members  present  at  a  meeting 
voted  to  surrender  the  charter.  Of  the  $100  then  on  hand  the  lodge 
gave  $25  to  the  Methodist  Society  of  the  place,  and  $25  to  the  Presby- 
terian Society;  the  remaining  $50  was  given  to  the  American  Bible 
Society.  In  1838  the  Grand  Lodge  was  asked  to  return  their  warrant, 
and  the  request  was  granted.  Meetings  were  held  in  a  room  in  Mr. 
Bartle's  house,  fitted  up  by  him  for  the  purpose,  and  a  few  members 
were  initiated.  In  1840  the  charter  was  again  surrendered.  Ten  years 
later,  September  28,  1848,  the  lodge  was  revived  with  the  following- 
officers:  lames  P.  Bartle,  M. ;  John  Daggett,  S.  W.  ;  Theodor Dickinson, 
].  \V.  ;  A.  F.  Cressy,  secretary;   E.  T.  Grant,  treasurer.     The  number 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  151 

of  members  was  twenty-two,  which  has  been  gradually  increased  to 
more  than  hundred.  G.  L.  Bennett,  who  joined  in  1849,  is  the  present 
oldest  member,  and  has  served  as  secretary  twenty-five  years.  James 
P.  Bartle  was  master  several  years,  as  also  was  John  Daggett.  Other 
masters  have  been:  James  D.  Ford,  Clark  Mason,  R.  P.  Groat,  Richard 
White,  G.  L.  Bennett,  C.  P.  Fanning,  Marvin  I.  Greenwood,  Alexander 
Hayes,  and  G.  M.  Soverhill.  The  officers  for  1894  are  as  follows: 
William  T.  Peirson,  W.  M.  ;  W.  C.  Conrad,  S.  W.  ;  T.  R.  Loomis, 
J.  W.  ;  C.  S.  White,  treasurer;  E.  F.  Cowles,  secretary;  Rev.  L.  Coffin, 
chaplain;  A.  C.  Fish,  S.  D.  ;  F.  W.  Traub,  J.  D.  ;  Godfrey  Koetsch, 
S.  M.  C.  ;  Samuel  Farnsworth,  J.  M.  C. ;  John  K.  Lyke,  tyler.  This 
lodge  is  noted  for  its  enthusiasm  in  all  good  works.  On  the  erection  of 
Ford's  Block,  a  room  was  secured  in  the  third  story,  and  on  June  24, 
1875,  it  was  consecrated'  to  Masonic  purposes. 

Newark  Chapter  No.  117,  received  its  original  warrant  Februa^  10, 
1826;  John  P.  Bartle,  H.  P.;  John  Daggett,  K.  ;  Theodore  Partridge, 
S.  The  warrant  and  lodge  property,  excepting  the  records,  were  burned 
in  1859,  and  another  warrant  was  issued  February  3,  of  the  same  year. 
The  membership  is  now  about  eighty.  The  officers  for  1894  are  as 
follows:  J.  M.  Pitkin,  jr.,  H.  P.;  T.  R.  Loomis,  E.  K.  ;  E.  B.  Elliott, 
jr.,  E.  S.  ;  E.  R.  Kelley,  treasurer;  E.  F.  Cowles,  secretary;  Rev.  L. 
Coffin,  chaplain;  William  T.  Peirson,  C.  H.  ;  P.  R.  Sleight,  R.  A.  C.  ; 
A.  C.  Eish,  P.  S. ;  F.  W.  Traub,  3d  V.;  G.  Koetsch,  2d  V.  ;  W.  H.  H. 
Stebbins,  1st  V.  ;  John  K.  Lyke,  tyler. 

One  of  the  very  early  Masonic  lodges  of  Wayne  county  was  Mount 
Moriah  Lodge  No.  112,  of  Palmyra,  which  continued  a  prosperous 
existence  until  the  Morgan  excitement,  when  it  surrendered  its  charter. 
Those  who  served  as  its  masters  were:  David  White,  1816 ;  W.  Winslow, 
S.  Scovel,  Ira  Selby,  H.  S.  Moore,  David  White;  Durfee  Chase,  1822- 
1823;  Solomon  St.  John,  1824;  when  the  lodge  went  out  of  existence. 

Palmyra  Lodge  No.  248,  received  its  warrant  March  8,  1852,  but  had 
•worked  since  September  10,  1851,  under  dispensation.  Charles  Hudson 
was  the  first  master;  Elijah  Ennis,  S.  W.  ;  John  C.  Calhoun,  J.  W.  On 
March  24,  1852,  the  lodge  was  formally  constituted.  The  following 
persons  have  served  as  masters:  Charles  Hudson,  1852;  Thomas  Robin- 
son, 1854;  John  C.  Calhoun,  1855;  W.  B.  Crandall,  1856-58  and  1860; 
S.  B.  Smith,  1859;  T.  L.  Root,  1861-62;  C.  S.  Chase,  1863-65  ;-M.  C. 
Finley,  1866-67  John  G.  Webster,  1868-69;  T.  S.  Jackson.  1870;  Joseph 
W.  Corning,  1871;  George  McGown,  1872-75;  Henry  P.  Knowles,  1876; 


152  LANDMARKS   OF 

Joseph  W.  Taylor,  1877;  Wells  Tyler,  L878-79;  John  C.  Coates,  1880 
81;  Oliver  Durfee,  L882-83;  Henry  Birdsall,  1884-85;  Edwin  B.  Ander- 
son, 1886;  S.  Nelson  Sawyer,  1887-88;  C.  H.  Brigham,  1889-90;  S.  E. 
Braman,  1891-92;  Alfred  C.  Hopkins,  1893-94.  The  officers  of  the  lodge 
for  1894  are  as  follows:  Alfred  C.  Hopkins,  master;  Louis  M.  Chase, 
S.  W. ;  George  A.  Barnhart,  J.  W. ;  Alfred  W.  Salisbury,  treasurer; 
George  McGown,  secretary;  James  L.  Harrison,  S.  D. ;  Alexander  P. 
Milne,  J.  D. ;  Walter  P.  Smith,  S.  M.  C.  ;  Richard  A.  Yanderboget, 
J.  M.  C. ;  William  H.  Dennis,  tyler. 

A  charter  was  granted  to  Palmyra  Eagle  Chapter  No.  79,  R.  AM., 
on  February  7,  1823.  The  first  officers  were:  Addison  N.  Buck,  H.  P.  ; 
Harry  S.  Moore,  K.  ;  Seth  Tucker,  scribe.  The  high  priests  previous 
to  1828  were:  Dr.  Durfee  Chase,  Solomon  St.  John,  Alexander  Mcln- 
tyre,  and  Robert  W.  Smith.  From  1828  to  1853  the  chapter  was  not  in 
existence.  On  April  7,  1853,  work  was  renewed  with  Truman  Heming- 
way, H.  P.  ;  Marvin  K.  Rich,  K. ;  Edwin  Dewey,  scribe.  There  were 
then  twenty  members.  '  The  high  priests  have  been :  T.  Hemingway, 
1853-55 ;  William  B.  Crandall,  1856-60 ;  Elijah  Ennis,  1861-63;  Thomas 
L.  Root,  1804-67;  J.  H.  Chase,  1868;  M.  C.  Finley,  1869-74;  Isaac  F. 
Tabor,  1875-77;  George  McGown,  1878-82;  Oliver  Durfee,  1883-86; 
Edwin  B.  Anderson,  1887-88;  S.  Nelson  Sawyer,  L889  -90;  George  A. 
Earnhardt,  1891-93.  The  chapter  officers  for  1894  are  as  follows: 
Seiner  E.  Braman,  H.  P.  ;  Mark  C.  Finley,  K.  ;  Alexander  P.  Milne, 
scribe;  Alfred  C.  Hopkins,  secretary;  Fred  E.  Ryckman,  C.  H.  ;  George 
A.  Barnhart,  P.  S. ;  Robert  H.  Bareham,  R.  A.  C.  ;  John  Cunningham, 
M.  3  V.  ;  John  D.  Lane,  M.  2  V.  ;  Addison  L.  Root,  M.  1  V.  ;  William 
H.  Dennis,  tiler. 

Palmyra  Council  No.  26,  R.  &  S.  M.,  was  opened  under  dispensation 
November  13,  186."),  with  these  officers:  E.  Ennis,  master;  Thomas  L. 
Root,  deputy  master;  Mark  C.  Finley,  P.  O.  of  Work.  A  charter  was 
granted  February  <'>,  L866.  E.  Ennis  served  as  master  until  L867;  M. 
C.  Finley,  1868-74;  T.  S.  Jackson,  1875-76;  George  McGown,  ls;;: 
John  C.  Coates,  1878;  M.  C.  Finley,  1879-88;  S.  Nelson  Sawyer,  1889- 
91  ;  Edwin  B.  Anderson,  1892-93.  The  officers  for  18!)  I  are  as  follows: 
A.  C.  Hopkins,  T.  I.  M. ;  George  A.  Barnhardt,  D.  M. ;  John  C.  Coates, 
treasurer;  George  McGown,  recorder. 

Zenobia  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  No.  41,  was  organized  in 
Palmyra,  April  ->'.),  1867,  and  its  warrant  bears  date  of  October  2,  L867. 
Its  charter  members  numbered  twenty-six,  and  thirteen  more  were  soon 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  153 

admitted.  Jackson  H.  Chase  was  the  first  eminent  commander;  Elijah 
Ennis,  generalissimo;  Thomas  L.  Root,  C.  G.  The  following  have  held 
the  office  of  E.  C.  since:  J.  H.  Chase,  18(37-68;  E.  Ennis,  186!);  T.  L. 
Root,  1870-71;  Rev.  John  G.  Webster,  1872;  M.  C.  Finley,  1873-75; 
Isaac  F.  Tabor,  1876-77 ;  George  McGown,  1878-83 ;  John  C.  Coates, 
1881-88;  Edwin  B.  Anderson,  1889-92;  S.  Nelson  Sawyer  1893;  Nel- 
G.  Drake,  1894.  The  officers  elected  for  1894  are  as  follows:  George 
A.  Barnhardt,  generalissimo;  Seiner E.  Braman,  captain-general;  Mark 
C.  Finley,  recorder;  George  McGown,  treasurer. 

Wayne  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  organized  at  Ontario  Center  in  1866, 
and  held  regular  meetings  in  the  old  hotel,  on  the  site  of  the  present 
one,  until  it  was  burned.  For  a  few  months  after  meetings  convened 
in  Thomas  Hall,  whence  the  lodge  property  was  surreptitiously  removed 
at  midnight  to  Ontario  village  in  1891.  The  first  officers  were:  T. 
Mitchell,  W.  M.  ;  J.  Z.  Hodges,  S.  W.  ;  John  Raynor,  J.  W.  ;  Isaac 
Pratt,  treasurer;  W.  H.  Matherson,  secretary;  N.  Bates,  S.  D.  ;  H.  M. 
Sabin,  J.  D.  ;  S.  Sabin,  tyler.  The  number  of  members  was  eighteen. 
Among  the  past  masters  are  T.  Mitchell,  J.  Z.  Hodges,  S.  Sabin,  J.  W. 
Speller,  A.  J.  Pratt,  C.  M.  Pease,  A.  Stark,  and  Freeman  Pintler.  The 
officers  for  1894  are  as  follows:  William  Paine,  W.  M.  ;  H.  E.  Stanford, 
secretary;  H.  E.  Van  Derveer,  treasurer. 

Walworth  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  No.  254,  was  organized  February  5, 
1852,  with  seven  members  and  the  following  officers:  Abel  Wyman, 
W.  M.  ;  Jones  Findley,  S.  W.  ;  Tappan  Merrill,  J.  W.  ;  Nathaniel  Bates, 
treasurer;  W.  D.  Wylie,  secretary.  The  charter  bears  date  June  8, 
1852.  The  charter  members,  besides  those  above  named,  were  John 
Findley  and  Isaac  Barnhart.  The  first  meetings  for  about  one  year 
were  held  in  Jones  Findley's  dwelling,  on  the  site  of  F.  C.  Robie's  pres- 
ent house.  Removal  was  then  made  to  the  old  hotel,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  one,  and  thence  to  its  present  quarters.  This  lodge  had  an 
earlier  organization,  but  all  of  its  records  were  burned  in  1852,  leading 
to  the  reorganization.  The  officers  for  1894  are  as  follows:  Edward  M. 
Rodenberger,  W.  M.  ;  Clarence  B.  Palmer,  S.  W.  ;  Walter  B.  Slade, 
J.  W.  ;  Charles  Elliott,  treasurer;  J.  J.  Findley,  secretary. 

Savannah  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  No.  764  was  organized  in  1875,  and 
chartered  in  the  following  year.  The  first  officers  under  the  charter 
were:  J.  A.  Munson,  W.  M.  ;  A.  E.  Casey,  S.  W.  ;  J.  N.  Westbrook, 
J.  W.  ;  J.  B.  Carris,  treasurer;  A.  S.  Farnum,  secretary.  The  charter 
members  of  this  lodge  were  as  follows:  J.  A.  Munson,  C.  H.  Graves, 

20 


154  LANDMARKS   OF 

James  N.  Westbrook,  Alexander  Gregg,  H.  E.  Newton,  John  Williams, 
A.  D.  Wood,  Nathan  Fitch,  B.  G.  Clark,  John  McGonegal,  A.  E.  Casey, 
A.  J.  Holdridge,  Andrew  Pearsal,  E.  S.  Wood,  ,R.  Widrig,  and  William 
Faulkner.  The  past  masters :  J.  A.  Munson,  A.  S.  Farnum,  and  J.  K. 
Bigsby.  The  officers  of  the  lodge  for  1894  are:  H.  W.  Smith,  W.  M.  ; 
L.  C.  Sherman,  S.  W.  ;  D.  B.  Reamer,  J.  W. ;  C.  B.  Jepson,  treasurer; 
W.  R.  Wiles,  secretary.  This  lodge  now  has  about  eighty-three  mem- 
bers. 

Raymond  Chapter  No.  100,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  was  organized 
in  Savannah  in  June,  1803,  with  fourteen  members,  and  the  following 
officers:  Mrs.  L.  C.  Sherman,  W.  M.  ;  Mrs.  R.  H.  Kelley,  W.  A.  M.  ; 
Mrs.  J.  M.  Hill,  secretary;  Mrs.  Charles  B.  Jepson,  treasurer.  These 
officers  hold  until  January,  1895. 

Macedon  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  No.  665,  was  organized  and  chartered 
June  9,  1868,  with  fourteen  members.  The  first  worthy  master  was 
Noah  W.  Hare,  who  held  the  office  from  1867  to  December,  1869.  The 
following  have  held  that  office  since:  W,  C.  Lawrence,  1870-71;  S.  N. 
Gallup,  1872-73;  Lyman  Bickford,  1874-75-76  and  1880;  Henry  H. 
Reed,  1877-78-79,  1881-82,  and  from  1885  to  1891,  inclusive;  C.  S. 
Lacey,  1883-84;  G.  P.  Kaiser,  1892-93.  For  1894  the  following  are  the 
elective  officers:  Harvey  Greenfield,  W.  M. ;  Charles  H.  Parker,  S.  W. ; 
Frank  G.  Ramsdell,  J.  W.  ;  William  B.  Billings,  treasurer;  Robert  P. 
Magee,  secretary.  Elective  officers:  E.  J.  Fulton.  S.  D. ;  Walter  R. 
Possee,  J.  D.  ;  Rev.  C.  L.  Paddock,  chaplain;  A.  Brennan,  S.  M.  C. ; 
G.  H.  Kraus,  J.  M.  C.  ;  Charles  W.  Kipp,  tyler.  January  1,  1894,  the 
lodge  had  sixty-six  members. 

Red  Creek  Lodge  No.  560,  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  instituted  in  1856,  with 
the  following  officers:  Rev.  S.  P.  Crosier,  W.  M. ;  James  H.  Coope, 
S.  W. ;  G.  H.  Preston,  J.  W.  ;  E.  H.  Brown,  treasurer;  Philip  Turner, 
secretary;  I,  F.  Mosher,  S.  D. ;  Jerome  Barr,  J.  D.  The  lodge  pros- 
pered until  1874,  when  the  books  and  property  were  burned.  A  new 
charter  was  granted  in  April  of  that  year.  Meetings  were  held  in  the 
woolen  factory  during  that  summer,  and  later  in  Becker  &  Hall's  hall  to 
about  L877,  when  the  lodge  removed  to  Woleott,  and  has  remained  there 
since.  In  Masonic  year  ls'.H  the  name  of  the  lodge  was  changed  to 
Woleott  Lodge  No.  560.  The  successive  worshipful  masters  of  this 
lodge  has  been  as  follows:  Rev.  S.  I*.  Crosier,  James  H.  Coope.  I.  F. 
Mosher,  F.  M.  Pasco,  D.  D.  Becker,  George  Copeland,  I).  D.  Becker, 
again,  Charles  Cromwell,  William  Lytic,  J.  Byron  Smith,   Garry  Salis- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  L55 

bury,  Jefferson  W.  Hoag.  The  other  officers  for  L894  are:  F.  A.  Pre- 
vost,  S.  W. ;  C.  H.  Hamner,  J.  W.  ;  B.  J.  Worden,  S.  D.  ;  Rolla  Stew- 
art, J.  D.  ;  N    W.  Merrill,  treasurer;  Frank  Hale,  secretary. 

Rose  Lodge  No.  590,  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  chartered  in  1805,  with  the  fol- 
lowing members :  James  M.  Home,  M.  T.  Collier,  Lucius  H.  Dudley, 
John  J.  Dickson.  George  Catchpole,  Seymour  Covel,  Eugene  Hickok, 
Seymour  Woodard,  James  Covel,  Samuel  Gardner,  and  P.  J.  Thomas. 
The  warrant  was  issued  June  22,  1866.  The  following  first  officers  were 
installed:  James  M.  Home,  W.  M.  ;  M.  T.  Collier,  S.  W.  ;  L.  H.  Dud- 
ley, J.  W. ;  M.  C.  Klink,  secretary;  Samuel  Gardner,  treasurer;  P.  J. 
Thomas,  S.  D.  ;  Charles  Covel,  J.  D.  The  officers  in  1894  are  as  fol- 
lows: John  E.  Kaiser,  W.  M. ;  Orrin  C.  Calhoun,  S.  W.  ;  Orrin  Livings- 
ton, J.  W. ;  D.  B.  Flint,  treasurer;  E.  Hickok,  secretary.  The  lodge 
has  seventy-two  members. 

ODD     FELLOWS. 

The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  has  had  a  long  and  honorable 
life  in  Wayne  county,  most  of  the  lodges  having  been  formed  in  the 
years  1845-46;  but  the  earliest  organization  was  Wayne  Lodge  No.  148, 
which  was  instituted  in  1843  with  ten  members.  John  Chipman  was 
N.  G.,  and  H.  S.  Fisher,  V.  G.  This  lodge  continued  its  work  until 
1852,  when  the  charter  was  surrendered.  The  membership  at  one 
period  reached  150,  but  had  declined  to  sixty  in  1852. 

The  second  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  in  Palmyra  was  Pierian  Lodge  No. 
243,  which  was  instituted  August  3,  1870,  with  the  following  charter 
members:  Lewis  B.  Keeler,  P.  G.  ;  Samuel  B.  Mclntyre,  R.  L.  Pritch- 
ard,  Clarence  A.  Hersey,  and  Albert  F.  Duell.  S.  B.  Mclntyre  was  in- 
stalled N.  G.  ;  G.  R.  Pritchard,  V.  G. ;  C.  A.  Hersey,  secretary;  and 
A.  F.  Buell,  treasurer.  Meetings  were  held  weekly  in  rooms  in  Cuyler's 
block.  For  some  unexplained  reason  this  lodge  eventually  declined  and 
finally  suspended  work  to  be  succeeded  by  the  Phil  Sheridan  Lodge. 

Phil  Sheridan  Lodge  No.  430,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  October  25, 
1888,  with  the  following  charter  members:  George  H.  Crandall,  Dorr 
Kent,  Charles  H.  Soper,  A.  Moison,  A.  R.  Knapp,  W.  A.  Parker,  E.  B. 
Sutton,  Frank  A.  Chase,  H.  W.  Green,  D.  L.  Congdon,  A.  C.  Buell, 
F.  A.  Sawyer,  W.  H.  Selleck,  Alanson  Freeman,  Joseph  S.  Benedict, 
W.  H.  H.  Osborne,  Charles  W.  Powers,  R.  F.  Poyzer,  W.  H.  Dixon, 
John  Devoist,  F.  G.  Crandall,  W.  J.  Vail,  G.  A.  Williams,  S.  T.  De  La 


156  LANDMARKS   OF 

Mater,  Fred  Smith,  James  Palmer,  J.  W.  Hersey.  Of  these,  five — 
Messrs.  Crandall,  Kent,  Freeman,  Soper,  and  Benedict — were  members 
of  the  old  lodge.  The  first  officers  were  as  follows:  George  H.  Cran- 
dall,  N.  G. ;  W.  H.  H.  Osborne,  Y.  G.  ;  R.  F.  Poyzer,  permanent  sec- 
retary; Charles  W.  Powers,  recording  secretary;  A.  R.  Knapp,  treas- 
urer; R.  F.  Poyzer,  W.  ;  W.  A.  Parker.  C.  ;   W.  H.  Dixon,  R.  S.  N.  G.  ; 

F.  A.  Sawyer,  L.  S.  N.  G.  ;  Jno.  Devoist,  R.  S.  V.  G.  ;  F.  A.  Chase. 
L.  S.  V.  G.  ;  F.  G.  Crandall,  I.  G. ;  H.  \V.  Green,  O.  G. ;  W.  J.  Vail, 
R.  S.  S.  ;  D.  L.  Congdon,  L.  S.  S.  The  officers  elected  June  28,  L894, 
are  as  follows:  John  Anderson,  N.  G.  ;  R.  N.  Backus,  V.  G. ;  R.  F. 
Poyzer,  secretary;  F.  A.  Chase,  treasurer. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1845  five  petitioners,  including  Zina 
Hooker,  Joseph  Congdon,  Isaac  Miller,  Aaron  Brooks,  and  one  not  now 
known,  resolved  to  organize  a  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  for  the  town  of 
Galen.  This  resulted  in  the  formation  of  Galen  Lodge  Xo.  198  in  Jan- 
uary, 1846.  The  first  twro  principal  officers  were  Zina  Hooker,  X.  G. ; 
and  Joseph  Congdon,  V.  G.  In  the  renumbering  of  lodges  in  this  State 
in  1848  this  lodge  became  No.  36.  It  enjoyed  a  fair  degree  of  prosper- 
ity until  1860,  when  it  was  discontinued.  Siloam  Encampment,  which 
was  connected  with  the  old  lodge  and  had  existed  about  ten  years,  sus- 
pended two  years  earlier  than  the  lodge.      Upon  the  petition  of  J.  Scott, 

G.  P.  Livingston,  J.  Curry,  X.  Hovey,  J.  T.  Van  Buskirk,  P.  Simons, 
P.  Furlong,  P.  Sloan,  and  B.  Brewster,  Clyde  Lodge  No.  300  was  or- 
ganized on  the  19th  of  February,  1872,  with  the  following  officers:  J. 
Scott,  N.  G.  ;  G.  P.  Livingston,  V.  G.  ;  James  Curry,  secretary;  J.  T. 
Van  Buskirk,  W. ;  N.  Hovey,  treasurer;  D.  L.  Stow,  C.  ;  P.  Simons, 
R.  S.  N.  G.  ;  A.  E.  Adams,  L.  S.  N.  G. ;  P.  Furlong,  L.  S.  V.  G. ;  B. 
Brewster,  I.  G.  ;  P.  Sloan,  O.  G.  A  room  for  this  lodge  was  fitted  up 
in  Sloan's  block,  Glasgow  street,  and  weekly  meetings  were  held.  The 
membership  is  now  about  sixty.  The  following  officers  were  elected  in 
July.  L894:  A.  E.  Littlejohn,  N.  G. ;  A.  C.  Burnette,  V.  G. ;  B.  X.  Mar- 
riott, secretary;  W.  E.  Meade,  treasurer;  Thomas  Howes,  R.  S.  X.  G.  ; 
H.  Fiske,  L.  S.  X.  G. ;  C.  A.  Sloan,  W. ;  A.  F.  Groescup,  C. ;  F.  A. 
Haugh,  R.  S.  S.  ;  J.  G.  Groesbeck,  L.  S.  S.  ;  C.  H.  Tuck,  R.  S.  V.  G.  : 
John  Stock,  L.  S.  V.  G.  ;  C.  S.  Eldridge,  J.  G. ;  C.  H.  Ford,  O.  G.  ;  J. 
F.  Ford,  Rep.  to  G.  L. ;  A.   E,  Adams,  proxy. 

Canton  Galen  Xo.  49,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  mustered  August  8,  IS'.'o,  with 
twenty-two  members  and  the  following  officers :  C.  H.  Ford,  captain; 
Thomas  Howes,  lieutenant;   1).   L.   Edwards,  ensign;  J.  W.  ll.Shipler, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  157 

clerk;  E.  F.  Stoetzel,  accountant.  These  officers  were  re-elected  in 
April,  1894.      The  company  is  uniformed. 

Newark  Lodge  No.  196,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  originally  instituted  on  the 
1st  of  January,  1840,  with  James  D.  Ford,  N.  G.  This  lodge  ceased  to 
work  in  1859,  through  loss  by  fire.  Their  building,  finished  and  dedi- 
cated March  27,  1849,  was  burned  with  all  the  lodge  property.  On 
October  19,  1870,  the  lodge  was  instituted  as  Newark  Lodge  No.  250, 
with  the  following  charter  members  and  officers:  C.  G.  Pomeroy,  N.  G. ; 
AY.  S.  Bartle,  V.  G. ;  H.  F.  C.  Mayer,  secretary;  J.  D.  Ford,  treasurer; 
and  Peter  McGregor  and  Moses  P.  Hamm;  of  these  only  Mr.  Hamm  is 
living.  The  following  have  served  the  lodge  as  N.  G. :  C.  G.  Pomeroy, 
E.  P.  Soverill,  D.  L.  Ford,  H.  M.  Shepard,  L.  S.  Pratt,  Solon  Briggs, 
W.  L.  Willett,  James  Garlock,  H.  J.  Pierson,  S.  Stuerwald,  A.  H. 
Yanderbilt,  C.  E.  Burleigh,  Wesley  S.  Drake,  Peter  C.  Howe,  James 
R.  Brainard,  W.  B.  Randolph,  Richard  P.  Groat,  Sylvanus  Krum,  Uri 
Hutchins,  Reeves  S.  Welcher,  Latham  Coffin,  Jacob  E.  Stever,  P.  E. 
Nellis,  Cyrus  A.  Tator,  Charles  W.  Sherman,  George  F.  Palmer,  Leman 
H.  Purchase,  Levi  A.  Loveland,  Andrew  D.  Soverill,  Frank  G.  Bailey, 
James  T.  George,  Leonard  Cozzens,  Irving  W.  Colburn,  James  A. 
vStiles,  Arthur  Blackmar,  Fred  C.  Shaw,  Jacob  H.  Bender,  George  C. 
Brewer,  D.  J.  Rehklau,  A.  E.  Pike,  John  S.  Hedden,  Willard  B.  Gar- 
lock,  Silas  D.  Borroughs,  George  W.  Muth,  L.  S.  Pratt,  W.  M.  Filkins, 
Oscar  D.  Vanderbilt,  L.  H.  Morse,  Rev.  Mr.  Barber,  George  C. 
Pierson.  This  lodge  has  been  prosperous  and  now  numbers  about 
eighty-five  members.  On  April  26,  1876,  the  lodge  hall  in  the  Storv 
Block  was  formally  dedicated.  Officers  elected  July  1,  1894:  George  C. 
Pierson,  N.  G. ;  E.  D.  Miller,  V.  G. ;  Ralph  Conklin,  secretary,  Warren 
S.  Bartle,  treasurer. 

W.ayne  Encampment  No.  85,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  at  Newark, 
October  7,.  1875,  with  the  following  charter  members:  Solon  Briggs, 
W.  S.  Bartle,  C.  Pell,  A.  H.  Van  Derbilt,  E.  E.  Burleigh,  L.  Coffin, 
J.  H.  Pulver,  W.  L.  Willett,  P.  McGregor. 

The  first  Odd  Fellows  organization  in  Lyons  was  Lyons  Lodge  No. 
75,  which  was  organized  in  October,  1846,  with  the  following  five  mem- 
bers: William  W.  Sanford,  N.  G. ;  William  H.  Sisson,  V.  G. ;  and  Morton 
Brownson,  John  Frazier,  and  a  Mr.  Lawton.  The  first  meeting  was 
held  in  the  Wayne  County  Hotel,  and  later  a  room  in  the  third  story  of 
the  Hartnagel  building  was  leased  for  a  term  of  years,  and  properly 
fitted  up.     The  lodge  prospered  for  a  time,  and  had  more  than  one 


158  LANDMARKS   OF 

hundred  members;  but  it  closed  in  1867,  when  its  members  numbered 
sixty-two. 

Lyons  Lodge  No.  317,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  organized  in  April,  1872,  in 
the  Center  building,  and  in  June,  1874,  removed  to  the  third  story  of 
Gavitt's  Block.  A  little  later  rooms  were  furnished  in  the  third  story 
of  the  Center  building,  and  taken  on  a  long  lease.  The  six  charter 
members  were:  Joseph  McCall,  N.  G. ;  Cornelius  Pell,  V.  G. ;  G.  W. 
Cramer,  secretary;  Andrew  Fries,  treasurer;  and  M.  vS.  Leach  and 
Horace  Utter.  The  officers  elected  for  1894  are  as  follows:  Valentine 
Kaiser,  N.  G. ;  Charles  Barnhardt,  V.  G. ;  P.  F.  Seaman,  secretary:  A. 
T.  Robinson,  treasurer;  W.  E.  McCullom,  representative  to  Grand 
Lodge. 

Component  No.  17,  of  Grand  Canton  Stebbins,  of  Rochester,  was 
organized  at  Lyons  in  June,  1893,  and  has  a  membership  of  thirty-two. 
Nelson  Morris  is  captain,  and  C.  S.  Thompson,  clerk. 

Bay  Shore  Lodge  No.  606,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  organized  at  North  Rose 
village,  August  20,  1891,  with  A.  R.  Proseus,  N.  G.  ;  G.  W.  Seager, 
V.  G. ;  and  F.  E.  Soper,  secretary ;  the  lodge  then  had  fifteen  members, 
and  has  since  increased  to  about  twenty-five.  The  following  persons 
have  held  the  office  of  N  .  G. :  A.  R.  Proseus,  G.  W.  Seager,  Clark  Halli- 
day,  Warren  W.  Morey,  A.  M.  Gray,  Elmer  E.  Mitchell.  The  follow- 
ing officers  were  installed  July  14,  1894:  B.  T.  Drury,  N.  G. ;  C.  W. 
Oaks,  V.  G. ;  C.  Halliday,  secretary;  A.  M.  Gray,  treasurer. 

North  Sodus  Lodge  No.  454,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  initiated  September  22, 
1876,  with  six  charter  members  as  follows:  Alonzo  Barnes,  J.  Henry 
Zelsche,  Millard  S.  Robinson,  S.  G.  Brumfield,  Charles  M.  Sentell, 
Albert  Dodd.  The  first  officers  elected  were:  Alonzo  Barnes,  N.  (i.  ; 
Albert  Dodd,  V.  G. ;  M.  S.  Robinson,  secretary;  S.  G.  Brumfield, 
treasurer.  The  officers  for  1894  are  as  follows:  S.  N.  Parker,  N.  G. ; 
Charles  Edwards,  V.  G. ;  G.  F.  Hendricks,  secretary;  J.  Stebbins, 
treasurer.      The  lodge  has  a  membership  of  forty-three. 

East  Ridge  Lodge  No.  415,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Sodus,  was  initiated  in 
August,  1849,  and  its  charter  was  granted  from  Baltimore,  Md.,  in  De- 
cember, 1850.      It  continued  in  existence  until  1857,  when  it  disbanded. 

Butler  Lodge  No.  504,  I.  ( ).  O.  F.,  was  initiated  December  29,  1882, 
with  twenty-two  members.  Its  charter  was  granted  October  13,  1882. 
The  first  officers  were:  N.  De  L.  Bowen,  N.  G.  ;  Dr.  James  F.  Munn, 
V.  G. ;  X.  R.  Hurd,  secretary;  James  L.  Wadsworth,  treasurer.  The 
lodge  was  instituted  by  district  deputy  G.  M.  James  T.George  of  Newark, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  159 

assisted  by  others  from  abroad.  The  successive  N.  G.'s  of  the  lodge 
have  been:  James  F.  Mtmn,  M.  D.,  E.  H.  Cady,  J.  E.  Rogers,  Andrew 
J.  Bradway,  De  Witt  C.  Wheeler.  H.  O.  Baggerly,  jr.,  Henry  W.  Cro- 
foot,  James  L.  Wadsworth,  Ensign  L.  Adams,  D.  P.  Mitchell,  William 
H.  Clapp,  Henry  D.  Wetmore,  Charles  C.  Taylor,  Alexander  C.  Clapp, 
Selden  E.  Helmer,  Thomas  S.  Law,  Dudley  S.  Reed,  James  Wheeler, 
George  W.  Williams,  Hurley  H.  Hopkins,  Dr.  William  J.  Coppernoll, 
Selden  E.  Helmer.  The  officers  for  1894  are  as  follows:  Silas  D.  Cro- 
foot,  N.  G. ;  James  Shannon,  V.  G. ;  D.  P.  Mitchell,  secretary;  William 
H.  Clapp,  treasurer.  Gorham  H.  Wilson  is  delegate  to  the  Odd  Fellows 
Home  Association  at  Lockport,  the  first  from  this  lodge.  The  member- 
ship is  fifty. 

Ontario  Shore  Lodge  No.  495,  of  Wolcott,  was  initiated  February  9, 
1882,  with  H.  L.  Bowen,  J.  Madison  Henslee,  W.  A.  Coventry,  J.  A. 
Merrill,  Albert  Dodd,  and  S.  H.  Foster  as  charter  members.  The  first 
officers  were:  Rev.  H.  L.  Bowen,  N.  G.  ;  J.  Madison  Henslee,  V.  G. ; 
S.  H.  Foster,  secretary;  J.  A.  Merrill,  treasurer;  W.  A.  Coventry,  P.  G. 
Forty-five  candidates  were  initiated.  The  officers  for  1894  are  as 
follows:  Walter  Darling,  N.  G. ;  R.  B.  Smith,  V.  G. ;  E.  H.  Kellogg, 
secretary;   E.  E.  Shafft,  treasurer. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETIES,  COUNTY  INSTITUTIONS,  &c. 

Mention  has  made  in  an  early  page  of  this  work  that  one  of  the  meas- 
ures adopted  by  Charles  Williamson  for  the  encouragement  of  settlers, 
was  the  holding  of  fairs  for  the  advancement  of  agriculture  in  Western 
New  York.  It  was  his  intention  to  continue  them  semi-annually.  The 
first  fair  held  in  Ontario  county  was  at  Geneva  in  1807,  and  a  notice  in 
the  newspaper  announced  the  exhibition  in  October  of  a  large  number 
of  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  hogs,  etc. ,  with  samples  of  wheat  and  other 
grains  from  different  parts  of  Genesee  county.  The  next  fair  was  held 
on  the  first  Tuesday  in  May,  1808. 

Of  the  annual  appropriation  of  $20,000,  provided  by  the  Legislature 
in  March,  1818,  to  be  distributed  in  various  counties  of  this  State  and 


160  LANDMARKS   OF 

to  be  used  in  aid  of  agriculture  through  premiums  offered  at  fairs,  On- 
tario county  received  $1,000.  In  February,  1819,  a  meeting  was  held 
at  which  the  first  Ontario  County  Agricultural  Society  was  formed.  A 
premium  list  was  afterward  prepared,  and  the  first  fair  held,  beginning 
October  18,  at  Canandaigua. 

We  need  not  follow  the  fortunes  of  that  organization  further  than  to 
note  that  Wayne  county  farmers  had  their  share  in  its  exhibitions  and 
general  prosperity.  In  1830  an  exhibition  of  flowers,  fruits,  and  gar- 
den vegetables  was  held  in  Lyons,  which  awakened  considerable  inter- 
est and  was  well  attended.  Other  similar  exhibitions  were  held  in  New- 
ark, Lyons  and  Palmyra,  at  some  of  which  limited  numbers  of  live 
stock  were  shown. 

In  December,  1838,  a  meeting  was  held  in  Lyons  and  the  Wayne 
County  Agricultural  Society  was  organized.  The  following  first  officers 
were  elected:  president,  Hon.  John  Boynton;  first  vice-president.  Dr. 
C.  S.  Button;  second  vice-president,  Samuel  Hecox;  third  vice-presi- 
dent, Samuel  E.  Hudson;  fourth  vice-president,  Reuben  H.  Foster; 
fifth  vice-president,  J.  P.  Bartle;  secretary,  Hamilton  Rogers;  execu- 
tive committee,  C.  S.  Button,  F.  Hemingway,  John  Baker,  Samuel 
West,  Abel  Fairchilds:  committee  on  field  crops,  William  R.  Smith, 
William  D.  Cook,  A.  G.  Barney. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  this  society  had  ten  years  of 
unexampled  prosperity.  The  annual  fairs  were  held  at  Palmyra,  New- 
ark, Lyons,  Clyde,  and  Rose  Valley,  the  place  selected  each  year  at  the 
annual  meeting. 

At  the  meeting  in  Lyons,  in  December,  1848,  the  following  officers 
were  elected:  president,  J.  D.  Ford;  vice-presidents,  E.  N.  Thomas, 
Samuel  Hudson,  Jacob  Furgeson,  A.  G.  Percy,  John  Barrodale,  Jede- 
diah  Wilder,  Joel  Hale;  recording  secretary,  N.  B.  Caswell;  corres- 
ponding secretary,  J.  J.  Thomas;  treasurer,  P.  W.  Kenyon;-  executive 
committee,  W.  P.  Nottingham,  Cullen  Foster,  Daniel  Kenyon,  Daniel 
Jenison,  E.  Flint. 

At  this  meeting  an  important  resolution  was  adopted,  indicating  both 
that  the  society  was  not  in  as  prosperous  a  condition  as  formerly  and 
that  the  belief  was  general  that  a  permanent  location  should  be  secured 
as  one  means  of  renewing  former  prosperity.  Six  years  later,  in  De- 
cember, 1851,  it  was  finally  resolved  "that  the  fairs  of  the  society  shall 
hereafter  be  permanently  located  at  Lyons."  Tocarryout  tin's  purpose 
a  new  society    was   organized    under   a  legislative   act  passed  April  13, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  161 

1855,  and*  on  the  23d  of  that  month  the  old  society  met  in  Lyons,  paid 
their  liabilities,  transferred  the  money  remaining- in  the  treasury  (about 
$300)  to  the  new  society,  and  disbanded.  At  a  meeting-  held  May  15, 
1855,  the  following  officers  were  elected:  President,  De  Witt  Van  Slyck; 
vice-president,  Robert  Ennis;  secretary,  P.  P.  Bradish;  treasurer,  Wil- 
liam D.  Perrine;  directors,  E.  N.  Thomas,  A.  G.  Percy,  E.  B.  Kellogg, 
S.  Tincklepaugh,  Alfred  Hale,  Henry  Teachout. 

Subscriptions  were  solicited  in  Lyons,  and  the  citizens  promptly  gave 
$1,700,  and  the  Board  of  Managers  purchased  eleven  acres  of  land  on 
the  Clyde  River,  a  little  east  of  Lyons  village,  possessing  natural  feat- 
ures that  render  it  one  of  the  best  sites  in  the  State  for  spch  purposes. 
The  board  erected  a  large  hall  56  x  80  feet,  with  galleries,  at  a  cost  of 
$1,200,  the  land  having  cost  $1,710.  The  building  was  burned  in  1877 
and  a  short  period  of  discouragement  and  apathy  succeeded.  During 
two  years,  fairs  were  held  first. in  Wolcott  and  next  in  Sodus.  About 
1879  the  Lyons  Driving  Park  Association  was  formed  and  bought  six 
acres  lying  on  the  west  side  of  the  fair  grounds,  and  constructed  on  the 
whole  a  half-mile  track.  A  joint  lease  was  made  in  the  same  year  be- 
tween the  two  societies  for  ten  years,  each  organization  to  have  exclu- 
sive use  of  the  grounds  during  fairs  and  races,  and  all  revenues  accru- 
ing from  other  sources  were  to  be  divided  equally  between  the  two  or- 
ganizations. The  arrangement  created  dissatisfaction  which  culminated 
in  1881  in  the  erection  of  the  present  fair  building  by  the  Agricultural 
Society,  and  the  beginning  of  litigation,  which  ended  only  in  the  dis- 
bandment  of  the  Driving  Park  Association  in  1886.  J.  C.  Myers  was 
made  president  of  the  Agricultural  Society  in  1885,  at  which  time  he 
bought  in  the  entire  stock  of  the  Driving  Park  Association  amounting 
to  $3,400,  and  transferred  it  to  the  Agricultural  Society.  This  action 
gave  the  latter  society  possession  of  eighteen  acres  of  land  and  build- 
ings. In  the  meantime  it  had  become  badly  involved  in  debt  and  liti- 
gation, but  under  the  energetic  direction  of  Mr.  Myers  and  his  associate 
officers,  a  very  successful  fair  was  held  in  1885,  the  premiums  were  paid 
in  full,  debts  were  extinguished  and  additional  structures  erected  on 
the  grounds.  In  1889  Mr.  Myers  declined  the  presidency  and  another 
period  of  decline  set  in,  continuing  until  the  spring  of  1894,  at  which 
time  a  debt  had  accumulated  of  over  $1,800.  Mr.  Myers  was  then 
again  induced  to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  society,  and  an  effort  is 
now  in  progress  to  place  its  affairs  in  prosperous  condition.  The  officers 
of  the  society  for  1894  are  as  follows:  president,  Joseph  C.  Myers;  vice- 

21 


162  LANDMARKS   OF 

president,  Dwight  Chamberlain;  secretary,  William  E.  Collum ;  treas. 
uaer,  C.  M.  Baltzel. 

The  following  named  persons,  among  others,  became  life-members  of 
this  society :  R.  L.  Adams,  William  H.  Adams,  John  Adams,  Walter 
Akenhead,  Philip  Althen,  Silas  Bashford,  Clark  Bartlett,  P.  P.  Bradish, 
W.  L.  Belden,  S.  W.  Belden,  Henry  Baltzel,  George  H.  Boehmler,  J. 
S.  Boice,  E.  W.  Bottom,  B.  J.  Bradley,  M.  Brownson,  James  M.  Brad- 
ley, John  Bradley,  Daniel  Chapman,  E.  C.  Cosart,  F.  E.  Cornwell,  Co- 
lumbus Croul,  George  W.  Cramer,  William  Clark,  Frederick  Deck,  Mrs. 
M.  Dunn,  Robert  Ennis,  Elizur  Flint,  S.  B.  Gavitt,  Daniel  Goetzman, 
L.  Griswold,  N.  W.  Geer,  H.  Graham,  William  Howlett,  Amos  Har- 
rington, Thomas  Harrington,  S.  S.  Herrick,  S.  D.  Holmes,  John  Hano, 
H.  G.  Hotchkiss,  Alfred  Hale,  Jacob  Jeheer,  S.  H.  Klinck,  William  H. 
King,  M.  S.  Leach,  Heman  J.  Leach,  Edwin  B.  Leach,  S.  Lewis,  Isaac 
Lovejoy,  John  Lay  ton,  E.  G.  Leonard,  Joseph  McCall,  N.  R.  Mirick, 
Milton  Mirick,  H.  C.  Mead,  J.  T.  Mackenzie,  Z.  Moore,  William  D. 
Perrine,  J.  B.  Pierce,    H.  W.  Putney,   E.  B.  Price,    F.  H.  Palmeter,  A. 

D.  Polhamus,  Charles  Pickett,  Caleb  Rice,  Aaron  Remsen,  Erastus 
Rogers,  B.  R.  Rogers,  Thomas  Rogers,  James  Rogers,  G.  R.  Rudd, 
John  Robinson,  D.  R.  Rozell,  John  C.  Roys,  William  H.  Sisson,  E.  W. 
Sylvester,  B.  R.  Streety,  John  H.  Spencer,  Samuel  Scott,  jr.,  Lyman 
Sherwood,  William  Smelt,  Newell  Taft,  Henry  Teachout,  E.  N.  Thomas, 

E.  P.  Taylor,  E.  G.  Thurston,  Job  Travice,  De  Witt  C.  Van  Slyck, 
William  Van  Camp,  William  Van  Marter,  B.  P.  Van  Marter,  Michael 
Vanderbilt,  John  Vanderbilt,  P.  R.  Westfall,  John  Westfall,  Daniel 
Westfall,  W.  W.  Wormwood,  John  Walter,  Harvey  Warren,  Denison 
Wilder. 

The  Palmyra  Union  Agricultural  Society. — About  the  time  that 
measures  were  adopted  for  the  permanent  location  of  the  County  Agri- 
cultural Society  in  Lyons,  the  farmers  of  the  southwestern  and  western 
parts  of  the  county  organized  the  society  bearing  the  above  title.  The 
date  of  organization  was  June  26,  1856,  and  the  following  were  elected 
the  first  officers:  President,  Martin  Butterfield  ;  vice-presidents,  Stephen 
Hyde,  William  H.  Teller,  Russell  Stoddard;  secretary,  Carlton  II. 
Rogers;  treasurer,  Joseph  C.  Lovett;  directors,  Luther  Sand  ford, 
Stephen  K.  Williams,  Theron  <1.  Yeomans,  Daniel  dates,  William  H. 
Rogers,  and  Jacob  C.  Pettitt.  Besides  these  men  the  following  were 
charter  members:  A.  Salisbury,  L.  Robinson,  Joel  Foster,  F.  D. 
Rogers,  A.'  J.  Downing,  J.  M.  Briggs,  J.  G.  Philipps,  William R.  John- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  163 

son,    George  H.  Cuyler,   W.  P.  Nottingham,    A.    Sherman,    and  W.  F. 
Aldrich. 

This  society  purchased  about  twenty  acres  of  land  of  Daniel  dates  in 
1856  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  and  a  floral  hall  was  erected  the  same  year. 
The  first  fair  was  held  in  the  fall  of  1856,  and  they  have  been  continued 
annually  ever  since,  all  of  which  have  been  successful.  The  society  as 
a  whole  has  been  prosperous;  premiums  have  been  paid  in  full;  several 
dividends  on  stock  have  been  paid  and  there  is  now  (1894)  about  $700 
in  the  treasury. 

The  officers  of  this  society  for  189-4  are  as  follows:  President,  Charles 
D.  Johnson  (served  since  1879  and  was  recording  secretary  from  1864  to 
1889);  corresponding  secretary,  E.  S.  Averill  (served  since  1868);  re- 
cording secretary,  P.  F.  Aldrich;  treasurer,  David  S.  Aldrich. 

The  following  persons  have  held  the  office  of  president  of  this  society  : 
Martin  Butterfield,  1857;  Luther  Sanford,  1858-59;  Eliab  Yeomans, 
1860-61;  Abraham  I.  Carle,  1862;  Henry  J.  Foster,  1863;  N ahum  War- 
ner, 1864-65;  William  P.  Nottingham,  1866-69;  Henry  Sawyer,  1870; 
William  P.  Nottingham,  1871-77;  Henry  M.  Clark,  1878-79;  Charles 
D.  Johnson,  1880-94. 

The  Agricultural,  Horticultural  and  Mechanical  Association  of  Galen 
was  organized  at  Liberty  Hall  in  Clyde,  December  22,  1849,  and  had 
quite  a  successful  existence  until  a  few  years  since,  when  it  was  closed 
out.  The  first  officers  were:  Joseph  Watson,  president;  Benjamin  H. 
Streeter,  secretary;  Matthew  Mackie,  treasurer;  Jacob  T.  Van Buskirk, 
librarian.  Owing  to  the  determined  opposition  of  the  early  officers  to 
horse  racing,  the  organization  passed  through  a  period  of  decline,  and 
on  December  27,  1856,  the  last  board  of  officers  of  the  old  association 
was  elected  as  follows:  Maynard  Dayton,  president;  E.  D.  Kellog,  A. 
Snedaker,  E.  Ringer,  S.  J.  Lape,  P.  T.  Chamberlain,  vice-presidents; 
George  W.  Cowles,  secretary ;  Thomas  Plumtree,  treasurer.  Just  prior 
to  this  date  a  new  interest  had  been  awakened  in  the  annual  fairs  and 
prosperity  seemed  about  to  dawn.  Having  no  legal  existence,  the  of- 
ficers and  members  met  March  14,  1857,  and  dissolved  the  old  associa- 
tion, immediately  reorganizing  as  the  Galen  Agricultural  Society,  which 
was  duly  incorporated.  The  following  officers  were  chosen :  Maynard 
Dayton,  president;  Matthew  Mackie,  vice-president;  George  W.  Cowles, 
secretary;  Thomas  Plumtree,  treasurer.  From  this  time  until  1888.  in- 
clusive, the  society  held  fairs  and  had  exhibitions  of  trotting  horses  in 
the  park  established  by  William  H.  Saunders,  where  commodious  build- 


164  LANDMARKS   OF 

ings  had  been  erected.  January  21, 1888,  the  name  was  changed  to  the 
Eastern  Wayne  Agricultural  Society,  with  William  S.  Hunt,  president; 
L.  N.  Snow,  vice-president;  E.  W.  Sherman,  secretary;  and  Frank 
Backman,  treasurer.  The  exhibition  of  1889  was  held  at  Wolcott,  and 
soon  afterward  the  society  disbanded. 

The  Newark  Fair  Association  was  organized  at  Newark  in  1891,  with 
these  officers:  J.  Dupha  Reeves,  president;  C.  E.  Leggett,  treasurer; 
C.  H.  Perkins,  secretary.  Successful  fairs  were  held  for  three  years. 
In  1894  the  association  disbanded  and  the  property  passed  to  another 
society. 

The  Sodus  Agricultural  Society  was  organized  August  16,  1878,  with 
the  following  as  the  first  officers :  H.  C.  Weaver,  president;  H.  B.  Pulver, 
vice-president;  L.  H.  Clark,  secretary;  W.  J.  Filkins,  treasurer;  E. 
Rogers,  general  superintendent;  R.  F.  Norn's,  J.  Vosburgh,  J.  A. 
Boyd,  Milton  Proseus,  John  Hopp,  Orville  Carpenter,  directors.  Grounds 
owned  by  Lorenzo  Whitney,  on  which  he  had  constructed  a  half-mile 
track,  were  leased  by  the  society,  and  successful  fairs  have  been  regu- 
larly held  since  the  first  organization.  The  successive  presidents  of  this 
society  have  been  as  follows:  Harvey  C.  Weaver,  1879-81;  M.  Tinkle- 
paugh,  1882-84;  C.  A.  Whitbeck,  1883;  John  A.  Boyd,  1885-86;  M. 
Tinklepaugh,  1887-93;  C.  R.  Sprong,  1888-90;  C.  A.  Whitbeck,  1891- 
93.  The  officers  for  1894  are  as  follows:  M.  Tinklepaugh,  president; 
E.  B.  Whitbeck,  vice-president;  W.  J.  Toor,  secretary;  A.  J.  Maxon, 
treasurer;  D.  L.  Weaver,  general  superintendent;  H.  M.  Barnes,  M.J. 
Seymour,  M.  Tinklepaugh,  John  A.  Sargent,  John  Gulick,  William 
Tinklepaugh,  directors. 

The  Marion  Horse  Trotters'  Association  was  organized  August  1, 
L890,  its  name  indicating  its  objects.  Officers:  T.  M.  Clark,  president; 
J.  C.  Rich,  secretary;  A.  P.  Williams,  treasurer.  A  tract  of  land,  one- 
half  mile  north  of  Marion  village,  was  leased  of  B.  D.  Davis  for  five 
years,  and  a  half-mile  track  constructed.  The  Executive  Committee 
consists  <>f  A.  P.  Williams,  J.  B.  Malcolm,  F.  C.  Rich,  T.  M.  Clark,  and 
J.  C.  Rich. 

County  Poor  House. — The  buildings  of  the  Wayne  county  poor-house 
are  situated  upon  the  county  farm,  which  lies  some  two  miles  west  of 
the  village  of  Lyons.  The  farm  contains  190  acres,  the  greater  part  of 
which  is  tillable.  The  buildings  consist  of  a  main  part  (sixty  by  eighty 
I  and  two  stories  above  the  basement;  a  wooden  structure  connects 
with  the  'same,  in  size  twenty  by   forty  feet;   there  is  a  wood,  a  wash, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  165 

and  other  out-buildings;  there  is  also  in  the  same  inclosure  an  asylum 
for  lunatics,  built  of  brick  (twenty-six  by  fifty-four  feet),  and  one  story 
high.  A  project  is  now  (1894)  on  foot  for  the  erection  of  a  hospital 
building.  Rooms  are  kept  clean  and  well  ventilated.  James  T.  Wisner 
was  superintendent  a  number  of  years,  and  made  many  improvements. 
Annually  the  supervisors  visit  the  farm  on  a  tour  of  inspection. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Palnryra,  including  Macedon,  originally  formed  a  part  of  the  district 
of  Tolland  in  the  County  of  Ontario;  this  district  was  organized  in  a 
primitive  manner  in  January,  1780,  being  contemporary  with  the  great 
district  of  Sodus  on  the  north  and  west.  Macedon  was  set  off  January 
29,  1823,  and  upon  the  organization  of  Wayne  county  on  April  11,  of 
that  year,  the  town  of  Palmyra  comprised  its  present  area  of  19,430 
acres.  It  includes  township  12,  second  range,  of  the  Pultney  estate. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Marion,  on  the  east  by  Arcadia,  on  the 
south  by  Ontario  county,  and  on  the  west  by  Macedon,  and  lies  in  the 
southwest  part  of  Wayne  county. 

The  surface  is  broken  into  hills  and  valleys,  which  trend  generally 
north  and  south.  The  soil  is  a  calcareous  loam,  with  marl  on  the  creek 
bottoms,  and  drift,  sand,  and  gravel  on  the  highlands.  Ganargwa 
(Mud)  Creek,  the  principal  stream,  flows  easterly  through  the  town, 
and  affords  some  good  mill  sites;  in  earlier  days  it  was  utilized  for 
navigation.  Its  main  tributaries  are  Red  Creeks,  one  joining  it  at 
Palmyra  village,  and  the  other  a  little  east  of  East  Palmyra.  The  soil 
is  well  adapted  to  agricultural  purposes,  and  throughout  the  town  are 
found  many  excellent  farms.  It  was  originally  covered  with  heavy 
timber,  which  long  afforded  employment  for  several  saw  mills.  These 
dense  forests  have  long  since  given  place  to  fertile  fields,  productive 
orchards,  and  pleasant  homes.  The  inhabitants,  some  of  whom  are 
descended  from  the  original  settlers,  ably  maintain  the  thrifty  principles 
implanted  by  the  sturdy  pioneers,  who  opened  the  way  for  commercial 
progress  and  personal  enjoyment.     Wheat  raising,  once  the  chief  agri- 


166  LANDMARKS   OF 

cultural  production,  has  been  suspended  by  a  system  of  mixed  farming; 
for  many  years  considerable  attention  has  been  devoted  to  fruit  grow- 
ing, especially  to  apples.  Here  the  famous  Osband  pear  originated. 
Of  late  years  the  production  of  peppermint  has  been  profitably  carried 
on. 

The  first  highway  was  what  is  now  Canandaigua  street,  leading  south- 
ward from  Palmyra  village;  it  was  opened  about  1703,  and  for  many 
years  was  maintained  as  a  plank  road.  An  extension  of  this  thorough- 
fare was  the  old  Sodus  road,  which  ran  north  and  northeast  to  Sodus 
Point,  and  which  was  opened  in  1704  by  Captain  Charles  Williamson, 
who  paid  $757  for  its  construction.  In  1703  a  road  was  surveyed  from 
Deacon  Foster's  house,  westwardly,  by  the  houses  of  Joel  Foster,  Wil- 
liam Wilison,  Weaver  Osband,  Gideon  Durfee,  and  Swift's  Ash  Works, 
to  Webb  Harwood's.  In  the  old  book  of  records  appears  this  notice 
under  date  of  June  6,  1706:  "A  division  of  the  highways  in  the  district 
of' Tolland  in  County  of  Ontario  are  as  follows:"  and  the  record  pro- 
ceeds to  describe  twelve  road  districts;  William  Rogers  and  Reuben 
Town,  highway  commissioners,  and  Jonathan  Edwards,  town  clerk.  In 
1707  another  division  was  made.  In  1805  the  town  had  15  road  districts; 
1807,  18;  1810,  23;  1816,  32.  A  part  of  the  present  road  from  Palmyra 
to  Pultneyville  was  surveyed  June  13,  1<^20,  by  Isaac  Durfee  and  Luman 
Harrison,  highway  commissioners,  "with  the  poor  old  town  compass." 
Canandaigua  street,  above  mentioned,  was  resurveyed  in  1810,  and 
October  8,  L828,  was  again  surveyed,  this  time  five  rods  wide,  to  Man- 
chester, Ontario  county;  it  then  became  a  State  road,  and  at  this  time 
George  Crane,  Alva  Hendee,  and  Joshua  Downer  were  commissioners 
of  highways.     The  town  now  has  47  road  districts. 

January  L6,  L799,  "Mud  Creek"  (Ganargwa  Creek)  was  officially  de- 
clared a  navigable  stream  from  the  west  line  of  road  district  12,  second 
range,  to  mouth  of  same  (creek),  by  Benjamin  Wells  and  John  Swift, 
"superintendents  of  highways." 

The  completion  of  the  Erie  Canal  through  the  town  in  L825  imparted 
a  new  impetus  to  local  settlement  and  commercial  prosperity,  and  the 
advent  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  in  1853,  with  stations  at  Pal- 
myra and  East  Palmyra,  added  another  improvement.  The  West  Shore 
Railroad,  with  a  station  at  Palmyra  village,  was  opened  in  1884.  These 
thoroughfares  afford  unsurpassed  transportation  facilities. 

Tlic  town  was  primitively  known  by  the  name  of  Swift,  tor  John  Swift, 
the  first  settler,  but  it  was  soon  changed  to    Tolland,    or  the  District  of 


WAYNE   COUNTY. 


Hu 


Tolland,  which  remained  the  designation  until  January  4-,  ll'.iii,  when, 
at  a  meeting  held  for  the  purpose,  the  historic  name  of  Palmyra  was  de- 
cided upon,  in  this  wise:  Daniel  Sawyer,  brother  of  Mrs.  Swift,  was  en- 
gaged to  Miss  Dosha  Boughton,  the  first  school  teacher,  and  had  been 
reading  ancient  history ;  and  as  Palmyra  of  old  had  a  Zenobia  he  thought 
it  proper  his  future  wife  should  have  a  Palmyra,  so  the  name  was  adopted 
without  dissent. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Gideon  Durfee  in 
April,  1796,  more  than  eight  years  after  the  District  of  Tolland  was 
formed.  The  first  officers  elected  were:  John  Swift,  "  moderator,  in- 
spector, and  supervisor;"  Jonathan  Edwards,  town  clerk:  Festus  Gold- 
smith, Jonathan  Warner,  Humphrey  Sherman,  assessors;  William  Por- 
ter, collector;  Noah  Porter  and  Thomas  Goldsmith,  overseers  of  the  poor; 
JaredComstock,  Reuben  Town,  William  Rogers,  commissioners  of  high- 
ways; James  Bradish,  and  James  Reeves,  constables;  James  Reeves, 
John  Hurlbut,  Joel  Foster,  Luther  Sanford,  David  Warner,  Benjamin 
Wood,  Abner  Hill,  Cyrus  Parker,  Thomas  Hamilton,  Henry  Lovell, 
Nerman  Merry,  Nathan  Harris,  Jacob  Gannett,  pathmasters;  David 
Warner,  John  Hurlbut,  Elias  Reeves,  f ence viewers ;  Isaac  Kelly,  pound- 
master.  Joel  Foster  bid  off  the  first  earmark  and  Jonah  Howell  the 
second ;  forty-nine  persons  paid  for  earmarks  at  this  meeting.  A  bounty 
of  $5  was  voted  on  wolves  and  two  cents  each  on  "  crows,  squirrels, 
woodpeckers,  and  blackbirds."  It  was  voted  that  a  pound  be  erected 
"near  Daniel  Sawyer's  old  house." 

The  following  list  of  those  who  had  "  earmarks  "  for  stock  recorded 
embraces  nearly  all  of  the  heads  of  families  in  the  District  of  Tolland 
in  1796; 


James  Reeves, 
Lemuel  Spear, 
William  Porter, 
Israel  Delano, 
Timothy  Conant, 
Festus  Goldsmith, 
William  Jackway, 
John  Crandall, 
Pardon  Wilcox, 
Henry  Lovetell, 
Reuben  Town, 
Benjamin  Luce, 
Luther  Sanford, 
Alexander  Rowley, 


David  Warner, 
Isaac  Howell, 
John  Russell, 
David  Culver, 
Gideon  Durfee,  jr. , 
Reuben  Town, 
John  Gibson, 
Noah  Porter, 
Oliver  Clark, 
Thomas  Goldsmith, 
Joseph  Bradish, 
John  Hulburt, 
Benjamin  Clark, 
Benjamin  Woods, 


Joel  W.  Foster, 
David  H.  Foster, 
John  Swift, 
Nathan  Reeves, 
Gideon  Durfee, 
Humphrey  Sherman, 
Job  Durfee, 
Moses  Culver, 
Elias  Reeves, 
Thomas  Rogers, 
Edward  Durfee, 
Bennett  Bates, 
Darius  Comstock, 
Nathan  Harriss, 


168 


LANDMARKS   OF 


Elisha  San  ford. 
Jonah  Howell, 


Jonathan  Warner, 
Joel  Foster, 


Robert  Hinds. 


The  supervisors  of  Palmyra  have  been  as  follows: 


John  Swift,  1796, 
Jonah  Howell,  1797-98, 
John  Swift,  1799-02, 
Nathan  Comstoek,  1803, 
John  Swift,  1804-06, 
William  Rogers,  1807-08, 
Pardon  Durfee,  1809-14, 
David  White,  1815-20, 
James  White,  1821-22, 
William  Rogers,  1823, 
Stephen  Sherman,  1N2  4, 
Frederick  Smith,  1825, 
Stephen  Sherman,- 1826, 
Frederick  Smith,  1827-28, 
Ambrose  Salisbury,  1829-31, 
Frederick  Smith,  1832-34, 
Ambrose  Salisbury,  1835.37, 
George  W.  Cuyler,  1838-39, 
James  Hubbell,  1840-41, 
Ambrose  Salisbury,  1842, 
Samuel  Cole,  1843, 
Samuel  E.  Hudson,  1844, 
Pomeroy  Tucker,  1845, 


William  Beal,  1846, 
Augustus  Elmendorf,  1S47-48 
Thomas  W.  Gurney,  1849, 
Augustus  Elmendorf,  1850, 
Pomeroy  Tucker,  1851-52, 
Abraham  I.  Carle,  1853, 
Philip  Palmer,  1854, 
Charles  E.  Thurber.  1855, 
A.  P.  Crandall,  1856-58, 
William  H.  Bowman,  1859, 
William  B.  Crandall,  I860, 
Henry  S.  Flower,  1861-65, 
Charles  I.  Ferrin,  1866, 
Charles  D.  Johnson,  1867-70. 
William  Foster,  1871, 
Henry  P.  Knowles,  1872-73, 
Robert  Johnson,  1874, 
Geoi'ge  Harrison,  1875-79, 
Henry  M.  Clark,  1880-81, 
Nelson  Reeves,  1882-84, 
Henry  R.  Durfeee,  1885-88, 
James  O.  Clark,  1889-92. 
William  W.  Edgerton,  1898-94, 


The  town  officers  for  1894  are:  W.  W.  Edgerton,  supervisor;  Alex- 
ander P.  Milne,  town  clerk;  Charles  P.  Winslow,  Charles  H.  Chapman, 
Jones  L.  Warner,  assessors;  Charles  H.  Brown,  overseer  of  the  poor; 
Sylvester  Selleck,  collector;  Salem  W.  Sweezey,  highway  commissioner; 
E.  H.  Clark,  Joseph  J.  Rogers,  James  P.  Tuttle,  Mark  C.  Finley,  jus- 
tices of  the  peace.  The  first  record  of  incumbents  of  the  latter  office 
appears  in  1805,  when  William  Rogers  and  Pardon  Durfee  became  jus- 
tices. 

In  17(52  a  colony  of  200  settlers  located  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Wyoming  in  Northeast  Pennsylvania;  in  1774  their  number  had  in- 
creased to  about  2,000.  Conflicting  claims  led  to  the  Pennamite  war, 
and  several  of  the  settlers,  forming  a  company,  decided  to  emigrate. 
They  chose  John  Swift  and  John  Jenkins  their  agents  to  select  and  buy 
new  lands.  Jenkins  had  previously  been  a  surveyor  for  the  Phelps  and 
Gorham  purchase,  and  with  Mr.  Swift  he  came  to  Canandaigua,  where 
they  contracted  for  township  twelve,  second  range  (the  present  town  of 


(2f.    C/V.       <2fczwLy,m 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  169 

Palmyra).  Mr.  Jenkins  at  once  began  the  survey  of  farm  lots  along 
the  Ganargwa  (Mud  Creek) ;  he  built  a  cabin  about  two  miles  below 
Palmyra  village,  which  sheltered  his  surveying  party,  consisting  of  Solo- 
mon Earle,  Alpheus  Harris,  Daniel  Ranson,  and  a  Mr.  Barker.  Early 
one  morning,  while  asleep,  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  Tuscarora 
Indians,  who  fired  through  the  unchinked  logs  of  their  cabin.  Barker 
was  killed  and  Earle  was  wounded ;  the  others  put  the  assailants  to 
flight,  and  at  daylight  buried  Barker.  They  immediately  went  to 
Geneva,  gave  the  alarm,  pursued  the  savages,  and  captured  two  on  the 
Chemung;  one  was  executed  under  "committee  law"  with  a  hatchet, 
but  the  other  escaped;  Earle  recovered  and  became  the  pioneer  ferry- 
man on  the  Seneca  outlet. 

This  incident  caused  the  abandonment  of  the  Pennsylvania  move- 
ment. John  Swift  went  to  New  England,  where  he  labored  to  induce 
emigration,  and  in  September,  1790,  established  his  family  in  a  bark- 
covered  log  house  just  north  of  the  lower  end  of  Main  street  in  Palmyra 
village.  This  was  the  first  permanent  white  settlement  in  the  present 
town,  and  his  location  was  long  known  as  Swift's  landing.  His  wife 
was  a  typical  pioneer  woman,  and  had  more  than  one  encounter  with 
the  dusky  Indians.  He  was  a  very  prominent  man  in  the  pioneer  set- 
tlement, being  supervisor  in  all  eight  years,  and  holding  several  other 
positions  of  trust.  In  1810  he  built  the  first  grist  mill  in  town  opposite 
the  old  Harrison  mill,  and  at  his  cabin,  as  captain,  held  the  first  militia 
training;  there  also  the  first  church  in  Palmyra  and  the  third  west  of 
Onondaga  county  was  organized.  He  also  gave  lots  for  the  first  school 
house,  the  first  burial  place,  and  the  first  church  in  Palmyra  village. 
His  son,  Asa  Swift,  was  the  first  white  male  child  born  in  town.  Mr. 
Swift  became  brevet  general  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  at  Queenston 
Heights  led  a  force  against  Fort  George,  where  he  captured  a  picket- 
post  and  about  sixty  men.  "  An  oversight  permitted  the  prisoners  to 
retain  their  arms,"  and  one  of  them  asking,  "  Who  is  General  Swift?  " 
he  replied:  "/am  General  Swift!"  Instantly  a  fatal  shot  mortally 
wounded  the  gallant  man;  he  was  taken  to  the  nearest  house  and  died, 
and  was  buried  July  12,  1814.  Afterwards  the  citizens  of  Palmyra  re- 
moved his  remains  to  the  old  cemetery,  and  the  Legislature,  as  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  patriotism  and  services,  presented  a  sword  to  his 
eldest  son,  and  ordered  a  full  length  portrait  of  the  general  hung  in  the 
City  Hall  in  New  York. 
22 


170  LANDMARKS   OF 

Webb  Harwood,  who  came  from  Adams,  Mass.,  with  his  wife,  in  the 
fall  of  L789,  settled  just  over  the  line  inMacedon;  with  him  came  Jona- 
than Warner,  Noah  Porter,  and  Bennett  Bates,  three  single  men.  David 
White  moved  in  with  his  family  in  1790;  he  died  soon  afterward,  and 
his  was  the  first  funeral  in  this. town.  Of  those  who  settled  soon  after 
were  James  Galloway,  sr.,  John  Hurlburt,  Nathan  Parshall,  William 
Jaekway,  Barney  Horton,  Jonathan  Millett,  and  Mrs.  Tiffany.  Lemuel 
Spear  had  purchased  land  of  Isaac  Hathaway,  a  mile  west  of  Palmyra 
village,  for  twenty-five  cents  an  acre,  and  moved  his  family  of  eleven 
children  hither  in  February,  1791,  bringing  two  yoke  of  oxen,  some 
cows,  and  a  few  sheep.  He  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  came 
from  Massachusetts.  He  died  in  1809,  and  his  last  surviving  children 
were  Ebenezer,  Abraham,  and  Stephen.  Ebenezer  Spear  burned  for 
Gen.  Othniel  Taylor,  of  Canandaigua,  the  first  limekiln  west  of  Seneca 
Lake.  The  first  corn  carried  to  mill  from  this  town  was  by  Noah  Por- 
ter in  1790,  who  made  the  trip  to  Jerusalem,  Yates  county.  Mr.  Por- 
ter erected  the  first  frame  barn  in  Palmyra,  and  Lemuel  Spear  the 
second. 

In  1790  Gideon  and  Edward  Durfee  came  on  foot  from  Tiverton,  R.  I., 
to  the  Genesee  country  and  purchased  1,600  acres  of  John  Swift,  paying 
for  the  same  in  coin.  Swift  had  been  unable  to  meet  his  payments  to 
Phelps  and  Gorham,  but  this  deal  enabled  him  to  secure  a  warranty 
deed  of  the  town.  Gideon  Durfee  moved  the  entire  family  to  Palmyra 
in  1791,  and  settled  on  their  tract,  long  known  as  Durfee  street,  below 
the  village.  With  them  came  Isaac  Springer,  and  the  three  men  built 
a  log  house  and  planted  six  acres  of  corn ;  they  also  planted  apple  seeds, 
from  which  grew  the  old  Durfee  orchard — the  first  cultivated  apples 
raised  in  Palmyra.  Pardon  Durfee  subsequently  planted  some  pear 
seeds,  which  produced  a  seedling  that  he  gave  to  his  brother-in-law, 
Weaver  Osband;  the  latter  brought  it  into  bearing,  and  in  this  way 
originated  the  famous  Osband  pear.  Pardon,  Stephen,  and  Job  Durfee 
were  brothers  of  Gideon,  and  became  settlers  soon  after  1791,  as  did 
also  the  father,  Gideon,  sr. ,  and  a  sister,  Ruth.  The  latter  married 
Captain  William  Wilcox,  which  was  the  first  marriage  in  the  town;  she 
died  November  13,  1858.  Lemuel  Durfee  came  here  in  1794.  Gideon 
Durfee,  jr.,  had  eleven  children  and  numerous  grandchildren.  Stephen 
Durfee,  in  raising  his  frame  house  in  181  1,  inaugurated  the  first  prac- 
tical temperance  movement  in  Palmyra. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  171 

Gideon  Durfee  opened  as  a  tavern  his  log  house,  which  stood  on  the 
site  of  the  subsequent  residence  of  George  H.  Townsend,  and  Louis 
Philippe,  afterwards  king  of  France,  is  said  to  have  stopped  with  him 
while  on  a  visit  to  this  country  in  1796.  Pardon  Durfee  established  a 
rope-walk,  and  continued  it  until  his  death,  April  28,  1828.  Job  Durfee 
purchased  375  acres  of  land,  March  7,  1792,  and  died  in  town  in  1813. 
His  son,  Job,  built  a  stone  house  on  his  farm  on  the  Marion  road  about 
1860,  and  died  soon  afterward. 

In  1794  a  block  house  was  erected  to  protect  the  settlers  in  case  of 
hostilities  with  the  Indians;  in  stood  under  the  brow  of  "  Wintergreen 
hill." 

Following  the  Durfees  from  Rhode  Island  came  Weaver  Osband, 
William,  James,  and  Thomas  Rogers,  Zebulon  Williams,  Isaac  and 
Festus  Goldsmith,  and  Humphrey  Sherman.  The  Rogers  brothers 
came  in  1792.  William  was  a  judge  of  Ontario  county,  a  magistrate, 
and  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  Himself  a  widower,  he  married  the 
widow  of  his  brother  James,  and  died  in  1836.  A  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Noah  Porter.  A  son,  William,  was  an  early  packetmaster  on 
the  Erie  Canal.  Thomas  Rogers,  son  of  James  and  the  father  of 
David,  assisted  in  surveying  the  town. 

David  Wilcox,  from  Rhode  Island,  came  with  his  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren in  April,  1791 ;  his  daughter,  Mary  (Mrs.  Alvah  Hendee),  born 
June  29,  1791,  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Palmyra.  Nathan 
Harris,  father  of  Martin  Harris,  the  Mormon,  was  a  noted  hunter  and 
fisherman.  His  wife  was  Rhoda,  and  in  1793  they  moved  from  Rhode 
Island  to  this  town.  February  3,  1794,  he  purchased  of  John  Swift  600 
acres  of  land  at  fifty  cents  an  acre.  He  was  familiarly  known  as 
"Trout  Harris." 

Humphrey  Sherman  married  Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  Gideon 
Durfee,  sr. ,  December  2,  1761.  He  purchased  of  John  Swift  for 
eighteen  cents  per  acre  a  tract  of  1,000  acres,  lying  south  of  the  creek 
and  bordering  Arcadia.  With  his  brother  David  Mr.  Sherman  began 
clearing,  and  in  1793  built  a  log  house  and  sowed  ten  acres  of  wheat. 
In  September,  1794,  the  family,  consisting  of  eight  children  (including 
Alexander,  the  father  of  Durfee  A.  Sherman),  moved  to  their  new 
home.  Humphrey  Sherman  built  a  blacksmith  shop,  and  an  ashery  in 
1794,  a  distillery  in  1795,  and  a  large  brick  building  in  1801,  which  he 
opened  as  a  tavern.  His  wife  died  in  1794,  and  her  burial  was  the  first 
at    East    Palmyra.     The  Sherman  tract  was  sold  in  various    parcels, 


172  LANDMARKS   OF 

about  as  follows:  Gideon  Durfee,  200  acres,  who  sold  to  Israel  Perry; 
James  Finney,  100  acres;  Ashur  Doolittle,  a  tract  on  the  northwest; 
Lnke  Mason,  south  of  Doolittle;  and  the  remainder  was  divided  between 
the  sons  Gideon,  Stephen,  Alexander,  Samuel,  and  Jacob.  Ashur 
Doolittle  built  and  operated  quite  a  large  tannery  for  that  period. 

On  lot  71  a  Mr.  Seeleyhad  a  small  distillery;  the  land  passed  to  P.  D. 
Fellows.  Lot  70  was  occupied  by  Joshua  Zeny,  then  by  B.  J.  Jordan, 
and  later  by  Peter  Whitbeck;  on  lot  65,  afterward  the  Hudson  farm, 
lived  John  Patrick;  George  P.  Stever  owned  lot  69,  and  sold  to  P.  D. 
Zeller,  who  was  succeeded  by  his  son.  Other  residents  in  the  neighbor- 
hood were:  Alexander  Forcett,  Charles  Curtis,  B.  Franklin,  and  Thomas 
and  A.  T.  Goldsmith.  James  Galloway,  sr.,  purchased  100  acres  south 
of  the  creek,  paying  for  the  same  with  a  sow  and  litter  of  pigs ;  this 
tract  passed  to  his  son,  James,  jr.  A  large  tract  in  the  south  part  of  the 
town  was  owned  by  the  Rogers  family,  and  west  of  them  lived  E.  Cornell 
and  Thomas  Galloway. 

The  Long  Island  colony  was  perhaps  the  most  important  body  of 
settlers  to  take  up  their  residence  in  Palmyra.  A  company  consisting 
of  eleven  persons  was  formed  at  Southampton,  L.  I.,  in  1788,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1700  they  sent  their  agents,  Elias  Reeves  and  Joel  Foster,  to 
purchase  a  suitable  location.  These  men  visited  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  where 
they  were  joined  by  Luke  Foster,  and  the  three  went  on  to  Fort  Wash- 
ington (now  Cincinnati,  O. ).  There  they  bought  land  on  the  Turkey 
bottoms,  and  leaving  Luke  Foster  to  build  a  log  house  returned  to  re- 
port their  success.  Arriving  home  they  found  William  Hopkins  (uncle 
to  Elias  Reeves  and  a  son  of  Hon.  Stephen  Hopkins,  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence)  and  Abraham  Foster  on  a  visit  from  New 
Jersey.  William  Hopkins,  who  had  been  informed  of  the  Genesee 
country,  induced  the  colon}"  to  relinquish  their  Ohio  lands  and  seek  a 
location  in  Ontario  county. 

Accordingly  Reeves  and  Hopkins  were  sent  to  Western  New  York, 
and  Joel  and  Abraham  Foster  and  Luther  Sanford  were  detailed  to  ex- 
plore Northern  Pennsylvania.  The  former  left  Long  Island  on  the  20th 
of  August,  1791,  and  arriving  in  what  is  now  Palmyra  cut  their  names 
upon  some  trees  as  a  pre-emption  mark.  They  soon  joined  the  other 
party  at  Lindleytown  (now  Corning),  where  the  following  compact  was 
drawn  and  signed : 

This  instrument  of  writing  witnesseth,  that  William  Hopkins,  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  Elias  Reeves,  Joel    Foster,  Abraham    Foster,  and    Luther  Sanford,    all  of  the 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  173 

State  of  New  York,  do  agree  and  bind  themselves  severally,  each  to  the  other,  under 
the  penalty  of  fifty  pounds,  to  abide  by  and  make  good  any  purchase  of  land,  which 
Elias  Reeves  and  Abraham  Foster  shall  make  of  Oliver  Phelps,  esq.,  or. any  other 
person,  within  twenty  days  from  the  date  hereof.  The  proportion  of  the  land  which 
each  of  us  shall  have  is  to  be  concluded  among  ourselves  hereafter.  In  witness  of  all 
of  which  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals,  in  Ontario  county,  State  of  New- 
York,  this  ninth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  ninety-one. 

William  Hopkins, 
Elias  Reeves, 
Joel  Foster, 
Abraham  Foster, 
Luther  Sanford. 

A  contract  was  made  with  Oliver  Phelps  in  September,  1791,  for 
5,500  acres  for  1,100  pounds  New  York  currency;  100  pounds  were  paid 
down.  John  Swift  was  unable  to  meet  his  payments,  the  title  was  in 
doubt,  and  the  purchase  was  made  directly  of  Phelps  &  Gorham ; 
Durfee's  arrival,  previously  noted,  enabled  Swift  to  pay  for  his  tract, 
and  in  1792  the  Long-  Island  company  took  their  deed  from  him.  This 
is  the  second  recorded  deed  of  East  Palmyra  land,  the  first  being  that 
for  the  600  acres  south  of  the  creek,  sold  and  deeded  to  Gideon  Durfee, 
May  19,  1791,  by  John  Swift. 

The  colony,  consisting  of  ten  families,  started  from  Long  Island  on 
Monday  morning,  April  4,  1792,  on  a  sail  boat,  built  by  Joel  Foster, 
and  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Mill  brook  on  May  2,  following.  Mrs. 
Joel  Foster  brought  in  her  arms  her  eldest  son,  Harvey,  then  eleven 
months  old.  Among  the  pioneers  were  the  Clarks,  Posts,  Howells, 
Jaggers,  Culvers,  Jessups;  Calvin,  Charles,  and  Luther,  sons  of  Col. 
John  Bradish ;  Joseph  Colt,  Asa  Lilly,  Enoch  Sanders,  and  Silas  Stod- 
dard. Their  boat  that  brought  them  here  was  finally  used  on  Seneca 
Lake  as  a  pleasure  craft. 

The  lands  comprising  the  present  town  of  Palmyra  were  surveyed 
into  lots,  save  the  Long  Island  farm  of  5,500  acres,  which  was  divided, 
by  those  of  the  company  present,  into  lots,  and  drawn  by  them  as 
shares.  Each  man  of  the  Long  Island  colony  owned  from  the  creek  to 
the  Marion  town  line.  The  lands  along  the  creek  were  first  settled. 
Among  the  original  owners  were  Zebulon  Williams,  100  acres;  Abraham 
Gallop;  John  Russell,  200  acres;  Isaac  Arnold;  Isaac  Thayer,  200  acres 
(including  the  present  depot  site);  Job,  Edward,  and  Pardon  Durfee; 
Weaver  Osband ;  William  Wilcox;  Robert  Hinds;  Howell  Post,  father 
of  S.  G. ;  Joel  and  David  H.  Foster;  James  and  Elias  Reeves,  400  acres; 


174  LANDMARKS   OF 

Jedediah  Hopkins  and  Reuben  Stark,  175  acres  each;  John  Hopkins, 
360  acres;  and  Seth  Howell,  Oliver  Clark,  Moses  Culver,  and  Luther 
Sanford,  whose  combined  purchases  aggregated  450  acres. 

Luther  Sanford  married  Jennie  Robinson;  he  was  a  carpenter  and 
built  the  first  frame  barn  in  town.  Joel  Foster  was  a  shoemaker,  Paul 
Reeves  a  millwright,  Oliver  Clark  a  tailor  as  late  as  1824,  Elias  Reeves 
a  weaver,  Joseph  Burnett  a  hatter,  and  Seth  Howell  a  roughhewer. 
Isaac,  Jonah,  and  Gilbert  Howell  placed  a  saw  and  grist  mill  in  opera- 
tion on  the  creek,  a  half-mile  east  of  Palmyra  village,  in  September, 
L793.  The  first  wedding  in  the  settlement  was  that  of  Charles  Reeves 
and  Eunice  Howell,  the  ceremony  being  performed  by  Rev.  IraCondit, 
October  27,  L793.  Stephen  Cook,  a  member  of  the  colony,  landed  at 
East  Palmyra  with  $1,000  in  coin.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Hopkins 
reached  the  house  of  John  Hopkins  on  July  9,  L793;  both  died  on  the 
17th,  eight  days  later. 

Joel  and  Abraham  Foster  erected  the  first  saw  mill,  and  Jedediah 
Foster  built  in  1803  the  first  two-story  house  in  town.  The  latter's 
great-granddaughter  became  the  wife  of  J.  W.  Hardy.  The  first  build- 
ing in  the  vicinity  of  the  Central  Railroad  depot  at  Palmyra  village  was 
erected  by  Zebulon  Williams,  the  pioneer  merchant,  who  occupied  it  as 
a  store  and  dwelling;  it  stood  near  the  east  water-house.  About  L805 
Williams  returned  to  Seneca  county,  whence  he  had  come,  and  the 
building  was  converted  into  a  cooper  shop  by  William  Cook.  Subse- 
quently it  became  Gregg  &  Chase's  furnace,  which  burned,  and  the  site 
was  afterward  occupied  by  Mrs.  Sarah  GrinneH's  orchard  and  garden. 

Capt.  James  Galloway  was  a  surveyor  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorham  pur- 
chase. He  came  from  Newton,  where  he  had  witnessed  the  Indians 
transfer  their  lands  by  treaty,  and  April  27,  1791,  purchased  of  Swift  a 
farm,  on  which  he  settled,  and  which  in  time  passed  to  his  son  James, 
jr.,  whose  brick  house  stands  near  the  site  of  the  family's  original  log 
cabin.  Captain  Galloway  constructed  the  first  mill  dam  across  the 
Ganargwa,  where  now  stands  the  old  Harrison  mill;  he  was  obliged  to 
cut  a  passageway  for  boats  when  the  creek  was  declared  a  navigable 
stream.  On  the  south  bank  he  built  a  primitive  saw  mill,  of  which 
Paul  Reeves  was  the  millwright;  it  was  burned  two  years  later  and  at 
once  rebuilt. 

Hiram  Foster,  a  brother  of  i\braham,  was  born  here  November  8, 
L794,  and  at  his  death  was  the  oldest  native  of  the  town.  He  married 
Nancy,  daughter  of  James  Reeves  in  1819.      He  was  long  a  Sabbath 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  175 

school  superintendent,  a  school  teacher,  and  prominent  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church. 

John  Swift,  the  Durfees,  and  others,  engaged  in  clearing  Ganargwa 
Creek  of  old  logs.  Regarding  the  creek  as  a  permanent  highway,  they 
cut  through  the  wood-riffs  to  Lyons.  Spring  freshets  swept  off  the  logs 
and  left  the  channel  free.  Swift  claimed  the  stream  through  Palmyra 
as  individual  property.  At  his  death  Joel  McCollum,  holding  a  judg- 
ment against  his  estate,  levied  on  the  creek,  intending  to  exact  tribute 
from  the  millers  or  a  removal  of  their  dams.  The  mills  had  been 
erected  by  special  legislative  grants  and  deeds  from  John  Swift,  so 
McC611um  failed  in  his  purpose.  Swift's  landing,  near  the  Palmyra 
Central  depot,  was  the  head  of  navigation  for  seventeen  years.  Paul 
Reeves  built  a  mill  in  Arcadia,  and  constructed  a  plank-lock,  but  the 
freshet  washed  it  away.  He  circulated  a  petition  in  1807,  making  the 
center  of  township  twelve,  first  and  second  ranges,  the  head  of  naviga- 
tion. 

Col.  Ambrose  Salisbury,  born  in  Conway,  Mass.,  in  1792,  removed  to 
Phelps,  N.  Y.,  with  his  father's  family  in  1801,  and  in  the  war  of  1812 
went  to  the  Niagara  frontier  as  orderly  sergeant  in  Capt.  Selma  Stan- 
ley's rifle  company  of  the  31st  Regiment.  Returning  home  in  June, 
1813,  he  again  went  out,  as  substitute  for  his  uncle,  John  Salisbury,  in 
Capt.  Aaron  Reamer's  company  of  dragoons  from  Geneva.  Crossing 
to  Canada  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  he  particpated  in  several  skirmishes, 
and  coming  to  this  town  he  purchased,  with  Caleb  Beals,  lots  7,  20,  and 
21,  at  East  Palmyra;  these  contained  540  acres,  and  were  bought  of 
Elisha  Satterlee  in  the  fall  of  1814  for  $1,402.  Colonel  Salisbury  held 
several  town  offices,  being  a  justice  of  the  peace  thirty  years,  and  of- 
ficiating at  mere  than  forty  weddings.  He  was  elected  to  the  State 
Legislature  in  1832,  1833,  and  1839,  and  was  appointed  canal  appraiser 
May  11,  1843.  The  same  year  he  contracted  to  build  the  M.  E.  Church 
at  East  Palmyra.  In  1822  he  became  an  ensign  in  the  39th  Regiment 
N.  Y.  State  militia,  and  rising  to  the  grade  of  colonel  resigned  in  1834. 
He  died  July  21,  1864;  his  wife,  Anna  (Vandermark),  died  October  6, 
1848.     Of  their  two  children  only  the  daughter  attained  maturity. 

Maltby  Clark  was  a  son  of  Oliver  and  a  grandson  of  Samuel  Clark, 
and  was  born  at  East  Palmyra,  March  31,  1798.  Samuel's  children 
were:  Benjamin,  Samuel,  jr.,  Oliver,  Mrs.  Luther  Sanford,  Mrs.  Sam- 
uel Soverhill,  and  Mrs.  Gabriel  Rogers.  Oliver's  children  were:  Maltby, 
Dennis,  Jerry,  Nelson,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Grow,  Mrs.  Henry  O.  Miles,  Hiram, 


176  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  Matilda.  He  died  in  L843.  Maltby  Clark  married  Maria  M.  Ma- 
son, who  died,  and  he  married  Jerusha  Jagger.  He  was  early  eleeted 
school  inspector,  assessor,  and  justice  of  the  peace,  and  from  1837  was 
county  coroner  six  years.  In  1847  he  was  elected  county  superintend- 
ent of  the  po'or,  holding  the  office  two  terms,  and  being  re-elected  in 
IS,'),').  He  died  June  4,  1875.  He  had  seven  children,  of  whom  the 
sons  were  Henry  M.,  Lucius  H.,  and  Oliver  M.  Henry  M.  Clark  was 
member  of  assembly  in  1873;  he  was  born  in  East  Palmyra,  March  6, 
1826. 

Gen.  Thomas  Rogers,  born  in  Richmond,  R.  L,  February  13,  1790, 
came  to  Palmyra  with  his  parents  when  a  child,  and  died  here  October 
,">,  L853;  his  wife,  Harriet  Holmes,  died  May  10,  1872.  Their  only  child 
was  the  late  Carlton  Holmes  Rogers. 

Col.  George  Beckwith,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  born  October  1(3,  1790, 
came  to  Palmyra  while  a  young  man  and  entered  into  a  mercantile  part- 
nership with  a  brother  under  the  name  of  N.  H.  &  G.  Beckwith;  he 
afterward  conducted  business  alone  and  amassed  a  fortune.  In  the  days 
of  general  trainings  he  organised  an  "  independent  "  company,  and  rose 
to  a  colonel's  commission.  For  many  years  he  was  an  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church;  he  died  in  1867. 

Daniel  Chapman  served  about  three  years  and  was  wounded  in  the 
war  of  1812.  He  settled  two  miles  north  of  East  Palmyra,  and  died 
there  November  9,  18]  ■». 

Col.  Frederick  Morley,  who  died  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  in  February,  1889, 
was  born,  in  England  in  1 8 "2 1 ,  and  was  a  son  of  Rev.  Luke  Morley,  for 
several  years  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Clyde.  He  established  the 
Palmyra  Courier  in  1838,  and  was  also  appointed  collector  of  tolls  on 
the  canal.  He  was  afterward  connected  successively  with  the  Detroit 
Enquirer,  the  Advertiser,  and  the  Post  and  Tribune.  During  the  war 
he  was  an  adjutant-general  and  in  1881-82  was  immigration  commis- 
sioner of  Michigan. 

Col.  Joseph  W.  Corning,  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia,  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Ontario  in  L838,  and  in  1841  was  appointed  a  postmaster  there.  Re- 
moving to  Palmyra  in  1 S47  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  L855,  and  in 
lSi;o  be  became  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  In  1864  he  raised  a  com- 
pany for  the  war,  and  rose  to  the  position  of  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 
33d  X.  V.  Vols,  and  afterwards  became  colonel  of  the  194th  Regiment. 
He  was  mustered  out  February  :!,  I860,  and  returning  to  Palmyra  en- 
gaged in  the  grocery  business.      In  I  SSI  he  was  appointed  to  a  position 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  177 

in  the  New  York  custom  house  and  in  1889  became  postmaster  at  Pal- 
myra; he  died  June  29,  1890,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  latter  office  by 
his  widow. 

Morris  Puxley  drove  the  first  'bus  to  the  first  train  in  Palmyra  village, 
and  continued  in  that  occupation  until  his  death  in  October,  1889,  aged 
seventy  years. 

Hon.  George  W.  Cuyler  was  a  prominent  Democrat,  and  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Hoffman  one  of  the  committee  to  consider  State  taxation. 
He  was  candidate  for  State  senator  in  1873,  and  was  several  times  del- 
egate to  State  and  National  conventions.      He  died  here  July  20,  1876. 

The  first  burial  place  in  the  town  was  on  the  original  Durfee  home- 
stead, subsequently  the  Lakey  farm,  and  the  first  interment  therein  was 
a  child  of  Gideon  Durfee;  soon  afterward  James  Rogers,  the  first  adult, 
was  laid  to  rest  there.  In  that  plat  lie  the  remains  of  many  of  the  first 
settlers.  The  present  beautiful  cemetery  in  Palmyra  village  was  estab- 
lished in  1844;  in  1846  a  public  vault  was  erected.  The  Rogers  Me- 
morial Chapel  was  built  in  1886;  it  is  of  stone,  and  owes  its  erection  to 
a  fund  of  $4,000  left  for  the  purpose  by*  Carlton  H.  Rogers.  George 
W.  Wheeler  has  been  superintendent  since  1858.  The  cemetery  is  owned 
by  the  village  and  is  governed  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  trustees 
of  the  corporation. 

In  1793  two  log  school  houses  were  erected,  one  on  the  site  given  by 
John  Swift  in  Palmyra  village,  the  other,  known  as  the  Hopkins  school 
house,  in  East  Palmyra.  In  a  part  of  D.  H.  Foster's  house  Abigail  Fos- 
ter, his  daughter,  early  taught  a  school  of  fifteen  pupils;  she  afterward 
married  Benjamin  Davis  and  died  in  Sodus,  February  12,  1872.  Two 
frame  school  buildings  were  erected  in  Palmyra  village  designated  re- 
spectively "Federal"  and  "Democratic."  "  So  strong  was  political 
feeling  that  the  partisans  of  each  party  sent  only  to  their  own  school." 
Early  teachers  in  them  were  Ira  Selby  and  a  Mr.  Blackman.  A  two- 
story  brick  school  house  having  four  departments  was  built  on  the  site 
of  the  Catholic  church,  and  on  it  was  placed  the  first  bell  brought  to  the 
town;  this  is  now  in  use  on  the  engine  house.  Chapman  Jackson, 
Lemuel  Parkhurst,  James  S.  Douglass,  and  Alexander  Plumley  were 
among  its  earlier  teachers.  The  institution  was  incorporated  as  a  high 
school,  of  which  James  F.  Cogswell,  Alexander  Forbes,  C.  Giles,  and 
others  were  principals.  The  district  was  divided  into  three  in  1835,  and 
a  stone  school  house  built  in  each. 

23 


ITS  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  Palmyra  Classical  Union  School  had  its  inception  in  the  consol- 
idation of  the  above  three  school  districts  into  "Union  School,  No.  1, 
of  Palmyra,"  in  the  winter  of  1846-47.  March  19,  1847,  an  act  author- 
ized a  levy  for  the  purchase  of  grounds  and  erection  of  a  building. 
April  11  the  institution  was  incorporated.  The  first  trustees  were  A.  P. 
Crandall,  T.  R.  Strong,  and  Pliny 'Sexton  ;  R.  G.  Pardee  was  clerk.  A 
lot  was  secured  from  the  heirs  of  Samuel  Beckwith  for  $2,500  and  the 
erection  of  a  school  house  commenced.  A.  P.  Crandall  was  the  finan- 
cial trustee  and  Elihu  Hinman  the  contractor.  It  was  of  brick,  three 
stories  above  the  basement,  cost  $11,000,  and  was  completed  May  1, 
1848.  It  contained  eleven  rooms.  In  1889  this  building  was  torn  down, 
and  on  the  same  lot  the  present  handsome  brick  structure  was  built  at 
a  cost  of  about  $30,000.  Joseph  Blaby  was  the  architect  and  George 
C.  Williams  the  contractor.  It  is  three  stories  high,  including  base- 
ment, and  contains  in  all  sixteen  rooms.  February  14,  1848,  four  de- 
partments were  organized,  twelve  teachers  employed,  and  $800  raised 
for  the  purchase  of  a  bell,  library  and  apparatus;  that  year  the  total 
attendance  was  697.  The  first  faculty  consisted  of  Justus  W.  French, 
A.  M.,  principal ;  William  M.  Crosby,  A.  M.,  Miss  Sarah  D.  Hance, 
Charles  D.  Foster,  Miss  Clarissa  Northrup,  Miss  Harriet  E.  Walker, 
Edward  W.  French,  Miss  Melinda  C.  Jones,  Miss  A.  Maria  West,  E. 
Lush,  C.  D.  Foster,  J.  C.  French,  De  AVitt  Mclntyre. 

In  1857  the  Palmyra  Classical  Union  School  was  incorporated,  and  on 
the  8th  of  April,  under  this  act,  Stephen  Hyde  was  elected  president, 
Joseph  W.  Corning,  secretary,  and  Joseph  C.  Lovett,  treasurer;  the 
board  consisted  of  nine  trustees.  April  18th  an  academical  department 
was  organized.  The  following  have  served  as  principals:  Professor 
Baldwin,  1857;  C.  M.  Hutchins,  1857-62;  John  Dunlap,  1862-66;  Wil- 
liam H.  Fitts,  1866-68;  C.  M.  Hutchins,  again,  1868-75;  Henry  F. 
Curt,  1S75-82;  E.  B.  Fancher,  1882-86;  A.  S.  Downing,  1886  to  Jan- 
uary, 1887;  H.  G.  Clark,  1887-90;  George  W.  Pye,  1890  to  August, 
1894.  The  present  incumbent  is  Professor  S.  D.  Arms.  The  average 
yearly  cost  of  maintaining  the  school  is  about  $7,300.  The  library, 
which  in  1848  numbered  600  volumes,  now  contains  •2,350,  and  is  valued 
at  $2,400;  the  chemical  apparatus  is  worth  $500.  The  school  building 
and  site  are  valued  at  $40,000.  In  L893-94  the  average  enrollment  was 
575  scholars,  and  the  officers  of  the  board  for  that  school  year  were: 
H.  R.  Durfee,  president;  F.  E.  Converse,  secretary;  Henry  P.  Knowles, 
treasurer;  H.  M.  Wood,  collector;  G.  S.  Tinklepaugh,  clerk. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  IT!) 

The  town  has  thirteen  school  districts  and  school  houses,  which  were 
taught  during  1892-3  by  twenty-four  teachers  and  attended  by  911 
scholars.  The  school  buildings  and  sites  are  valued  at  $47,000;  as- 
sessed valuation  of  districts,  $3,008,000;  public  money  received  from 
the  State,  $4,030.59:  raised  by  local  tax,  $9,091.35. 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  of  Palmyra  sent  more  than 
440  of  her  brave  and  loyal  citizens  to  fight  the  nation's  battles.  Several 
were  promoted  to  commissioned  offices,  and  nearly  100  killed  in  action 
or  died  of  starvation  in  rebel  prisons.  Few  remain  of  those  who  re- 
turned to  tell  the  thrilling  story  of  that  long,  sanguinary  conflict,  and 
on  Memorial  Day  of  each  year  the  dead  and  living  alike  are  honored  by 
a  grateful  people. 

In  1810  the  town  of  Palmyra  (including  Macedon  and  perhaps  other 
territory)  had,  according  to  Spafforcl,  2,187  inhabitants  or  355  families, 
with  290  senatorial  electors;  that  year  33,719  yards  of  cloth  were  manu- 
factured. In  1858  there  were  17,100  acres  improved  land;  value  of  real 
estate,  $1,190,524;  personal  property,  $195,000;  2,062  male  and  2,053 
female  inhabitants;  713  dwellings;  846  families;  527  freeholders;  14 
school  districts;  1,319  school  children;  859  horses;  1,303  oxeci  and 
calves;  1,193  cows;  7,954  sheep;  1,900  swine;  the  productions  were 
31,073  bushels  winter  and  112,235  spring  wheat,  3,713  tons  hay,  16,701 
bushels  potatoes,  33,113  bushels  apples,  105,711  pounds  butter,  14,816 
pounds  cheese,  and  268  yards  domestic  cloths. 

In  1890  the  population  was  4,188,  or  247  less  than  in  1880.  In  1893 
the  assessed  valuation  of  land  was  $937,179  (equalized  $929,282);  vil- 
lage and  mill  property,  $1,015,817  (equalized  $1,092,553);  railroads  and 
telegraphs,  $617,533  (equalized  $583,049);  personal  property,  $525,500. 
Sehedule  of  taxes  1893:  Contingent  fund,  $3,088.45;.  town  poor  fund, 
$700;  special  town  tax,  $150;  reimburse  county  poor  fund,  $1,404.32; 
school  tax,  $2,864.06;  county  tax,  $6,852.59;  State  tax,  $3,776.15;  State 
insane  tax,  $974.17;  dog  tax,  $314.  Total  tax,  $20,138.65;  rate  per 
cent.,  .00650466.  August  8,  1890,  the  town  was  divided  into  four  elec- 
tion districts. 

Palmyra  Village. — Situated  on  the  west  border  of  Palmyra  near  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  town,  on  the  Erie  Canal,  and  just  south  of  the 
New  York  Central  and  West  Shore  railroads,  this  village  is  one  of  the 
finest  and  one  of  the  most  historic  in  Wayne  county.  It  was  the  birth- 
place of  Mormonism  and  Morganism,  and  closely  connected  with  the  in- 
stitution of  spiritualism,  all  of  which  are  detailed  in  other  pages  of  this 


180  LANDMARKS   OF 

volume.  It  is  also  the  site  of  the  first  permanent  settlement — that  of 
John  Swift  in  L790 — in  the  district  of  Tolland.  Swift  built  a  wool  card- 
ing machine,  an  ashery  in  1791,  laid  out  Main  street  in  1792,  and  estab- 
lished a  boat  landing  at  the  month  of  Red  Creek  in  L793;  he  also  re- 
served for  a  gospel  and  school  lot  the  site  of  the  present  old  cemetery, 
and  surveyed  out  village  lots  of  four  acres  each  on  the  south  side  of 
Main  street  the  same  year.  In  the  rear  of  these,  ten-acre  lots  were  laid 
out,  and  the  first  village  property,  including  the  present  residence  lot  of 
C.  D.  Johnson,  was  sold  to  James  Galloway.  The  gospel  and  school  lot 
was  reserved  for  a  burial  place  in  L796.  Stephen  Phelps  purchased  a 
part  of  Galloway's  lot  and  built,  in  1796,  on  the  site  of  the  Powers 
Hotel,  the  second  tavern  in  the  village.  June  L3,  L796,  Swift  sold 
nearly  all  his  landed  property  to  Sarah  Brockway  for  $2,000;  this  was 
reconveyed  to  him  June  8,  L799,  for  $2,500.  Capt;  John  Hurlburt,  in 
I  795,  bought  lots  of  Swift  on  the  north  side  of  Main  street  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  village,  and  about  the  same  time  John  Russell  purchased  the 
first  lot  east  of  Chapel  street,  the  site  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Theodatus  Sawyer,  a  brother-in-law  of  Swift,  bought  one  of  three  lots 
between  Fayette  and  Cuyler  streets,  which  he  sold  to  Constant  South- 
worth,  who  in  L806  sold  to  William  Howe  Cuyler,  from  whom  Cuyler 
street  was  named.  The  other  purchasers  of  these  three  lots  were  Ste- 
phen Phelps  and  Joseph  Colt.  Swift's  landing  at  first  promised  to  lie- 
come  the  village,  for  there  Zebulon  Williams,  as  previously  stated,  early 
established  the  first  store,  but  the  prevalence  of  fever  and  ague  cheeked 
further  progress. 

In  1812  the  village  consisted  of  Main,  Canandaigua,  and  Church  streets, 
the  Ensworth  tavern,  Abner  Cole's  office,  the  house  of  Rev.  Eliphalet 
Roweon  Canandaigua  street,  the  dwellings  of  James  Benson  and  George 
Beckwith  (Washington  Hall)  on  Church  street,  a  church  on  the  old 
cemetery  site,  the  drug  store  of  Dr.  Cain  Robinson,  a  low  building  oc- 
cupied by  William  Jackway  and  Piatt  and  Zebulon  Williams,  a  distil- 
lery, the  store  of  N.  H.  &  G.  Beckwith,  the  tailor  shop  of  A.  PI.  Reed, 
the  saddlery  of  Abraham  Shattuek,  the  drugstore  of  Mr.  Mclntyre,  the 
stores  of  Nathan  Thayer,  Samuel  Wagstaff,  and  O'Rourke,  the  Durfee 
mill  and  dwelling,  the  cooper  shop  and  house  of  William  Cook,  known 
as  the  "  Long  House,"  the  "  I  Jemocratic  "  and  "  Federal  "  school  houses, 
the  store  of  Selby  &  Phelps  and  the  Phelps  tavern,  the  dwellings  of 
Ezra  Shepardson,  William  P.  Wilson  (the  tanner),  Levi  Daggett  (black- 
smith), Benjamin  Cole  (brother  of  Aimer),  Mr.  Blackman  (blacksmith), 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  181 

John  B.  Robson,  Levi  Thayer,  Peleg  Holmes,  John  Swift,  Deacon  Jes- 
sup  (tanner),  Stephen  Skellinger,  William  T.  Hussy,  Samuel  [ennings 
(merchant),  Mr.  Johnson  (tailor),  Dr.  Robinson,  Joseph  Colt,  Silas 
Hart,  Dyer  Ensworth,  John  Russell,  and  a  few  others,  the  house,  of- 
fice, and  store  of  William  Howe  Cuyler,  and  the  clothiery  of  Andrew 
G.  Howe,  where  the  Episcopal  Church  now  stands. 

The  first  merchant  inside  the  corporation  was  Joseph  Colt;  Hubbard 
Hall  was  his  partner  for  a  time.  About  1831  Colt  died,  and  his  son 
Joseph  S.  carried  on  business  until  he  removed.  Colt  owned  two  Dur- 
ham boats,  and  it  is  said  that  Cooper  Culver,  William  Clark,  Silas 
vStoddard,  John  Phelps,  and  Gilbert  Howell  took  them,  in  1S0-4,  to 
Schenectady,  loaded  with  pork  and  flour,  and  returned  with  a  load  of 
merchandise,  occupying  two  months  making  the  trip ;  other  trips  fol- 
lowed. Hall  succeeded  the  Colts,  and  was  followed  by  Seymour  Sco- 
ville.  Patrick  O'Rourke  and  Samuel  Jennings  were  also  early  merchants ; 
the  hitter's  building  was  burned  in  November,  1876.  James  and  Orren 
White  built  the  first  brick  building,  two  stories  high,  in  the  village,  on 
the  site  of  the  Episcopal  church ;  they  were  succeeded  by  Israel  J. 
Richardson,  afterward  a  lawyer,  and  Samuel  Allen,  later  stage  propri- 
etor between  Palmyra  and  Canandaigua.  T.  C.  Strong  occupied  a 
building  where  the  Baptist  church  now  stands,  which  was  opened  as  a 
supply  store  by  Lasher  &  Candee,  canal  contractors,  who  brought  here 
the  first  stock  of  gilt-framed  mirrors.  Nathan  Thayer  was  succeeded 
by  Joel  and  Levi,  brothers,  who  also  had  an  ashery  where  the  gas  house 
now  is.  The  latter  were  twins,  and  built  several  canal  boats,  one  of 
which  was  named  Twin  Brothers.  The  first  canal  collector  was  Philip 
Grandin. 

Subsequent  merchants  were:  Davenport,  Barnes  &  Co.,  succeeded  by 
S.  L.  Thompson  &  Co.  ;  George  N.  Williams;  Barach,  a  brother  of 
George  Beckwith ;  Stephen  Phelps  and  Ira  Selby ;  and  Leonard  Wescott, 
Daniel  G.  Pinch,  Giles  S.  Ely,  Zuell  &  White,  J.  C.  Lovett,  William  H. 
Farnham,  M.  Story,  A.  C.  Sanford,  Thomas  Birdsell,  Pliny  Sexton  (the 
first  hardware  dealer  and  jewelry  merchant),  Martin  Butterfield,  George 
W.  Cuyler,  Bowman  &  Seymour,  H.  M.  Johnson  &  Co.,  Bowman  & 
Walker,  Brigham,  Royce  &  Co.,  Alexander  Mclnyre,  Dr.  L.  Cowen, 
Cassius  C.  Robinson,  Hoyt  &  May,  William  H.  Peckham,  Elihu 
Durfee,  Thomas  Douglass,  James  F.  Barker,  David  Hotchkiss,  and 
Franklin  Williams.     The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Reuben  Town. 


182  LANDMARKS   OF 

Joseph  Smith,  sr. ,  came  here  in  1816  from  Royalton,  Vt. ;  his  family 
consisted  of  Alvin,  Sophronia,  Joseph,  jr.,  Samuel  H.,  William,  Catha- 
rine, Carlos,  and  Lucy.  He  opened  a  "cake  and  beer  shop,"  and  used 
a  hand-cart  in  peddling'  his  wares  through  the  streets.  In  1818  the 
family  moved  to  a  wild  farm,  two  miles  south  of  the  village,  and  lived 
in  a  log  house  about  twelve  years.  In  1831  they  removed.  "They 
were  a  shiftless  set,  and  Joseph,  jr.,  was  the  worst  of  the  lot."  The 
Mormon  "  religion  "  was  instituted,  as  detailed  in  a  previous  chapter, 
by  Joseph  Swith,  jr.,  and  the  organization  known  as  "Latter-Day 
Saints"  came  into  existence  in  June,  1830.  Even  to  this  day  members 
of  that  sect  come  to  Palmyra  and  drive  to  "Mormon"  hill,  upon  which 
they  gaze  with  reverential  awe. 

The  first  tanner  was  William  P.  Wilson  about  1800;  in  1832  he  sub- 
stituted his  old  vat  system  by  a  brick  building,  which  burned  in  1805, 
and  the  business  was  discontinued.  About  1820  Wells  Anderson  started 
a  tannery  in  the  rear  of  the  Powers  Hotel,  which  in  1850  was  converted 
into  a  carriage  shop  by  the  father  of  A.  R.  Sherman.  Henry  Jessup 
was  in  partnership  with  Wilson,  whose  interest  he  finally  purchased, 
and  about  1816  took  George  Palmer  as  partner.  Jessup  died  in  1854. 
James  Blackman  was  the  first  blacksmith;  others  were  Asa  Lilley  and 
Marshall  Johnson.  The  first  saddler  was  Salmon  Hathaway,  whose 
shop  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  town  hall.  Palatiah  West  was  a 
harnessmaker  in  1824.  The  first  cloth  dressing  and  wool-carding  mill 
was  built  by  Calvin  Perrine,  and  Edward  Durfee  and  Jonah  Howell 
established  the  first  grist  and  saw  mills.  About  1830  the  Palmyra 
Manufacturing  Company  built  a  steam  mill  on  the  canal,  at  the  foot  of 
William  street,  which  was  burned  ten  years  later.  Jessup  started 
another  about  1846,  which  was  discontinued  in  1860.  West  of  the  vil- 
lage is  the  "Yellow  Mill"  of  the  Downing  Brothers,  while  inside  the 
corporation  is  the  grist  mill  of  A.  P.  Barnhart.  The  old  George  Harri- 
son mill,  now  discontinued,  is  owned  by  his  sons. 

The  first  tavern  in  the  village  was  built  and  opened  about  1792  by 
Dr.  Azel  Ensworth,  brother-in-law  to  William  Rogers;  it  stood  on  the 
site  of  the  Methodist  church.  The  second  public  house  was  the  Stephen 
Phelps  tavern,  which  occupied  the  location  of  the  Powers  Hotel.  In 
L820  Phelps  removed  to  Illinois,  and  in  1S24  the  structure  was  rebuilt 
and  enlarged  to  three  stories.  It  became  the  Eagle  Hotel,  and  among 
the  landlords  were:  Horace  Warren  (a  son-in-law  to  Phelps),  Alexander 
R.  Galloway,  William  Rogers,  jr.,  Lovell  Hurd,  and  Solomon  St.  Johns. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  183 

Abou,t  1835  it  was  removed  and  became  a  store,  giving  place  to  the 
present  semi-courtly  structure,  the  erection  of  which  was  clue  to  a  corn- 
pan)''  consisting  of  Thomas  Rogers,  Henry  Jessup,  B.  Butler,  Robert 
C.  Jackson,  and  others.  It  cost  $13,000,  and  in  1840  was  purchased  and 
kept  by  William  P.  Nottingham  as  the  Palmyra  Hotel.  Successive 
landlords  were:  Cleveland,  Gates,  Joseph  E.  Cochran,  and  Delos  Cum- 
mings.  A  few  years  since  the  present  proprietor,  W.  A.  Powers, 
assumed' charge  and  changed  its  name  to  the  Powers  Hotel.  In  early 
days  Asa  Lilley  kept  what  was  called  Lilley's  Coffee  House;  the  build- 
ing was  nnalhy  removed  and  occupied  by  Francis  Bartles  as  a  dwelling. 
vSalmon  Hathaway  built  and  kept  the  Franklin  House  where  the  village 
hall  now  stands;  Kingsley  Miller  was  later  its  landlord.  The  Bunker 
Hill  House  was  opened  about  1825  by  William  W.  Burrell,  who  was 
succeeded  by  W.  P.  Nottingham.  The  present  Eagle  Hotel  was  built 
by  Abner  F.  Lakey  for  a  cabinet  shop,  and  opened  as  a  public  house  by 
William  Doran.  The  Farmers'  House  was  opened  and  rebuilt  by 
Butler  Newton.      The  Cummings  House  was  formerly  a  dwelling. 

Palmyra  post-office  was  established  as  early  as  September,  1806;  the 
postmasters,  with  the  dates  of  their  appointments,  have  been  as  follows: 

Dr.  Azel  Ensworth,  September,  1806;  Ira  Selby,  June  16,  1814;  Lemuel  Parkhurst, 
December  31,  1817;  Ezra  Shepardson,  October  23,  1818;  William  A.  McLane,  Novem- 
ber 17,  1819;  Joseph  S.  Colt,  May  5,  1824;  Marlin  W.  Wilcox,  August  6,  1829;  Pomeroy 
Tucker,  February  13,  1839 ;  David  D.  Hoyt,  March  18,  1841 ;  John  O.  Vorse,  October 
24,  1844;  William  H.  Cuyler,  January  20,  1848;  Thomas  Ninde,  May  3,  1849;  William 
L.  Tucker,  April  1,  1853;  William  H.  Cuyler,  April  20,  1857;  William  H.  Southwick, 
May  28,  1861 ;  Charles  J.  Ferrin,  August  3,  1865 ;  John  W.  Corning,  October  10,  1866 ; 
Charles  J.  Ferrin,  April  12,  1867;  Edward  S.  Averill,  1871;  Wells  Tyler,  1873;  Henry 
A.  Chase,  1877;  Frank  C.  Brown,  1885;  Joseph  W.  Corning,  April  15,  1889.  Mr. 
Corning  died  June  29,  1890,  and  his  widow,  Louisa  N.  Corning,  was  appointed  and 
held  the  position  until  September,  1894,  when  Daniel  B.  Harman,  the  present  in- 
cumbent, took  charge. 

Palmyra  village  was  incorporated  March  29,  1827,  and  the  first  election 
of  officers  was  authorized  to  be  held  May  1 ;  there  was  no  election,  how- 
ever, and  the  charter  was  amended,  designating  February  4,  1828,  and 
the  house  of  Lovell  Hurd  as  the  time  and  place  for  the  first  meeting. 
The  presiding  justices  were :  Alexander  R.  Tiffany  and  Frederick  Smith, 
and  the  first  officers  chosen  were:  Trustees,  Joseph  Colt,  president, 
Joel  Thayer,  Thomas  Rogers,  Nathaniel  H.  Beckwith,  James  White; 
clerk,  Thomas  P.  Baldwin;  treasurer,  William  Parke ;  assessors,  George 
N.  Williams,  Alvah  Hendee,  George  Beckwith;  fire  wardens,  Stephen 


184  LANDMARKS   OF 

Ackley,  Pliny  Sexton,  Benjamin  Throop.  February  L9,  it  was  voted  to 
purchase  a  fire  engine  and  ladders,  to  remove  obstructions  from  Gan- 
argwa  (Mud)  Creek,  to  purchase  or  lease  a  site  for  a  pound,  and  to 
procure  a  water  supply  for  use  in  ease  of  fire.  The  first  street  (Division ) 
was  laid  out  February  22,  and  a  fire  company  was  organized  May  2:!, 
with  twenty  members:  Thomas  P.  Baldwin,  Giles  S.  Ely,  Lovewell 
Hurd,  Martin  Butterfield,  Egbert  B.  Grandin,  Hiram  K.  Jerome, 
Joseph  D.  Hay  ward,  Philip  Grandin,  Dorastus  Cole,  Pelatiah  West, 
John  W.  M.  Zuell,  James  F.  Barker,  George  W.  Gazely,  Nathaniel 
Crandall,  Adolphus  T.  Newdand,  Harry  Cooley,  Truman  Heminway, 
Jehiel  Todd,  Sutton  Birdsall,  and  Homer  B.  Williams.  The  last  sur- 
vivor was  Hiram  K.  Jerome.  That  year  Franklin,  Holmes,  and  Clinton 
streets  were  laid  out. 

In  1829  Division  and  Fayette  streets  were  extended,  Washington, 
Cuyler,  Jackson,  and  Carroll  streets  were  laid  out,  and  May  4,  the 
charter  was  amended.  In  1832  it  was  voted  to  build  an  engine  house, 
and  August  22,  1835,  a  tax  of  $125  was  authorized  for  the  purchase  of 
a  horse  and  harness  for  the  village.  In  1830  $500  was  voted  for  a  new 
engine,  and  April  10,  1836,  a  legislative  act  increased  the  number  of 
firemen  to  thirty-four,  which  act  was  supplemented  by  another,  April 
•i4,  1837,  adding  twenty  more.  In  1839  an  engine  and  hose  house  were 
authorized,  and  in  1842  a  night  watch  was  established.  May  9,  1843-, 
$500  were  voted  to  buy  a  burial  place  and  fence  it,  and  in  1S44  the 
present  cemetery  was  opened.  In  1846  anew  fire  engine  was  purchased 
for  $1,000.  Fires  burned  Anderson's  barn,  etc.,  November  2'.);  and 
February  7,  1S4T,  the  Methodist  chapel  and  Jenner's  chair  factory  were 
destroyed.  March  13,  1 S52,  the  village  was  divided  into  three  fire 
districts,  and  a  fire  alarm  attached  to  the  Presbyterian  church  ;  May  21, 
Red  Rover  Engine  Co.  No.  1  was  organized.  May  25,  1853,  $l,r>o<) 
were  voted  to  improve  Railroad  avenue,  which  was  laid  out  August  1. 
May  i,  L855,  the  fire  department  was  reorganized;  the  old  companies 
were  disbanded,  and  Continental  Fire  Co.  No.  1  was  formed  with  thirty- 
six  members.  September  18,  a  tax  of  $2,800  was  voted  to  purchase 
lots  and  erect  engine  houses.  In  August,  1857,  the  Franklin  House 
was  purchased,  and  November  2,  the  old  engine  houses  were  ordered 
sold  at  auction.  In  1S58,  Joseph  W.  Corning  was  appointed  the  first 
police  justice.  January  1 :!,  I860,  the  fire  department  was  again  re- 
organized, with  G.  C.  Williams,  foreman  of  Eagle  Fire  Co.  No.  1,  and 
C.   |.  Ferrin,' f orman  of  No.  2.     May  11,  L869,  a  Silsby  steamer  and  950 


WAV  NIC    COUNTY. 


IN.', 


feet  of  hose  were  purchased  for  $6,000.  October  25,  L802,  the  steel 
flag-  pole  was  dedicated. 

July  5,  L876,  the  Jarvis  Block  was  burned  and  at  once  rebuilt  of  brick. 
The  fire  losses  in  1876  aggregated  about  $60,000. 

In  1838  the  following  advertisements  appeared  in  the  local  papers : 
Arnold  E.  Rice,  Bunker  Hill  House;  Williams  &  Filmore,  livery  and 
exchange;  Higby  &  Coleman,  D.  S.  Aldrich,  and  C.  W.  White,  dry 
goods,  etc.  ;  J.  K.  Cummings,  J.  &  L.  Thayer,  and  Beech er  &  Glossen- 
den,   forwarding;   Ely    &    Delamater,     Butler  &  Williams,   Seaman  & 


Eastern  View  in  Main  St.,  Palmyra. —  From  on  old  print,  1840. 


Thompson,  tailoring  and  clothing;  James  Jenner,  cabinet  warehouse; 
Ely  &  Beckwith,  looking-glasses  and  frames;  E.  Williams,  Richmond 
&  Brown,  plow  factories  and  furnaces;  S.  Jackson,  Palmyra  rifle  fac- 
tory; E.  S.  Townsend,  Elihu  Durfee,  formed  a  partnership  for  manu- 
facturing rope ;  W.  B.  Tilden,  Linus  North,  copper,  tinware,  etc.;  Wil- 
liams's mills,  on  the  Outlet,  ground  plaster  and  cash  paid  for  wheat; 
Jessup,  Smith  &  Co.  and  Cyrus  Leonard,  shoes  and  leather;  C.  Terry, 
groceries;  A.  P.  Crandall,  Sherman  &  Crandall,  carriages;  W.  W. 
Gordon  and  Z.  Williams,  dissolution  notice ;  Lyman  W.  Post,  Higby  & 
Coleman,  general  stores;  Sexton  &  Butterfield,  cash  paid  for  flax  seed; 
D.  Hotchkiss,  jeweler;  Hoyt  &  May,  E.  A.  Jackway,  drugs;  S.  &  T. 
T.  Birdsall,  hatter;  H.  Linnell,   chair  manufacturer;  Warren  &   Rob- 

24 


186 


LANDMARKS    OF 


bins,  marble  factory;  C.  B.  Bingham,  H.  Armington,  blacksmiths; 
L.  G.  Buckley,  saddler;  H.  K.  Jerome,  Pomeroy  Tucker,  lawyers; 
Wayne  County  Bank,  J.  S.  Fenton,  cashier;  Wells  Anderson,  shoes; 
Miss  H.  L.  Putnam,  select  school;  High  School,  H.  K.  Jerome,  sec- 
retary; A.  Evans,  D.  D.  Hoyt,  physicians. 

The  presidents  of  the  village  have  been  as  follows: 


Joseph  Colt,  1828, 

Frederick   Smith,    1820,   (resigned,    and 

James  White,  elected), 
James  White,  L830, 
M.  W.  Wilcox,  1831, 
Draper  Allen,  1832, 
Truman  Heminway,  1833, 
Joseph  Colt,  1834, 
R.  C.  Jackson,  1835-36, 
Martin  W.  Wilcox,  1837. 
Frederick  Smith,  1838-39, 
Pomeroy  Tucker,  1840. 
Truman  Heminway,  1841, 
Isaac  E.  Beecher,  1842, 
Draper  Allen,  1843, 
Augustus  Elmendorf,  1844-45, 
David  Hotchkiss,  1840, 
O.  H.  Palmer,  1847, 
David  Hotchkiss,  1848, 
A.  C.  Sanford,  1849, 
Augustus  Elmendorf,  1850, 
A.  G.  Myrick,  1851-52, 
George  G.  Jessup,  1853, 
Thomas  Ninde,  1854, 
D.  Glossender,  1855, 


J.  W.  Corning,  1856, 
A.  G.  Myrick,  1857-59, 
W.  H.  Southwick,  1860, 
A.  G.  Myrick,  1861-63, 
P.  P.  Huyck,  1864-66, 
George  W.  Cuyler,  1867, 
A.  P.  Crandall,  1868, 
G.  W.  Cuyler,  1869, 
F.  C.  Brown,  1870, 
William  M.  Smith,  1871-72, 
Samuel  W.  Sawyer,  1873-74, 
Henry  H.  Haile,  1875, 
William  S.  Phelps,  1876, 
Mark  C.  Finley,  1877, 
Charles  D.  Johnson,  1878, 
Pliny  T.  Sexton,  1879-83, 
Edwin  B.  Anderson,  1884, 
Oliver  Durfee,  1885-86, 
Aaron  P.  Seeley,  1887, 
Charles  H.  Brigham,  1888, 
Albert  S.  Rogers,  1889, 
Lewis  M.  Chase,  1890, 
William  W.  Williamson,  1891, 
Henry  P.  Knowles,  1892, 


S.  Nelson  Sawyer,  1893-94. 

The  village  officers  for  1894-5  are:  S.  Nelson  Sawyer,  president; 
Eugene  Nichols,  George  L.  Clark,  Larue  A.  Olvitt,  R.  A.  Vanderboget, 
trustees;  Henry  D.  Sanders,  clerk;  Alexander  P.  Milne,  treasurer; 
Charles  H.  Chapman,  Peter  H.  Ford,  George  H.  Crandall,  assessors; 
M.  C.  Finley,  police  justice;  J.  Morrison  Ford,  street  superintendent; 
Eugene  Conant,  chief  of  police;  George  C.  Williams,  chief,  and  W.  A. 
Fowers,  assistant  chief  of  fire  department. 

The  Palmyra  village  hall,  a  brick  structure,  was  erected  in  1867  and 
completed  in  January,  L868,  the  contractor  being  Elon  St.  John,  and  the 
building  committee  A.  P.  Crandall  and  Carlton  H.  Rogers.  It  cost 
about  $20,000,  and  contains  the  post-office,  village  offices,  fire  appara- 
tus, lockup,  and  a  large  auditorium. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  187 

In  1853  permission  was  given  Messrs.  Jones  and  Osborne  to  erect  gas 
works  and  lay  pipes  in  the  street.  They  failed  to  carry  out  the  fran- 
chise, and  October  29,  1856,  the  Palmyra  Gas  Light  Company  was  or- 
ganized, comprising  George  W.  Tyler,  president;  William  F.  Aldrich, 
secretary;  Franklin  Williams,  treasurer;  and  William  H.  Bowman, 
James  E.  Walker,  A.  C.  Sanford,  A.  P.  Crandall,  William  B.  Crandall, 
Stillman  Jackson,  and  Joseph  C.  Lovett,  of  whom  the  only  survivor  is 
A.  C.  Sanford.  A  plant  was  erected  on  the  present  site,  north  of  the 
canal,  and  the  first  gas  distributed  in  the  fall  of  1857.  The  works  have 
twice  been  burned  and  rebuilt.  The  capital  has  been  increased  from 
$12,000  to  $20,000.  A.  P.  Crandall  was,  until  his  death  in  1893,  prin- 
cipal officer  and  manager.  The  present  one  is  Charles  McLouth,  presi- 
dent, secretary,  and  treasurer. 

In  March,  1882,  a  franchise  was  granted  W.  W.  Williamson,  Fred- 
erick W.  Griffith,  W.  A.  Powers,  and  Frank  H.  Brown,  to  establish  an 
electric  light  system  in  the  village.     They  were  unsuccessful. 

The  Palmyra  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  was  incorporated  in 
March,  1891,  by  B.  H.  Davis,  president;  W.  J.  Morrison,  vice-presi- 
dent; G.  T.  Tinklepaugh,  secretary;  L.  P.  Nichols,  treasurer;  and  C. 
C.  M.  Hunt.  The  capital  is  $10,000.  The  company  obtains  the  elec- 
tric current  from  the  plant  at  Littleville,  Ontario  county,  about  eight 
miles  south  from  Palmyra.  The  system  was  placed  in  operation  in  the 
fall  of  1894. 

The  Wayne  County  Bank  of  Palmyra  was  chartered  April  30,  1829, 
with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  The  president  was  A.  Strong,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Thomas  Rogers;  the  cashier  was  J.  S.  Fenton.  The  institu- 
tion finally  wound  up  its  affairs  and  passed  out  of  existence. 

The  Palmyra  Savings  Bank  was  incorporated  April  12,  1842,  but  after 
a  brief  career  it  went  down. 

December  25,  1865,  Lyman  Lyon  and  S.  B.  Gavitt  began  a  private 
banking  business  in  an  upper  room  of  Williams's  store.  Mr.  Lyon  pur- 
chased Gavitt's  interest  in  June,  1867,  continued  alone  until  his  death 
in  August,  1887,  when  the  affairs  of  the  bank  were  closed  up.  Mr.  Lyon 
was  county  clerk  two  terms. 

The  Firsi  National  Bank  of  Palmyra  is  the  successor  and  outgrowth 
of  the  earlier  banking  business,  conducted  for  man3^  years  in  its  present 
offices  by  the  late  Pliny  Sexton  and  the  late  George  W.  Cuyler.  In  1844 
Pliny  Sexton  established,  under  the  then  new  free  banking  law,  the 
"  Palmyra  Bank."     Sometime  afterward  George  W.  Cuyler  also  estab- 


188  LANDMARKS   OF 

lished  under  the  same  law  the  "  Cuyler's  Bank."  The  business  of  both 
parties  was  later  merged,  and  as  partners  they  continued  the  business 
of  banking,  under  the  organization  of  the  ''Cuyler's  Bank,"  until  the 
incorporation  in  January,  L864,  by  the  same  parties  and  their  associates, 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Palmyra,  soon  after  which  time  their 
former  State  bank  was  wound  up.  The  incorporators  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  were  George  W.  Cuyler,  Pliny  Sexton,  Pliny  T.  Sexton, 
William  H.  Cuyler,  Charles  McLouth,  and  David  S.  Aldrich,  and  they 
also  constituted  its  first  board  of  directors.  Its  first  officers  were: 
George  W.  Cuyler,  president;  Pliny  Sexton,  vice-president;  Pliny  T. 
Sexton,  cashier.  The  officers  remained  unchanged  until  the  death  of 
Mr.  Cuyler,  in  July,  L876.  The  vacancy  thus  occasioned  was  filled  on 
December  30  of  that  year,  by  the  election  of  Pliny  T.  Sexton  as  presi- 
dent of  the  bank.  At  the  same  time  Robert  M.  Smith,  who  had  been 
its  teller  for  several  years,  was  made  cashier  of  the  bank,  and  Stephen 
P.  Seymour  was  chosen  its  second  vice  president.  The  three  last  named 
officers  still(1894)  retain  their  respective  positions.  On  March  26,  L881, 
Pliny  Sexton,  the  first  vice-president,  died,  and  on  the  Pith  of  the  fol- 
lowing month  Harriot  II.  Sexton  succeeded  him  as  a  director  of  the 
bank,  and  was  also,  on  January  is,  L882,  chosen  his  successor  as  vice- 
president.  The  capital  of  the  bank  at  its  organization  was  $100,000, 
with  the  privilege  of  increasing  the  same  to  $1,000,000,  to  which  latter 
amount,  by  three  separate  additions,  it  attained  in  September,  L882. 
The  building  in  which  the  bank  is  located  was  erected  in  L830  by  the 
Wayne  County  Bank,  an  institution  which  soon  afterward  passed  out  of 
existence.  It  was  remodeled  in  1S70,  ami  is  now  occupied  by  the  of- 
fices of  the  FirSt  National  Bank,  and  also  includes  the  family  residence 
of  Pliny  T.  Sexton,  its  president  and  principal  owner.  It  is  a  hand- 
some building  and  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  William  streets. 

H.  P.  Knowles  &  Co.  (William  Scott)  opened  a  private  banking  office 
in  L866.  Mr.  Scott  was  succeeded  by  P.  R.  Rogers  and  he  by  George 
W.  Knowles,  a  brother  of  IP  P.  The  firm  also  conduct  the  express 
business  of  the  village,  which  is  contemporary  with  the  establishment 
of  their  bank. 

The  Wayne  Building,  Loan,  and  Accumulating  Fund  Association, 
the  only  concern  of  the  kind  in  the  count}-,  was  incorporated  March  8, 
L888,  with  a  capital  of  $5,000,000,  which  in  L891  was  increased  to  $1.00,- 
000,000.  The  first  officers  were  George  R.  Brown,  president;  1).  A. 
Aldrich,     vice-president;    A.     C.     Hopkins,    secretary;  S.    P.    Nichols, 


'-/:    O}. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  189 

treasurer;  S.  E.  Harkness,  L.  M.  Chase,  W.  W.  Williamson,  S.  N. 
Sawyer,  F.  E.  Ryckman,  trustees;  all  of  whom  constituted  the  Board 
of  Directors.  The  successive  secretaries  have  been  Frank  H.  Hale  and 
J.  O.  Shipman;  the  other  executive  officers  have  remained  the  same. 
The  present  trustees  are  S.  N.  Sawyer,  L.  M.  Chase,  W.  W.  William- 
son, W.  A.  Powers,  and  John  C.  Coates.  Shares  are  $100  each,  and 
from  $1,080.  «J0  of  assets  January  1 ,  1 889,  the  business  has  grown  to  $1  1  I , 
403.37  to  June  30,  1894. 

The  Globe  Manufacturing  Company. —  In  1864  J.  M.  Jones  patented 
the  "Globe"  job  printing  press,  began  its  manufacture,  and  in  lsi;; 
formed  the  Jones  Manufacturing  Company,  of  which  Henry  Johnson 
was  president,  George  Bowman  vice-president,  and  Mr.  Jones  superin- 
tendent. In  1870  the  firm  was  reorganized,  Mr.  Jones  giving  place  to 
W.  I.  Reid.  In  1873  the  name  became  the  Globe  Manufacturing  Co., 
incorporated,  with  A.  P.  Crandall,  president;  Geo.  Bowman,  secretary; 
W.  I.  Reid,  superintendent.  The  capital  was  $152,000.  The  present 
officers  are  Henry  R.  Durfee,  president;  B.H.Davis,  treasurer;  A.  P. 
Seeley,  secretary.  They  manufacture  job  printing  presses  and  paper 
cutters,  giving  employment  to  a  large  force  of  skilled  mechanics.  This 
is  one  of  the  largest  printing  press  factories  in  the  United  States,  and 
the  goods  are  sold  throughout  this  country,  Mexico,  South  America, 
and  Europe. 

J.  M.  Jones  &  Co.,  in  1871,  established  another  printing  press  and 
paper  cutter  factory  opposite  the  above  works,  in  which  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  hands  are  employed.  They  manufacture  goods  almost  ex- 
clusively from  Mr.  Jones's  inventions. 

The  Garlock  Packing  Company  had  its  inception  about  1880,  when 
O.  T.  Garlock,  a  practical  engineer,  invented  and  afterwards  patented 
a  packing  for  steam  engines.  He  began  its  manufacturing  about  1884, 
and  for  a  few  months  was  in  partnership  with  T.  V.  Garlock.  In  the 
fall  of  1885  the  firm  became  Garlock  &  Crandall  and  in  December  of 
that  year  Eugene  Nichols  became  a  partner  under  the  name  of  Garlock, 
Crandall  &  Co.  In  September,  1887,  F.  W.  Griffith  purchased  Crandall's 
interest  and  the  present  firm  was  organized.  In  1888  a  branch  factory 
was  started  in  Rome,  Ga.  The  company  has  branch  offices  in  the  larger 
cities,  and  employ  from  fifteen  to  twenty  men  here.  The  extensive 
business  has  been  built  up  from  a  capital  of  less  than  $500. 

The  Crandall  Packing  Company  was  started  as  Crandall  &  Chase  in 
1887, and  in  June,  1891,  the  present  firm  was  incorporated,    the    officers 


190  LANDMARKS   OF 

being  George  H.  Crandall,  president;  W.  J.  Hennessey,  vice-president; 
C.  H.  North,  secretary;  B.  H.  Davis,  treasurer.  The  present  officers 
are:  A.  S.  Downing,  president;  B.  H.  Davis,  vice-president;  C.  H. 
North,  secretary;  W.  J.  Hennessey,  treasurer.  The  capital  is  $15,000, 
and  ten  or  fifteen  men  are  employed.  Packing  for  steam  engines  is 
manufactured. 

Palmyra  village  in  1828  had  eighteen  dry  goods  stores  and  three  tan- 
neries, and  the  usual  complement  of  shops,  mills,  etc.  It  now  contains 
three  dry  goods  stores,  ten  groceries,  three  hardware  stores,  three 
printing  offices  and  weekly  newspapers,  three  clothing  stores,  three 
millinery  shops,  three  furniture  and  imdertaking  establishments,  four 
drug  stores,  two  jewelry  and  two  shoe  stores,  two  banks,  a  bakerv,  five 
variety  stores,  five  hotels,  three  liveries,  seven  lawyers,  five  physicians, 
three  dentists,  six  churches,  a  classical  union  school,  two  printing  press 
and  two  packing  manufactories,  a  second-hand  store,  two  cigar  factories, 
a  laundry,  two  agricultural  implement  dealers,  two  carriage  shops,  a 
harness  shop,  one  warehouse,  two  coal  dealers,  a  lumber  yard,  two 
produce  dealers,  three  malt  houses,  two  grist  mills,  several  small  shops, 
and  a  population  of  about  2,100.  While  the  canal  was  depended  upon 
as  a  means  of  transportation,  the  village  grew  and  prospered,  but  the 
construction  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  with  a  station  at  some 
distance  from  the  business  center,  had  a  blighting  effect.  The  worst 
blow  to  its  activity,  however,  was  the  opening  of  the  Lake  Ontario 
Shore  (now  the  R.  W.  &  O.)  Railroad,  which  shut  off  a  large  territory 
that  had  long  been  a  field  of  tributary  trade. 

East  Palmyra. — This  is  a  post  village  on  the  New  York  Central  Rail- 
road, near  the  east  border  of  the  town.  It  was  settled  by  Humphrey 
Sherman  in  1794,  in  which  year  he  buit  an  ashery  and  a  blacksmith 
shop,  the  former  near  the  subsequent  shop  (erected  in  1837)  of  his 
grandson,  D.  A.  Sherman.  In  1795  he  started  a  distillery,  which  in 
1812  passed  to  his  sons  Alexander  and  Stephen;  Stephen  Sherman  died 
in  1823,  and  in  1831  it  came  into  the  hands  of  Charles  Curtis,  and  in 
1842  to  D.  A.  Sherman,  with  whom  it  went  down.  Humphrey  Sher- 
man erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  log  cabin  a  large  brick  building  in 
L801,  which  he  opened  and  kept  many  years  as  a  tavern;  Stephen  and 
Gideon  Sherman  were  his  successors  until  the  death  of  the  latter  in 
1825,  when  the  structure  was  converted  into  a  dwelling,  and  finally 
passed  into  the  possession  of  Caleb  Heals.  In  1  SO*';  Sherman  built  a 
brick  storehouse,  which  was  kept  by  a  Mr.  White;  it  eventually  became 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  1«ll 

a  dwelling  and  was  occupied  by  John  Beals.  In  1811  the  Shermans 
erected  a  dam  and  grist  mill,  of  which  Erastus  vStacey  was  proprietor 
several  years.  In  1835  Moore  &  Stacey  built  a  second  grist  mill. 
Jacob  Sherman  was  an  early  shoemaker,  and  J.  Girard  a  groceryman; 
the  former  lived  in  the  old  house  near  the  railroad  and  was  postmaster 
for  forty  years.  In  1830  a  school  house  was  built,  in  which  Dexter 
Clark  was  an  early  teacher;  later  the  present  stone  school  house  was 
erected.  The  village  now  contains  two  stores,  a  blacksmith  and  wagon 
shop,  an  evaporator,  a  peppermint  still,  two  churches,  a  district  school, 
and  about  180  inhabitants.  The  postmaster  is  Andrew  P.  Gambell, 
who  succeeded  William  H.  Cronise. 

Churches. — Religious  services  in  the  present  town  of  Palmyra  were 
first  held  in  private  houses  among  the  members  of  the  Long  Island 
colony  in  1692.  They  were  of  the  Presbyterian  order,  and  in  1793  were 
moved  to  the  annex  of  David  H.  Foster's  house,  which  had  been  used 
as  a  school  room,  where,  on  December  5,  a  church  was  organized  under 
the  Congregational  form  of  government.  The  organizer  was  Rev.  Ira 
Condit,  and  the  constituent  members  were :  David  H.  Foster  and  wife 
Mary,  Stephen  Reeves  and  wife  Mary,  Howell  Fort,  Mrs.  Sarah  Starks, 
Nathaniel  Terry  and  wife  Anna,  Moses  Culver,  Jonah  Howell,  sr., 
Benjamin  Hopkins  and  wife  Sarah.  James  Reeves  was  clerk;  Stephen 
Reeves  and  David  H.  Foster,  elders;  Elias  Reeves,  Stephen  Post,  and 
Benjamin  Hopkins,  trustees.  This  was  the  first  church  organized  in 
the  State  west  of  the  pre-emption  line.  Meetings  were  held  in  the 
school  house  and  in  private  dwellings  until  1807.  November  10,  1806, 
fifty-one  members  subscribed  $1,026  for  the  erection  of  a  house  of  wor- 
ship, and  March  23,  1807,  Gideon  Durfee  and  Humphrey  Sherman 
deeded  the  site  at  East  Palmyra  to  the  trustees,  who  were:  Arnold 
Franklin,  Samuel  Soverhill,  Paul  Reeves,  Benjamin  Hopkins,  James 
Reeves,  and  Howell  Post.  Paul  Reeves  had  charge  of  the  work,  and 
the  raising  of  the  frame  occupied  a  day  and  a  half.  A  recent  number 
.of  the  Palmyra  Dispatch  contains  a  history  of  this  church,  and  it  is 
stated  therein  that  the  frame  was  not  raised  until  a  few  gallons  of 
whisky  had  been  supplied  to  the  men.  In  September,  1807,  the  edifice, 
having  been  inclosed,  was  opened  for  services,  but  its  dedication  did  not 
occur  until  September  11,  1810,  when  Rev.  Benjamin  Bell  was  pastor. 
Rev.  Howell  Powell,  of  Phelps,  officiated.  The  building  was  inclosed 
with  basswood  boards  and  contained  doors  on  the  east,  north,  and  west. 
It  had  galleries  on  three  sides  and  the  pulpit  resembled  a  goblet.      It 


192  LANDMARKS   OF 

was  taken  down  in  IS  10,  and  the  present  edifice  erected  on  the  old  site; 
the  new  structure  was  dedicated  January  12,  1843,  by  Rev.  Ira  Ingra- 
ham,  of  Lyons.  This  was  remodeled,  and  on  January  12,  1870,  was  re- 
consecrated by  Rev.  Horace  Eaton,  D.D.  In  1807  this  church  adopted 
the  Presbyterian  form  of  government  and  was  attached  to  the  Geneva 
presbytery.  In  February,  1817,  two  churches  were  formed,  this  one 
taking  the  name  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  East  Palmyra.  The 
society  has  about  130  members,  and  the  pastor  is  Rev.  M.  G.  Henry. 

The  Western  Presbyterian  church  of  Palmyra  was  "set  off"  from  the 
parent  society  at  East  Palmyra  on  February  2(3,  1817,  with  fifty-six 
members,  the  organizer  being  Rev.  Francis  Pomeroy.  The  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  Jesse  Townsend,  who  was  installed  August  29,  of  that  year, 
and  who  died  in  Palmyra  in  August,  1838.  Other  pastors  took  charge, 
and  in  November,  1828,  Rev.  G.  R.  H.  Shumway  wras  ordained  and 
remained  seven  years;  he  was  subsequently  pastor  in  Newark  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  and  died  in  Pennsylvania  in  1874.  Services  were 
held  in  the  Union  church  (the  town  hall,  built  in  1811,  and  destroyed 
by  fire)  until  1832,  when  the  present  brick  edifice  was  erected  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Church  streets.  It  was  dedicated  in  ]  834. 
This  society  is  the  second  daughter  of  the  East  Palmyra  church,  the 
first  or  oldest  being  a  union  of  all  creeds  at  Lyons  on  October  23,  1809, 
from  which  the  Lyons  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  in  1816. 
Rev.  Horace  Eaton,  D.D.,  began  his  pastorate  in  the  Palmyra  church 
in  1849,  and  died  here  in  October,  1883.  The  society  has  about  350 
members,  under  the  pastorship  of  Rev.  Stephen  G.  Hopkins. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Palmyra  was  organized  May  29,  1800,  at 
the  house  of  Lemuel  Spear,  with  nineteen  members.  In  1808  a  frame 
meeting  house,  40x50  feet,  was  built  at  Kent's  Corners  in  Macedon,  and 
the  society  continued  worship  until  1835.  November  !),  1832,  another 
Baptist  church  was  organized  at  the  house  of  Rev.  John  D.  Heart  in 
Palmyra,  with  forty-seven  members;  on  December  13,  it  adopted  articles 
of  faith  and  covenant,  and  January  16,  1833,  the  church  was  formally 
recognized  by  council.  Rev.  Mr.  Heart  was  pastor,  William  Parke  and 
Erastus  R.  Spear  were  the  deacons,  and  Josiah  Francis  was  the  clerk. 
This  society  existed  but  one  year,  for  on  December  14,  1833,  it  asked 
to  be  received  back  into  the  church  at  Kent's  Corners,  which  was  done. 
Rev.  Mr.  Richards,  the  pastor,  thenceforward  preached  in  the  High 
School  building  in  Palmyra  every  alternate  Sunday  until  February  1  1, 
1835,    when  a   mutual   separation  was   agreed    upon   and    twro  distinct 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  1!):; 

churches  were  formed — the  old  society  to  retain  the  property  and  change 
its  name  to  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Macedon,  and  the  new  one  to 
become  the  First  Baptist  Church  and  Society  of  Palmyra.  This  latter 
organization  consisted  of  seventy-eight  members,  who  chose  R.  C. 
Jackson,  William  Rogers,  and  Stephen  Spear,  trustees;  R.  C.  Jackson, 
William  Parke,  and  E.  R.  Spears,  deacons;  and  Denison  Rogers,  clerk. 
Their  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Henry  V.  Jones,  who  was  installed  April 
26,  1835,  at  a  salary  of  $250  per  year.  The  old  town  hall,  located  on 
the  old  burying  ground,  a  little  north  of  the  Methodist  parsonage,  hav- 
ing been  vacated  in  1834  by  the  Presbyterians,  was  occupied  by  the 
Baptists  until  it  was  burned  in  April,  1839,  when  Horton's  hall  (after- 
ward known  as  Williamson's  hall)  was  secured  and  used  as  a  place  of 
worship.  September  19,  1838,  "Deacons  R.  C.  Jackson,  Stephen 
Spear,  S.  B.  Jordan,  and  Samuel  Palmer  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  look  up  a  site  for  the  location  of  a  meeting  house,"  and  February  24, 
1839,  it  was  voted  to  "exchange  the  lot  owned  by  Hendee  Parshall  for 
the  lot  cornering  on  Main  and  Canandaigua  streets,  and  owned  by  R. 
Nichols,  by  paying  him  $400."  This  indicates  that  Deacon  Parshall  had 
given  the  church  a  lot,  which  was  exchanged  for  the  present  one. 
Denison  Rogers,  Stephen  Spear,  S.  T.  Horton,  S.  B.  Jordan,  Alanson 
Sherman,  Hendee  Sherman,  Samuel  Palmer,  and  D.  J.  Rosman  were 
constituted  a  building  committee.  The  structure  was  built  of  stone 
and  dedicated  January  28,  1841,  by  Rev.  W.  I.  Crane,  a  former  pastor. 
April  18,  Rev.  A.  H.  Burlingame  assumed  the  pastorate.  In  June, 
1868,  a  parsonage  was  purchased  for  $5,000.  In  1870  the  old  stone  church 
was  demolished  and  the  present  brick  edifice  erected  on  the  site  at  a 
cost  of  $20,000;  it  was  dedicated  March  29,  1871.  October  23,  1881, 
$13,000  were  contributed  to  liquidate  the  indebtedness,  leaving  a  small 
sum  for  repairs.  The  society  has  received  a  total  of  over  1,000  mem- 
bers since  its  organization.  It  was  received  into  the  Wayne  Baptist 
Association  at  its  first  annual  meeting,  at  Rose,  in  1835,  and  now  com- 
prises a  membership  of  335.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  J.  R.  Henderson, 
assumed  charge  in  September,  1885,  and  is  also  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school,  which  numbers  about  275  scholars  and  officers.  His 
pastorate  is  the  longest  in  the  history  of  the  church,  to  which  he  lias 
added  112  members.  The  first  parsonage,  purchased  in  1807,  stood  on 
the  corner  of  Jackson  and  Canandaigua  streets ;  the  second  was  located 
on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Liberty  streets;  the  third  and  present  one 
stands  on  the  north  side  of  Jackson  street. 

25 


194  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Palmyra  had  its  inception 
in  a  class  of  this  denomination  that  was  founded  as  early  as  L811.  It 
was  connected  with  the  Ontario  Circuit  of  the  Genesee  Conference,  and 
for  several  years  worshiped  in  barns,  dwellings,  school  houses,  and 
-roves.  In  1822  a  society  was  organized  and  incorporated,  and  a  church 
built  near  the  cemetery  on  Vienna  street, where  services  were  held  for 
twenty-five  years  or  more.  In  1832  the  membership  numbered  155 
persons,  of  whom  the  last  resident  survivor  was  William  F.  Jarvis. 
In  1S4?  the  meeting  house  was  moved  to  Cuyler  street,  south  of  the 
Jarvis  block,  where  it.  was  enlarged  and  remodeled  and  still  stands,  now 
the  property  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  At  the  time  of  the  re- 
moval Rev.  B.  McLouth  was  pastor  and  when  a  new  edifice  was  pro- 
jected, about  1864,  Rev.  Thomas  Tousey  occupied  the  pulpit.  The, 
latter  secured  a  fund  of  $15,000,  and  July  23,  1866,  .ground  was  broken 
for  the  present  structure,  the  corner  stone  of  which  was  laid  on  August 
21  of  that  year.  It  was  dedicated  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  C.  S. 
Fox  on  October  31,  186?,  on  which  day  $6,000  was  raised  to  remove  all 
indebtedness.  It  stands  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Church  streets  and 
cost  complete  $30,000.  It  is  of  brick  with  stone  trimmings,  and  will 
seat  600  persons.  The  society  has  260  members  and  is  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Geneva  district  of  the  Central  New  York  Conference.  Rev. 
James  H.  Rogers  is  pastor  and  G.  A.  Tuttle  superintendent  of  the  Sun- 
day school,  which  numbers  235  scholars  and  officers.  The  parsonage 
just  north  of  the  church  was  formerly  the  old  Washington  hall. 

Zion  Episcopal  Church  of  Palmyra  was  organized  as  a  parish  June  23, 
1823,  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Rufus  Murray,  who  had  been  elected 
to  the  charge  in  1822,  prior  to  which  occasional  services  had  been  held 
here  by  Rev.  Davenport  Phelps.  In  1824  Rev.  John  A.  Clark  became 
rector  and  was  succeeded  in  1826  by  Rev.  Ezekiel  G.  Geer.  The  next 
rector  was  Rev.  John  M.  Guion  in  1829,  and  was  followed  in  1830  by 
Rev.  Burton  H.  Hickox.  Originally  the  services  were  held  in  the  school 
house  situated  near  the  site  of  St.  Ann's  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Sep- 
tember 28,  L827,  the  corner  stone  of  their  first  edifice  was  laid,  and  on 
February  1,  1829,  it  was  consecrated  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Hobart.  It 
was  of  wood,  40  by  55  feet,  with  galleries  on  three  sides,  and  would  seat 
200  persons.  In  1852  a  chancel  was  added  with  other  improvements, 
and  it  served  its  purpose  until  1872,  when  the  present  handsome  struc- 
ture was  commenced.  It  is  of  Medina  sandstone,  in  the  early  English 
style  of  ecclesiastical  architecture,  and  graced  by  a  tower  and  spire,  the 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  195 

latter  being  125  feet  high  and  built  at  the  cost  of  the  late  George  W. 
Cuyler  as  a  memorial  to  his  deceased  children.  It  was  consecrated  by 
Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  A.  Cleveland  Coxe  July  22,  1873.  The  name  of  the 
church,  formerly  in  white,  was  embellished  with  mural  decorations  in 
October,  1890.  During  the  rectorship  of  Rev.  Charles  T.  Coerr  a  pipe 
organ  was  put  in  by  the  Young  Ladies'  Society  and  a  reredos  of  quar- 
tered oak  and  mural  decorations  in  the  chancel  were  added  by  Mrs. 
Heminway  in  memory  of  her  husband,  Albert  G.  In  1831  a  bell  was 
procured  and  through  the  liberality  of  two  members  a  rectory  was  built 
which  was  enlarged  in  1854.  In  1851  Rev.  George  D.  Gillespie  became 
rector,  and  during  his  pastorate  the  Gillespie  fund,  intended  to  endow 
the  parish  against  adversity,  was  started  ;  he  resigned  in  1861  and  be- 
came bishop  of  Western  Michigan.  The  first  wardens  were  Joseph  Colt 
and  Benjamin  Billings.  Their  successors  have  been  William  Chapman, 
Martin  Butterfieid,  George  W.  Cuyler,  Benjamin  Billings,  jr.,  George 
Capron,  Isaac  G.  Bronson,  William  H.  Farnham,  and  Christopher  Til- 
den.  Truman  Heminway  was  a  vestryman  thirty-two  years;  he  died  in 
1864.  The  parish  has  about  120  communicants  and  a  Sunday  school  of 
150  scholars  and  officers  with  H.  P.  Knowles  as  superintendent.  The 
present  rector,  Rev.  Leonard  Woods  Richardson,  assumed  charge  in 
August,  1886. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  East  Palmyra  was  legally  incor- 
porated May  8,  1834,  with  Samuel  Moore,  A.  Salisbury,  Olien  Evans, 
Samuel  E.  Hudson,  Caleb  Beal,  sr. ,  Samuel  Sherman,  and  James  Hub- 
bell,  trustees.  The  certificate  of  incorporation  was  signed  by  Samuel 
Moore  and  Jacob  Howell.  Its  organization  was  due  to  a  series  of  meet- 
ings held  in  August,  1823,  at  the  house  of  Alexander  Sherman,  sr.,  by 
Samuel  Moore  and  Wilson  Osborn,  local  preachers,  and  among  the  first 
members  of  the  class  were  Ambrose  Salisbury  and  wife,  Samuel  Sher- 
man and  wife,  Jacob  Howell  and  wife,  Stephen  Sherman  and  wife,  Is- 
rael Perry  and  wife,  Harry  Rowley  and  wife,  S.  I.  Buck  and  wife,  Syl- 
vanus  Rowley  and  wife,  William  and  Washington  Beal,  Marcus  Swift, 
Gideon  Osborn,  Wilson  Osborn,  William  Fowler,  I.  Foster,  andWillard 
Chase,  seven  of  whom  became  Methodist  preachers.  The  organizers 
were  Revs.  R.  M.  Everetts  and  William  Snow,  and  meetings  were  held 
for  a  time  in  the  Hopkins  school  house  in  East  Palmyra.  In  1825  the 
society  bought  the  Hawthorne  house  and  lot,  just  south  of  that  building, 
and  fitted  it  up  for  a  place  of  worship.  July  21,  1866,  it  was  burned, 
and  the  present  edifice  was  erected  on  the  site  and  dedicated  December 


196  LANDMARKS   OF 

29,  L867,  by  Rev.  B.  I.  Ives.  The  society  was  successively  connected 
with  the  Lyons,  Palmyra,  Marion,  and  Port  Gibson  charges,  and  in  1852 
it  became  a  separate  station.  There  are  now  about  130  members  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  C.  E.  Hermans. 

St.  Ann's  Congregation  (Roman  Catholic  Church)  of  Palmyra  was  or- 
ganized by  Rev.  Edmund  O'Connor,  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church, 
Canandaigua,  about  1848.  He  occasionally  celebrated  mass  in  William- 
son's hall,  and  about  1840  he  purchased  from  William  Aldrich  the  old 
brick  academy  building  and  lot  on  Church  street.  This  was  used  for 
worship  until  18G4,  when,  on  July  26,  the  corner  stone  of  the  present 
edifice  was  laid  by  Rev.  Michael  O'Brien,  vicar-general  of  the  diocese 
of  Buffalo,  and  then  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Rochester.  The 
old  building  was  demolished.  The  new  structure  was  blessed  by  Bishop 
Timon  in  February,  1861,  completed  in  1870,  and  dedicated  by  Rt.  Rev. 
Bernard  J.  M.  McQuaid  on  October  23,  1S70.  The  earlier  pastors  were 
Revs.  John  Toohey,  Michael  Gilbride,  James  Donelly,  and  Thomas 
Walsh.  Rev.  William  Casey  was  appointed  to  the  charge  August  1, 
1855,  and  served  until  May  20,  1893,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the 
present  pastor,  Rev.  James  E.  Hartley.  Rev.  Father  Casey  was  very 
active  in  extending  the  work  and  founded  several  churches  in  neighbor- 
ing towns,  among  which  were  those  at  Macedon,  Ontario,  Fairport,  etc. 
In  September,  1850,  he  purchased  of  George  G.  Jessup  for  $2,000  two 
lots,  with  house  and  barn,  south  of  the  old  church.  This  parsonage  has 
been  twice  remodeled,  the  last  time  in  1873  at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  In  L868 
he  bought  of  Carlton  H.  Rogers  three  and  one-fourth  acres  of  land 
southeast  of  the  village  cemetery,  which  he  consecrated  and  laid  out  into 
lots  for  a  Catholic  burial  ground.  The  parish  now  has  about  180  fami- 
lies or  850  souls. 

The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Palmyra  was  organized  August  15, 
1887,  with  thirty-four  members.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  W.  G  Baas, 
who  began  March  21,  1888,  and  served  until  January,  1890,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  the  present  incumbent,  Rev.  Wietze  Lubach.  The 
society  now  has  about  160  members  and  a  Sunday  school,  of  which  the 
pastor  is  superintendent.  The  Presbyterian  Church  was  used  for  wor- 
ship until  March  19,  1890,  when  the  old  frame  M.  E.  edifice  on  Cuyler 
street  was  purchased  of  Pliny  T.  Sexton  for  $1,700.  It  was  repaired 
and  has  since  been  occupied  by  this  society.  In  May,  1894,  a  frame 
parsonage  on  Jackson  street  was  bought  of  Messrs.  Allen  Brothers. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  197 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  SODUS.* 

The  town  of  Sodus  lies  upon  the  northern  border  of  Wayne  county, 
with  Lake  Ontario  on  the  north,  Wolcott  on  the  east,  Lyons  and  Arcadia 
on  the  south,  and  Williamson  on  the  west.  It  comprises  the  northeast 
part  of  the  old  "District  of  Sodus,"2  which  was  organized  on  or  about 
the  same  day  the  Legislature  created  the  county  of  Ontario — January 
27,  1789.  At  the  formation  this  "  District  "  embraced  what  are  now  the 
towns  of  Sodus,  Lyons,  Arcadia,  Marion,  Walworth,  Ontario,  and  Will- 
iamson. Williamson  (then  including  Ontario,  Walworth,  and  Marion) 
was  set  off  February  20,  1802,  and  Lyons  (then  including  Arcadia)  on 
the  1st  of  March,  1811 ;  a  narrow  strip  was  subsequently  taken  from  the 
west  side  of  Williamson  and  annexed  to  Sodus,  leaving  this  town  with 
its  present  area  of  about  seventy- three  square  miles.  It  includes  town- 
ships thirteen  and  fourteen  of  the  first  range  of  the  Pultney  estate,  and 
that  part  of  the  "  Gore  "  lying  east  of  them. 

The  northern  part  of  this  town  is  mostly  level,  inclining  towards  the 
lake.  The  "Ridge  "  forms  the  southern  boundary  of  this  level  portion, 
and  south  of  that  the  surface  is  considerably  broken  by  ridges  extending 
from  north  to  south.     The  eastern  part  belongs  to  the  great  basin  of 

1  The  editor  hereby  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  the  masterful  labors  of  Prof. 
Lewis  H.  Clark,  of  Sodus  Academy,  who  has  long  been  an  indefatigable  collector  of 
local  history.  Professor  Clark  has  rescued  from  oblivion  quantities  of  interesting 
matter  pertaining  to  the  town  and  county,  and  in  the  preparation  of  this  and  other 
chapters  of  this  volume  his  efforts  have  been  of  material  aid. 

3  Authorities  differ  as  to  the  derivation  of  the  name  Sodus.  On  Governor  Tryon's 
map  the  large  bay  is  designated  "  Asserotus  "  (an  Indian  word  meaning  "silvery 
waters"),  while  Little  Sodus  Bay  is  called  Sodus.  In  Clark's  History  of  Onondaga 
County  the  former  is  given  as  "  Osenodus."  Rev.  H.  L.  Beauchamp,  of  Baldwins- 
ville,  N.  Y.,  suggests  the  last  three  syllables  of  "  Te-ga-hone-sa-o-ta  "  ("place  of  the 
beautiful  rivers  ")  as  significant;  another  writer  states  that  the  Seneca  Indians  called 
the  great  inlet  "  Seadose,"  but  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  known  as  the 
"  Bay  of  the  Cayugas."  The  French,  however,  termed  it  Sodus  Bay,  and  this  desig- 
nation was  applied  to  the  district  or  town  upon  the  organization  of  the  latter. 


198  LANDMARKS   OF 

Sodus  Bay,  which  washes  the  northeast  corner.  The  largest  streams 
of  the  town  are  Salmon  and  Second  Creeks,  the  former  emptying  into 
the  lake  at  Preston's  Mills,  and  the  latter  into  the  bay  at  Nicholas  Point. 
There  are  many  smaller  streams  which  flow  into  the  lake. 

To  Briscoe's  cove  on  the  shore  of  Sodus  bay  is  attached  a  pathetic 
tale  In  1791  a  party  of  surveyors  was  sent  to  this  region  to  lay  out  cer- 
tain lines,  and  just  as  they  had  finished,  one  of  their  number,  a  man 
named  Briscoe,  sickened  and  died.  His  companions  buried  the  remains 
at  the  water's  edge  of  an  indentation  of  the  coast,  which  became  ever 
afterward  Briscoe's  cove.  About  1843  the  Fourierite  Association,  desir- 
ing the  site  for  a  saw  mill,  removed  the  bones  to  the  high  bluff  near  by. 
Constant  splashing  of  the  waves  finally  wore  the  bank  away,  and  the 
exact  location  of  the  grave  is  now  unknown.  In  August,  1877,  a  rude 
flat  stone  was  picked  up  and  found  to  bear  this  inscription;  "A.  N. 
Briscoe,  May  22,  1791. 

The  soil  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town  is  a  clay  and  sandy  loam  and 
in  the  southern  a  gravelly  loam.  The  limestone  formation,  which  has 
been  described  herein,  extends  across  the  town  line  and  has  been  ex- 
tensively manufactured  at  various  points.  Iron  ore  is  found  on  Salmon 
Creek,  and  many  years  ago  was  worked  in  a  small  way.  In  the  south- 
west part  the  quarrying  of  red  sandstone  was  formerly  quite  an  impor- 
tant industry.  Sodus  forms  a  part  of  the  excellent  apple  and  pear  pro- 
ducing district  of  this  county. 

In  1858  the  town  had  29,961  acres  of  improved  land,  and  produced 
25,396  bushels  of  winter  and  207,539  bushels  of  spring  wheat,  5,073  tons 
of  hay,  30,847  bushels  potatoes,  70,448  bushels  apples,  177,259  pounds 
butter,  9,756  pounds  cheese,  and  779  yards  domestic  cloth;  it  also  had 
1,616  horses,  2,516  oxen  and  calves,  1,846  cows,  15,525  sheep,  and  3,  L49 
swine. 

Salt  springs  exist  on  First  Creek  and  at  other  points  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  town,  and  salt  was  once  produced  in  considerable  quantities. 
At  what  is  known  as  "Salt  Hollow,"  or  Salt  Works,  the  manufacture 
was  begun  about  1831  by  Charles  Field  and  his  brother,  but  they  con- 
tinued it  only  a  few  years.  The  business  was  revived  about  1886  by  the 
Sodus  Manufacturing  Company,  of  which  Manley  Sturges  was  presi- 
dent.    Wells  were  sunk,  but  the  industry  proved  unprofitable. 

The  R.  W.  &0.  Railroad  (formerly  the  Lake  Ontario  Shore  Railroad) 
was  finished  through  the  town  east  and  west  in  1874,  with  stations  at 
Alton,  Wailihgton,  and  Sodus.      The  Sodus  Bay  division  of  what  is  now 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  1<)9 

the  Northern  Central  Railway,  running-  from  Sodus  Point,  southwardly 
through  Wallington  and  Sodus  Center,  to  Stanley,  Ontario  county,  was 
projected  in  1851 ;  but  several  years  passed  before  it  was  finished.  It 
was  opened  for  traffic  July  4,  1873.  The  construction  of  these  railroads 
had  a  marked  influence  on  the  development  of  the  town;  they  created 
new  markets  and  brought  into  existence  new  industries. 

The  road  leading  from  Sodus  to  Lyons  was  surveyed. by  Samuel  Sut- 
ton and  was  recorded  August  14,  1799.  In  1803  Sodus  (including  Lyons 
and  Arcadia)  had  eight  road  districts.  The  old  "  Sodus  road  "  from  the 
Point  to  Palmyra  was  laid  out  by  Capt.  Charles  Williamson  in  1794  and 
cost  him  a  total  of  $757 ;  it  was  cut  through  by  Messrs.  Lovell  and  Phil- 
lips. In  1794  Mr.  Williamson  also  laid  out  the  old  Geneva  road  from 
Sodus  Point  to  Lyons,  nearly  on  the  line  of  the  present  Lyons  road 
through  Wallington.  A  system  of  highways  was  inaugurated  about  1800, 
and  the  town  now  has  108  road  districts. 

The  earliest  record  of  a  Sodus  town  meeting  is  dated  April  2,  1799, 
ten  years  after  the  formation  of  the  district  of  Sodus.  The  town  or  dis- 
trict meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Evert  Van  Wickle,  a  mile  or 
more  northwest  of  Lyons  village,  on  the  present  Rogers  farm,  and  the 
following  officers  were  chosen :  Supervisor,  Azariah  Willis,  of  Alloway ; 
town  clerk,  Joseph  Taylor,  Lyons;  assessors,  Norman  Mary,  Sodus 
Point,  Samuel  Caldwell,  Marion,  Charles  Cameron,  Lyons;  highway 
commissioners,  Moses  Gill,  Sodus  Point,  Evert  Van  Wickle,  Lyons, 
Timothy  Smith,  Marion;  constables,  David  Sweezey,  Marion,  Joseph 
Wood,  Lyons;  pound  master,  Samuel  Nelson,  Arcadia;  collector,  David 
Sweezey,  Marion;  fence  viewer,  John  Van  Wickle,  sr. ,  Lyons;  poor- 
masters,  William  White,  Williamson,  Reuben  Adams,  Marion.  At  a 
special  town  meeting  in  1799,  held  at  the  house  of  John  Riggs,  John 
Perrine,  Timothy  Smith,  and  Samuel  Caldwell  were  chosen  school  com- 
missioners. Sheep  marks  were  registered  by  Robert  Miller,  John  Per- 
rine, Thomas  Cole,  David  Sherman,  Evert  Van  Wickle,  Joseph  Taylor, 
William  Patten,  Samuel  Soverhill,  Charles  Cameron,  William  White, 
and  John  Miller. 

There  was  at  this  period  on   the  tax  roll  the  names  of  fifty  persons, 
some  of  whom  were  non-residents;  the  settlers  were  doubtless  located 
in  Lyons  village,  on  the  road  from  there  to  Sodus  Point,  at  the  Point, 
and  on  the  Palmyra  road,  with  very  few  exceptions.      Following  is  the. 
list: 


200 


LANDMARKS   OF 


Evert  Van  Wickle. 
John  Van  Wickle. 
Samuel  Nelson. 
John  Perrine. 
Charles  Cameron. 
Joseph  Wood. 
John  Riggs. 
Henry  Beard. 
Joseph  Taylor. 
George  Carr. 
Ralph  Gregory. 
Robert  Miller. 
Elijah  Brown. 
Ephraim  Cleveland. 
Henry  Lovewell. 
Amos  Richards. 
Daniel  Towle. 


Azanah  Willis. 
Moses  Sill. 
Jabez  Sill. 
Stephen  Bushnell. 
Norman  Mary. 
Leonard  Stewart. 
Leonard  Aldrich. 
Andrew  Hillett. 
Timothy  Smith. 
William  Cogshall. 
Reuben  Adams. 
Moses  A.  Blakely. 
David  Sherman. 
Lydia  Cady. 
Robert  Springer. 
William  Cook. 
Wanton  Morey. 


William  White. 
David  Sweezey. 
Samuel  Caldwell. 
Daniel  Russell. 
Robert  Martin. 
Abraham  Pratt, 
Nathan  Stewart. 
Charles  Williamson. 
Richard  Williams. 
Sanford  Williams. 
David  Trowbridge. 
John  Taylor. 
Francis  Dana. 
William  Dunn. 
William  Cogshall. 
Benjamin  Wisner. 


In  1799  the  district  gave  Charles  Williamson  and  Nathaniel  Norton 
each  twenty-five  votes  for  the  Assembly.  In  1800  Thomas  Morris  had  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  district  (sixty-eight)  for  Congress.  It  has  been 
stated  that  only  twenty-five  families  were  living  in  the  whole  town  in 
1799,  and  of  the  fifty  persons  on  the  tax  roll,  six  were  assessed  for  per- 
sonal property.  In  1800  $2.00  were  voted  for  wolf  scalps  "with  the 
skin  thereon;"  and  it  was  also  voted  that  "hog  yokes  be  eight  inches 
above  the  neck."  It  was  also  voted  that  Elias  Dickinson  "be  allowed 
$">.oo  for  opening  town  meetings  two  years  past."  William  Sheppard, 
Lemuel  Chapin,  William  Dunn,  and  Nathaniel  Norton  were  candidates 
for  the  Assembly ;  Samuel  Caldwell  was  town  clerk.  The  town  meeting 
for  1800  was  held  at  the  dwelling  of  Moses  Sill  at  Sodus  Point,  and  that 
of  1801  at  the  house  of  Timothy  Smith.  In  this  year  thirteen  path- 
masters  were  chosen,  and  the  territory  of  the  present  towns  of  Wil- 
liamson, Marion,  Walworth,  and  Ontario  was  set  off  to  form  a  separate 
school  district.      Mr.  Caldwell  was  again  chosen  town  clerk. 

In  1802  the  district  held  no  meeting,  but  three  justices  of  the  county — 
William  Rogers,  Darius  Comstock,  and  Ezra  Patterson — met  at  the 
house  of  Oliver  Kendall  and  appointed  John  Perrine,  supervisor,  and 
Richard  Jones,  town  clerk;  the  latter  served  until  1806. 

In  1803  the  annual  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  William 
Gibbs  in  Lyons,  and  the  pound  was  located  at  that  village.  In  1806 
Ezekiel  Price  was  elected  town  clerk,  and  served  until  1811.  In  1807 
the  wolf  bounty  was  increased  to  $5.00,  and  was  discontinued  in  1808. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  201 

The  town  meeting-  of  1809  was  held  in  Lyons  at  the  dwelling  of 
Ezekiel  Price;  a  pound  thirty  feet  square  and  eight  feet  high  was  voted 
to  be  built  at  Sod  us,  and  a  tax  of  $25  was  voted  for  the  town  poor.  In 
1SU)  a  bounty  of  $10  for  wolves  and  panthers  was  voted,  and  the  towns 
of  Lyons  and  Arcadia  were  set  off. 

The  first  town  meeting  of  the  present  town  of  Sodus  was  held  in  isi  l 
at  the  house  of  Daniel  Arms,  nearWallington,  and  the  following  officers 
were  chosen:  Nathaniel  Merrills,  supervisor;  Joseph  Hathaway,  town 
clerk ;  Jenks  Pullen,  Daniel  Arms,  John  Holcomb,  highway  commis- 
sioners; Daniel  Arms,  Daniel  Hart,  Mark  Johnson,  assessors;  Jenks 
Pullen,  collector;  Daniel  Hart  and  Stephen  Bushnell,  overseers  of  the 
poor;  Jenks  Pullen  and  Dan  H.  Harvey,  constables.  In  1813  the  first 
school  inspectors  were  elected,  as  follows:  Enoch  Morse,  Thaddeus 
Bancroft,  William  Danforth,  William  N.  Lummis,  Daniel  Arms,  and 
Peter  Failing;  and  the  school  commissioners  for  that  year  were:  John 
Holcomb,  Byram  Green,  and  William  Wickham.  In  the  same  year  the 
town  was  divided  into  eleven  school  districts ;  a  wolf  bounty  of  $25  was 
voted,  and  a  fine  of  $5.00  was  to  be  imposed  on  any  person  permitting 
"  Canada  thistles  to  blossom  on  his  farm  or  the  highway  adjoining." 

The  first  town  meeting  held  at  Sodus  village  was  in  1815,  and  since 
that  year  that  has  been  the  regular  place  of  meeting.  The  first  justice 
of  the  peace  was  probably  Thomas  Hathaway,  although  Williamson 
held  a  sort  of  judicial  appointment  in  Ontario  county.  In  1827  the  fol- 
lowing were  elected :  Byram  Green,  one  year ;  Alanson  M.  Knapp,  two 
years ;  Thaddeus  Bancroft,  three  years ;  James  Edwards,  four  years. 
The  supervisors  of  Sodus  have  been  as  follows : 

1799,  Azariah  Willis,  1842,  Byram  Green, 

1800-1,  Timothy  Smith,  1843-44,  Alanson  M.  Knapp, 

1802-3,  John  Perine,  1845,  Alexander  B.  Williams, 

1804-6,  Daniel  Dorsey,  1846,  Jerry  C.  Rogers, 

1807-10,  Gilbert  Howell,  1847,  Thomas  Wickham, 

1811-13,  Nathaniel  Merrills,  1848,  Jedediah  Allen, 

1814-24,  Enoch  Morse,  1849,  Andrus  A.  Whitbeck, 

1825-26,  Jonathan  L.  Powell,  1850,  Alanson  M.  Knapp, 

1827,  Byram  Green,  1851-52,  Jerry  C.  Rogers, 

1828-32,  William  Danforth,  1853,  Alanson  M.  Knapp, 

1833-34,  James  Edwards,  1854,  Aldice  P.  Warren, 

1835-37,  Robert  A.  Paddock,  1855,  Noadiah  M.  Hill, 

1838-39,  William  Edwards,  1856-58,  David  Poucher, 

1840,  Byram  Green,  1859-60,  Merritt  Thornton, 

1841,  Charles  W.  Rees,  1861,  Levi  Gurnee, 
26 


202  LANDMARKS   OF 

1862-64,  Durfee  Wilcox,  1881-83,  Lewis  H.  Clark, 

1865,  George  W.  Tillotson,  1884-86,  John  A.  Boyd. 

1866-67,  Lewis  Bates,  1887-89,  Aldice  W.  Brower, 

1868-71,  George  W.  Tillotson,  1890,  Lewis  Bates, 

1872-74,  Louis  Bates,  1891-92,  Edward  H.  Sentell, 

is::,,  David  Poucher,  1893,  E.  J.  Gatchell, 

1876,  Charles  D.  Gaylord,  1894,  John  A.  Boyd. 
1877-80,  Rowland  Robinson, 

The  town  officers  for  1894  are:  John  A.  Boyd,  supervisor;  Frank  D. 
Gaylord,  town  clerk;  E.  W.  Kelly,  Charles  C.  Wright,  C.  O.  Brundige, 
Albert  Harris,  George  Emery,  justices;  George  Van  Antwerp,  Stephen 
Turner,  John  T.  Pearsall,  assessors;  John  B.  Bayless,  jr.,  collector; 
Charles  Emery,  David  Yaudy,  overseers  of  the  poor;  P.  Riggs,  Charles 
M.  Sentell,  S.  V.   Hewelt,  highway  commissioners. 

From  time  immemorial  the  Indians  gathered  about  Sodus  Bay  to 
hunt  and  fish,  and  as  white  settlements  crowded  them  westward  they 
long  clung  to  its  old  associations  by  occasional  visits.  From  1725  to 
]  ;.",(>  the  French  government  was  frequently  advised  by  its  emissaries 
to  built  a  fort  here.  In  1759  a  force  of  English  and  colonial  troops, 
moving  westward  for  the  capture  of  Fort  Niagara,  stopped  one  night 
at  the  bay.  Other  expeditions  often  made  it  their  rendezvous,  all  of 
which*  have  been  properly  noticed  in  earlier  pages  of  this  volume.  The 
locality  had  undoubtedly  been  visited  previous  to  1794  by  surveyors, 
agents,  hunters,  and  other  white  men,  but  it  was  not  until  that  year 
that  Charles  Williamson  took  his  small  army  of  choppers,  builders  and 
surveyers,  and  began  clearing  lands  and  erecting  buildings  at  Sodus 
Point.  He  was  not  alone  in  the  belief  that  he  was  there  founding  a 
place  destined  to  future  commercial  importance.  In  the  year  just 
named  and  previous  to  Williamson's  arrival,  Daniel  Russell  in  the^town 
of  Williamson  is  believed  to  have  been  the  only  permanent  settler  in  all 
the  region  north  of  Palmyra. 

Among  the  first  operations  at  the  Point  by  Williamson  was  the  erection 
of  a  tavern.  He  also  built  a  yacht  and  launched  it  on  the  bay.  It  is 
said  that  his  improvements  made  during  about  two  years  cost  $20,000. 
In  this  tavern  he  placed  Moses  and  Jabez  Sill  as  landlords.  Williamson's 
hopes  and  expectations  of  the  locality  were  not  realized. 

The  builders  of  this  tavern  were  Hoylarts  &  Borrekens,  who  in  L811 
were  assessed  for  "eleven  lots  in  Troopville  "  and  "twenty-six  acres  in 
the  Gore,  buildings,  etc.,  $908."  During  the  war  of  1812  it  was  attacked 
by  British  soldiers  (in  June,  L813).      It  was  burned  in  May,  1!S81. 


WAYNE   COUNTY  203 

In  1795  Amos  Richards,  who  had  lived  a  short  time  with  his  wife 
and  daughter  near  Daniel  Russell  (before  mentioned),  removed  to  the 
lake  shore,  seven  miles  west  of  Sodus  Point,  and  built  a  log  cabin  on 
land  now  owned  by  Charles  H.  Toor.  After  some  years  Richards  left 
his  home  and  never  returned;  his  wife  afterwards  married  a  Mr.  Alcock, 
who  died,  leaving  a  widow  and  daughter  to  continue  the  hardships  of 
pioneer  life  alone.  Mrs.  Alcock  died  in  1849,  and  her  daughter,  who 
became  Mrs.  Jeduthan  Morfat,  in  18(39.  Many  of  the  friendly  Indians, 
explorers,  and  first  settlers,  as  well  as  Charles  Williamson  himself,  were 
welcomed  in  their  log  cabin,  and  to  Mrs.  Morfat  a  monument  has  been 
raised  as  a  memorial  to  the  last  of  the  earliest  permanent  settler  family 
in  town. 

About  1796  Elijah  Brown  located  on  the  Swales  lot  four  miles  west 
of  the  Point,  but  soon  removed  to  the  mouth  of  Oak  Orchard  Creek,  in 
Orleans  county  and  died  at  Irondequoit  in  1805.  Norman  Mary  also 
settled  at  the  Point  the  same  time  and  Stephen  Bushnell  purchased  the 
farm  occupied  in  recent  years  by  Ephraim  Leiter,  and  brought  in  his 
family  in  1803;  Mr.  Bushnell  was  commissioner  of  highways  in  1801 
and  several  terms  overseer  of  the  poor. 

John  Boyd  and  his  son  Frederick,  from  Maryland,  came  in  1798  and 
settled  on  the  east  side  of  the  bay  and  made  a  little  improvement ;  but 
in  the  next  year,  being  without  near  neighbors,  they  removed  to  the 
other  side  and  settled  on  Salmon  Creek  in  what  is  called  "Christian 
Hollow."  Two  years  later  Thomas  Boyd,  a  younger  son  of  John,  came 
and  lived  in  the  cabin  with  his  father  until  1815,  when  he  married  and 
located  on  the  Geneva  road.  John  Boyd  died  in  1817  and  Frederick 
returned  to  Maryland.  Sons  of  Thomas  were  John  A.,  and  Reuben. 
Other  settlers  on  the  Geneva  road  in  1797  were  the  Pollock  families. 
In  1800  Richard  Sergeant  came  from  Boston  and  boarded  with  them 
for  time.  He  settled  a  little  later  on  what  became  the  Kitchen  farm, 
and  had  sons,  Artemas,  Richard,  George,  Nathan,  William,  James  and 
Thomas,  and  three  daughters. 

In  April,  1801,  Ammi  Ellsworth,  from  Connecticut,  settled  on  the 
Pulver  place;  Asahel  Osburn,  his  brother-in-law,  came  with  him  and 
built  a  log  house  and  sowed  ten  acres  of  wheat  on  what  has  been  known 
as  the  Irwin  farm.  Ellsworth  also  built  a  log  house.  Mr.  Ellsworth 
said  in  later  years  that  when  he  came  in  the  only  neighbors  west  of  him 
were  Daniel  Russell,  Amos  Richards,  and  Elijah  Brown.  Stephen 
Bushnell  was,  however,  a  resident  at  that  time.     A  log  house  that  had 


204  LANDMARKS   OF 

been  built  near  the  Thornton  place  was  early  opened  as  atavern.  Mr. 
Ellsworth  lived  long  in  the  town  and  left  many  descendants,  among  them 
Levi  Ellsworth,  a  son,  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Hanford,  daughter,  both  resi- 
dents of  Sodus.  His  daughter  Aurelia,  familiarly  known  as  "Aunt 
Aurelia, "  was  born  here  December  8,  1804,  and  died  on  the  homestead 
unmarried,  October  29,  1889. 

Dr.  William  N.  Lummis,  from  Philadelphia,  settled  in  the  town  in 
1801,  and  is  noticed  in  the  chapter  on  the  medical  profession.  He  built 
the  old  Preston  grist  mill,  a  saw  mill,  a  forge,  and  several  dwellings, 
and  was  the  foremost  citizen  of  the  town.  His  son,  Benjamin  R. ,  died 
at  Sodus  Point  in  June,  1882.  Dr.  Thomas  G.  Lawson  came  from 
England  and  located  at  the  Point  at  an  early  day. 

Slavery  was  introduced  into  Sodus  by  Col.  Peregrine  Fitzhugh,  who 
had  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  held  a  position  in  Washington's 
life  guard.  He  migrated  from  Maryland  to  Geneva  in  1800  and  thence 
to  Sodus  Point  in  1803,  bringing  his  family  and  thirty  to  forty  slaves. 
The  slaves  were  freed  in  a  few  years  and  for  some  time  composed  a 
colony  of  their  own  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Point;  at  one  time  they 
numbered  eighty  persons. 

Elder  Seba  Norton,  the  pioneer  Baptist  minister,  came  to  the  town 
in  1804.  He  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier  and  lived  a  short  time  in 
Marion  before  settling  in  Sodus. 

Joseph  Hathaway  made  his  settlement  on  the  Thornton  place  in  1803  ; 
and  in  180G  John  Corey  came  from  Warren  county  and  settled  at  South 
Sodus,  while  Elder  Gerum  located  north  of  Wallington  on  the  Geneva 
road.  About  1803  Matthew  Clark  settled  near  the  brick  meeting  house 
and  at  about  the  same  time  Isaac  Mason  began  improvement  on  the 
farm  latterly  occupied  by  D.  Wilcox. 

Several  settlers  came  in  1807 — Jenks  Pullen,  from  Phelps,  who  loca- 
ted at  South  Sodus;  Abner  Torrey,  from  the  west  side  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain;  Samuel  Warren  from  New  Hampshire,  located  at  South  Sodus 
and  in  February,  1.S08,  brought  his  family;  Elijah  and  Clark  were  his 
sons,  the  former  becoming  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  the  latter  a  pilot 
on  Lake  Ontario,  where  he  served  in  several  naval  engagements  and 
also  at  the  battle  of  Sandy  Creek  in  1812.  Gardner  Warren,  father  of 
A.  P.  Warren,  was  also  in  the  latter  engagement. 

In  1808  Silas  F.  Andrews,  grandfather  of  Joseph  Andrews,  lived  in  a 
log  house  at  Sodus  Center.  About  the  same  year  William  Young  set- 
tled south  of  the  old  Thornton  limekiln;   he  was  an  old  sea  captain  and 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  205 

father  of  Joseph  Young.  In  1793  Drniel  Arms  moved  from  Chenango 
county  to  Ontario  county,  and  afterwards  lived  in  Phelps,  whence  he 
came  to  Sodus  in  1808,  settling-  near  a  spring  a  little  west  from  Wall- 
ington  station,  north  of  the  house  of  Edward  Messenger.  In  his  house 
the  first  town  meeting  was  held  in  1811,  after  Sodus  had  assumed  its 
present  limits.  In  1809  Mr.  Arms  erected  a  saw  mill,  going  to  Phelps 
for  men  to  raise  it.  He  held  several  town  offices,  and  died  November 
11,  1830. 

Dr.  Elisha  Mather  settled  in  Sodus  in  1810,  coming  from  Jefferson 
county,  and  originally  from  Connecticut.  Locating  first  on  the  east 
side  of  Salmon  Creek,  he  removed  in  1821  to  Sodus  Center,  where  he 
practiced  his  profession.      He  had  a  son  of  the  same  name. 

In  township  13  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Sodus,  settlement  began 
in  1807,  when  Elisha  Granger,  Noble  Granger,  and  Parson  Hunn  came 
in.  In  March,  1808,  John  Granger  removed  from  Phelps  to  Sodus,  and 
three  days  later  Mark  Johnson,  from  Pompey,  Onondaga  county,  came 
and  settled  at  the  "Corners"  that  took  his  name.  In  1809  Flavel 
Kingsley  settled  on  the  William  Filkins  farm.  In  this  township  (13) 
Pierce  Granger  bought  800  acres  of  land  at  twenty  cents  an  acre.  His 
tract  was  divided  into  four  farms  of  about  equal  size  and  the  locality 
became  known  as  "  Granger's  Settlement." 

In  1811  Lyman  Dunning,  Nathaniel  Kellogg,  Joseph  and  Samuel 
Green,  Kitchell  Bell,  Robert  A.  Paddock,  William  Danforth  (later  a 
justice)  and  others,  from  Williamstown,  Mass.,  settled  along  the  Ridge, 
while  on  or  near  Morse  Hill  were  the  families  of  Bacon,  Morse,  and 
Smith.  Byram  Green  was  educated  in  Williams  College,  and  was  long 
one  of  the  assessors,  a  justice,  school  commissioner,  school  inspector, 
State  senator  in  1823-4,  and  supervisor  in  1827,  1840  and  1842.  His 
widow,  Elizabeth,  died  here  in  October,  1881.  His  father,  Captain 
Joseph  Green,  was  an  early  settler.  Mr.  Danforth  was  supervisor  from 
1828  to  1832. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  the  Centenary  church  and  towards  Alton  the 
families  of  Bancroft,  Barnard,  Knapp,  Axtell,  Terry,  and  Warner 
settled  prior  to  1812;  and  at  Sodus  Point  Rodolphus  Field,  William  P. 
Irwin,  and  William  Wickham  located,  the  latter  being  a  merchant. 
Gamaliel  Case  was  another  settler  of  that  date.  About  1813  Enoch 
Morse  came  to  the  town;  from  1814  to  1824  inclusive  he  was  supervisor, 
and  in  1826  was  member  of  Assembly.  Thomas  Wickham  and  his 
brother  were  also  early  and  prominent  settlers.     Thomas,  a  son  of  the 


206  LANDMARKS   OF 

brother,  died  here,  November  3,  1882.  Rodolphus  Field  served  in  the 
war  of  1812,  cut  the  first  tree  on  the  site  of  Alton  village,  and  died 
October  11,  L880. 

Levi  Allen,  born  in  East  Windsor,  Conn.,  March  4,  1780,  came  to 
Sodus  in  March,  1817,  and  died  January  20,  1867.  His  son,  Charles  J. 
Allen,  a  farmer,  carpenter,  and  groceryman,  was  born  here,  March  14, 
1820,  and  died  October  12,  1888.  Francis  Reed,  born  in  L809,  removed 
to  Sodus  with  his  parents  about  1816,  and  died  June  12,  1882.  Austin 
M.  Richardson,  a  native  of  Genesee  county,  came  here  in  1829,  and  died 
in  February,  1881. 

In  1815  William  Delano  came  from  Maine  to  Sodus,  and  settled  op- 
posite the  Lefurgey  burying  ground.  He  had  been  here  in  1813  in  com- 
pany with  Enoch  Carl,  Richard  Hayden,  and  John  Butler;  in  1815  also 
came  the  Dennis  and  the  Lane  families,  and  soon  afterwards  the 
Lightons.  William,  James,  and  Joseph  Walling,  William  Champlin, 
and  the  Pendell  family  were  also  early  settlers.  Lemuel  Higgins, 
about  1812;  Henry  Pulver,  who  died  in  March,  1853;  Abner  Arms, 
younger  brother  of  Daniel  Arms;  Mr.  Wride,  an  Englishman  and  father 
of  Robert;  Mr.  Hanby,  father  of  Charles  Hanby;  William  Dolloway; 
Thomas  Granger,  born  in  1803,  and  died  here,  September  2,  1881;  John 
Preston,  born  in  England  in  1808,  and  died  January  16,  1881;  Pardon 
and  Jeremiah  Harrington,  brothers  and  noted  Inmters;  and  others  were 
prominent  among  the  earlier  comers  to  Sodus. 

Among  others  who  became  settlers  down  to  about  1845  were:  Merritt 
Thornton  in  1816,  Robert  Bean  in  1817,  Linus  Coleman  and  Robert  D. 
Dennis  in  1818,  John  R.  Proseus  in  1821,  John  Bates  in  1825,  George 
W.  Baker  in  1827,  John  Harborton  and  John  Toor,  sr.,  in  1831,  Sheldon 
and  John  B.  Gbodsell  and  Clement  Harvey  in  1832,  Harry  Pulver  in 
L833,  Benjamin  Rogers,  Thomas  Lund,  and  Rodolphus  Dingman  in 
1835,  Henry  Ward  in  1836,  Daniel  Bloomer,  Anson  Beebe,  and  Samuel 
B.  and  B.  B.  Green  in  1837,  Lyman  and  P.  P.  Butts,  and  John  Toor, 
jr.,  in  L838,  John  Mclntyre  and  B.  B.  Seaman  (lawyer)  in  1843.  John 
Toor,  sr.,  was  born  in   England  in  1801,  and  died  November  11,  1S82. 

Solomon  G.  Smedley,  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  in  1798,  came  to 
Sodus  in  1846,  and  died  Narch  27,  L889.  Gilbert  Van  Allen  Hill,  born 
in  North  Chatham,  N.  Y.,  in  IS  17,  settled  in  this  town  in  1845,  and  died 
January  IS,  1889;  he  was  father  of  John  C,  Noadiah,  and  Henry  Hill, 
and  Mrs.  T.  H.  Hathaway.  Azel  Carpenter  came  to  Sodus  in  July, 
L817,    and   died  January   5,  1882.      Noah  W.  Silver  was   born   in  New 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  207 

Jersey  in  1 S • » 1 ,  removed  to  Sodus  about  1845,  and  died  in  Alton  in 
August,  1880.  Stephen  Tinklepaugh  was  born  in  this  town  April  14, 
1810,  and  died  at  Sodus  Point  September  10,  1885.  Rev.  John  Gates, 
born  in  England  in  178!),  settled  in  the  town  north  of  the  old  stone 
school  house  in  1830,  and  died  a  few  months  later;  he  was  a  Methodist 
preacher,  a  teacher,  and  a  farmer;  his  son  John  died  in  February,  1886. 
Andrew  A.  Whitbeck,  who  was  born  at  Kinderhook  in  1808,  came  to 
Arcadia  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  a  few  years  later  settled  in 
Sodus,  where  he  died  April  23,  1885;  he  was  a  farmer  and  served  as 
supervisor  in  1849.  John  G.  Kelly,  born  in  1809,  came  to  this  town 
with  his  father,  Myric,  in  1827,  held  several  town  offices,  and  died  in 
July,  1882.  Jonas  Miller,  who  came  to  Sodus  village  in  1841,  was  born 
in  Columbia  county  in  December,  1817;  he  died  March  19,  1881.  Colonel 
Enoch  Granger  aquired  his  title  in  the  State  militia;  he  was  born  in 
Phelps,  N.  Y. ,  in  1801,  removed  here  when  eighteen  years  old,  and  died 
in  Joy  in  July,  1882.  He  was  railroad  commissioner  during  the  con- 
struction of  the  Sodus  Point  and  Southern  Railroad. 

Daniel  McMillen  settled  near  South  Sodus  at  an  early  day,  and  built 
the  first  log  house  and  later  a  frame  dwelling ;  the  latter  burned  in  May, 
1887,  at  which  time  it  was  occupied  by  the  four  McMillen  sisters — Mrs. 
Betsey  Weaver,  Mrs.  Mary  Knapp,  Mrs.  Rosana  Reynold,  and  Miss 
Eunice  McMillen.  Major  W.  H.  Sentell,  who  died  in  December,  1887, 
was  the  first  commander  of  Dwight  Post  No.  109,  G.  A,  R.,  and  several 
years  was  collector  at  Sodus  Point. 

Dr.  William  D.  Cooke,  who  was  born  in  Geneva,  October  18,  1807, 
studied  medicine  and  began  practice  at  Penn  Yann.  In  1835  he  pur- 
chased 200  acres  of  the  old  Lummis  farm.  He  was  active  in  the  promotion 
of  the  Sodus  Point  Railroad,  and  was  its  president  and  a  director  for  a 
time.  He  did  not  practice  his  profession  here,  and  died  in  Vineland, 
N.  J.,  October  13,  1885. 

Major  General  Gordon  Granger  was  a  son  of  Gaius  Granger,  and  was 
born  in  Joy  in  1818.  In  1841  he  was  appointed  a  cadet  at  West  Point, 
and  upon  his  graduation  in  1845  he  joined  the  2d  Infantry  for  garrison 
duty  in  Michigan.  In  the  Mexican  war  he  was  promoted  captain,  and 
from  then  until  the  late  war  began  he  served  mainly  on  the  Indian 
frontier.  During  the  Civil  War  he  rendered  gallant  service,  and  in 
March,  1865,  was  made  brevet  major-general  of  volunteers.  In  July, 
1866,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  55th  Regiment  of  Regulars,  of 
which  he  took  command  in  December,  1870,  and  held  the  post  until  his 
death  in  January,  1876. 


208  LANDMARKS   OF 

Thomas  H.  Potwine  was  born  in  East  Windsor,  Conn.,  August  5, 
lsii.'),  and  came  to  the  Sweet  Settlement  in  Sodus  in  1835.  He  was  a 
respected  farmer. 

Eli  Clark  came  from  Massachusetts  to  this  town  in  1816,  and  settled 
on  a  farm  on  lot  9,  which  he  owned  until  his  death  in  1871.  Here  his 
son,  Professor  Lewis  H.  Clark,  was  born,  September  11,  1827.  Professor 
Clark  was  educated  in  the  common  and  select  schools  of  this  town,  and 
in  the  Walworth  and  Macedon  Academies,  studied  law  in  Chicago,  and 
has  devoted  most  of  his  life  to  teaching-.  He  has  been  principal  and  a 
trustee  of  Sodus  Academy  several  years,  and  long  an  elder  and  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  1873  he  was  librarian  of 
the  Assembly,  and  in  1876-77  was  executive  clerk  in  the  State  Senate. 
Professor  Clark  is  a  scholarly  writer  and  has  assiduously  labored  in  pre- 
serving local  history.  He  has  published  several  volumes,  among  them 
being  his  invaluable  Military  History  of  Wayne  County. 

Major  A.  B.  Williams  began  business  in  Sodus  as  a  dry  goods 
merchant  in  the  firm  of  Warner  &  Williams.  In  1840  he  was  elected 
supervisor,  and  in  1841  was  appointed  collector  of  customs  at  Sodus 
Point.  He  resigned,  and  in  1845  was  elected  county  clerk,  and  again 
in  1848.  In  1855  he  was  defeated  for  State  treasurer  on  the  Whig 
ticket,  and  in  1858  was  elected  State  senator.  During  the  Rebellion  he 
was  appointed  paymaster  with  the  rank  of  major.  He  finally  removed 
to  Chicago  and  died  in  April,  1873. 

David  Poucher  was  several  times  supervisor  of  Sodus;  he  settled  here 
in  1836,  and  was  for  a  time  superintendent  of  the  Erie  Canal  through 
the  county.  In  1880  he  was  appointed  collector  of  customs  at  Sodus 
Point.      He  died  August  11,  1893. 

Many  other  settlers  and  residents  of  the  town  are  noticed  a  little 
further  on  in  this  chapter  and  in  Part  II.  of  this  volume. 

At  the  town  meeting  in  1814  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  this'town  being  most  exposed  to  the  enemy,  it  is  deemed  best  to 
provide  ourselves  for  the  defense  of  the  frontier. 

Resolved,  That  William  N.  Lummis,  William  Wickham,  John  Fellows,  Thomas 
Wafer,  and  Ashur  Doolittle  be  a  committee  of  safely  for  the  town  of  Sodus. 

Resolved,  That  said  committee  offer  a  subscription  to  the  good  people  of  Sodus  for 
funds  to  defend  said  town,  and  that  such  subscription  be  demanded  only  in  case  of 
the  enemy  obtaining  command  at  Lake  Ontario. 

Nothing  of  importance  came  of  these  proceedings,  as  the  necessity 
for  action  did  not  arise. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  209 

In  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  made  a  brilliant  record,  more 
than  4(H)  of  her  citizens  participating' in  the  service,  and  over  a  hundred 
losing  their  lives  in  the  long"  struggle.  The  organizations  in  which 
these  volunteers  went  out  have  beenmoticed  in  an  earlier  chapter. 

The  first  burials  in  this  town  were  on  the  lake  bank  at  Soclus  Point. 
The  brick  church  and  the  Bushnell  burying  grounds  were  opened  at  an 
early  day,  while  the  old  graveyard  south  of  the  Whitney  House  in  Soclus 
village  was  laid  out  soon  after  settlement  began.  Through  the  labors 
of  Professor  Clark  this  has  been  cleaned  up  and  put  in  respectable  con- 
dition; it  contains  the  remains  of  Dr.  William  N.  Lummis,  and  many 
other  pioneers.  The  burial  plat  near  the  Whitbeck  school  house  was 
opened  about  1812,  but  prior  to  this  several  interments  had  been  made 
on  the  north  side  of  the  hill,  from  which  the  remains  have  not  all  been 
removed. 

Tradition  asserts  that  the  first  school  in  this  town  was  taught  by  Mrs. 
Armsbury,  a  sister  of  Daniel  Arms,  on  the  Geneva  road  north  of  Wal- 
lington.  Another  early  and  short  lived  school  house  was  built  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Nathaniel  Merrill's  farm,  and  among  its  first  teach- 
ers were  Dr.  Gibbs  and  Huldah  Ter^ry.  Elder  Seba  Norton  built  a 
school  house  near  his  dwelling,  and  at  an  early  date  another  was  erected 
at  the  forks  of  the  Lyons  road,  called  "  Merchant's."  In  1812  a  school 
house  was  built  at  Sodus  Center,  and  on  September  28  of  that  year  it 
was  voted  to  build  another  at  Sodus  village.  Among  early  teachers  are 
recalled  the  names  of  Dr.  Elisha  Mather,  Enquire  Colbath,  Capt.  Will- 
iam Champlin,  Otis  C.  Knapp,  Willard  Bancroft  Morley,  Josiah  Rice,  a 
Mr.  Lovejoy,  Ann  Strong  (Mrs.  Sanford  Williams),  Clarissa  Snow  (Mrs. 
Austin  Rice),  Mrs.  Young,  Miss  Stone  (Mrs.  Josiah  Hayward),  James 
Rogers,  Zenas  Horr,  Bethuel  Reed,  and  Charles  Kellogg. 

At  the  annual  town  meeting  in  1813  it  was  decided  to  divide  the  town 
into  eleven  school  districts,  and  three  school  commissioners — Byram 
Green,  John  Holcomb,  and  William  Wickham — and  six  school  inspec- 
tors— Thaddeus  Bancroft,  Enoch  Morse,  William  Danforth,  Dr.  Will- 
iam N.  Lummis,  Peter  Failing,  and  Daniel  Arms — were  chosen.  In 
June  following  the  commissioners  formally  laid  out  the  eleven  districts, 
among  them  being  No.  1,  Sodus  Point;  No.  4,  Sodus  village;  No.  8, 
Arms  Cross  Roads  (now  Wallington) ;  No.  9,  Sodus  Center;  No.  10, 
South  Sodus ;  the  others  embraced  the  parts  of  the  town  not  named. 
A  series  of  select  schools  were  taught  at  Sodus  village  by  A.  M.  Win- 
chester in  1838-39 ;  Charles  L.  Curtiss  in  1840-41 ;  Jesse  Andrews  in 

27 


210  LANDMARKS   OF 

1842-43;  Rev.  Hosea  Kittredge  in  1844-45;  Rev.  William  Hall  about 
L849;  and  Lewis  H.  Clark  in  1851-52.  In  the  winter  of  1851-52  Profes- 
sor Clark  wrote  and  posted  a  notice  for  a  meeting  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion of  establishing  an  academy  at  Sodus  village.  The  meeting  was 
held  February  3,  1852,  with  William  Tillotson  as  chairman;  and  A.  M. 
Winchester  secretary.  Dr.  Levi  Gaylord  drew  resolutions  providing 
for  the  formation  of  an  academy  association,  which  were  adopted  Feb- 
ruary 28.  The  first  Board  of  Trustees  comprised  Michael  O'Keefe, 
John  White,  Jerry  C.  Rogers,  Dennis  Lefurgey,  Miles  L.  Landon, 
Lewis  H.  Clark,  Anson  Proseus,  Enoch  Granger,  Jesse  H.  Green,  An- 
drew C.  Williams,  William  Sergeant,  and  Silas  P.  Hulett.  April  30  a 
site  was  chosen,  the  building  was  erected  in  the  summer  of  1853  and  the 
school  opened  October  18  of  the  latter  year.  In  the  fall  of  1854  a  library 
and  scientific  apparatus  fund  was  raised,  and  on  January  11,  1855,  the 
Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  incorporated  it  as  an  endowment 
academy.  In  the  winter  of  1858-59  the  sum  of  $800  was  raised  by  sub- 
scription to  extinguish  the  indebtedness,  which  left  the  institution  un- 
embarrassed.    The  principals  of  the  academy  have  been  as  follows: 

A.  B.  Johnson,  1853-4.  B.  F.  Dake,  is:,;   s 

Dexter  E.  Clapp,  1854-5.  Lewis  H.  Clark,  1858-64. 

Elisha  Harris,  1855-6.  Elisha  Curtis,  1864-5  to  1891-2. 

Charles  D.  Dann,  1856-7.  Lewis  H.  Clark,  1892-3  to  present  time. 

In  1858  the  town  had  twenty-three  districts,  in  which  1,880  children 
were  taught.  In  1894  there  are  the  same  number  of  districts  with  a 
school  house  in  each,  taught  during  the  year  1892-3  by  twenty-seven 
teachers,  and  attended  by  1,014  scholars.  The  school  sites  and  build- 
ings are  valued  at  $19,890;  assessed  valuation  of  districts,  $2,286,830; 
money  received  from  the  State,  $3,535.42;  amount  raised  by  local  tax, 
$4,337.21. 

Statistics  of  1858:  Valuation  of  real  estate,  $1,085,811 ;  personal  prop- 
erty, $116,089;  there  were  then  2,331  male  and  2,207  female  inhabi- 
tants, 908  dwellings,  932  families,  777  freeholders,  and  eleven  churches 
in  the  town. 

In  1890  the  town  had  a  population  of  5,151,  or  128  less  than  in  L880. 
In  1893  the  assessed  valuation  of  real  estate  was  $1,244. 14  (equalized 
$1,309,096);  village  and  mill  property,  $484,939  (equalized  $448,481); 
railroads  and  telegraphs,  $257,259  (equalized  $25:i,  12<>);  personal  prop- 
erty, $246,425.  Schedule  of  taxes,  1893:  Contingent  fund,  $3,654.87; 
roads  and  bridges,  $250;  special   town  tax,  $10,  II  L.83;  school  tax,  $2,- 


4> 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  -II 

065.11;  county  tax,  $4,041;  State  tax,  $2,722.76:  State  insane  tax, 
$702.42;  dog-  tax,  $178.50.  Total  tax,  $26,209.14;  rate  per  cent., 
.01173909. 

Sodus  Village. — This  thrifty  village  is  situated  on  the  R.  W.  &  ( >, 
Railroad,  a  little  northwest  of  the  geographical  center  of  the  town. 
Most  of  its  pioneer  history  has  been  noticed  in  the  foregoing  pages.  The 
first  settler  was  John  Holcomb,  who  built  here  in  November,  1809.  In 
1812  the  place  contained,  besides  Holcomb's  log  house,  a  tavern,  a  frame 
school  house  in  front  of  the  site  of  the  Whitney  House  barn,  and  five  or 
six  other  log  dwellings.  The  post-office  was  established  at  an  early  day 
as  "  East  Ridge,"  and  its  name  was  eventually  changed  to  Sodus.  The 
present  postmaster  is  M.  W.  Gurnee. 

E.  A.  Green  started  the  first  banking  business  in  the  village  between 
I860  and  1870  (he  was  born  in  this  county  in  1826).  He  failed  in  1876 
and  soon  afterward  E.  W.  Gurnee  &  Co.  opened  what  was  called  Green's 
Banking  Office  in  the  store  now  occupied  by  A.  E.  Buckler.  The  in- 
direct successor  of  that  institution  was  the  Bank  of  Sodus,  of  which  C. 
K.  Knapp  is  proprietor.  This  was  established  in  1883,  and  is  continued 
in  connection  with  Mr.  Knapp's  drug  and  notion  store. 

The  present  banking  business  of  C.  D.  Gay  lord  was  founded  October 
1,  1881,  by  S.  P.  Hulett  and  Mr.  Gaylord.  Mr.  Hulett  died  in  July, 
1884,  and  since  then  Mr.  Gaylord  has  been  sole  proprietor.  The  bank 
building  was  erected  by  E.  W.  Gurnee  &  Co. ,  and  has  been  occupied  by 
the  present  incumbent  since  1885. 

Fish  &  Hulett's  basket  factory  was  started  by  Granger,  Golding  &  Co. 
in  1886.  In  1887  they  sold  to  B .  J .  Case,  who  sold  out  to  the  present 
firm  in  the  fall  of  1891.  During  the  summer  they  employ  forty-five 
hands  making  fruit  baskets,  crates,  etc.,  and  in  the  winter  operate  a 
custom  steam  saw  mill . 

The  Norris  Fruit  Evaporator  was  built  in  1880  by  Felker,  Danfords 
&  Co.  In  1881  Willis  C.  Teall  purchased  the  interests  of  Mr.  Felker 
and  the  two  Danfords  and  with  Mr.  Norris  enlarged  the  establishment 
to  a  daily  capacity  of  two  tons  of  dried  apples.  In  1887  Mr.  Teall  sold 
his  interst  to  E.  B.  Norris  who,  with  W.  R.  Norris,  organized  the  firm 
of  E.  B.  Norris  &  Co.,  which  was  dissolved  in  August,  1894,  by  the 
admission  of  Byron  J.  Case.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  fruit  evapora- 
tors in  Wayne  county  and  during  the  busy  season  gives  employment  to 
twenty  hands. 


212  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  Whitney  House  is  one  of  the  oldest  hotels  in  the  town  and  is  so 
called  from  a  long  time  landlord  of  that  name.  The  present  proprie- 
tor is  E.  N.  Snider. 

Sodus  village  now  contains  two  private  banks,  a  newspaper,  three 
churches,  an  academy,  a  graded  school,  five  general  stores,  two  hard- 
ware stores,  two  drug  stores,  two  jewelry  stores,  three  milliners,  a 
clothing  store,  a  variety  store,  three  meat  markets,  two  hotels,  two  har- 
ness shops,  a  bakery,  three  physicians,  two  dentists,  four  lawyers,  two 
undertakers,  one  foundry,  a  grist  mill,  a  box  factory,  a  lumber  yard, 
three  coal  yards,  two  produce  dealers,  an  evaporator,  two  carriage  re- 
positories, two  wagon  and  four  blacksmith  shops,  two  warehouses,  a 
hay  rack  factor)-,  one  machine  shop,  a  marble  works,  and  1,028  inhab- 
itants. 

Sonrs  Point. — The  early  history  of  the  present  town  as  well  as  that 
of  Wayne  county  largely  centers  at  this  interesting  village.  It  was 
here  that  Captain  Charles  Williamson,  with  a  small  force  of  laborers, 
commenced  improvements  in  1794.  Situated  on  the  lake  shore  and  on 
the  west  side  of  Great  Sodus  Bay,  and  possessing  one  of  the  best  har- 
bors along  the  American  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  he  predicted  for  it  a 
future  importance  scarcely  conceivable  in  the  light  of  modern  develop- 
ments. In  his  vivid  imagination  he  planned  a  city,  even  to  a  prelimi- 
nary survey,  to  extend  "  between  Salmon  Creek  and  Great  Sodus  Bay, 
and  a  spacious  street  with  a  large  square  in  the  center."  At  a  very 
earh'  date  it  bore  the  name  of  Troupville,  from  Robert  Troup,  of  New 
York.  Williamson's  expectations  were  never  realized;  instead,  the 
place,  after  a  lethargic  growth,  assumed  the  position  of  a  small  country 
village  combined  with  that  of  a  pleasant  summer  resort. 

Captain  Williamson  erected  a  hotel  where  David  Rogers's  house  now 
stands;  be  also  built  several  dwellings,  and  on  Salmon  Creek,  two  miles 
west,  he  put  up  a  saw  mill  and  grist  mill — all  in  1794.  The  grist  mill 
remained  in  operation  until  about  L807.  The  saw  mill,  which  also  went 
down  about  the  same  time,  stood  near  the  pond  south  of  Preston's  mills 
on  the  east  side  of  the  creek.  Timothy  Axtell  built  a  saw  mill  for 
Judge  Nichols  about  L795.  Among  the  early  industries  at  the  Point 
were  those  of  John  Wafer,  blacksmith;  David  McNutt,  shoemaker; 
Captain  William  Wickham,  the  first  merchant;  James  Kane,  John  Mc- 
Allister, John  Gibson,  Thomas  Wickham,  and  a  Mr.  Sage,  merchants. 
The  first  lighthouse  was  built  about  L820,  and  piers  were  erected  from 
L828  to  is;;  |  by  William  Barckley  and  E.  W.  Sentell,  government  con- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  213 

tractors.  Subsequently  the  lighthouse  was  rebuilt  and  another  one 
erected,  the  piers  have  been  rebuilt  and  extended,  breakwaters  have 
been  constructed,  and  several  appropriations  have  been  expended  in 
deepening  and  clearing  the  channel  leading  into  the  bay.  The  place 
has  long  been  a  port  of  entry.  The  post-office  here  was  the  first  in  town, 
and  was  established  under  the  name  of  Sodus,  which  was  eventually 
changed  to  Sodus  Point;  the  present  postmaster  is  Matthew  M.  Farrell. 
Occasionally  early  letters,  it  is  said,  came  directed  to  ''Arms  Roads." 

In  July,  1872,  the  Sodus  Bay  division  of  the  present  Northern  Central 
Railroad  was  completed  and  opened  with  its  northern  terminus  at  this 
place.  It  is  principally  due  to  the  construction  of  this  railway  that  So- 
dus Point  owes  prominence  as  a  summer  resort.  A  number  of  prett)^ 
cottages  and  several  neat  hotels  grace  the  beautiful  site  and  attract 
each  summer  crowds  of  visitors  seeking  rest  and  recreation. 

Wallington. — This  hamlet  is  situated  southeast  of  Sodus  village,  at 
the  junction  of  the  Sodus  Point  and  Southern,  and  the  Rome,  Water- 
town  and  Ogdensburgh  Railroads,  and  for  many  years  was  a  sort  of  ren- 
dezvous for  county  political  conventions.  The  site  was  first  owned  by 
Daniel  Arms,  at  whose  house  several  of  the  earlier  town  meetings  were 
held.  The  next  owner  was  John  W.  Messenger,  the  stepfather  of  his 
successor,  Charles  D.  Lent.  The  place  owes  its  existence  to  the  rail- 
roads, and  was  named  from  an  old  stone  tavern  near  by.  Mr.  Lent  was 
the  first  station  agent  here  of  the  Sodus  Point  Railroad,  a  position  he 
held  thirteen  years.  The  first  depot,  north  of  the  junction,  has  been 
occupied  as  a  dwelling  for  some  time ;  in  it  Mr.  Lent  opened  the  first 
store  and  kept  the  first  post-office,  holding  the  latter  position  nine  years. 
He  also  opened  the  first  village  hotel,  of  which  he  still  continues  as  the 
landlord.  When  the  stations  of  the  two  railroads  were  merged  into  one 
he  was  appointed  agent.  He  was  born  in  England  and  settled  in  Sodus 
in  1836.  The  original  station  here  on  the  Sodus  Point  Railroad  was 
known  as  "  Calciana, "  the  latinized  expression  for  lime.  Wallington 
now  contains  two  stores,  two  hotels,  post-office  (with  John  Marenus, 
postmaster),  and  about  fifteen  dwellings.  It  was  formerly  an  impor- 
tant transfer  point  for  coal,  etc.,  but  since  the  R.  W.  &  O.  was  leased 
to  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  most  of  the  business  has  gone  else- 
where. 

Sodus  Center. — This  is  a  station  on  the  Sodus  Point  and  Southern 
Railroad,  a  little  southeast  of  the  center  of  the  town.  The  first  build- 
ing here  was  the  saw  mill  and  perhaps  a  dwelling  erected  by  Hawk  and 


214  LANDMARKS   OF 

Taylor  as  early  af  1808.  About  the  same  time  Silas  F.  Andrews  built 
a  grist  mill  on  the  site  of  the  Reynolds  mill;  in  1810  it  was  owned  by 
Elijah  Lemanon,  and  afterwards  in  turn  by  Barley  &  Andrews,  the  Van 
Wickles,  and  Case  &  Roberts.  The  Mather  grist  mill  was  erected  later. 
At  one  time  a  carding  mill  and  foundry  were  operated  here.  The 
place  now  contains  a  post-office,  a  district  school,  churches  and  the  com- 
mercial industries,  etc.,  usually  found  in  a  small,  thriving  rural  vil- 
lage. The  present  postmaster  is  vSheldon  Sours,  who  succeeded  Alden 
W.  Brower. 

South  Sodus. — This  is  a  postal  hamlet  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
town.  The  original  settlers  here  were  Silas  F.  Andrews  and  William 
Young  about  1808.  Mr.  Andrews  erected  a  saw  mill  during  the  war  of 
1812;  he  died  in  1820.  The  place  contains  a  store,  hotel,  church,  dis- 
trict school,  blacksmith  and  wagon  shop,  and  a  number  of  houses.  The 
postmaster  is  Erastus  Bloomer,  who  succeeded  Maurice  E.  Chittenden. 

Alton  is  a  postal  village  and  station  situated  a  little  north  of  the  R. 
W.  &  O.  Railroad  in  the  east  part  of  the  town.  Its  name  was  suggested 
by  Mr.  Gates  in  memory  of  his  native  place  in  Connecticut.  The  first 
clearing  was  made  and  the  first  house  was  built  by  a  Mr.  Barnard  in 
1812;  a  few  years  afterward  a  saw  mill  was  erected  and  placed  in  opera- 
tion.    In  March,  1889,  fire  burned  the  warehouse  and  lumber  yard  of 

E.  J.  Gatchell,  causing  a  loss  of  $10,000.  The  village  has  maintained 
a  position  of  local  importance,  and  contains  several  churches,  a  good 
school,  hotel,  and  a  number  of  commercial  and  other  interests.  The 
present  postmaster,  Eugene  Philo,  succeeded  Charles  Emery  in  that 
position. 

Joy. — The  first  house  in  this  place  was  erected  by  Gaius Granger,  the 
father  of  Gen.  Gordon  Granger,  before  mentioned.  It  is  situated  in 
the  southeast  part  of  the  town,  and  takes  its  name  from  Benjamin  Joy, 
of  London,  England,  who  was  the  original  owner  of  this  township  (Li), 
the  land  office  for  which  was  distinct  from  that  of  the  Pultney  estate  at 
Geneva;  David  Hudson  was  an  early  agent  of  this  tract.  A  saw  mill 
was  built  here  about  1812,  and  subsequently  a  shingle  mill  was  oper- 
ated. Joy  is  a  pleasant  rural  hamlet,  surrounded  by  good  farms,  and 
contains  a  church,  store,  post-office,  district  school,  and  a  small  cluster 
of  houses.      Harry  Messenger,   the  present  postmaster,   succeeded  Asa 

F.  Andrews  in  that  position. 

Sprong's -Bluff  is  a  small  summer  resort  on  Charles  Sprong's  farm  on 
the  lake  shore,  north  of  Sodus  village. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  215 

Maxwell's,  the  location  of  Preston's  mill,  was  so  named  by  Dr.  William 
N.  Lummis  in  honor  of  the  family  name  of  his  wife.  It  is  situated  on 
Salmon  Creek,  two  miles  west  from  Sodus  Point,  and  is  the  western 
extremity  of  Captain  Williamson's  visionary  "city."  During  the  war 
of  1812  Dr.  Lummis  moved  hither  from  Sodus  Point;  he  built  the  old 
Preston  grist  mill,  a  saw  mill,  an  iron  forge,  and  several  houses.  This 
was  the  second  grist  mill  in  town,  and  for  a  time  was  run  by  Isaac 
Davison.  The  place  has  never  attained  distinction  more  important 
than  a  mill  site. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Churches. — Probably  the  first  Methodist  preacher 
in  Sodus  was  Elder  Gerum,  who  settled  on  the  Pitcher  farm  as  early  as 
1800.  Elijah  Warren,  the  oldest  son  of  Samuel,  came  to  South  Sodus 
with  the  family  in  1808.  Being  then  a  licentiate  he  held  meetings  in 
that  neighborhood;  he  subsequently  joined  the  annual  conference  and 
was  appointed  to  the  circuit.  Rev.  Mr.  Goodenough  came  here  in  1810, 
and  held  meetings  at  his  house  and  elsewhere.  In  180?  or  1808  prayer 
and  class  meetings  were  held  at  the  dwelling  of  John  Reed,  and  from 
1810  to  about  1822  circuit  preaching  was  had  at  Rev.  Mr.  Goodenough's 
residence.  In  1822  the  meeting  place  was  changed  to  the  house  of 
Thomas  Boyd.  The  first  class  at  South  Sodus  was  formed  in  1824. 
The  first  recorded  quarterly  conference  for  the  Sodus  circuit  met  at  the 
Baptist  meeting  house,  September  27,  1828.  December  1,  1832,  it  was 
decided  to  build  a  church  at  South  Sodus.  The  edifice,  a  stone  struc- 
ture, was  erected  in  1834-35  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,500,  and  was  dedi- 
cated July  4,  1836.  Mr.  Gridley  donated  the  site.  A  new  building 
was  erected  in  1871,  and  dedicated  September  27,  of  that  year.  With 
the  parsonage  it  cost  $12,000.  The  Sunday  school  has  a  membership 
of  one  hundred,  with  Rev.  R.  E.  Huntley,  the  pastor,  as  superintendent. 
The  church  has  about  thirty-five  members. 

With  the  conversion  of  Samuel  Morse  about  1827,  Methodist  meet- 
ings commenced  on  Morse  Hill.  Rev.  Joseph  Gates  settled  north  of  the 
stone  school  house  in  June,  1830,  but  died  in  the  following  September. 
In  those  few  months,  however,  the  fires  of  Methodism  were  kindled  in 
the  neighborhood.  A  class  was  formed,  and  February  25,  1840,  a 
society  was  organized  at  the  house  of  Ellathan  Baker,  the  first  trustees 
being  Charles  Hanby,  Ellathan  Baker,  and  Robert  Howcroft.  A  lot 
was  bought  and  the  old  Centenary  church  was  erected  that  year.  In 
time  the  old  edifice  was  removed  a  little  west  and  converted  into  a  Good 
Templars'  lodge  room,  and  on  the  original  site  the  present  Centenary 


216  LANDMARKS   OF 

church  was  built.  The  locality  is  three  miles  northwest  of  Sodus  vil- 
lage and  is  locally  known  as  "New  England." 

Methodists  living  in  the  south  and  central  parts  of  the  town  early 
began  plans  for  their  spiritual  welfare,  and  a  project  was  inaugurated 
to  build  at  Johnson's  Corners.  A  subscription  was  raised  and  a  build- 
ing committee  appointed  ;  but  the  location  was  happily  changed  to  Sodus 
village.  The  society  was  formed  by  the  union  of  classes  at  lohnson's 
Corners  and  Sentell's  Mills.  A  vacant  store  was  utilized  as  a  place  of 
worship.  Septcmher  3,  1840,  a  stone  church  was  begun,  but  a  year 
later  only  the  basement  had  been  finished.  In  it,  however,  the  first 
meeting  was  held  on  Christmas  eve,  of  that  year,  and  in  1 S40  it  was 
finished  and  dedicated.  The  society  was  formally  organized  June  S, 
L838,  when  Milton  N.  Barclay  (afterwards  a  Methodist  minister), 
Edward  W.  Sentell,  Stephen  White,  John  Warner,  and  Michael  Tinkle- 
paugh  were  chosen  trustees.  In  L 887  the  old  stone  church  was  torn 
down,  and  on  its  site  the  present  handsome  brick  edifice  was  built  at  a 
cost  of  $15,000.  It  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Andrews  of  New  York, 
January  25,  L889.  The  present  trustees  are:  W.  H.  Ward,  Henry 
Richardson,  B.  W.  Case,  Cornelius  Whitbeck,  and  M.  P.  Boyd.  The 
pastor  is  Rev.  John  G.  Foote,  who  also  has  charge  of  the  Centenary 
church.  The  society  owns  a  frame  parsonage  and  has  over  250  mem- 
bers and  a  Sunday  school  of  240  pupils. 

The  Methodist  Society  of  Sodus  Point  was  organized  as  a  branch  of 
the  Sodus  village  church,  Febmary  14,  1871,  with  John  N.  Wood,  E. 
\V.  Sentell,  John  Preston,  Deforest  McNett,  and  William  Buys,  trustees. 
In  1871  they  were  constituted  a  separate  society,  and  the  same  year  a 
church  costing  $4,000  was  built;  it  was  dedicated  July  1 ;,  1872.  Rev. 
R.  E.  Huntley  is  pastor,  and  also  of  the  church  at  South  Sodus.  The 
society  owns  a  parsonage  at  the  Point.  The  church  has  about  eighty 
members,  and  the  Sunday  school  an  average  attendance  of  fifty-six; 
E.  H.  Sentell  is  superintendent. 

Baptist  Churches. — Among  the  records  of  this  denomination  is  the 
following:  "Sodus,  March  11,  I  sou,  a  conference  held;  Elder  Norton, 
moderator,  and  adjourned  to  April  1.  Met  at  the  house  of  Joshua 
Palmer  according  to  adjournment."  This  led  to  church  organization  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  district  of  Sodus.  In  L820  covenant  meetings 
were  authorized  in  the  southern  part  of  the  present  town  and  the  north 
part  of  Lyons,  and  on  March  :;,  L821,  a  society  was  formed,  but  its  cer- 
tificate  of  incorporation  was  not  filed   until  1825.     In  this  year  Elder 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  217 

vSeba  Norton,  with  characteristic  energy,  began  the  erection  of  the  brick 
church  at  "  Rossiter's  Corners,"  now  Sodus  Center,  on  land  given  by 
the  Pnltney  estate  to  the  First  Baptist  Society  of  Sodus  for  "a  glebe, 
a  chapel,  and  a  burial  place."  The  edifice  was  finished  in  1826,  and  the 
first  covenant  meeting  was  held  in  it  July  15.  March  10,  1834,  fifty 
members  were  dismissed  to  organize  the  West  Baptist  church  mentioned 
below;  in  June  James  Walling  and  Lawrence  Vosburg  were  chosen 
deacons.  This  church  led  in  the  pioneer  labors  of  fostering  Christianity 
in  the  town  and  is  now  one  of  the  oldest  landmarks  in  the  county, 
widely  known  as  "  the  old  brick  meeting  house."  The  society  has  about 
thirty-three  members  and  a  Sunday  school  with  an  average  attendance 
of  forty-five  pupils  and  officers.      Charles  D.  Lent  is  superintendent. 

On  March  5,  1834,  the  West  Baptist  Church  of  Sodus  was  organized 
in  the  Episcopal  church  of  Sodus  village  with  fifty-two  members ;  the 
first  clerk  was  Moses  Parke.  John  M.  Granger  and  Reuben  Graham 
were  the  first  deacons.  The  first  communion  was  celebrated  April  20, 
1834.  On  April  10,  1840,  the  society  formally  disbanded,  and  a  re- 
organization was  effected  February  14,  1841,  at  the  house  of  Deacon 
Granger,  and  the  church  was  again  reorganized  by  council,  July  15, 
following.  Their  regular  place  of  meeting  was  at  the  Granger  school 
house.  The  last  recorded  covenant  meeting  was  in  March,  1858.  Soon 
afterward  the  society  ceased  to  exist. 

Presbyterian  Churches. — The  formation  of  this  denomination  in  town 
is  largely  due  to  the  settlement  of  Byram,  Joseph,  and  Samuel  Green, 
three  brothers,  in  1811.  A  society  called  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Sodus  was  organized  October  23,  1812,  by  Rev.  David  Tullar  and 
Oliver  Ayres,  with  twelve  members.  Immediatly  after  the  organization 
Flavel  Kingsley,  Mrs.  Harriet  Higgins,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Clark 
offered  themselves  and  were  admitted  to  membership.  The  first 
deacons  were  Matthew  Clark  and  Phineas  Hayward,  and  the  first  clerk, 
Byram  Green.  August  11,  1819,  the  church  formally  voted  to  adopt 
the  Presbyterian  form  of  government.  Prior  to  this  it  had  been  sub- 
stantially Congregational,  notwithstanding"  the  fact  that  its  legal  certi- 
ficate styles  the  body  The  First  Union  Presbyterian  Society  of  Sodus. 
It  is  presumed  that  the  term  Union  was  used  because  of  the  Presby- 
terians and  the  Congregationalists  being  united  in  the  same  organization. 
Meetings  were  held  in  various  places  until  1827,  when  a  church  was 
erected  in  Sodus  village.  Levi  Gurnee  and  Judge  Green,  with  their  ox 
teams  drew  the  timber  from  Flavel  Kingsley 's  farm,  and  the  frame  was 

28 


218  LANDMARKS   OF 

aised  June  28.  In  L863  it  was  superseded  by  the  present  structure, 
which  was  dedicated  in  June  of  that  year.  The  old  edifice  was  sold  to 
Rufus  A.  Moses,  the  contractor  for  the  new  building,  and  finally  became 
a  planing  mill  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  village.  The  society  now  has 
about  'Mo  members  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  A.  I).  Mcintosh. 
The  Sunday  school  has  about  140  scholars,  with  A.  J.  Barber,  super- 
intendent.     The  parsonage  was  built  in  1874-75. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Joy  was  organized  March  IS,  1845,  under 
the  name  of  The  Church  of  Wayne,  though  it  is  better  known  by  the 
title  first  given.  Eleven  members  were  from  the  church  at  Sodus,  and 
five  from  the  church  at  Newark.  The  ground  for  a  church  and  cemetcrv 
was  given  by  Samuel  White,  and  the  following  were  the  first  trustees: 
Henry  I.  Pulver,  Martin  Fredenburgh,  Adam  Tinklepaugh,  Samuel 
White,  Nelson  Lapham,  Henry  R.  Leggett.  Meetings  were  held  in  the 
school  house  several  years,  but  no  house  of  worship  was  erected,  and 
services  were  finally  suspended.  A  new  movement  and  partial  reorgani- 
zation occurred  October  IS,  L852,  and  the  house  was  built  in  the  sum- 
mer of  L853,  and  dedicated  December  23,  by  Rev.  Charles  Hawley. 
During  the  early  organization  the  elders  were  Martin  Fredenburgh, 
Henry  Pulver,  and  Stephen  G.  Weaver.  April  16,  1854,  Enoch  Granger, 
Anthony  Pulver,  and  David  Leighton  were  elected  elders.  The  church 
has  maintained  public  worship  very  steadily  since  that  time.  There 
are  about  fifty  members,  and  a  Sunday  school  of  sixty  scholars;  M.  D. 
White,  superintendent. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Sodus  Center  was  organized  March  10, 
L863;  Rev.  Chester  Holcomb  was  moderator.  The  first  trustees  were: 
John  F.  Proseus,  Lewis  Crane,  Harrison  Cottrell,  Robert  Shepardson, 
and  John  F.  Peeler.  They  erected  a  house  of  worship  in  wSodus  Center 
in  1866,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000.  A  commission  of  the  Lyons  Presbyterv, 
consisting  of  Revs.  William  L.  Page  and  William  Young,  constituted 
the  church  October  26,  1870,  with  nine  members.  The  society  now  lias 
t"ort}r  members,  and  a  Sunday  school  of  fifty  scholars,  with  C.  M.  Clapp, 
superintendent.  The  pastor  of  this  church  and  also  of  the  church  at 
Joy  is  Rev.  E.  J.  Bulgin. 

Episcopal  Churches. — Probably  the  first  clergyman  of  this  denomina- 
tion to  visit  Wayne  county  was  Rev.  Davenport  Phelps,  that  pioneer  of 
Episcopalianism  in  Western  New  York.  He  was  the  first  officiating 
minister  in  Geneva  in  L806,  or  before,  and  frequently  visited  Sodusand 
other  towns.    July  25,  L826,  the  first  parochial  meeting  in  this  town  was 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  2lfl 

held  at  the  old  brick  school  house,  and  in  August  St.  John's  Church, 
Sodus  Ridge  (now  Sodus  village),  was  organized  by  Rev.  form  A. 
Clark.  Thomas  Wickham  and  Elijah  McKinney  were  elected  wardens, 
and  Elisha  Mather,  Oren  Gaylord,  Henry  Jones,  Bennett  C.  Fitzhugh, 
John  O'Bryan,  Joseph  Williams,  William  Dolloway,  and  William  N. 
Lummis  were  chosen  vestrymen.  The  certificate  of  incorporation  was 
acknowledged  and  recorded  in  the  county  clerk's  office  August  20,  L826, 
The  corner  stone  of  the  present  edifice  was  laid  with  Masonic  ceremonies 
September  26,  L826.  It  was  completed  and  dedicated  September  8, 
1834,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Coxe,  of  Buffalo.  It  contains  several  memo- 
rial windows.  The  parish  has  fifty-five  communicants  under  the  rector- 
ship of  Rev.  F.  W.  Beecher,  who  is  also  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
school. 

Christ's  Episcopal  Church  of  Sodus  Point  was  organized  May  3,  1851, 
with  B.  C.  Fitzhugh  and  William  S.  Malcolm,  wardens,  and  William 
Edwards,  William  P.  Irwin,  William  Preston,  William  Robinson,  Charles 
B.  Hallet,  David  Rogers,  and  Elida  Petit.  The  certificate  was  acknowl- 
edged before  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Johnson,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  re- 
corded November  24,  1851.  It  united  with  the  Sodus  church  in  the 
support  of  a  clergyman.  The  parish  has  about  twenty  communicants 
and  a  Sunday  school  of  about  twenty  scholars.  They  have  a  neat  frame 
church  edifice. 

St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church  of  Sodus  Center  was  established  as  a 
mission  about  18?5  and  a  small  chapel  erected  on  a  lot  donated  by  Eli- 
sha Mather.  The  parish  has  about  twenty  communicants,  and  a  Sunday 
school  with  the  same  number  of  scholars. 

The  Free  Congregational  Church  of  Sodus  was  organized  October  11, 
1843,  with  thirty-four  members.  Rev.  Samuel  R.  Ward,  then  of  South 
Butler,  was  moderator  and  Rev.  David  Slie  was  secretary.  December 
24,  1843,  Levi  Gaylord  was  chosen  leader  and  Josiah  Rice  deacon. 
Rev.  Samuel  Wire  preached  for  the  church  regularly  for  two  or  three 
years.  This  church  never  filed  any  certificate  of  incorporation.  The 
trustees  were  Kitchell  Bell,  Isaac  Snow,  and  S.  W.  Hurlburt.  Meetings 
were  held  at  the  school-houss  in  the  village,  and  the  organization  was 
continued  for  eight  or  nine  years. 

The  Free  Methodist  Church  of  Alton  was  first  recognized  as  a  part 
of  Rose  circuit  November  1,  1861 ;  William  Cooley  was  the  first  preacher 
in  charge;  William  Burns,  class-leader  for  Alton,  and  also  elected  stew- 
ard; other  early  members  were  C.  T.  Cuer,  James  Stevenson,  and  West- 


'220  LANDMARKS   OF 

brook  Case.  A  meeting'  to  effect  a  separate  organization  was  held  April 
IS,  L867,  Rev.  M.  I).  McDougall,  chairman,  E.  D.  Bradshaw,  secre- 
tary. The  trustees  were  Aaron  Winget,  Walter  Emery,  and  James 
Stevenson.  In  1868  the  society  erected  a  neat  chapel  at  a  cost  of  $1000, 
and  dedicated  in  that  fall.  The  society  has  fifty-five  members  and  a 
Sunday  school  of  eighty  members;  G.  E.  Burn  is  superintendent. 

An  organization  representing  the  faith  of  the  Adventists  was  effected 
in  Alton  in  ISO!)  or  1880,  by  Elder  Miles.  Mr.  Bowers  and  George 
Shaver  were  deacons;  William  H.  Steele,  elder,  and  Taylor  Steele, 
clerk  and  treasurer.  The  society  held  services  in  the  stone  meeting- 
house and  the  Bell  school  house. 

A  Protestant  Methodist  society  was  organized  August  15,  1847,  with 
Lawrence  Teall,  Ira  Drake,  Isaac  N.  Clark,  and  James  Lyle,  trustees; 
the  certificate  of  incorporation  was  filed  April  7,  1848.  This  society  had 
been  preceded  by  another  organization  at  Sodus  Point  in  October,  1837, 
of  which  the  first  trustees  were  John  Segar,  Henry  Doviel,  Chauncey 
Phelps,  Rufus  Field,  E.  W.  Bliton,  and  Seth  Blanchard.  This  was 
never  incorporated.  The  first  named  organization  was  renewed  in  Al- 
ton in  1809  with  Philp  Rankard  as  leader.  Services  were  held  there  in 
the  stone  meeting  house. 

The  Christian  Church  of  Alton  was  formed  in  the  winter  of  1842-43, 
by  Rev.  Amasa  Stanton  and  Rev.  Mr.  Mosher.  George  Gould  was  the 
first  clerk  and  John  G.  Kelly  and  John  Baker  were  the  first  deacons. 
Re^.  Mr.  Mosher  preached  for  four  years.  The  stone  meeting  house 
belonging  to  this  society  was  built  about  1851.  The  society  made  a 
legal  organization  June  23,  1851;  the  trustees  were  George  Leighton, 
William  Walker,  John  G.  Kelly,  Frederick  Utter,  and  William  R.  K. 
Hone.  The  certificate  was  acknowledged  before  Nathaniel  Kellogg, 
and  recorded  September  24.  Owing  to  some  informality  the  organiza- 
tion was  renewed,  and  the  certificate  again  recorded  January  22,  1853, 
and  the  Christian  church  near  Joy  having  been  organized  in  the  mean 
time  the  name  of  the  Alton  society  was  changed  to  the  "Second  Christ- 
ian Church  of  Sodus." 

A  United  Society  of  Believers  in  Christ's  second  appearing,  popularly 
known  as  Shakers,  flourished  several  years  at  Nichols'  Point,  coming  to 
Sodus  from  New  Lebanon  about  1823.  They  purchased  of  Judge 
Nichols  1,450  acres  of  land  on  which  they  erected  large  buildings. 
About  fifteen  years  later  they  removed,  selling  their  property  to  Adams, 
Duncan  &  Co.,  promotors  of  the   Sodus  canal,  for  $100  an  acre.     This 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  22! 

firm  sold  it  to  a  Fourierite  association,  but  after  a  brief  existence  they 
disbanded  and  it  fell  back  into  the  possession  of  the  canal  men.  The 
society  removed  to  the  Genesee  flats  in  Livingston  county  and  estab- 
lished themselves  on  land  which  they  purchased  at  $00  an  acre.  Their 
old  meeting  house  is  now  occupied  as  a  dwelling. 

The  First  Christian  Church  of  Sodus  was  organized  in  the  Wallace 
district,  southwest  of  Joy,  October  1,  1852.  The  first  trustees  were 
Joseph  Green,  John  W.  Allen,  Orville  Carpenter  and  Adam  Tinklepaugh. 
The  certificate  was  recorded  February  5,  1853. 

The  society  had  religious  services  at  the  Wallace  school-house  for 
several  years,  but  the  formal  church  organization  has  not  been  main- 
tained. 

The  Free-Will  Baptist  society  was  organized  April  0,  1843,  with  Sam- 
uel Wire,  Benjamin  Chapman,  John  D.  Robinson,  David  Phillips,  and 
Willard  Parker,  trustees.  The  certificate  was  recorded  May  6.  The 
society  built  the  meeting-house  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  and  under 
the  ministry  of  Rev.  Samuel  Wire  had  services  regularly  for  several 
years.  However,  finally  the  organization  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  edi- 
fice was  sold  to  the  German  Evangelical  Association. 

The  German  Evangelical  Association,  popularly  known  as  "Al- 
bright's," belongs  to  the  Newark  circuit,  and  the  minister  resides  at 
Newark. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE  OF  LYONS. 

In  the  primitive  division  of  Ontario  county  the  town  of  Lyons,  in- 
cluding Arcadia,  embraced  the  southeast  corner  of  the  old  district  of 
Sodus.  March  1,  1811,  it  was  set  off  to  form  a  separate  township,  and 
on  the  15th  of  February,  1825,  Arcadia  was  created  from  its  territory, 
leaving  Lyons  with  its  present  assessed  area  of  21,001  acres.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  east  by  Rose  and  Galen,  on  the  south  by  Ontario  county, 
on  the  west  by  Arcadia,  and  on  the  north  by  Sodus.  It  comprises  the 
portion  of  the  Gore  lying  between  the  old  and  new  pre-emption  lines 
and  the  southwest  corner  of  town  13,  the  east  part  of  town  12,  and  the 
northeast  corner  of  town  11  of  the  Pultney  estate. 


222  LANDMARKS  OP 

The  town  was  originally  covered  with  dense  forests,  consisting  of 
beech,  maple,  hemlock,  oak,  ash,  hickory,  basswood,  elm,  etc.,  which 
long  gave  employment  to  numerous  saw  mills.  Ganargwa  Creek  flows 
southeasterly  from  Arcadia  to  Lyons  village,  where  it  joins  the  Canan- 
daigua  outlet,  the  two  forming  the  Clyde  River,  which  runs  thence 
southeast  into  Galen.  This  junction  was  known  in  early  days  as  the 
"Forks,"  and  beyond  it  boats  could  run  only  when  freshets  prevailed. 
The  river  guided  the  first  settlers  not  only  to  this  town,  but  to  Wayne 
county,  and  this  became  the  site  of  the  pioneer  habitations.  These 
streams  afford  excellent  drainage  and  several  good  mill  privileges. 

The  surface  is  undulating  and  broken  into  sand  ridges.  The  soil  is 
a  rich,  sandy,  and  gravelly  loam  on  the  highlands  and  marl  on  the 
creek  bottoms.  It  is  exceedingly  fertile,  and  yields  abundant  crops  of 
grain,  fruit,  hay,  peppermint,  potatoes,  vegetables,  etc.  It  is  a  note- 
worthy fact  that  in  Lyons  the  great  peppermint  industry  of  Wayne 
county  had  its  origin,  and  with  it  the  name  of  Hotchkiss  is  inseparably 
connected.  Its  cultivation  forms  an  important  agricultural  interest  of 
the  town  and  a  large  area  of  adjacent  territory,  and  affords  to  those 
engaged  in  the  business  an  immense  revenue  annually.  There  are  a 
number  of  mint  stills  that  extract  the  oil  from  the  fragrant  herb,  and 
local  dealers  buy  and  ship  it  to  distant  markets.  Besides  these  industries 
the  rearing  of  live  stock  is  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent. 

The  first  town  meeting  for  the  old  district  of  Sodus  was  held  at  the 
house  of  Evert  Van  Wickle,  within  the  present  limits  of  Lyons,  on  the 
present  Rogers  farm,  on  April  2,  1799,  and  the  officers  elected  on  that 
date  are  given  in  the  Sodus  chapter.  The  first  meeting  after  the  present 
town  was  organized  was  held  at  the  house  or  Thomas  D.  Gale  on  the 
first  Tuesday  in  April,  1811,  and  the  following  officers  were  chosen: 
Gilbert  Howell,  supervisor;  Gabriel  Rogers,  town  clerk;  Joseph  Burnett, 
Jacob  Leach,  Jesse  Brown,  assessors;  John  Tibbitts,  collector;  Samuel 
Soverhill,  William  Patten,  Jesse  Brown,  highway  commissioners;  Joseph 
Burnett  and  Gabriel  Rogers,  overseers  of  the  poor;  John  Tibbitts  and 
Thomas  Sutton,  constables;  and  thirty-one  overseers  of  highways. 
The  town  records  are  very  incomplete  and  the  names  of  the  supervisors 
from  1839  to  1855  inclusive  can  not  be  ascertained.  Excepting  that 
period  the  following  have  held  the  principal  town  office: 

Gilbert  Howell,  1811,  EzeJuel  Price,  1815, 

John  Brown,  1812-13,  Ezra  Jewell,  1816, 

Henry  Hyde,  1814,  Oren  Aldrich,  1817-19, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  223 

Robert  W.  Ashley,  L820,  Bartlett  R.  Rogers,  1859-61, 

Oreo  Aldrich,  1821-22,  Miles  S.  Leach,  1862-68, 

Robert  W.  Ashley,  L823.  Nelson  R.  Miriek,  1869-74, 

James  P.  Bartle,  1824,  William  Van  Marter,  is;;,   ;; 

Oliver  Allen,  1825-26,  George  W.  Cramer,  1878  79, 

Robert  W.  Ashley,  1827-30,  Bartlett  R.  Rogers,  1880; 

Abel  Lyon,  1831,  Leman  Hotchkiss,  1881-82. 

Eli  Johnson,  1832-33,  M.  H.  Dillenbeck,  1883-85, 

John  W.  Holley,  1834-37,  R.  A.  Hubbard,  1886-88, 

Nelson  Peck,  1838,  A.  E.  Burnett,  1889, 

1839  to  1855,  unknown,  William  P.  Miriek,  1890, 

Miles  S.  Leach,  1856,  A.  E.  Burnett,  1891-93, 

John  Adams,  1857,  G.  W.  Koester,  1894. 
C.  Rice,  1858, 

The  town  officers  for  1894  are:  G.  W.  Koester,  supervisor;  John 
Mills,  town  clerk;  J.  B.  Haynes,  collector;  Louis  Deuchler,  L.  L. 
Dickerson,  W.  E.  McCollum,  C.  D.  Leach,  justices  of  the  peace;  Ernst 
Berns,  Daniel  Barton,  George  F.  Fellows,  assessors;  Samuel  Cronise 
and  Edward  Claassen,  overseers  of  the  poor;  F.  H.  Miller,  highway 
commissioner;  William  Bailey,  John  H.  Young,  Louis  P.  Engel,  excise 
commissioners. 

The  first  settlers  in  Wayne  county  as  well  as  the  first  in  this  town 
came  in  by  boats  or  bateaux  on  the  Clyde  River  to  the  junction  of 
Ganargwa  Creek  and  Canandaigua  outlet,  and  there  is  now  standing  in 
Lyons  village  a  celebrated  landmark  in  the  form  of  an  elm  tree,  to 
which  the  pioneers  fastened  their  craft.  This  venerable  relic  is  appro- 
priately preserved,  and  around  it  cluster  many  interesting  events.  The 
earliest  records  of  roads  in  Lyons  were  made  in  1800,  but  the  first 
thoroughfare  laid  out  was  the  "Geneva  road  "  from  the  village  to  Sodus 
Point  in  1794,  by  Captain  Charles  Williamson,  the  cutting  of  which  cost 
him  over  $250.  Within  two  years  this  was  extended  to  Geneva  at  an 
expense  to  Williamson  of  about  $180,  and  subsequently  for  some-time 
was  maintained  as  a  plank  road,  as  was  also  the  highway  along  the 
valley.  Other  roads  were  opened  as  settlers  came  in,  and  improved 
from  time  to  time  as  necessity  required.  In  1811  the  town  was  divided 
into  thirty-one  road  districts;  in  1817  there  were  fifty-one,  in  18:22  the 
number  was  fifty-one,  and  in  1824  there  were  eighty;  at  present  there 
are  forty-seven. 

April  10,  1824,  Eli  Frisbie,  Simeon  Griswold,  and  James  Dickson 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  built  a  bridge  across  Canandaigua  out- 
let (or  Clyde  River)  at  Lyons  village  "where  the  old  bridge  now  stands, 


224  LANDMARKS   OF 

or  as  near  as  possible,"  and  the  supervisor  was  authorized  to  raise  by 
tax  $1,00(>  for  the  purpose.  March  26,  L829,  the  supervisor  was  em- 
powered to  raise  $2,000  to  erect  two  bridges,  one  over  the  Clyde  River 
on  the  road  leading  from  the  village  to  Hecox's  mills,  and  another 
across  Ganargwa  Creek  and  Erie  Canal.  March  30,  1832,  $700  were 
appropriated  for  the  construction  of  a  bridge  over  the  Canandaigua  out- 
let at  Alloway.  March  26,  1838,  the  supervisor  was  authorized  to  raise 
$2,000,  of  which  $1,000  was  for  the  rebuilding  of  abridge  across  the 
Ganargwa  near  its  junction  with  the  outlet,  and  the  balance  for  the  re- 
construction of  the  bridge  over  Clyde  River  near  Kingman  &  Durfee's 
mill.  These  are  the  principal  early  bridges;  subsequently  all  of  them, 
and  others,  were  superseded  by  substantial  iron  structures. 

In  1825  the  Erie  Canal  was  completed  and  opened  through  the  town 
and  village,  and  the  event  was  celebrated  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 
It  imparted  a  new  impetus  to  the  pioneer  settlement,  and  ever  afterward 
exerted  a  marked  influence  upon  the  development  and  commercial  ad- 
vancement of  the  community.  Clyde  River  immediately  lost  its  pres- 
tige as  a  water  route,  and  gave  up  its  commerce  to  the  "great  ditch." 

In  1841  the  canal  aqueduct  was  built  over  Ganargwa  Creek  under  the 
supervision  of  Zebulon  Moore,  who  was  afterward  appointed  superin- 
tendent of  the  Wayne  county  section. 

In  1853  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  was  opened  with  a  station  at 
Lyons  village,  and  again  an  important  impetus  was  inaugurated.  The 
first  passenger  train  passed  over  the  route  on  May  30th  of  that  year. 
The  present  brick  depot  was  built  in  1890.  May  17,  1872,  the  town  is- 
sued bonds  to  the  amount  of  $135,000,  and  on  Feburary  18,  1874,  another 
lot  amounting  to  $15,000,  in  aid  of  the  Sodus  Bay  and  Corning  Railroad, 
and  up  to  January  1,  1804,  all  had  been  paid  and  canceled  except  $17,- 
ooo.  This  is  now  the  Fall  Brook  Railway,  and  was  built  only  as  far  as 
Lyons.  The  railroad  commissioner  is  D.  S.  Chamberlain.  The  West 
Shore  (originally  the  New  York,  West  Shore  and  Buffalo)  Railroad  was 
constructed  and  formally  opened  through  the  town  January  1,  1885. 

The  first  settlers  in  Lyons  and  the  first  in  Wayne  county  were  Nich- 
olas and  William  Stansell,  brothers,  and  John  Featherly,  their  brother- 
in-law,  with  their  families,  numbering  in  all  twelve  persons.  In  the 
spring  of  L789  they  built  and  launched  a  boat  on  the  Mohawk  River,  and 
with  an  Indian  trader  named  Wemple  as  a  pilot  the  party  came  the  en- 
tire distance  by  water,  arriving  at  the  junction  of  Ganargwa  Creek  and 
Canandaigua  outlet,    the  head  of  navigation  and  the  site  of  Lyons  vil- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  225 

lage,  in  May,  1780.  They  settled  on  what  is  now  the  Dunn  farm,  and 
their  first  log  house  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  residence.  They 
brought  with  them  a  number  of  swine,  which  were  allowed  to  roam  the 
forests  and,  becoming  wild,  were  hunted  as  other  game.  Mr.  Stansell, 
ptre,  evidently  comprised  one  of  the  party,  for  he  died  soon  after  their 
arrival  and  "was  buried  without  funeral  rites,"  which  was  doubtless 
the  first  white  death  in  town.  Nicholas  Stansell  is  said  to  have  been 
their  leader.  He  was  born  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  September  11,  1755, 
and  while  a  youth  moved  with  his  parents  to  the  Mohawk  valley.  He 
was  a  noted  hunter  and  atypical  pioneer,  being  endowed  by  nature  with 
a  wonderful  physique.  Uniting  their  forces  with  three  or  four  men 
who  had  settled  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  a  few  months  previously, 
they  cut  a  road  through  the  forests  to  the  grist-mill  at  Waterloo.  Nich- 
olas Stansell  was  very  prominent  in  the  early  settlement,  and  was  one 
of  the  first  trustees  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  He  had  ten  children,  and 
died  December  11,  1819;  his  remains  were  interred  in  the  Newark  cem- 
etery. John  Featherly  sold  his  farm  to  Daniel  B.  Westfall  and  moved 
to  Rose,  where  he  died  in  1843,  aged  eighty  years.  Daniel  Cole  died 
August  25,  1855. 

From  1789  to  1794  there  is  no  account  of  other  settlers  coming  into 
this  town,  but  in  the  latter  year  Capt.  Charles  Williamson,  through  his 
local  agents,  Charles  Cameron  and  Henry  Towar,  began  improvements 
at  Lyons  village  and  Alloway  respectively,  and  it  is  said  that  he  ex- 
pended a  total  of  about  $12,000  in  the  two  places.  Daniel  Scholl  was 
his  millwright  at  Alloway,  where  a  good  grist-mill  was  built. 

In  1796  James  Otto  came  to  Lyons  from  Pennsylvania  and  assisted 
in  building  the  mill  and  a  warehouse  at  Alloway;  the  latter  was  finally 
moved  to  Lyons  and  became  a  Presbyterian  church  and  afterward  a 
cabinet  shop.  In  1798  Mr.  Otto  married  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel 
Dunn,  which  was  the  first  marriage  in  town.  They  had  sixteen  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Samuel  was  murdered  in  Rose.  He  settled  on  a  farm 
three  miles  southeast  of  Lyons  village,  .which  he  sold  after  attaining  the 
age  of  eighty,  and  removed  to  Michigan. 

In  1797  Rev.  John  Cole,  a  native  of  England  and  a  local  Methodist 
preacher,  came  to  Lyons,  and  was  joined  in  1799  by  his  sons  Thomas 
and  Joseph,  a  daughter  Mary,  and  a  son-in-law,  Samuel  Bennett.  Mr.  • 
Cole  was  the  first  preacher  in  the  town.  He  bought  2G3  acres  at  $5  per 
acre,  which  was  the  first  individual  purchase  in  Wayne  county  east  of 
Lyons  village.      He  had  a  large  library,  was  a  great  student,  and  died 

29 


226  LANDMARKS   OF 

herein  L808.  His  daughter  married  Rev.  William  Ninde,  an  Episcopal 
clergyman,  and  after  his  death  took  up  her  residence  nere  with  four 
sons  and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  was  Thomas,  who  married  a 
daughter  of  Evert  Van  Wickle.  Joseph  Cole  moved  to  Galen  in  1837 
and  his  son  Samuel  J.  inherited  the  homestead.  The  latter  died  in 
April,  1883. 

George  Carr  settled  on  a  farm  of  twenty-five  acres  now  within  the 
village  limits  in  1798.  He  came  from  Maryland,  was  a  stone  mason, 
and  died  January  30,  1841.  Adam  Learn  moved  here  from  Pennsyl- 
vania as  early  as  1800.  He  was  a  brother-in-law  to  James  Otto.  His 
eldest  son  John  located  in  Galen  on  lot  42  and  died  in  1864. 

Amos  Gilbert  was  born  in  1757,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
came  to  Lyons  with  his  family  in  October,  1800,  and  died  in  Sodus  in 
1832.  He  was  a  carpenter,  and  had  four  daughters  and  six  sons,  of 
whom  John,  David,  and  Solomon  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  Solomon 
died  in  the  service.  Deacon  John  Gilbert,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  in 
Salem,  Mass.,  December  30,  1789.  He  settled  in  the  village  in  1810 
and  died  there  July  22,  1882.  He  was  a  sergeant  in  Captain  Hull's 
company  on  the  Niagara  f router,  became  captain  of  militia,  was  an  elder 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  from  1817  until  his  death,  and  served  as  < 
constable  and  collector  from  1819  to  1829. 

Gabriel  Rogers  started  a  tannery  at  an  early  date  in  Palmyra,  where 
he  married  in  1804  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Clark,  and  whence  he  moved 
in  1809  to  Lyons.  He  purchased  the  tannery  of  William  Bond,  which 
he  sold  in  1817,  and  in  1818  removed  to  South  Sodus,  where  he  was  ap- 
pointed the  first  postmaster.  He  served  in  the  cavalry  in  the  war  of 
1812,  and  died  in  1847.  Hon.  Bartlett  R.  Rogers  was  long  a  very 
prominent  citizen  of  Lyons.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  106th  Regiment 
in  the  Civil  War,  supervisor  several  years,  county  treasurer,  sheriff,  and 
member  of  Assembly.      He  died  in  June,  1880. 

Major  Ezekiel  Price  was  born  in  New  Jersey  and  obtained  his  title  in 
the  vState  militia.  He  came  to  Lyons  in  1802,  was  appointed  the  first 
postmaster  and  held  the  office  nearly  thirty  years,  and  died  in  1845, 
aged  eighty  years.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  landlords,  and  built  and 
kept  a  frame  tavern  where  Congress  Hall  now  stands,  prior  to  which  he 
had  an  inn  on  the  east  side  of  Broad  street.  His  son,  Ephraim  Barton 
Price,  was  a  prominent  citizen,  had  twelve  children,  and  died  in 
January,  1885.  His  second  son,  William  H.  Price,  became  a  civil 
engineer,  and  died  in  1870. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  -j; 

Jacob  Leach  came  to  Lyons  from  Litchfield,  Conn.,  in  L809,  and 
operated  a  distillery  on  the  north  side  of  Ganargwa  Creek  until  the  site 
was  wanted  for  the  Erie  Canal  in  1824.  He  then  became  a  merchant 
with  Joseph  M.  Demmon  on  Water  street.  He  was  a  canal  contractor, 
and  erected  a  mill  on  the  Ganargwa  that  was  burned  and  rebuilt  in 
1 837.  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  several  years,  member  of  Assembly 
in  1823,  and  at  one  time  president  of  the  old  Lyons  Bank  with  Thaddeus 
W.  Patchen  as  cashier.  He  had  ten  children,  and  died  in  1853,  aged 
seventy-five  years. 

Judge  Daniel  Dorsey  commanded  a  company  of  volunteers  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  was  a  planter  in  Frederick  county,  Md.  In 
1797  he  visited  this  section,  and  purchased  of  Captain  Williamson  1,048 
acres  of  land  adjoining  the  village  on  the  south.  The  next  year  he 
moved  hither  his  large  family  and  about  forty  slaves,  and  with  some 
goods  which  they  had  bought  he  began  trading  with  the  Indians,  who 
camped  in  large  numbers  in  the  vicinity.  His  mansion  stood  upon  an 
eminence  at  the  end  of  a  lane  leading  west  from  the  Geneva  road,  and 
on  both  sides  of  this  lane  were  the  slaves'  houses,  a  store,  and  an  office. 
Mr.  Dorsey  was  a  magistrate,  a  physician,  a  member  of  Assembly, 
judge  of  the  Ontario  County  Court,  and  a  Methodist,  and  in  his  barn 
was  held  the  first  meeting  of  the  Genesee  Conference  in  this  place,  the 
presiding  officer  being  Rev.  Francis  Asbury,  the  first  Methodist  bishop 
in  America.  Judge  Dorsey  died  in  1823,  aged  sixty-five  years,  and  his 
widow  moved  to  the  village,  built  a  house  on  Broad  street,  and  died 
there.  They  had  five  sons — Upton,  Thomas  E.,  Nelson,  Andrew,  and 
Caleb — and  seven  daughters.  Thomas  E.  Dorsey  died  December  27, 
1870,  aged  seventy-eight  years. 

The  tax  or  assessment  roll  dated  October  9,  1802,  for  the  "Town  of 
Sodus,"  contains  eighty-four  names  of  freeholders,  enumerates  sixty- 
nine  dwelling  houses,  places  the  total  valuation  at  $174,312,  and  calls 
for  a  tax  levy  of  $327.29.  The  items  falling  within  the  present  town 
are  as  follows:  William  Beaty,  141  acres,  assessed  (37  cents.  George 
Carr,  25  acres  (first  farm  north  of  the  village),  35  cents.  Richard  Ely, 
223  acres,  $1.04  (Mr.  Ely  sold  out  and  moved  to  Sodus  about  1812). 
William  Bryant,  109  acres,  46  cents.  Samuel  Brown,  80  acres,  31  cents. 
Judge  Daniel  Dorsey,  1,048  acres  (between  Clyde  River  and  Alloway), 
$9.53.  David  Gilson  (a  river  boatman),  one  house  and  seven  village 
lots,  28  cents.  William  Gibbs,  one  house  (the  tavern  stand,  afterward 
the  "Old  Museum  ")  and  seven  village  lots,  36  cents.      Richard  Jones, 


228  LANDMARKS   OF 

188  acres,  87  cents.  Samuel  Mummy,  one  house  and  four  acres,  82 
cents.  John  Perrine,  553  acres,  $4.44.  James  Walters,  60  acres,  40 
cents.  William  Paton,  101  acres,  54  cents.  John'Riggs,  two  houses 
and  299  acres,  $1.77.  John  Van  Wickle,  224  acres,  $1.03.  Evert  Van 
Wickle,  house  and  lot,  39  cents.  Thomas  Cole  (son  of  Rev.  Cole),  50 
acres,  31  cents. 

Among  those  living  in  Lyons  village  and  vicinity  in  1808  were: 
Captain  David  Gilson,  Major  Ezekiel  Price,  Dr.  William  Ambler  (the 
first  physician),  John  Riggs.  Richard  Jones  (saddler  and  harness  maker), 
William  Bond,  (shoemaker  and  tanner),  Joseph  Hathaway  (proprietor 
of  "The  Lick"  tavern),  Samuel  Mummy,  George  Carr,  Henry  Beard, 
Captain  John  Perrine,  Thomas  Story,  William  Duncan,  the  Stanton 
brothers,  Rev.  John  Cole  and  sons,  Samuel  Bennett,  Peter  AValker, 
James  Coats,  a  Mr.  Wales,  Judge  Daniel  Dorsey,  Benjamin  Brink, 
James  Walters,  Henry  Stansell,  John  Featherly,  Richard  Ely,  Major 
Amos  Stout,  Benjamin  Hartman,  John  Van  Wickle,  Elisha  Sylvester, 
Captain  William  Paton,  and  Simon  Van  Wickle. 

Samuel  King  settled  on  300  acres  northeast  of  the  village  in  1805. 
He  was  the  father  of  Samuel,  jr.,  Esau,  Thomas,  Jesse,  Joseph,  and 
Leander  King.  Benjamin  Brink  bought  sixty  acres  of  William  Gibbs, 
which  he  sold  to  Levi  Geer  in  1825,  and  moved  to  Galen,  where  he  died. 
Daniel  B.  Westfall  came  to  Lyons  about  1810,  and  purchased  117  acres 
of  John  Featherly,  and  forty-seven  of  Matthias  Clark,  near  Alloway, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death.  He  had  four  sons  and  two  daughters, 
the  former  being  Benjamin,  Abraham,  James,  and  Cornelius;  the  latter 
inherited  the  homestead.  Simon  Westfall  settled  three  miles  south  of 
Lyons,  and  died  there.  He  had  eleven  children,  of  whom  the  sons  were 
Jacob,  Lewis,  William,  and  John. 

William  and  Benjamin  Ennis,  brothers,  migrated  hither  from  New 
Jersey  in  1806.  The  former  died  about  1822 ;  his  son  Robert  was  a  canal 
contractor,  and  in  1 847  purchased  the  homestead  and  saw-mill  of  Capt. 
Henry  Towar  at  Alloway,  and  died  in  1860.  Benjamin  Ennis  went  to 
Ohio  in  L832  and  died  there.  George  Ennis  was  a  prominent  farmer 
neai-  Alloway  and  a  president  of  the  Wayne  Count)-  Agricultural  Society. 
He  died  in  December,  1883. 

Thomas  D.  Gale,  brother-in-law  of  Judge  Sisson,  came  to  Lyons  in 
ISO1.)  and  bought  of  Joseph  Hathaway  the  tavern  on  the  west  side  of 
Broad  street  that  was  subsequently  known  as  the  "Old  Museum."  Be- 
sides this  he  had  a  store  and  asheiw  and  butchered  cattle  for  the  Cana- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  029 

clian  market.   At  his  house  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  in  April,  1811. 

There  was  a  militia  company  in  Lyons,  attached  to  the  list  Regi- 
ment, as  early  as  1808,  the  officers  of  which  were  William  Paton,  cap- 
tain;  Peter  Perrine,  lieutenant;  and  James  Bound,  ensign.  Elias  Hull 
was  colonel,  and  his  hotel  was  a  favorite  rendezvous. 

John  Barrick  came  from  Maryland  about  1805  and  died  in  185 1 .  John 
Close  settled  herein  1810,  but  removed  to  Lock  Berlin  about  1830  and 
died  the  next  year.  Samuel  Minkler,  a  tanner,  located  in  Lyons  in 
1808.  Peter  Eisenlord  was  a  resident  of  the  town  as  early  as  1806;  he 
finally  sold  his  farm  and  moved  to  Michigan.  Jeremiah  Brown  came  to 
Lyons  prior  to  1808.  He  was  a  cooper,  had  a  distillery,  and  also  went 
to  Michigan.  Jonathan  Clark,  sr. ,  removed  hither  from  New  Jersey 
about  1810.  He  had  four  sons,  two  of  whom  were  David  and  Abraham. 
William  Paton  was  born  in  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  came  to  America  in 
L794,  when  twenty-four  years  of  age,  and  settled  in  1800,  where  he  died 
in  1843.  He  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Robert  Burns.  Henry  Beard, 
a  pioneer  from  Pennsylvania,  was  both  a  pettifogger  and  jockey. 

John  Perrine  came  here  from  New  Jersey.  He  built  the  first  dam 
across  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  erected  the  first  saw  mill  in  town  a  mile 
south  of  the  village,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  whose  services  he  often  conducted  in  the  absence  of  a  minister. 
With  John  Van  Wickle,  William  Paton  and  others,  he  obtained  from 
the  land  office  in  1806  a  grant  of  land  long  known  as  the  Parsonage 
farm,  which  was  designed  as  a  permanent  endowment  of  the  church. 
He  organized  a  Sunday  school  in  1818,  and  owned  with  Paton  and  Van 
Wickle  a  number  of  village  lots  on  Queen  street  between  William  and 
Broad.  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  supervisor,  and  prominent 
in  all  local  affairs.  He  finally  moved  to  Michigan  and  died  in  1836. 
His  sons  were  Henry,  William,  Ira,  and  David  W.  The  latter  was  a 
lieutenant  in  the  war  of  1812  and  succeeded  to  the  paternal  homestead. 

Dr.  Robert  W.  Ashley,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  came  to  Lyons  in 
1804  and  afterward  began  housekeeping  in  Samuel  Mummy's  old  house 
on  the  east  side  of  Broad  street.  He  was  long  a  practicing  physician, 
supervisor  in  1827-30,  candidate  for  the  Assembly  in  1830,  and  died  in 
1853.  He  was  the  father  of  Samuel  J.,  Robert,  and  William  F.  Ashley 
and  Mrs.  H.  G.  Hotchkiss. 

Milton  Barney  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1796.  In  1818  he  trans- 
ported a  wool-carding  and  cloth-dressing  machine  to  "Arms  Cross 
Roads"  (now  Wallington  in  Sodus),  which  he  sold  to  Elisha  Bushnell 


230  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  in  1810  came  to  Lyons.  He  carried  on  Iris  trade  here,  bought  a 
saw  mill  of  Judge  Dorsey,  erected  a  new  dam  across  the  outlet  and  built 
a  wool-carding-  and  cloth-dressing  mill,  and  in  1825  with  Samuel  Wilcox 
and  William  E.  Perrine  put  up  a  flouring-  mill  on  the  present  site  of  the 
Shuler  mill  in  the  village.  Afterward  he  purchased  the  grist  mill  of 
Jacob  Leach  and  added  a  clothier's  shop,  but  finally  resold  the  establish- 
ment to  Leach  and  went  West. 

Stephen  H.  and  John  Hartman  settled  two  miles  southwest  of  Lyons 
village  in  1816.  The  former  died  in  1872.  Dr.  Joseph  Varnum  came 
here  in  1817,  and  died  in  1822,  being  buried  with  Masonic  honors.  Levi 
Geer  removed  to  Lyons  the  same  year  and  first  purchased  of  Abraham 
Clark  the  original  Stansell  farm  for  $7,000.  He  had  eight  children  and 
died  December  15,  185:],  aged  seventy-eight  years.  Cyrus  Avery,  a 
Montezuma  turnpike  contractor,  settled  in  this  town  with  $1,500  in  cash. 
He  was  a  typical  Connecticut  Yankee,  and  died  in  January,  1868,  aged 
eighty-four  vears.  He  secured  his  deed  from  the  Pultney  estate,  and 
was  succeeded  on  the  homestead  by  his  son,  A    G.  Avery. 

Joseph  M.  Demmon  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county,  N.  Y.,  October 
30,  1790,  came  to  Phelps  with  his  parents  in  1801,  and  removed  thence 
to  Lyons  in  1813,  where  he  died  in  March,  1886.  He  brought  the  first 
stock  of  goods  to  this  village,  and  besides  being  a  merchant  was  also  a 
tavern  keeper,  a  liveryman,  and  a  contractor.  He  was  the  first  town 
clerk,  and  except  four  years  held  either  the  office  of  overseer  of  the 
poor,  town  clerk,  or  village  treasurer  until  his  death.  He  was  a  highly 
respected  citizen. 

Michael  Vanderbilt,  from  New  Jersey,  settled  in  Lyons  in  1812,  and 
died  March  16,  1874*aged  eighty-eight  years.  Josiah  Wright,  a  brother- 
in-law  of  Joseph  Farwell,  removed  to  the  village  about  1811  and  built 
a  tavern  in  Joppa.  About  1828  he  exchanged  this  for  the  Lyons  Hotel 
(later  the  Graham  House),  and  finally  died  in  Buffalo.  William  Patrick 
purchased  of  David  W.  Perrine  a  farm  north  of  Lyons  village  about 
L816.  A  carpenter  by  trade  he  was  master  workman  during  the  con- 
struction of  the  long  bridge  across  Seneca  River  on  the  Montezuma 
turnpike.  He  was  the  father  of  Frank,  William,  and  Pierce  Patrick. 
Robert  Holmes,  sr.,  settled  in  Lyons  in  1818,  made  brick  and  potash, 
and  died  in  1848.  His  sons  were:  John,  Gilman,  Abram,  William  F., 
and  Robert,  jr.  The  latter  was  born  in  L803,  and  died  in  February, 
1881. 

Ziba  Lane,  born  in  Bedford,  Mass.,  in  1756,  removed  with  his  wife  to 


WAYNE    COUNTY.  231 

Maine,  and  came  thence  to  Lyons  in  1814.  He  located  on  lot  so,  built 
a  log-  cabin  and  afterwards  a  commodious  residence,  accumulated  a  hand- 
some property,  and  died  at  a  good  old  age.  His  son  Levi  was  born  in 
Amherst,  Mass.,  in  1806. 

Newell  Taf't  and  Farnum  White  removed  to  Lyons  in  1816  and  en- 
gaged in  manufacturing  chairs;  afterward  the  partnership  was  dissolved 
and  White  continued  the  business  alone.  Mr.  Taft  became  a  contractor 
and  builder,  and  with  Henry  Seymour  began  casting  plows,  making  the 
first  of  the  kind  in  town.  Taft  later  built  a  foundry  which  he  sold  in 
1866  to  Wickson  &  Van  Wickle.  The  establishment  was  burned  in 
1869,  and  rebuilt.  Mr.  Taft  had  twelve  children.  He  was  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  from  1822  until  his  death,  Decem- 
ber 8,  1874,  aged  nearly  eighty-one  years. 

Philip  Dorscheimer  was  the  first  miller  in  Lyons  village.  He  after- 
ward kept  the  old  Wayne  County  Hotel  and  then  the  Lyons  Hotel,  and 
finally  moved  to  Buffalo.  He  was  a  respected  citizen,  and  through  his 
influence  a  large  number  of  sturdy  Germans  were  induced  to  settle  in 
the  town.  Elijah  P.  Taylor,  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1805,  came  to 
Lyons  in  1822,  and  after  completing  his  trade  carried  on  the  tanning 
business  till  1838,  when  he  removed  to  Sodus  and  engaged  in  dealing 
in  boots  and  shoes.  Returning  to  Lyons  in  1850  he  again  became  a 
tanner.  Columbus  Croul  became  a  blacksmith  in  the  village  in  1821. 
He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  from  1841  until  his  death 
in  April,  1881.  Jonas  Parker,  a  cooper,  came  to  Lyons  about  1820.  He 
was  at  one  time  keeper  of  the  county  poorhouse,  and  eventually  re- 
moved to  Indiana.  Oliver  Penoyer,  born  in  Columbia  county,  N.  Y. , 
in  1806,  settled  in  this  town  in  1837,  and  died  in  March,  1881.  Thompson 
Harrington,  a  settler  of  1826,  was  a  partner  or  proprietor  of  the  Lyons 
pottery  until  his  death  in  October,  1874.  James  Pollock  came  here 
early  and  died  November  18,  1872,  aged  eight}T-two  years.  James 
McElwain,  a  wagonmaker  and  captain  in  the  State  militia,  was  a  resident 
of  Lyons  from  1827  until  his  death  in  December,  1868.  Ephraim  Jeff er- 
son  Whitney  came  here  on  foot  from  Ontario  county  in  1822  to  learn  the 
printer's  trade  in  the  office  of  the  Lyons  Advertiser.  He  also  had  a 
book  store,  and  died  in  1856.  Robert  and  John  Stanton.  Englishmen, 
early  settled  on  the  hill  that  took  their  name;  they  subsequently  moved 
to  Geneva. 

Hon.  Van  Rensselaer  Richmond,  born  in  Preston,  N.  Y.,  in  1812, 
became  resident  canal  engineer  at  Lyons  in  1837.      In  1842  he  had  charge 


232  LANDMARKS   OF 

of  the  middle  division,  a  position  he  resigned  in  1848.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  canal  board,  and  in  1850  was  made  division  engineer  of  the 
Syracuse  and  Rochester  direct  railroad.  In  lSo'i  he  became  engineer 
of  the  middle  division  of  the  Erie  Canal,  and  in  1857,  1859,  L867,  and 
1869  was  elected  State  engineer  and  surveyor.  He  settled  permanently 
in  Lyons  in  1852  and  died  in  November,  1883. 

Calvin  U.  Palmeter,  a  native  of  Berkshire,  Mass  ,  came  to  Sodus  in 
1816,  whence  he  removed  to  Lyons  about  1821.  He  was  a  tanner  and 
currier,  and  was  engaged  in  that  business  with  Cyrus  Hecox.  He  was 
constable,  deputy  sheriff ,  and  in  1831  sheriff  of  Wayne  county.  He  was 
also  a  keeper  of  the  county  poorhouse,  and  a  Democrat  and  Presby- 
terian. His  sons  were  Edwin,  Ira  F.,  Frank  S.,  and  Calvin  S.  David 
Gilson  was  an  early  cooper  in  Lyons  village,  and  ran  a  Durham  boat  on 
the  Clyde  river,  being  engaged  in  the  salt  trade.  Jonathan  Colborn 
settled  very  early  on  a  farm  one-half  mile  northeast  of  Alloway,  and 
moved  thence  to  Rose.  Edward  S.,  Matthew  A.,  Augustus,  and  John 
Stewart  came  to  Wayne  county  as  pioneers;  Edward  S.  was  a  lawyer 
in  Lyons  village,  and  the  others  located  in  Galen.  William  McGown 
was  for  twenty-four  years  a  magistrate,  and  died  at  Alloway  in  January, 
1885.  Coll  Roy,  a  Scotchman  and  the  father  of  James  Roy,  settled 
south  of  Lyons  and  kept  a  hotel  several  years. 

Thomas  Bradley  became  a  distiller  with  Capt.  Henry  Towar  at  Allo- 
way. About  1820  he  removed  to  a  farm  and  died  in  1835.  In  1812 
Beri  Foote  came  to  Lyons  from  Massachusetts,  but  soon  located  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  Galen. 

Samuel  Hecox  came  here  in  1817,  and  was  a  merchant  and  county 
treasurer.  Eli  Hecox,  his  brother,  was  a  carpenter  and  soldier  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  located  in  Lyons  in  1831.  Another  brother,  Cyrus, 
was  a  prominent  merchant  and  tanner  in  the  village.  Cullen  Foster 
was  a  political!  in  his  younger  days,  held  several  town  offices,  and  was 
both  county  sheriff  and  clerk.  He  died  March  29,  1870.  Smith  A. 
Dewey,  born  in  Whitestown,  N.  Y.,  December  7,  1814,  came  to  Lyons 
in  is:;1.),  engaged  in  business  as  a  merchant,  and  upon  the  death  of  John 
Adams  in  1862  was  appointed  county  treasurer,  to  which  office  he  was 
elected  in  1865  and  again  in  1868.  He  was  highly  esteemed,  and  died 
in  November,  1S75. 

William  Wallace  Sandford,  who  came  to  Lyons  in  lsiiii,  was  first  a 
merchant  and  later  proprietor  of  the  Wayne  Count}-  Hotel.  He  was 
supervisor  in    is.'):;,    and   died  in  April,    L883.     John  Sparks,  a  farmer, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  233 

settled  in  this  town  in  1836  and  died  in  June,  L883.  Stephen  Marshall, 
born  in  Connecticut  in  L807,  removed  to  Lyons  in  L832.  %  He  was  a  shoe- 
maker and  a  lumberman,  and  was  appointed  one  of  three  commissioners 
to  build  the  present  court  house.  He  died  in  April,  L883.  Nelson  R. 
Mirick  was  born  in  Rose  in  L831  and  died  here  in  March,  1886.  He  was 
a  miller  and  maltster,  and  served  as  supervisor  several  years.  Dr.  Hugh 
Jameson,  long-  a  practicing  dentist  in  the  village,  was  born  here  in  L835 
and  died  January  4,  1890. 

Prominent  among  other  early  settlers  of  the  village  and  town  may  be 
mentioned  E.  G.  Thurston,  long  a  successful  merchant,  who  died  No- 
vember 8,  1857;  John  Evenden,  a  native  of  Kent,  Eng. ,  who  died  in 
February,  1863;  John  Knowles,  sr. ,  whose  death  occurred  here  No- 
vember 10,  1864;  Daniel  Ford,  who  died  May  2,  1861,  and  was  buried 
with  Masonic  honors;  David  June,  who  died  April  6,  1861;  George  Al- 
exander who  died  about  1820;  John  Layton,  the  father  of  Daniel  W., 
who  died  in  Feburary,  1885;  George  W.  Cramer,  merchant,  who  died 
in  May,  1882 ;  Thomas  Cotter,  a  tailor  noted  for  his  miserly  habits ;  who 
died  in  March,  1886:  John  Riley  (son  of  Rev.  Lawrence  Riley),  wdio 
died  March  1,  1887;  George  M.  Hatter,  a  prominent  merchant  here  af- 
ter 1851,  who  died  in  Januar}^,  1888;  and  Andrew  Failing,  Hugh  Brown 
and  John  Paton. 

James  Dunn  purchased  418  acres  of  the  Dorsey  farm  in  1834,  and  died 
here  in  May,  1850.  Alfred  Hale  settled  at  Alloway  in  1823,  and  began 
growing  peppermint  in  1832.  In  1854  he  built  a  small  mint  still,  after 
which  he  erected  five  or  six  others.  In  1862  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  a  Mr.  Parshall  for  the  manufacture  of  essential  oils  in  Lyons  vil- 
lage, and  the  firm  built  up  an  enormous  business.  In  1827  Mr.  Hale 
married  a  daughter  of  Levi  Geer  and  has  had  three  daughters  and  a  son 
(Alfred  S. ) 

Hiram  G.  Hotchkiss,  the  founder  of  the  great  peppermint  industry  of 
Wayne  county,  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y. ,  June  10,  1810,  and 
moved  to  Phelps  with  his  parents  about  1817.  His  father,  Leman,  was 
a  merchant,  and  the  son  began  life  in  the  same  business.  He  became 
a  miller,  and  in  1837  began  buying  peppermint  from  the  farmers.  In 
1841  he  removed  to  Lyons  and  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  the 
business.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Ashley  and  had  twelve  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Lemon,  Calvin,  and  Hiram  G.,  jr.,  succeeded  to  the 
business  founded  in  Lyons  by  their  father. 

Dr.  E.  Ware  Sylvester,  born  in  Cazenovia,  N.  Y.,  in  1814,  graduated 

30 


234  LANDMARKS   OF 

at  Union  College  in  1836,  and  at  Auburn  Theological  Seminar}- in  1840, 
and  after  studying-  dentistry  practiced  in  Lyons  and  elsewhere  for 
twenty  years.  He  finally  abandoned  his  profession  and  established  the 
Lyons  nurseries. 

The  first  grist  mill  in  the  town  was  built  at  Alloway  about  1794  by 
Henry  Towar,  agent  for  Captain  Charles  Williamson.  John  Featherly 
was  the  miller  here,  and  when  the  structure  was  burned  in  1804  'Sir. 
Towar  rebuilt  it  on  the  same  site.  Subsecpient  owners  were  George 
Ennis,  Lawrence  Riley,  and  Isaac  Roy.  The  next  grist  mill  was  the 
one  erected  by  Jacob  Leach,  one  mile  south  of  Lyons.  In  1825  Samuel 
Hecox,  Milton  Barney,  and  William  E.  Perrine  built  a  large  mill  in 
Lyons  village  on  the  site  of  the  Shuler  flouring  mill  and  cut  a  raceway 
to  it  from  Canandaigua  outlet.  It  had  four  runs  of  stone,  and  the  first 
miller  was  Philip  Dorscheimer.  The  mill  was  burned  about  1870  and 
the  present  one  erected.  In  L823  Henry  Towar  built  a  flouring  mill 
four  miles  west  of  the  village.  It  passed  to  William  Young,  and  lacking 
a  sufficient  water  supply  was  taken  down  and  the  frame  brought  to 
Lyons.  The  Leach  mill  on  the  outlet  was  finally  burned  and  rebuilt  by 
Mr.  Towar,  and  passed  into  the  hands  of  Shuler  Brothers. 

The  first  saw  mill  was  built  by  John  Perrine  in  1880.  It  stood  one 
mile  south  of  the  village,  on  the  west  side  of  Canandaigua  outlet,  and 
after  running  several  )Tears  was  dismantled.  Simeon  Van  Wickle  had 
another  early  mill  three  miles  northwest  of  Lyons  village,  but  both  mill 
and  stream  have  long  since  passed  away.  Judge  Dorsey  built  a  saw 
mill  near  the  Shuler  flouring  mill,  which  in  1825  was  removed  to  a  better 
water  power.  Henry  Towar  erected  several  saw  mills  in  various  parts 
of  the  town. 

About  1810  Gabriel  Rogers  erected  in  Lyons  village  a  tannery,  which 
he  operated  for  twenty  years.  Samuel  Minkler  built  a  second  one  on 
Water  street,  and  Cyrus  Hecox  a  third.  The  latter  was  purchased  by 
the  Rogers  brothers.  Among  other  tanners  here  were  Colonel  Bartlett 
R.  Rogers,  Henry  Teachout,  and  E.  P.  Taylor. 

Numerous  distilleries  existed  in  the  town  at  an  early  day,  notably 
that  of  Jacob  Leach,  which  was  built  in  1810  at  the  junction  of  the  out- 
let with  Ganargwa  Creek.  Joseph  Farwell  had  another  on  the  site  of 
the  old  warehouse  in  Lyons  village. 

Henry  Towar  and  Thomas  Beals  erected  a  clothicry  at  Alloway  on 
the  west  side  of  the  outlet  at  an  early  day,  and  Milton  Barney  and  Judge 
Dorsey  had  another  in   Lyons  village.      Mr.  Barney  did   an  extensive 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  335 

business  in  this  line  for  man}7  years.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Judge 
Dorsey.  The  first  ashery  started  in  Lyons  was  operated  by  a  Mr. 
Hessinger  west  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Others  were  conducted  by 
Joseph  Farwell  and  Robert  Holmes. 

In  1822  William  Clark  &  Company  built  a  pottery  in  Lyons  village 
that  was  managed  by  T.  Harrington.  It  passed  to  Thompson  &  Har- 
rington and  later  to  J.  Fisher  &  Company. 

In  1858  the  town  had  15,917  acres  improved  land,  real  estate  valued 
at  $1,355,531,  personal  property  at  $313,050;  there  were  2,(304  male  and 
2,601  female  inhabitants,  874  dwellings,  (376  freeholders,  978  families, 
13  school  districts,  1,849  school  children,  1,320  horses,  1,610  cows,  7,722 
sheep,  and  2,406  swine.  There  were  produced  27,357  bushels  winter 
and  134,753  bushels  spring  wheat,  3,430  tons  hay,  17,473  bushels  pota- 
toes, 51,526  bushels  apples,  89,472  pounds  butter,  4,128  pounds  cheese, 
and  660  yards  domestic  cloths. 

In  1890  the  town  had  a  population  of  6,228,  or  466  less  than  in  1880. 
Statistics  of  1893:  Assessed  value  of  land,  $882,107  (equalized  $1,054,- 
381);  village  and  mill  property,  $1,221,600  (equalized  $1,204,192);  rail- 
roads and  telegraphs,  equalized,  $430,209;  personal  property,  $301,750. 
Schedule  of  taxes,  1893:  Contingent  fund,  $6,152.53;  town  poor  fund, 
$2,200;  roads  and  bridges,  $250;  special  town  tax,  $3,107;  school  tax, 
$2,741.61;  county  tax,  $6,559.61;  State  tax,  $3,614.70;  State  insane  tax, 
$932,52;  dog  tax,  $111.50.  Total  tax  levy,  $27,071.06;  rate  per  cent., 
.00982474.  The  town  has  five  election  districts  and  in  1893  polled  1,175 
votes. 

During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  of  Lyons  contributed  large 
numbers  of  her  brave  citizens  for  the  Union  Army  and  gave  liberally 
of  both  money  and  supplies  to  aid  the  soldiers  and  ameliorate  their 
condition  at  the  front.  Being  the  shire  town  of  Wayne  county  many  of 
the  more  important  events  that  transpired  during  that  long  struggle 
occurred  within  these  borders,  and  all  are  properly  detailed  in  a  preced- 
ing chapter. 

The  first  school  house  in  Lyons  village  and  probably  the  first  in  town 
was  a  primitive  structure  that  stood  on  the  hill  on  the  west  side  of 
Butternut  street,  at  the  head  of  Queen.  It  was  there  as  early  as  1804 
or  1805,  but  was  burned  soon  afterward.  In  June,  1813,  the  town  was 
divided  into  twelve  school  districts;  J.  W.  Gillispie  and  John  Brown 
were  school  commissioners.  Another  school  house  was  built  of  logs  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  Presbyterian  church  lot,  and  a  third  school 


236  LANDMARKS  OF 

was  kept  in  the  old  Glover  house  in  L808-9,  while  a  fourth  was  held  in 
an  old  building  where  the  German  church  now  stands.  Still  another 
was  situated  on  Church  street,  and  was  purchased  by  the  Catholics  for 
a  house  of  worship.  Among  the  earlier  teachers  in  the  various  schools 
wore:  Thomas  Rogers,  Capt.  James  Hill,  Mr.  Fuller,  Andrew  Hull, 
Mr.  Trowbridge,  Mr.  Starr,  and  Rev.  Jeremiah  Flint.  At  Alloway 
schools  were  opened  at  an  early  day,  and  two  of  the  first  teachers  were 
Rev.  Mr.  Flint  and  Abner  Brown.  In  L852  a  large  brick  school  house 
was  erected  and  the  first  teachers  therein  were  Professor  Ballon  and 
Miss  Julia  Dorsey.  In  L833  Miss  Clarissa  Thurston  opened  a  "School 
for  Young  Ladies"  on  Geneva  street,  nearly  opposite  the  old  Joppa 
House.      She  finally  discontinued  it  and  went  to  Geneva. 

March  -.".),  L837,  the  Lyons  Academy  was  incorporated,  and  was 
merged  into  the  present  school  on  September  23,  L843,by  the  organiza- 
tion of  Union  school  district  No.  G.  At  the  meeting  held  on  that  day 
Jacob  Leach  was  chosen  moderator;  John  M.  Holley,  Eli  Johnson,  and 
Jabez  Green,  trustees;  and  Daniel  Chapman,  clerk.  In  1S44  the  Ver- 
non lot  was  purchased  and  a  brick  building,  containing  seven  rooms, 
was' erected  at  a  total  cost  of  over  $10,000.  There  were  four  grades  of 
study,  and  the  first  term,  which  opened  the  new  structure  on  May  4, 
LS45,  was  attended  by  519  pupils.  The  first  teachers  were  Nathan  Brit- 
tan,  A.  M.,  principal;  E.  B.  Elliott,  A.  B.,  Mr.  DeliaRogers,  M.  C.  G. 
Nichols,  Miss  Hermans,  Mrs.  L.  G.  Blount,  Miss  E.  H.  Allen,  Mrs. 
E.  W.  Redgrave,  Miss  Cornelia  Ilaight,  Levi  S.  Fulton,  William  C. 
Wright,  and  M.  M.  Rodgers,  M.  D.  July  6,  1847,  it  was  decided  to 
purchase  the  Newell  Taft  lot  adjoining  and  erect  an  addition,  and  $5,000 
were  voted  for  the  purpose.  The  new  building  contained,  besidesother 
rooms,  a  laboratory,  a  geological  cabinet,  and  a  chapel,  and  the  whole, 
including  furnishings,  etc.,  cost  about  about  $14,000.  In  1855  the  school 
house  was  repaired  at  an  expense  of  $2,000,  and  the  school  was  placed 
1>y  legislation  under  the  regulations  governing  incorporated  academies. 
December  7,  L855,  a  project  was  considered  to  make  the  school  free, 
but  resulted  adversely,  and  on  December  19th  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  procure  a  law  changing  the  hoard  of  trustees  to  a  board  of 
education  and  authorize  graduate  tuition.  The  law  was  passed  and  took 
effect  in  May,  L856.  The  new  board  consisted  of  Saxon  B.  Gavitt,  J.  T. 
Mackenzie,  Morton  Brownson,  Lyman  Sherwood,  Zebulon  Moore,  C. 
Rice,  George  W.  Cramer,  A.  I).  Polhamus,  and  William  11.  Sisson.  In 
1  sc,o  the  number  was  reduced  to  three,  and  another  grade  was  established. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  •_>:•,; 

In  December,  1862,  a  free  school  system  was  adopted  and  legislation 
secured  for  the  purpose.  In  L865  a  German  department  was  added  with 
Jacob  T.  Eitelman  as  teacher. 

July  25,  1889,  the  citizens  voted  in  favor  of  building  a  new  school 
house,  and  on  October  10th  ground  was  formally  broken  and  the  corner 
stone  laid  by  William  Kreutzer,  president  of  the  board,  for  the  present 
handsome  and  commodious  brick  and  stone  structure.  Joseph  Blab}- 
was  the  architect  and  the  contract  was  let  to  William  C.  Long  for  $ II, 
500,  the  heating  and  ventilating  to  cost  $5,500  more.  The  new  building 
was  opened  November  21,  1890.  The  principals  of  the  old  school,  with 
the  dates  of  their  service,  were  as  follows. 

Nathan  Brittan,  May,  1845,  to  February,  1840;  John  T.  Clark,  Feb- 
urary,  1849,  to  July,  1851 ;  Rev.  Win.  A.  Benedict,  August,  1851,  to  July, 
1854;  Francis  B.  Snow,  August,  1854,  to  July,  1858;  Howard  M.  vSmith, 
August,  1858,  to  July,  1800;  William  Kreutzer,  August,  I860,  to  No- 
vember, 1801;  James  C.  Benschotten,  November,  1861,  to  July,  1862; 
Cicero  M.  Hutchins,  September,  1802,  to  July,  I860;  Alexander  D.  Adams, 
September,  1866,  to  April,  1871;  Edward  A.  Kingsley,  April,  1871,  to 
July,  1873;  Timothy  A.  Roberts,  September,  1873,  to  April,  1870;  Rev. 
Wndiam  H.  Lord,  July,  1870,  to  July,  1877;  J.  B.  Fraser,  September, 
1877,  to  April,  1878;  J.  H.  Clark,  July,  1878,  to  July,  1887;  William 
G.  White,  July,  1887,  to  August,  1888;  W.  H.  Kinney,  August,  1888. 
The  Lyons  Union  school  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  kind  established  in 
this  State.  It  has  always  maintained  a  foremost  position  among  simi- 
lar institutions. 

In  December,  1853,  the  Lyons  Musical  Academy  was  started  by  Rev. 
L.  H.  vSherwood  and  for  many  years  was  a  prominent  feature  of  the 
village.  It  gained  a  wide  and  respectable  reputation  and  offered  rare 
advantages  to  those  desiring  a  musical  education.  Rev.  Mr.  Sherwood's 
successor  was  O.  H.  Adams.  Both  were  eminent  teachers  and  thorough 
scholars.  Its  popularity  waned,  however,  and  the  institution  was  dis- 
continued a  few  years  ago.  Its  last  home  on  Queen  street  was  built 
during  the  winter  of  1881-2,  and  first  occupied  in  April,  1882. 

The  town  now  has  thirteen  school  districts  with  a  building  in  each. 
In  1892-3  these  were  attended  by  1,348  scholars  and  taught  by  thirty- 
two  teachers.  The  value  of  school  houses  and  sites  is  $72,575  ;  assessed 
valuation  of  the  districts,  $2,751,300;  public  money  received  from  the 
State  in  1802-3,  $4,986.49;  raised  by  local  tax,  $14,253.63. 


238  LANDMARKS   OP 

Lyons  Village. — The  capital  of  any  county  naturally  takes  precedence 
over  all  other  villages,  and  Lyons  is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  In  this 
case  we  have  not  only  the  county  seat  to  notice,  but  a  place  rich  in  his- 
tory, interesting  in  growth  and  development,  replete  in  commercial, 
social,  and  manufacturing'  importance,  attractive  in  location,  and  the 
very  oldest  in  settlement.  The  improvements  inaugurated  by  Capt. 
Charles  Williamson,  through  his  agent,  Charles  Cameron,  and  many  of 
the  earlier  industries  have  already  been  noted  in  this  chapter.  William- 
son bestowed  upon  the  place  the  name  of  Lyons,  and  caused  a  village  to 
be  surveyed  in  acre  lots  and  a  warehouse,  distiller}-,  dwelling,  and  barn 
to  be  built — all  in  1704  or  1795.  This  dwelling  was  the  first  frame 
building  erected  in  the  town.  It  was  also  used  as  a  storehouse  and  was 
finally  purchased  by  the  Presbyterians,  removed  to  lot  No.  1,  and  oc- 
cupied for  both  religious  and  school  purposes.  In  it,  on  October  23, 
L809,  the  Presbyterian  Society  was  organized;  in  May,  1823,  the  first 
court  in  Wayne  county  convened ;  and  the  first  meeting  of  the  Wayne 
County  Medical  Society  was  held  here  after  its  formation.  In  18\'.">  it 
was  sold  to  Francis  Glover,  who  removed  it  to  the  north  side  of  Jackson 
street,  west  of  the  furnace,  and  occupied  it  for  a  dwelling.  From  him 
it  derived  the  name  of  Glover  house. 

The  first  tavern  was  that  of  John  Riggs  in  1800.  William  Gibbs  had 
another  soon  afterward.  The  latter  was  a  log  structure,  and  to  it  James 
Otto  subsequently  put  up  a  frame  addition.  Gibbs  was  succeeded  as 
landlord  by  Joseph  Hathaway,  and  then  came  T.  D.  Gale,  Colonel  Elias 
Hull,  and  Judge  Camp,  who  discontinued  it  as  a  hotel.  Hull  wras  a 
colonel  in  the  State  militia,  commanding  the  71st  Regiment,  and  the 
tavern  became  a  favorite  rendezvous.  It  was  long  known  as  the  "Old 
Museum."  The  second  tavern  was  the  dwelling  of  William  Nelson  on 
the  corner  of  Broad  and  Water  streets.  Major  Ezekiel  Price  added  a 
frame  to  it  in  180G,  and  built  a  barn  a  few  rods  east.  In  1810  he  erected 
a  frame  hostelry  on  the  site  of  Congress  Hall,  and  the  old  stand  again 
became  a  dwelling.  In  1819  Price's  tavern  was  conducted  by  his  son, 
David  C,  who  died  in  1824,  when  it  was  leased  to  Evan,  Griffiths  & 
Needham.  E.  B.  Price  later  became  landlord  and  changed  the  name  to 
the  Wayne  County  Hotel.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Sprague,  and  the 
latter  by  Philip  Dorscheimer.  About  1  SOS  the  old  building  was  torn 
down  and  the  present  Congress  Hall  erected  on  the  site. 

In  1821  the  Joppa  Land  Company,  consisting  of  Myron  Holley,  Gen. 
William  H.  'Adams,  and  Augustine  H.  Lawrence,  purchased  the  John 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  239 

Riggs  farm  of  about  300  acres  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  village,  and  had 

the  tract  surveyed  into  building  lots  by  David  H.  Vance.  They  creeled 
a  two  story  frame  tavern  on  the  corner  of  William  and  Montezuma 
streets,  and  the  first  landlord  was  Major  Woolsey,  whose  successors  were 
Messrs.  vSatterlee,  Joseph  Judson,  Josiah  Wright,  Philip  Dorscheimer, 
and  Jarvis  Landon.  The  latter  added  a  third  story.  In  1854  Henry 
Graham  became  proprietor  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Graham  House. 

In  1817  Samuel  Minkler  built  on  the  site  of  the  Hotel  Baltzel  a  dwelling 
house  which  he  sold  about  1825  to  George  Benton,  who  converted  it 
into  a  tavern  and  continued  as  landlord  until  1854:,  when  is  was  pur- 
chased by  Cogswell  &  Boice.  In  1858  Louis  Studer  became  poprietorr 
and  leased  it  to  a  Mr.  Payne,  and  in  1868  sold  the  property  to  Archibald 
Walrath.  With  the  Lutheran  church  it  was  burned  April  20,  1885.  For 
many  years  it  was  known  as  the  Exchange  Hotel,  and  on  its  site  the  pres- 
ent brick  Hotel  Baltzel  was  erected  in  1888  and  opened  in  April,  1889. 

Lyons,  in  1808.  contained  two  taverns,  a  store,  a  school  house,  a 
tailor,  saddler,  shoemaker,  and  blacksmith,  and  religion  had  made  a  be- 
ginning in  the  hands  of  two  societies.  Prior  to  1811  the  survey  of 
Lyons  was  into  acre  lots,  and  its  bounds  were  comprised  as  follows: 
south  lay  the  Clyde  River,  east  was  William  street,  west  was  Butternut 
street,  and  northward  the  streets  met  at  an  angle.  Broad  street,  run- 
ning north  and  south,  was  the  principal  street.  Cross  streets  were  laid 
out  and  bore  the  names  of  Water,  Pearl,  Church,  and  Queen.  In  1811 
Evert  Van  Wickle  allotted  the  village  into  building  lots. 

The  first  merchants  in  Lyons  village  were  Judge  Daniel  Dorsey  and 
Major  Ezekiel  Price.  Jacob  Leach  built  and  opened  a  store  on  Water 
street  in  1812,  and  had  for  a  clerk  and  then  a  partner  Joseph  M. 
Demmon.  Stephen  M.  Palmer  started  a  store  on  the  corner  of  Church 
and  Broad  streets  in  1816,  and  the  next  year  was  succeeded  by  Cyrus 
Hecox,  who  located  on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Water  streets  in  1818. 
On  one  of  the  corners  the  first  brick  building  in  the  village  was  erected 
in  1815  and  occupied  as  a  grocery  by  C.  B.  Ryan.  The  brick  were  made 
on  the  John  Perrine  farm.  In  the  second  story  the  second  newspaper 
(the  Republican)  in  Lyons  was  printed  in  1821  by  George  Lewis.  The 
building  was  burned  February  3,  1881.  On  the  southwest  of  these 
corners  Giles  Jackson  built  a  small  brick  store  and  kept  it  until  1820, 
when  he  sold  out  and  moved  away.  Samuel  Hecox  opened  a  store  on 
the  east  side  of  Broad  street,  but  soon  removed  to  Buffalo.  About  1822 
Eli  Blair  became  a  merchant  here;  he  and  his  wife  died  the  same  day 


240  LANDMARKS   OF 

(in  L831)  in  the  same  house,  and  were  buried  in  the  same  grave.  In 
L822  the  Joppa  Company  built  a  store  on  the  north  side  of  the  canal, 
and  also  a  1  trick  building  on  the  south  side.  Other  earl)'  merchants 
were:  Smith  &  Northrop,  Seth  Smith,  John  Berkaw,  Capt.  John  S.  hie, 
John  Adams,  Jonas  Towar,  William  Hash  ford  (the  first  lock  grocery- 
man),  and  Clark  Bartlett,  sr.  Among- the  earlier  jewelers  were  La  Salle 
(in  L821  ),  W.  D.  Perrine  (father  of  D.  K.),  and  David  Adams. 

The  first  blacksmith  was  Samuel  Mummy,  on  Broad  street,  whose  suc- 
cessor was  Alexander  Beard  (prior  to  L808).  Then  came  Peter  Hanker- 
son,   fohn  Croul,  Samuel  Androus,  Henry  Seymour,  and  others. 

In  I  sns  Samuel  Minkler  came  to  Lyons  and  built  a  log  tannery.  Fi- 
nally he  tore  it  down,  filled  up  his  vats,  and  erected  a  frame  house.  At 
one  time  he  owned  about  all  the  land  north  of  Water  street  and  west  of 
Broad.  John  C.  Kingsbury  was  an  early  shoemaker.  In  1810  Deacon 
John  Gilbert  started  the  first  cabinet  shop,  and  about  L840  engaged  in 
manufacturing  fanning  mills,  which  at  one  time  attained  extensive  pro- 
portions. Subsequent  manufacturers  of  fanning  mills  were  H.  W.  Put- 
ney. Adam  Schattner,  and  Stephen  Van  Wickle.  Zalmon  Rice  also 
prosecuted  the  business  and  built  the  "Center  building,"  in  which  he 
had  a  store.  In  18 Hi  Newell  Taft  and  Farnum  White  began  making- 
chairs.  Later  Taft  and  Henry  Seymour  engaged  in  manufacturing 
plows,  probably  the  first  in  Wayne  county.  Air.  Taft  also  brought  and 
set  up  the  first  steam  engine  in  the  town.  In  1866  the  property  passed 
to  Wicksoq  &  Van  Winkle,  and  in  1869  the  buildings  were  burned.  A 
large  brick  structure  was  at  once  erected,  and  the  establishment  took 
the  name  of  the  Lyons  Agricultural  Works. 

The  second  issue  of  the  Lyons  Republican,  dated  August  10,  L821, 
published  by  George  Lewis  "in  the  new  brick  block  on  the  bank  of  the 
canal,"  contains  the  following  local  advertisements:  George  H.  McClary, 
cash  paid  for  flax  seed;  notice  of  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of 
the  Montezuma  Turnpike  and  Bridge  Company,  Peter  Clarke,  secretary; 
G.  Butler,  notice  to  delinquent  debtors  to  settle;  Webster  &  Stiles,  hats, 
etc.;  Frisbee  &  Pierpont,  notice  to  settle;  E.  Price,  postmaster,  adver- 
tised letters;  and  T.   Martin,  tailor  and  habit  maker. 

William  Vorhees  became  a  cabinet  maker  here  about  L810.  The  first 
livery  stable  was  opened  by  Nehemiah  Sprague  and  J.  M.  Demmon  in 
L834.  Deacon  Eli  Johnson  engaged  in  the  tailoring  business  prior  to 
L820and  died  in  L850.  The  first  hay  scales  were  placed  in  the  alley  be- 
tween Congress  Hall   and   the   liver}-  stable   by  Samuel  Hecox,      About 


(£-J -  sZ     xvC^^cx£3He_^// 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  241 

L830  Leach  &  Demmon  erected  a  brewery  on  Water  street  near  the 
canal  bridge.  The  establishment  was  finally  destroyed  by  fire.  An- 
other brewery  was  started  by  George  Brock  &  Co.  Among  the  malt 
houses  that  have  formed  an  important  feature  of  the  village  are  those 
operated  by  the  Mirick  Brothers.  The  first  omnibus  in  the  village  was 
brought  by  H.  Warren  in  August,  1853.  In  182G  Gilbert  &  Avery  built 
a  Masonic  hall  on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Church  streets.  It  finally 
passed  to  John  Clapp,  and  in  1862  was  purchased  by  H.  G.  Hotchkiss, 
by  whom  it  was  torn  down.  The  first  4th  of  July  celebration  in  Lyons 
occurred  in  1820.  Judge  Jewell  was  president  of  the  clay  and  Graham 
H.  Chapin  the  orator.  A  band  was  formed  in  1830.  From  1840  to  1855 
Holloway's  band  flourished,  and  in  the  latter  year  a  brass  band  was  or- 
ganized. As  early  as  1810  a  circulating  library  was  instituted,  of  which 
Judge  Dorsey  was  president,  Major  Ezekiel  Price  librarian,  and  John 
Perrine  solicitor.  The  latter  collected  about  200  volumes  and  pam- 
phlets on  religion,  and  200  more  on  history  and  biography.  About  a 
dozen  years  afterward  the  collection  disappeared. 

Among  the  institutions  in  the  village  in  1833  were  the  Yellow  tavern. 
John  W.  Denton,  proprietor,  who  succeeded  Joseph  W.  Demmon;  Leach 
mill,  adjoining  the  wool-carding  and  cloth-dressing  establishment,  all 
of  which  were  burned  in  1836;  Bashford's  cooper  shops;  Jacob  Leach, 
Edwin  B.  Leach,  Charles  Allen,  Samuel  Androus,  Zalmon  Rice,  Albert 
J.  Hovey,  Jonas  S.  Towar,  John  W.  Berkaw,  John  Adams,  and  W.  F. 
&  Robert  Holmes,  jr.,  dry  goods;  Eli  &  Benjamin  Johnson,  tailors; 
Miles  S.  Leach,  Foster  &  Wright,  and  Flavel  Crosby  (successor  to  Al- 
len &  Yarrington),  drugs ;  Henry  Baltzel,  boots  and  shoes ;  Lewis  Groat, 
Stephen  Marshall,  George  Croul,  Deacon  Abner  Brown  and  John  C. 
Kingsbmy,  shoe  shops;  Exchange  Hotel,  George  Benton,  proprietor; 
Wayne  County  Hotel,  Reuben  H.  Foster,  proprietor;  Lyons  Hotel, 
Philip  Dorscheimer,  proprietor;  Joppa  House,  Chauncey  Burnett,  pro- 
prietor; Daniel  Watrous,  wagon  shop;  B.  T.  &  James  Rogers,  tannery; 
"  Old  Museum,"  formerly  a  tavern;  Newell  Taft,  furnace;  fanning  mill 
manufacturers;  Waite  &  Lyman  and  John  Smock,  cabinet  shops;  Nehe- 
miah  Sprague,  livery;  Bryant  R.  Houghton  and  John  O.  Vorse,  jewel- 
ers; William  Sisson,  Graham  H.  Chapin,  John  M.  Holley,  and  Adams 
&  Jameson,  lawyers;  Dr.  Carlisle  aud  Jeremiah  B.  Pierce,  physicians; 
Abel  Lyman  and  William  Voorhies,  justices  of  the  peace;  H.  G.  Dicker- 
son,  hat  shop;  William  Bashford,  Clark  Bartlett,  and  David  Adams, 
canal  groceries;  John  Croul,  Robert  Hull,  Thomas  Wafer,  and  James 
31 


342 


LANDMARKS    OF 


McElwain,  blacksmiths;  Robert  Holmes,  ashery;  Uriah  Roraback,  lot- 
tery office;  George  \V.  Liscomb,  grocery  and  dram  shop;  Beaumont  & 
Stafford,  hardware;  Jonas  \V.  Goodrich,  grocery;  Miss  Caswell  and 
Amanda  Smith,  milliners;  Chester  Vale,  tin  shop. 

The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Prescott,  and  among  his  successors  were 
Drs.  Willis,  William  Ambler,  Ashley,  Pierce,  Varnum,  Peck,  Jackson, 
Teachout,  Bottom,  Vosburgh,  David,  Gillette,  S.  D.  Sherman,  T.  H. 
Avery,  Miss  Burroughs,  and  others. 

William  Sisson  was  the  first  resident  lawyer.  ( )ther  early  attorneys 
have  been  William  Hough,  J.  S.  Stewart,  Ezra  Jewell,  Gen.  William  H. 
Adams,  John  S.  Talmadge,  Graham  H.  Chapin,  John  M.  Holley,  and 
William  Van  Marter,  Lyman  Sherwood,  and  Wm.  Clark. 

The  Lyons  advertisers  in  the  Wayne  County  Whig  of  1841  were:  S. 
D.  Crane,  cabinet  ware;  William  X.  Cole,  building  lots  for  sale;  Dwight 
Foster,  saddles  and  harness;  Sanford  &  Sisson,  Dr.  Mason,  William 
Hewlett,  and  F.White,  drugs;   J.  W.  F.Rice,  dentist;   Edward  Cooper, 


Eastern  Entrance  into  Lyons.  —  From  an  old  print,  1840. 


A  11.,  classical  and  commercial  boarding  scl I;   Bank  of  Lyons,  Thad- 

deus  W.  Patchin,  cashier. 

In  1852,  besides  the  above,  there  were  D.  Wilder,  restaurant;  Mrs. 
C.  H.  Decker  and  Mrs.  E.  C.  Cosart,  milliner)';  A.  Hays,  ready-made 
clothing;  Rice  &  Whitman  and  Dickerson  &  Mundy,  hats  and  furs;  P. 
A.  Gebhard,  lumberyard;  C.  R.  Rudd  &  Sons,  books;  E.  B.  Price  & 
Sons,  wooden    and    willow    ware,  etc.;    E.   Ware    Sylvester,  dentist ;   S. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  243 

Weed,  daguerreotypes;  J.  &  P.  Walters,  undertakers;  Edward  Ray, 
boots  and  shoes;  W.  W.  Wormwood,  watches  and  jewelry;  William 
Van  Marter,  lawyer,  and  village  lots  tor  sale;  S.  H.  Klinek,  dry  goods; 
Bradish  iV-  Bourne,  hardware;  H.  G.  Hotehkiss,  wanted,  40,000  bushels 
of  corn. 

The  Lyons  post-office  was  established  in  1807  and  the  first  postmaster 
was  Maj.  Ezekiel  Price,  who  held  the  position  about  thirty  years.  He 
took  the  contract  to  carry  the  mails  to  Geneva,  a  task  his  son,  E.  Bar- 
ton Price,  performed  from  1811  to  1820.  Subsequent  postmasters  were 
Messrs.  Reuben  H.  Foster,  Poucher,  Watrous,  Dr.  Ashley,  Street}-, 
Hano,  Ellis,  Van  Etten,  and  Hough.  The  present  incumbent  is  Dan- 
iel B.  Teller,  who  succeeded  F.  C.  Zimmerlin. 

Lyons  village  was  incorporated  April  18,  1854,  and  its  limits  were 
legally  designated  as  follows : 

Commencing  at  a  point  320  rods  directly  south  of  the  center  of  the 
hall  of  the  court-house  now  being  erected  in  said  town;  then  west  320 
rods ;  thence  due  north  640  rods ;  thence  due  east  640  rods ;  thence  south 
a  like  distance;  and  thence  west  320  rods  to  the  place  of  beginning, 
shall  hereafter  continue  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  village  of  Lyons. 

The  charter  was  amended  May  8,  1884.  The  first  charter  election 
was  held  May  8,  1854,  and  the  following  officers  were  chosen:  De  Witt 
W.  Parshall,  president;  Aaron  Remsen,  Miles  S.  Leach,  Stephen  S. 
Herrick,  John  T.  Denniston,  William  H.  Sisson,  trustees;  Philip  Althen, 
treasurer;  John  H.  Spencer,  clerk;  Sylvester  Wilder,  constable;  Mar- 
cellus  J.  Goddard,  collector;  John  Lawton,  John  M.  Pickett,  Hernando 
C.  Mead,  assessors;  John  Knowles,  jr. ,  chief  engineer.  The  presidents 
of  the  village  have  been :  D.  W.  Parshall,  1854-55;  Saxon  B.  Gavitt, 
1856;  D.  W.  Parshall,  1857-58;  Amos  Harrington,  1859-60;  Henry 
Graham,  1861;  E.  P.  Taft,  1862;  N.  R.  Mirick,  1863-64;  H.  J.  Leach, 
1865-66;  George  W.  Cramer,  1867-68;  S.  A.  Jones,  1869-70;  S.  C. 
Searle,  1870;  James  Rogers,  1871;  George  W.  Cramer,  1872;  George 
W.  Knowles,  1873;  R.  J.  Patterson,  1874;  Hon.  Van  R.  Richmond, 
1875;  George  H.  Shuler,  1876;  M.  C.Tucker,  1877;  M.  H.  Dillenbeck, 
1878;  C.  Hotehkiss,  1879;  E.  G.  Leonard,  1880;  De  Witt  P.  Foster, 
1881;  William  G.  Rogers,  1882;  H.  W.  Evans,  1883;  Milton  E.  Mirick, 
1884;  R.  A.  Hubbard,  1885;  Robert  Smith,  L886;  J.  W.  Putnam,  iss;  : 
Seymour  Scott,  1888;  J.  W.  Putnam,  L889-92;  G.  AY.  Koester,  L893; 
L.  M.  Blakely,  1894. 

The  village  officers  for  1894  are  as  follows  : 


244  LANDMARKS   OF 

L.  M.  Blakely,  president;  J.  S.  Jordan,  vice-president;  E.  D.  Bourne, 
clerk  ;  Charles  Boeheim,  R.  F.  Forgham,  J.  S.  Jordan,  James McNamara, 
H.  F.  Myers,  Theodore  Schlee,  trustees;  Joseph  McCall,  treasurer;  A. 
C.  Brooks,  street  commissioner;  Azor  Culver,  collector-;  R.  J.  Patter- 
son, police  justice;  John  Knoblock,  D.  L.  Stanley,  P.  J.  Stephens,  as- 
sessors. 

In  1827  or  8  a  fire  engine,  "Dart,"  was  purchased  forabout  $300  and 
a  company  was  organized  with  John  Adams  as  foreman.  Another  crank 
engine  was  procured  soon  afterward;  a  third  was  the  "  Ganargwa  "  and 
a  fourth  was  the  "Eagle."  A  frame  engine  house  was  erected  on  the 
site  of  the  present  No.  1,  and  being  sold  finally  to  John  Pulse  was  re- 
moved and  converted  into  a  dwelling.  In  1871  a  Silsby  steamer  was 
purchased  and  in  1872  the  present  brick  engine  house  and  village  hall 
was  built  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  The  fire  department  now  consists  of  Ly- 
ons Hook  and  Ladder  Co.  No.  1,  E.  D.  Bourne,  foreman;  Independent 
I  lose  Co.  No.  1,  Karl  Martin,  foreman;  Steamer  Hose  Co.  No.  2;  Act- 
ive Llose  Co.  No.  3,  Harry  Zimmerman,  foreman;  M.  C.  Tucker  Hose 
Co.  No.  4;  and  J.  S.  Jordan  Hose  Co.  No.  5.  The  officers  are  B.  W. 
Mirick,  chief;  D.  E.  Engel,  first  assistant ;  Morgan  Taylor,  second  as- 
sistant. 

The  Lyons  Gas  Light  Company  was  incorporated  January  25,  1859, 
and  gas  was  supplied  for  lighting  purposes  soon  afterward.  The  works 
are  located  south  of  the  canal  on  Water  street. 

In  August,  1884,  a  franchise  was  granted  Barton,  Morgan  &  Reynolds 
to  lay  water  mains  through  the  streets  and  establish  a  water  system,  but 
they  failed  to  comply  with  the  regulations.  In  June,  1886,  a  similar 
franchise  was  granted  the  Lyons  Water  Works  Company,  of  which  Cor- 
nelius J.  Ryan  was  president;  John  H.  Camp,  vice-president;  De  Witt 
P.  Foster,  secretary;  Alexander  H.  Towar,  treasurer;  andW.  S.  Parker, ' 
chief  engineer.  Active  work  commenced  August  18,  1886.  A  well 
eighteen  feet  in  diameter  and  twenty  feet  deep  was  sunk  on  theWalrath 
property  on  Layton  street,  a  steel  stand  pipe  was  erected  on  the  summit 
of  Sturges  hill,  and  the  system  placed  in  operation  in  January,  1887. 

The  Lyons  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  was  organized  June 
15,  L889,  with  Samuel  Scott,  president;  J.  W.  Dunwell,  vice-president; 
J.  W.  Van  Etten,  secretary;  William  N.  Deady,  treasurer;  and  with  a 
eapital  of  $45,000.  An  excellent  system  of  lighting  was  inaugurated, 
and  the  facilities  have  been  increased  from  time  to  time  as  occasion 
required. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  245 

The  Lyons  Board  of  Trade  was  organized  February  25,  1889,  with 
these  officers:  E.  G.  Leonard, 'president ;  C.  K.  Robinson,  vice-presi- 
dent; W.  G.  David,  secretary;  W.  S.  Gavitt,  treasurer.  Through  this 
efficient  organization  several  manufacturing  industries  have  been  in- 
duced to  locate  in  Lyons,  notably  that  of  the  Manhattan  Silver  Plate 
Company  in  1889. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  organize  and  establish  street 
railroads  in  Lyons,  but  the  clashing  of  individual  interests  have  hitherto 
prevented  a  consummation  of  the  enterprise. 

The  Bank  of  Lyons  was  chartered  May  14,  1836,  with  a  capital  of 
$200,000,  the  commissioners  being  John  Adams,  James  P.  Bartle,  Jacob 
Leach,  Byram  Green,  Elias  Y.  Munson,  Lyman  Sherwood,  and  Hiram 
Jenkins.  The  first  officers  were:  Reuben  H.  Foster,  president,  and  a 
Mr.  Bigelow,  cashier;  the  latter  was  succeeded  by  William  H.  Lacey. 
The  bank  was  opened  about  July  15,  in  the  Center  building,  and  in  1838 
George  G.  Kingman  obtained  control.  He  moved  to  Black  Rock  in 
1839,  leaving  the  concern  in  a  crippled  condition,  and  in  1842  it  failed, 
at  which  time  Thaddeus  W.  Patchen  was  cashier.  The  building  was 
converted  into  the  Bank  Hotel  in  1881. 

The  Lyons  National  Bank  was  incorporated  as  the  Palmyra  Bank  of 
Wayne  County  in  December,  1843;  the  name  was  changed  to  theL)^ons 
Bank,  March  31,  1857.  The  originators  were :  DeWittW.  Parshall  and 
Peter  R.  Westfall.  In  1865  it  became  a  national  bank  and  adopted  its 
present  title  with  a  capital  of  $150,000.  The  first  officers  were:  D.  W. 
Parshall,  president;  M.  T.  Tucker,  cashier;  and  J.  V.  D.  Westfall, 
teller. 

William  Sisson  and  Daniel  Chapman  established  a  private  banking 
business  at  an  early  day.  Mr.  Sisson  finally  withdrew  and  Mr.  Chap- 
man continued  alone  until  about  1860. 

In  1859  Westfall's  Bank  was  incorporated  with  Peter  R.  Westfall  as 
president,  and  B.  Van  Alstine  as  cashier,  who  were  succeeded  by  Caleb 
O.  Rice  and  Jacob  Westfall  respectively.  The  bank  failed  in  March, 
1868,  owing  $100,000  to  depositors. 

Gavitt  &  Murdock  opened  a  bank  and  continued  a  partnership  for  a 
time.  Murdock  withdrew,  aud  S.  B.  Gavitt  removed  to  his  present 
location  on  William  street. 

Hiram  and  Nelson  Mirick  and  Samuel  L.  Cole  opened  a  bank  in 
Gavitt  &  Murdock's  old  quarters,  and  were  succeeded  by  John  L.  Cole, 
who  still  conducts  the  business  under  the  Union  Bank  of  Lyons. 


246  LANDMARKS   OF 

J.  A'.  D.  Westfall  established  a  private  bank  a  few  years  since  and 
still  conducts  a  large  business. 

The  Parshall  Opera  House,  erected  to  the  memory  of  Hon.  De  Witt 
Parshall,  who  died  May  12,   18&0,  was  formally  opened  April  20,  1883. 

In  1873  there  were  shipped  from  this  point  301,507  bushels  of  apples, 
besides  large  quantities  of  other  produce.  In  1888  the  village  contained 
1,657  stores  and  residences  exclusive  of  shops  and  unoccupied  buildings. 
The  population  in  L890  was  4,175,  an  increase  of  055  since  1880. 

Alloway  is  a  small  hamlet  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  east  of  the 
Canandaigua  outlet.  It  was  formerly  a  place  of  considerable  im- 
portance and  maintained  an  enviable  prestige  up  to  the  construction  of 
the  Erie  Canal.  Since  then  its  business  has  declined  and  sought  a  more 
populous  center.  In  about  K!>4  Captain  Henry  To  war  as  agent  for 
Captain  Williamson  erected  a  saw  mill,  a  grist  mill,  and  two  stores. 
The  mills  were  burned  in  1804.  Captain  Towar  was  a  native  of  Alloa, 
Scotland,  and  gave  to  this  place  the  name  it  has  ever  borne.  He  died 
in  1846.  Among  the  old-time  merchants  were:  Roys  &  Shattuck, 
Alexander  Hays,  Dr.  L.  C.  Grover  (who  was  also  a  postmaster), 
Simeon  Haynes  (who  with  Dr.  Grover  had  an  ashery),  and  Thomas 
Payne.  Captain  John  Albangh  built  and  kept  the  first  tavern.  He  was 
also  a  blacksmith,  and  was  succeeded  as  landlord  by  Stephen  Young, 
Nicholas  Hooper,  Thomas  Payne,  and  the  latter's  sons  William  and 
Thomas,  jr.  Dr.  Grover  was  the  first  physician.  The  post-office  was 
discontinued  several  years  ago. 

Churches. — For  a  number  of  years  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
flourished  at  Alloway,  but  the  society  finally  became  weak  in  numbers, 
disbanded,  and  their  edifice  was  sold  to  Alfred  Hale,  by  whom  it  was 
dismantled. 

The  first  religious  services  in  the  town  were  held  by  Rev.  John  Cole, 
a  Methodist  preacher,  in  1707,  and  the  founders  of  the  present  church 
of  this  denomination  in  the  village  were  Rev.  John  Cole,  Daniel  Dor- 
scv,  Richard  Jones,  James  Walters,  Nicholas  and  William  Stansell, 
James  ( )tto,  and  George  Carr.  Added  to  these  as  early  members  were 
Mrs.  Samuel  Bennett,  Mrs.  George  Carr,  Mrs.  Eleanor  Dorsey  and  sons 
Andrew,  Thomas  E.,  and  Nelson,  and  daughters  Deborah,  Delia,  Eliza- 
beth, and  Lydia,  Mrs.  Ann  Cole,  Ann  Cole  (sister  of  John  Cole),  Mary 
and  Joseph  Cole,  Mrs.  Sarah  Jones,  William  Jones,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Coats,  William  Wiles,  Peter  Walker,  William  Sampson  and  sons  Thomas 
and  Henry,  George  Alexander   and  wife  Margaret,  and  William  Jones. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  247 

About  L803  a  lot,  on  which  stood  a  log  house,  was  purchased,  and  the 
building,  fitted  up,  became  the  first  stated  place  of  worship  in  the  town. 
It  was  built  by  George  Carr  for  a  dwelling,  and  in  size  was  twenty  by 
thirty  feet.  It  stood  on  Broad  street  north  of  Church,  and  was  two 
stories  high.     The  first  minister  was  Rev.   Mr.  Cole,  who  died  in  1808. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Union  Church  of  Lyons  was  incorporated 
May  15,  1809,  with  Lawrence  Riley,  Daniel  Dorsey,  Richard  Jones, 
Nicholas  Stansell,  and  William  Wiles,  trustees ;  Richard  Jones,  clerk. 
This  was  the  parent  church  of  all  those  within  the  present  conference. 
August  10,  1810,  it  was  decided  to  sell  the  old  meeting  house  and  apart 
of  the  lot,  and  build  a  new  edifice.  Subscriptions  amounting  to  $744 
were  secured,  and  in  1813  another  church  was  opened,  but  remained  un- 
finished till  about  1818.  It  fronted  Broad  street,  and  was  used  for 
twenty-one  years,  the  last  sermon  in  it  being  preached  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Carlton.  In  1834  a  new  building  was  completed  and  dedicated  at  a  cost 
of  $6,000,  and  in  it  Rev.  Samuel  Luckey  delivered  the  first  sermon.  It 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  edifice,  and  the  building  committee  con- 
sisted of  Eli  Johnson,  Joseph  Cole,  and  Daniel  Watrous.  Mr.  Johnson 
was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  for  twenty-four  years.  Thomas 
Rooke  and  wife  were  active  members  of  the  church,  and  at  their  deaths 
left  endowments  of  $2,000  and  $4,000,  respectively.  In  1850  the  old 
building  was  torn  down  and  the  present  brick  structure  erected  on  the 
site,  the  building  committee  being  Stephen  Marshall,  Samuel  J.  Cole, 
andGilbert  Van  Marter.  It  was  repaired  in  1875  at  an  expense  of  about 
$6,000,  and  reopened  January  6,  1876.  The  society  has  about  300  mem- 
bers under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev.  M.  S.  Wells. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lyons  was  originally  formed  at  the 
house  of  John  Riggs  on  the  2d  of  January,  1800,  at  which  time  John 
Taylor,  John  Perrine,  and  John  Van  Wickle,  sr. ,  were  chosen  to  act  as 
trustees.  The  legal  organization  did  not  take  place,  however,  until  Oc- 
tober 23,  1809,  when  the  following  became  constituent  members  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Society:  John  and  Mary  Perrine,  John  and  Anna 
Gault,  William  and  Abigail  Alfred,  Henry  Pitcher,  Lydia,  wife  of  Law- 
rence Hessinger,  Matthew  Clark,  John,  John  R. ,  and  Simon  Van  Wickle, 
Peter  and  Anna  Perrine,  John  Riggs,  Thomas  and  Margaret  Peacock, 
William  and  Nelly  Paton,  Anna,  wife  of  Ezekiel  Price,  and  Abraham 
and  Mary  Romyen.  The  organizer  was  Rev.  John  Lindsley.  Octo- 
ber 27  John  Perrine  and  Abraham  Romyen  were  elected  elders,  and  Rev. 
John  Stuart  supplied  the   church   until  1811,  when  Rev.  Francis  Pom- 


248  LANDMARKS   OF 

eroy  began  his  ministerial  labors.  He  was  regularly  installed  the  first 
pastor  July  29,  1814,  and  remained  until  February  1,  1825.  Their  first 
stated  place  of  worship  was  an  old  storehouse  on  Broad  street,  which 
was  purchased  and  moved  to  the  "lot  set  apart  for  gospel  purposes." 
February  IT,  1824,  the  trustees  were  instructed  "to  build  a  new  meet- 
ing house  that  will  cost  not  less  than  $3,000  nor  more  than  $5,000." 
The  old  church  was  sold,  and  the  new  one  completed  about  1825,  in 
which  year  Rev.  Lucas  Hubbell  became  pastor  and  remained  until  1839. 
Then  came  Rev.  Ira  Ingraham  till  1848,  when  Rev.  Charles  Hawley 
took  charge.  The  present  edifice  was  begun  in  March,  1849,  and  com- 
pleted within  the  year.  The  old  church  was  sold  to  the  German  Luth- 
erans and  destroyed  by  fire  April  20,  1885.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev. 
L.  A.  Ostrander,  D.D.     The  society  has  about  425  members. 

Grace  Episcopal  Church  of  Lyons  was  organized  by  Rev.  John  A. 
Clark  on  August  14,  and  legally  incorporated  on  August  25,  1826,  as 
St.  Paul's  Church.  The  first  officers  were:  Thomas  Forbes  and  James 
Agett,  wardens;  and  Gen.  William  H.  Adams,  John  Adams,  J,  B. 
Pierce,  Henry  Ferrington,  Joseph  Hall,  Benjamin  Raney,  Alexander 
Hays,  and  Graham  H.  Chapin,  vestrymen.  Rev.  Mr.  Clark  was  the 
first  rector  and  continued  his  services  until  1828,  after  which  no  record 
exists  relative  to  this  parish.  August  13,  1838,  at  a  meeting  held  in  the 
court  house,  the  society  was  reorganized  and  given  its  present  name, 
the  first  officers  being  Richard  Bushnell  and  James  Agett,  wardens; 
and  William  H.  Adams,  Reuben  H.  Foster,  G.  C.  Kingman,  W.  H. 
Lacey.  J.  H.  Towar,  D.  McDonald,  and  H.  Jameson,  vestrymen.  Rev. 
Samuel  Cooke  was  elected  rector  and  remained  until  September,  1843, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Montgomery  Schuyler.  In  1839  the 
present  lot  was  purchased  and  a  church  edifice  built.  It  is  of  stone,  and 
was  consecrated  in  1840  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  W.  H.  De  Lancy,  D.D.  It 
has  since  been  enlarged  to  accommodate  the  membership,  prominent 
among  whom  were:  Hiram  Mann,  M.D.,  A.  D.  Polhamus,  W.  N.  Cole, 
J.  L.  Jones,  R.  N.  Armes,  A.  J.  Hovey,  L.  B.  Pierce,  George  K. 
Perrine,  D.  Watrous,  and  Hon.  Ambrose  Spencer.  In  1850  the  rectory 
was  purchased  and  subsequently  enlarged,  towards  which  Abram  E.  M. 
Cook  contributed  $400.  Rev.  Mr.  Schuyler  was  followed  as  rector  by 
Rev.  W.  H.  A.  Bisscll  (afterward  bishop  of  Vermont)  in  1845,  Rev. 
Mr.  Wardwell  in  1848,  Rev.  George  M.  Hills  in  1851,  Rev.  W.  A.  Fiske 
in  1853,  Rev.  Sidney  Wilbur  in  L859,  Rev.  W.  W.  Montgomery  in  1861, 
Rev.  William  H.  Williams  in  L867,  and  others.      The  present  rector  is 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  249 

Rev.  J.  R.  Harding".     Among  the  memorials  placed  in  the  church  arc- 
windows  to  Dr.    Hiram  Mann  and  family,   and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nathan 
Parshall    (parents  of    Hon.   Ue  Witt    Parshall),    and    tablets   to    Hon 
Ambrose  Spencer  and  John  Adams.      The  parish  has  about  260  com- 
municants. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Lyons  was  organized  at  a  very  early  day 
and  reorganized  October  30,  1833,  with  fifty-eight  members  by  Revs. 
Norton  and  Barrett.  Early  meetings  were  held  at  a  school  house,  at 
Masonic  hall,  and  at  the  court  house  until  the  erection  of  a  church 
edifice  on  William  street.  In  1834  Rev.  Mr.  Hosford  became  pastor, 
and  the  Ripley  house  was  secured  as  a  parsonage.  December  5,  1835, 
the  society  was  legally  organized  by  the  election  of  Nathaniel  Mead, 
John  Mitchell,  Moses  Austin,  Cullen  Foster,  and  Hugh  Jameson  as 
trustees.  In  1840  a  brick  church  edifice  was  begun  and  used  until  in 
need  of  repairs,  when  it  was  leased  to  the  Disciples.  The  society  then 
practically  suspended,  though  meetings  were  held  regularly,  but  was 
subsequently  revived  and  now  has  about  ninety  members  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  Rev.  R.  Osgood  Morse. 

The  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  Lyons  was  organized 
at  the  Kregar  school  house  July  18,  1830,  with  nineteen  members. 
Meetings  were  held  there  and  in  the  court  house  until  1832,  when  a 
frame  church  was  erected  on  Broad  street  on  the  subsequent  site  of 
Deacon  Gilbert's  shop,  the  building  committee  being  Louis  Studer  and 
Philip  and  Dietrich  Ehrhardt.  In  1850  the  society  purchased  the  old 
brick  Presbyterian  church,  which  was  repaired,  a  basement  built  under 
it,  and  an  organ  added  at  a  cost  of  $1,800,  and  which  was  occupied  until 
April  20,  1885,  when  it  burned.  It  was  then  valued  at  $6,000.  The 
present  elegant  brick  edifice  was  then  built  on  the  site.  The  corner 
stone  was  laid  September  15,  1885,  and  the  church  was  dedicated  Sep- 
tember 26,  1886,  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Asbeck.  The  Sunday  school  was 
organized  in  1848.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  D.  Willers,  and  among 
his  successors  have  been  Revs.  J.  J.  Bailharz,  P.  H.  Dennler,  C.  A. 
Ebert,  Thomas  Huschman,C.  Berger,C.  H.  Thompson,  F.  L.  Schoeppe, 
J.  Schmalzl,  Charles  G.  Manz,  and  others.  The  society  now  has  Ion 
communicants  under  Rev.  P.  Spaeth  as  pastor. 

The  German  church  of  the  Evangelical  Association  of  North  America 
of  Lyons  was  formed  as  a  class  at  the  house  of  George  Stoetzel  in  1835, 
by  Rev.  M.  F.  Mees,  with  the  following  members:  George  H.  and  Sa- 
loma  Ramige,    Michael  and  Rosina  Faulstich,    George  and   Dorothea 

32 


250  LANDMARKS   OF 

Stoetzel,  George  and  Catharine  Humbert,  George  and  Barbara  Ramige, 
and  Philip  Lang.  The  church  met  strong  opposition  for  a  period  from 
German  people,  to  whom  its  tenets  savored  much  of  revolution.  From 
1835  to  1845  there  was  preaching  by  the  Revs.  M.  F.  Mees,  J.  Kehr,  J. 
Riegel,  P.  Henneberger,  Christian  Hummel,  M.  Lehn,  D.  Fisher,  M. 
Sindlinger,  Christian  Holl,  and  Fr.  Kroecker.  In  1840  the  first  German 
camp  meeting  was  held  east  of  Lyons  on  the  farm  of  Joseph  Cole.  The 
Rev.  John  M.  Sindlinger,  presiding  elder,  had  charge.  The  society 
was  regularly  organized  at  the  Pearl  street  school  house  in  January, 
1844,  and  soon  afterward  the  present  Catholic  church  was  purchased  and 
fitted  up  for  religious  services.  February  4,  1844,  the  society  was  in- 
corporated, and  Louis  Schneider,  Henry  Miller,  Fred.  Hamm,  Michael 
Faulstich,  and  Philip  Althen  were  chosen  trustees.  The  next  year  a 
Sabbath  school  was  started  with  twenty  scholars.  In  1850  the  old  church 
was  sold  to  the  Catholics,  and  the  present  edifice  erected  and  dedicated 
in  December  by  Bishop  Joseph  Long.  It  is  of  stone  and  brick,  two 
stories  high,  and  cost  $6, 000.  The  lot  on  which  it  stands,  on  the  corner 
of  Spencer  and  Hawley  streets,  was  purchased  of  James  and  Rhoda 
Agett  for  $500.  In  1872  a  parsonage  was  built  on  Hawley  street.  In 
1875  the  church  was  thoroughly  repaired.  Among  the  pastors  have 
been  Levi  Jacoby,  William  Mentz,  Peter  Alles,  Theobald  Schneider, 
Werner  Oetzel,  David  Fisher,  August  Klein,  George  Rott,  Solomon 
Weber,  JohnSchaaf,  A.  Stoebe,  Adolph  Miller,  John  Grenzebach,  Philip 
J.  Miller,  Jacob  Siegrist,  Levi  Jacoby,  Michael  Lehn,  Andrew  Holz- 
warth,  Adam  Schlenk,  David  Fisher,  Michael  Pfitzinger,  and  others. 
The  society  has  about  170  members. 

The  Church  of  Christ  of  Lyons  had  its  inception  in  a  Sunday  school 
formed  by  Miss  Addie  Clapp  in  the  fall  of  1869.  Missionary  services 
and  this  school  were  held  in  the  then  vacant  Baptist  Church,  which  was 
leased  in  1874  for  five  years  at  a  rental  of  $500  annually.  It  was  re- 
paired, and  opened  on  December  18  by  Rev.  A.  B.  Chamberlain.  The 
society  was  formally  organized  April  16,  1876,  with  thirty  members,  and 
with  Rev.  A.  S.  Hale  as  pastor.  It  flourished  for  a  time,  but  finally 
weakened  and  disbanded. 

St.  Michael's  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Lyons  was  legally  incorpor- 
ated April  20,  1869,  by  Bishop  McQuaid,  Vicar-General  James  M.  Early, 
Rev.  John  P.  Stewart,  Patrick  Miles,  and  John  O'Keefe.  Rev.  Mr. 
Stewart,  the  first  pastor,  was  followed  by  Rev.  Peter  O'Connell,  and  in 
is;  I  by  Rev:  Charles  L.  M.  Rimmels.      Catholic  services,  however,  had 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  251 

been  held  in  Lyons  for  many  years  prior  to  the  formal  organization. 
The  first  mass  in  the  town  was  said  at  the  house  of  James  Ford,  and  the 
first  priests  were  Fathers  Gilbride  and  Towhay.  In  1850  the  German 
Methodist  Church  was  purchased  for  a  place  of  worship.  The  present 
pastor  is  Rev.  D.  W.  Kavanaugh. 

St.  John's  Lutheran  Church  of  Lyons  was  organized  May  4,  1877,  by 
Rev.  G.  Manz,  who  became  the  first  pastor.  The  corner  stone  of  the 
present  handsome  edifice  was  laid  July  10,  1877,  and  the  structure  was 
dedicated  January  2,  1878.  It  is  of  brick  and  cost  $14,000.  The  society 
has  over  400  communicants  and  a  Sunday  school  of  130  scholars.  The 
present  pastor  is  Rev.  H.  Hartwig. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  GALEN. 

The  town  of  Galen  was  organized  by  a  division  of  Junius,  in  Seneca 
county,  February  14,  1812;  on  the  11th  of  April,  1823,  it  became  a  part 
of  Wayne  county;  on  November  24,  1824,  Savannah  was  set  off,  leaving 
it  with  its  present  area  of  35,299  acres.  It  is  the  second  town  in  size  in 
the  county,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Rose  and  Butler,  on  the 
east  by  Savannah,  on  the  south  by  Seneca  county,  and  on  the  west  by 
Lyons.  It  comprises  township  number  27  of  the  old  Military  Tract, 
and  received  its  name  of  Galen  from  being  reserved  for  the  physicians 
and  surgeons  of  the  New  York  regiments  in  the  Revolutionary  war ; 
more  definitely  speaking,  it  was  named  in  honor  of  the  professional  fol- 
lowers of  Claudius  Galen  (or  Galenus),  a  celebrated  Greek  physician 
who  was  born  A.  D.  130.  With  the  other  portions  of  this  vast  tract,  it 
was  originally  surveyed  into  farm  lots  of  600  acres  each. 

The  surface  is  broken  into  high  hills  and  level  marsh,  the  latter  cov- 
ering a  total  of  over  one-fifth  of  the  town.  The  soil  of  the  highlands 
is  a  sandy,  gravelly  loam,  while  that  of  the  lowlands  is  a  black  muck. 
It  is  very  productive,  and  except  the  marshes  is  susceptible  of  easy  cul- 
tivation. Almost  the  whole  area  was  originally  covered  with  a  dense 
growth  of  hardwood  timber,  the  sugar  maple  predominating,  and  during 
the  earlier  settlements,  a  number  of  saw  mills  found  profitable  employ- 


252  LANDMARKS   OF 

ment  in  manufacturing  lumber.  The  principal  drainage  is  afforded  by 
the  Clyde  River,  formerly  called  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  which  enters 
the  town  from  Lyons,  flows  northeasterly  to  Clyde  village,  and  thence 
runs  southeast  into  vSeneca  county.  It  has  several  small  tributaries,  the 
largest  being  Black  Creek,  which  flows  through  the  northwest  part  of 
Galen  and  joins  the  river  one-fourth  mile  east  of  Lock  Berlin.  Marsh 
Creek  courses  southward  through  the  east  edge  of  this  town  and  enters 
Savannah  near  the  New  York  Central  Railroad.  In  1872  a  project  was 
instigated  for  the  drainage  of  Black  Creek  with  a  ditch  seven  miles  long, 
ten  feet  wide,  and  four  feet  deep,  costing  $4000.  This  was  the  greatest 
effort  of  the  kind  ever  attempted  in  the  town.  Several  appropriations 
have  been  made  by  the  State  to  drain  and  reclaim  portions  of  the  marsh 
lands.  In  the  spring  of  1855  a  freshet  inundated  the  banks  of  the  Clyde 
River  and  other  streams,  and  caused  considerable  damage  to  buildings, 
bridges,  and  adjacent  property.  March  30,  1873,  a  similar  flood  occurred, 
in  which  two  brothers,  Michael  and  Fenton  Kelly,  were  drowned  while 
trying  to  reach  land  on  a  raft  from  the  Fox  malt  house  in  Clyde. 

Wheat  long  constituted  the  chief  agricultural  production,  but  within 
recent  years  it  has  been  largely  superseded  by  mixed  farming,  the  strength 
and  fertility  of  the  soil,  enabling  the  husbandman  to  raise  a  variety  of 
crops  indigenous  to  this  latitude.  Fruitgrowing  has  been  an  important 
industry  from  an  early  day,  and  the  apples  produced  here  have  given 
the  town,  as  well  as  the  county,  a  leading  place  in  distant  markets. 
Raspberries  are  also  cultivated  with  profit,  and  peppermint  is  extensively 
grown,  especially  upon  the  wet  or  marshy  tracts.  The  largest  vineyard 
in  Galen  is  owned  by  A.  F.  Devereaux.  In  1858  the  town  produced  31,- 
178  bushels  of  winter  wheat  and  199,093  bushels  of  spring  wheat;  3, Six; 
tons  of  hay;  1.9,546  bushels  of  potatoes ;  4H,58S  bushels  of  apples;  140, 
558  pounds  of  butter;  10,278  pounds  of  cheese;  and  1,271  yards  of  do- 
mestic cloths.  It  contained  1,373  horses;  1,061  oxen  and  calves;  1,649 
cows;  8,814  sheep;  and  4,198  swine. 

For  twenty  years  or  more  following  the  advent  of  white  settlers,  the 
Clyde  River  was  the  avenue  of  considerable  commerce;  it  conveyed  the 
bateaux  of  the  pioneers,  brought  them  merchandise,  and  carried  their 
produce  to  market.  Previous  to  that  its  waters  had  long  floated  the 
canoe  of  the  aborigine,  for  it  is  evident  on  good  authority  that  one  or 
more  Indian  villages  existed  within  the  borders  of  the  town.  On  the 
[oseph  Watson  farm  numerous  relics  have  been  found  and  several  deep 
black  spots  in  the  earth,  indicating  fireplaces,   were   discovered.      Half 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  853 

a  mile  east,  on  the  old  Adrastus  Snedaker  place,  were  similar  evidences 
of  an  Indian  encampment.  In  the  road  near  the  Catholic  Cemetery  is 
now  a  stone  five  long-,  two  and  one-half  feet  wide,  and  sunk  deep  into 
the  ground;  its  surface  is  dug  out  to  form  a  basin,  in  which  it  is  claimed 
the  Indians  pounded  their  corn.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  many  arrow- 
heads and  other  relics  of  wigwam  days  have  been  picked  up. 

The  present  site  of  the  village  of  Clyde  is  historic  ground.  A  little 
east  of  the  Central  depot,  during  a  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  there 
stood  a  block  house,  so  called  from  its  construction.  The  date  of  its 
construction  is  unknown,  but  it  was  used  as  a  trading  post  by  the  French 
prior  to  the  French  and  Indian  war  in  1754.  From  that  time  until  the 
Revolution  it  was  occupied  by  other  traders;  it  then  fell  into  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Tories,  who  used  it  as  a  station  for  smuggling  goods  from 
Canada  via  Sodus  Bay.  But  before  the  war  closed  the  government 
made  a  descent  upon  the  place,  arrested  some  of  the  smugglers  and 
drove  the  others  away.  In  the  mean  time  quite  a  number  of  lawless 
characters  had  squatted  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  by  hunting  and 
smuggling,  by  the  aid  of  friendly  Indians,  carried  on  a  profitable  busi- 
ness. They  boldly  kept  out  all  persons  unfavorable  to  their  illegal 
traffic  and  being  distantly  removed  from  any  regular  settlement  they 
prosecuted  their  trade  with  little  fear  of  molestation.  The  best  evidence 
extant  indicates  that  the  block  house  was  burned  during  or  soon  after 
the  government  raid,  notwithstanding  the  many  assertions  made  that 
it  was  seen  by  white  men  as  late  as  1820.  Captain  Luther  Redfield  once 
said  that  when  he  and  others  were  passing  in  a  boat,  about  1804,  the 
charred  remnants  of  the  old  building  were  plainly  visible;  even  its  cor- 
ners and  shape  could  be  distinguished.  In  1811  Jonathan  Melvin,  jr., 
erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  the  first  log  dwelling  within  the 
present  village  limits.  This  was  also  known  as  a  block  house,  which 
accounts  for  the  statement  referred  to  above.  The  location  of  the 
original  block  house  has  advanced  the  theory  that  this  was  formerly  a 
Jesuit  mission,  but  this  is  incorrect.  If  this  were  true  it  would  undoubt- 
edly have  been  mentioned  in  the  Jesuit  Relations. 

The  Erie  Canal  opened  in  1825,  not  only  drew  all  the  shipping  busi- 
ness from  the  Clyde  River,  but  also  aided  materially  in  advancing  the 
settlements  and  promoting  various  industries.  This  was  followed 
several  years  later  by  a  project  to  connect  this  waterway  with  Great 
Sodus  bay  by  a  ship  canal,  locally  known  as  the  "Sodus  ditch. "  In  1841 
General  William  H.  Adams  organized  a  company,  obtained  a  charter, 


j.vi  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  began  work  a  half-mile  west  of  Clyde.  After  digging  a  portion  of 
the  channel,  the  waters  of  the  streams  and  marshes  were  turned  in  to 
wash  out  the  ditch.  The  general's  property  was  alhexpended  in  further- 
ing this  enterprise,  but  it  was  never  completed  and  the  whole  work  was 
finally  abandoned.      Evidences  of  the  great  ditch  are  still  visible. 

January  22,  1853,  a  company,  capitalized  at  $150,000,  was  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  building  a  railroad  from  Clyde  to  Sodus  Bay;  a  survey 
was  made,  but  the  clashing  of  individual  interests  caused  the  abandon- 
ment of  this  project  also. 

In  1853  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  was  completed  and  opened 
and  added  a  new  impetus  to  the  development  of  the  town.  In  1872  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Sodus  Bay  Railroad,  from  a  point  in  Pennsylvania, 
via  Seneca  Falls  and  Clyde,  to  Sodus  Bay  was  projected;  and  to  aid  in 
its  construction  it  was  proposed  to  bond  this  town  for  $70,000.  Contracts 
were  let  in  1873,  but  soon  afterward  the  whole  plan  fell  through.  In 
1884  the  West  Shore  Railroad  was  completed  and  opened,  with  a 
station  at  Clyde. 

Roads  were  opened  in  Galen  prior  to  1810,  and  as  settlers  increased 
in  numbers  they  were  improved  and  extended.  Probably  the  first  one 
was  the  military  trail  or  State  road,  leading  from  the  block  house  north- 
easterly and  easterly  to  Salina.  The  State  road  proper  ran  through  the 
north  part  of  the  town.  The  eastern  plank  road  from  Clyde  to  Port 
Byron,  running  north  of  Savannah  village  past  the  salt  works  there, 
was  graded  and  opened  at  an  early  day,  but  it  was  planked  eastward 
only  to  a  point  south  of  Crusoe  Lake  in  that  town.  Laomi  Beadle,  the 
pioneer  settler,  was  instrumental  in  constructing  the  Montezuma  turn- 
pike from  Montezuma  to  Lyons  about  1820.  It  ran  through  the  south 
part  of  Galen  and  became  an  important  mail  route  and  stage  line.  The 
Clyde  and  Rose  Plank  Road  Company  for  several  years  maintained  a 
plank  road  between  those  two  villages,  but  discontinued  it  soon  after 
1877,  at  which  time  the  officers  were:  P.  J.  Thomas,  president;  Seth 
Smith,  secretary,  J.  M.  Nichols,  treasurer.  The  highways  in  the 
vicinity  of  Marengo  were  among  the  earliest  opened  in  Galen.  There 
are  now  105  road  districts  in  the  town. 

In  1818  mail  was  brought  from  Geneva  to  Marengo  on  horseback,  and 
in  1820  the  mail  route  was  extended  to  Clyde.  About  this  latter  year 
a  line  of  stages  was  established,  and  in  1830,  when  the  first  newspaper 
was  printed  at  Clyde,  the  business  was  in  full  blast  under  the  proprietor- 
ship of  James  M.  Watson.      He  ran  a  stage  between  these  points  thrice 


WAYNE   COUNTY. 

weekly  each  way.  In  1833  Mr.  Watson  sold  to  William  F.  Pierce  of 
Clyde,  who  disposed  of  the  business  a  few  years  later  to  S.  Salisbury. 
In  1841  the  latter  sold  to  Adrastus  Snedaker,  who  operated  it  until  L844, 
when  the  route  between  Rochester  and  Syracuse  through  Clyde  was 
discontinued.  The  travel  between  Clyde  and  Geneva  necessitated  a 
daily  stage,  and  Mr.  Snedaker  sold  a  one-half  interest  to  Lewis  &  Colvin 
of  Geneva,  who  continued  the  route  until  1854,  when  stages  were  aban- 
doned. The  mail  route  was  kept  up,  however,  and  the  business  again 
passed  to  Mr.  Snedaker,  who  sold  it  in  1857  to  B.  Hustin.  The  latter 
had  several  successors.  Stage  routes  are  now  maintained  between 
Clyde  and  Junius  in  Seneca  county.  . 

The  assessed  valuation  of  real  estate  in  Galen  in  1823  was  $385,531, 
and  the  personal  property,  $7,499.  In  1858  these  were  $1,381,393,  and 
$367,578,  respectively.  In  1858  the  town  had  also  $24,301  acres  of 
improved  land,  2,706  male  and  2,475  female  inhabitants;  924 dwellings, 
995  families,  and  490  freeholders.  In  1890  its  population  numbered" 
4,922,  or  539  less  than  in  1880.  In  1893  the  assessed  valuation  of  real 
estate  aggregated  $1,360,347  (equalized  $1,423,940) ;  village  and  mill 
property,  $949,250  (equalized  $988,806) ;  railroads  and  telegraphs,  $836,- 
281;  personal  property,  $173,950.  Schedule  of  taxes,  1893:  Contingent 
fund,  $3,388.01;  poor  fund,  $750;  special  town  tax,  $2,820;  school  tax, 
$3,131.77;  county  tax,  $7,493.12;  State  tax;  $4,129.11;  State  insane  tax, 
$1,065.23;  dog  tax,  $97.50.  Total  tax  levied,  $28,196.01 ;  rate  percent., 
.00842853.  There  are  five  election  districts,  and  in  1893  the  town  polled 
976  votes. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Jonathan  Mel  vin,  jr., 
in  April,  1812,  and  Mr.  Melvin  was  elected  the  first  supervisor.  The 
records  covering  the  years  intervening  between  1812  and  1862  have  been 
burned  and  therefore  it  is  impossible  to  give  the  names  of  the  other  first 
officers  or  a  list  of  the  successive  supervisors.  The  town  officers  elected 
March  4,  1862,  were  as  follows:  Albert  F.  Redfield,  supervisor;  Jacob 
T.  Van  Buskirk,  town  clerk;  Hiram  P.  Jones,  justice  of  the  peace; 
Charles  E.  Elliott,  assessor;  Levi  Lundy,  commissioner  of  highways; 
Ambrose  S.  Field  and  Timothy  S.  Brink,  overseers  of  the  poor;  James 
Murphy,  collector.  Supervisors  since  then  have  been :  Albert  F.  Red- 
field,  1862-63 :  Porter  G.  Denison,  1866;  Matthew  Mackie,  1867 ;  Ste- 
phen D.  Streeter,  1868;  Edward  B.  Wells,  1870-71;  Matthew  Mackie, 
1872;  E.  W.  Gurnee,  1873;  E.  W.  Sherman,  1874-75;  Thomas  P.  Thorn, 
1875;  Elijah  P.  Taylor,  jr.,  1877-78;  Adrastus  Snedaker,  1879;  Albert 


256  LANDMARKS   OF 

F.  Redfield,  1880-81;  M.S.  Roe,  1882;  George  G.  Roe,  L883-84;  Will- 
iam Gillette,  1885;  Ward  H.  Groesbeck,  1886 ;  Alexander  Graham,  1887 
ss;  Milton  J.  Blodgett,  1880;  Charles  H.  Ford,  1890-01 ;  Edwin  Sands, 
L892-94.  The  town  officers  for  1804  are:  Edwin  Sands,  supervisor; 
Frank  A.  Haugh,  town  clerk;  Albert  M.  Van  Buskirk,  J.  M.  Lieck,W. 
H.  Gilbert,  justices  of  the  peace ;  A.  H.  Gillette,  W.  A.  Groescup,  Har- 
vey H.  Benning,  assessors;  William  E.  Mead,  collector;  Archibald  Bar- 
ton, highway  commissioner;  Willard  Crawford,  overseer  of  the  poor. 
The  town  Board  of  Health  was  organized  August  15,  1881. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  hunters,  trappers,  and  smugglers  who 
squatted  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  the  village  of  Clyde,  and  who  were 
driven  away  by  the  government  soon  after  the  Revolutionary  War.  The 
squatters  made  no  substantial  improvements,  and  when  the  actual  set- 
tlers arrived  it  is  said  that  not  a  sign  of  any  former  habitation  save  the 
ruins  of  the  original  block  house  could  be  seen. 

The  first  permanent  white  settler  was  Laomi  Beadle,  who  located  on 
land  which  his  father,  Thomas  Beadle,  of  Junius,  owned  at  Marengo  in 
L800.  He  built  the  first  log  house  in  Galen,  planted  the  first  orchard, 
and  on  the  little  stream  at  that  point  he  erected  the  first  saw  mill.  In 
1801  the  families  of  David  Godfrey,  Nicholas  King,  and  Isaac  Mills, 
consisting  of  thirty-three  persons,  settled  on  lot  70.  Dr.  James  Young, 
the  brother  of  Mrs.  King's  mother  and  a  surgeon  of  the  Revolution  at 
Albany,  drew  military  lots  28,  37,  70,  and  87,  and  offered  100  acres  to 
his  nephew  if  he  would  settle  thereon.  The  three  men  selected  lot  70 
in  L800,  built  two  log  cabins  that  fall,  returned  to  their  home  at  Aurel- 
ius,  and  brought  their  families  hither  the  next  spring.  October  13, 
L801,  David  Godfrey  was  accidentally  killed,  and  in  February,  1802,  his 
son  Isaac  was  born,  these  being  the  first  death  and  birth  respectively  in 
town. 

These  settlers  were  followed  in  180.'5  by  David  Creager  and  J.  King, 
from  Maryland.  Mr.  Creager  built  a  log  house  in  the  northwest  corner 
of  (ialen,  wdiich  became  the  oldest  of  the  kind  in  town.  He  was  a  vet- 
erinary surgeon  and  one  of  the  first  assessors,  an  office  he  held  seven- 
torn  years;  he  died  here  in  1854.  Isaac  Mills  was  killed  by  a  falling 
tree;  his  son  Nathaniel  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  in  1835  he  sold 
the  homestead  to  John  and  Manley  Hanchett  and  moved  to  Ohio. 

In  1804  Capt.  John  Sherman,  Elias  Austin,  Mr.  Payne,  and  Jabez 
Reynolds  came  in.  Captain  Sherman  and  Mr.  Payne,  while  coming  by 
way  of  Clyde  River,  encountered  an   insurmountable  obstacle  of  logs 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  251 

and  brush  in  a  bend  of  the  stream,  called  "  big  wood  reef."  They 
changed  the  course  of  the  river,  and  lessened  the  distance  half  a  mile, 
by  cutting'  a  channel  twelve  feet  wide  across  the  bend;  this  was  long- 
known  as  the  "old  canal."  Jabez  Reynolds  and  Polly,  daughter  of 
Isaac  Mills,  were  married  in  1805,  the  first  marriage  in  the  town. 

Among-  the  settlers  of  1805  were  Asaph  Whittlesey,  William  Fore- 
man, a  Mr.  Rich,  Salem  Ford  (at  Lock  Berlin),  Isaac  Beadle  (at  Ma- 
rengo), and  Aaron  Ford.  In  1810  Abraham  Romyen  located  south  of 
Lock  Berlin,  and  Jonathan  Melvin,  jr.,  settled  at  Clyde.  The  latter  in 
1811  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  a  log  dwelling,  which  was 
known  during  its  existence  as  the  block  house.  In  it  was  held  the  first 
town  meeting.  Mr.  Romyen  had  settled  in  Lyons  in  1808.  He  died 
here  in  1830;  his  son  Thomas  T.  died  February  9,  1885. 

In  1809  James  M.  Watson  moved  from  Schoharie  county  to  Junius, 
Seneca  county,  whence  he  came  with  his  family  in  1810  to  lot  95,  near 
Marengo,  and  finally  became  stage  proprietor,  as  before  stated.  Joseph 
Watson,  his  son,  was  born  in  1800,  came  to  Clyde  in  1817,  married  a 
daughter  of  Capt.  Luther  Redfield  in  1822,  and  died  March  22,  1881. 
He  was  a  mason,  a  merchant,  and  a  farmer.  Levi  Watson,  born  in 
Galen  in  1835,  died  on  his  father's  homestead  November  18,  1890. 

James  W.  Humeston,  James  Dickson,  Henry  Archer,  D.  Southwick, 
Arza  Lewis,  and  E.  Dean  also  settled  at  or  near  Clyde  about  1810. 
Soon  afterward  Edward  Wing,  Benjamin  Shotwell,  Nathan  Blodgett, 
and  Samuel  Stone  located  near  Marengo.  Mr.  Humeston  died  in  Michi- 
gan in  May,  1893.  Mr.  Blodgett  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  pot- 
ash. 

The  war  of  1812  checked  the  tide  of  immigration,  and  wre  find  few  set- 
iers  to  notice  until  1815.  In  that  year,  in  March,  Simeon Griswold,  sr., 
purchased  of  Judge  Nicholas,  of  Geneva,  300  acres  of  wood  land  on  lot 
09,  and  settled  his  family  upon  it.  Aaron  Griswold,  his  son,  was  born 
in  Fairfield,  N.  Y.,  December  1,  1799,  came  to  Phelps,  and  thence  to 
Galen  with  his  parents,  taught  school,  and  died  in  February,  1883.  In 
1822  father  and  son  built  and  floated  on  the  Clyde  River  and  afterward 
on  the  canal  the  first  canal  boat  (the  "Gold  Hunter")  ever  owned  in 
town.  In  1826  Aaron  Griswold  built  two  other  canal  boats  at  Lock  Ber- 
lin, and  for  a  time  was  associated  in  the  business  with  Stephen  Fergu- 
son. In  1828  the  two  contracted  to  build  three  sections  of  a  canal  on 
the  Juniata  River  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1831  a  half  mile  section  on 
the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  in  New  Jersey.     In  1831  he  started  a 

33 


258  LANDMARKS   OF 

mercantile  business  at  Lock  Berlin  with  William  Ford,  who  sold  his  in- 
terest in  L832  to  Alfred  Griswold,  a  brother  of  Aaron.  Inl836  he  came 
to  Clyde,  and  in  L 840  bought  the  Clyde  Hotel.  He  subsequently  en- 
gaged in  milling,  banking,  merchandising,  and  manufacturing.  April 
:!<),  18:25,  Mr.  Griswold  joined  the  Lyons  lodge  of  Masons,  and  was 
deputy  grand  master  of  the  State  in  L864-65.  He  was  candidate  for 
county  clerk  in  1855,  for  member  of  the  State  Legislature  in  1857,  and 
tor  member  of  Congress  in  L858.  He  held  several  other  positions  of 
trust  and  responsibility. 

Sylvester  Clarke  came  to  Galen  prior  to  1820,  for  on  November  5  of 
that  year  his  son,  Sylvester  H.  Clarke,  was  born  here,  and  is  now  the 
oldest  native  of  the  town.  The  latter  is  a  writer  of  marked  ability,  and 
an  authority  on  local  history.  He  has  in  his  possession  the  initial  num- 
ber of  the  first  newspaper  (the  Standard,  January  0,  1830),  ever  pub- 
lished in  Clyde.  The  house  in  which  he  lives  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  in  Clyde,  was  built  by  his  father  for  a  store;  the  upper  story  was 
occupied  by  the  Masons  and  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  Society. 

Among  the  settlers  between  1815  and  1825  were  Luther  Redheld, 
Abraham  Knapp,  William  S.  St<>w  (mentioned  in  the  legal  chapter),  Dr. 
John  Lewis,  John  Condit,  James  B.  West,  Rev.  Jabez  Spier,  Levi  and 
David  Tuttle,  Daniel  Dunn,  Harry  West,  Moses  Perkins,  Rev.  Charles 
Mosher,  Elias  R.  Cook,  Melvin  and  J  P.  Pailey,  William  Hunt,  Samuel 
M.  Welch,  Eben  Bailey,  Lemuel  C.  Paine,  George  Burrill,  and  others. 
Thomas  J.  Whiting  was  born  in  New  York  city  in  1801,  came  to  Clyde 
in  1825,  and  died  here  February  22,  L881.  He  was  a  shoemaker  and  a 
merchant. 

Henry  Van  Tassel,  who  was  born  in  September,  1807,  became  a 
farmer  and  later  a  merchant  in  Rose,  settled  in  Clyde  in  1864  and  en- 
gaged in  the  dry  goods  business,  and  died  January  7,  1875.  David  E. 
Garlic,  the  son  of  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  came  to  Galen  in 
1814,  and  erected  two  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Clyde  the  first  frame 
house  in  the  town.  He  died  May  6,  L884.  Captain  Chester  Smith,  born 
in  1801,  came  hereabout  L860,  and  died  September  9,  L892.  Stuckley 
Ellsworth,  who  became  prominent  in  State  politics,  was  his  neighbor. 
Isaac  Wiley  was  a  pioneer  settler  at  Marengo,  where  he  died  in  fanuary, 
L889.  He  lived  for  a  time  in  Clyde  and  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  two 
terms.  J.  Stevens,  a  blacksmith,  and  Bryant  Hall,  a  carpenter  and 
hotel  keeper,  died  at  Marengo  in  L887.  Both  were  early  settlers  and 
the  former  was  the  inventor  of  a  ditching  machine  and  cider  mill. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  259 

General  William  H.  Adams,  the  instigator  of  the  famous  Sodus ditch, 

and  a  lawyer  of  eminent  ability,  occupied  while  a  resident  of  Galen  the 
old  house  standing  a  few  yards  west  of  the  present  residence. of  Hon. 
Thomas  Robinson;  in  the  cellar  he  had  Henry  Robinson  (father  of 
Thomas)  build  four  wine  vaults  of  solid  masonry.  He  also  owned  600 
acres  surrounding'  the  place,  most  of  which  is  now  included  within  the 
village  corporation.  Prior  to  General  Adams's  occupancy  and  during 
the  anti-Masonic  excitement  this  old  house  is  said  to  have  been  stoned 
by  a  mob  which  had  gathered  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  a  number  of 
Masons  who  had  taken  refuge  therein,  and  who  had  prepared  it  for  the 
occasion  by'  making  loop  holes  through  the  walls  and  barricading  the 
doors  and  windows.  General  Adams  had  four  sons,  one  of  whom, 
Alexander  D.,  became  captain  of  Company  B,  27th  Regiment,  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion.  The  property  passed  from  General  Adams  to 
Alexander  Duncan,  his  chief  financial  backer,  and  in  1872  the  home- 
stead was  purchased  by  Mr.  Robinson. 

Between  1810  and  1815  a  number  of  Quakers  settled  in  the  vicinity 
of  Marengo,  among  them  being  David  Beadle,  Stephen  T.  Watson, 
Daniel  Strang,  James  Tripp,  Henry  Donnell,  and  Mathew  Rogers. 
Cyrus  Smith,  a  member  of  the  Hicksite  branch  of  this  denomination, 
located  in  Clyde  at  an  early  day  and  finally  moved  to  the  farm  after- 
ward occupied  by  Joseph  Crawford. 

Thomas  J.  Marsh,  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1816,  came  to  Galen  with 
his  parents  in  1820,  and  died  May  1,  1887.  Franklin  Humphrey,  a 
native  of  Phelps,  N.  Y.,  born  in  1808,  moved  here  with  his  father's 
family  in  1812,  was  engaged  in  the  foundry  business  forty-one  years, 
and  died  in  June,  1877.  Horace  Barnes  and  Jacob  Y.  Brink  both  died 
here  in  November  of  that  year.  Matthew  Mackie,  who  was  born  in 
England  in  1811,  removed  to  Galen  with  his  father,  Thomas,  in  1818, 
and  died  here  June  3(»,  1873;  he  was  a  farmer  and  nurseryman,  and 
supervisor  two  years.  William  Aurand,  born  in  Bucks  county,  Pa.,  in 
1803,  came  to  this  town  with  his  parents  in  1819,  and  died  in  Septem- 
ber, 1884.  Peter  Vanderbilt,  a  native  of  Romulus,  N.  Y.,  born  in  1800, 
moved  to  Galen  when  a  lad,  and  died  August  23,  1891 ;  John  Yosbiirgh, 
who  settled  here  in  1835,  died  July  30,  of  the  same  year.  Lendal  Put- 
nam Powers,  a  harnessmaker,  was  born  here  November  7,  1828,  en- 
listed in  the  9th  New  York  Heavy  Artillery,  and  died  in  town  June 
30,  1S92. 

Richard   Wood    settled   in    Clyde    in    1820;    he  was  a  stone  mason, 


200  LANDMARKS   OF 

groceryman,  village  constable,  and  proprietor  of  the  Indian  Queen 
Hotel,  which  stood  near  the  corner  of  Glasgow  and  Columbia  streets. 
vSeth  Henry  Wood,  who  died  January  is,  1886,  came  to  Galen  with  his 
father,  Israel,  in  1830;  he  was  a  cabinet  maker,  and  in  1868  established 
with  his  brother,  Sidney  W.,  the  present  engine  manufactory  in  Clyde 
of  S.  W.  Wood  &  Son. 

George  R.  Mason  (died  July  2,  1886)  and  Oliver  Stratton  (died  Sep- 
tember 3,  1886)  came  to  Galen  in  1824  and  L820  respectively.  JohnM. 
Blodgett  settled  with  his  parents  in  Marengo  in  1818,  removed  to  Clyde 
in  is-.*;,  and  died  February  23,  1888.  George  Closs  located  at  Lock 
Berlin  in  1813;  his  widow  died  there  August  28,  1875. 

Anions  the  settlers  of  the  town  and  village  from  is:1)!)  to  1850  were: 
Tobias  Forbes,  carpenter,  died  January  13,  1891;  Prosper  S.  Sloan, 
died  in  March,  1891 ;  Porter  G.  Denison,  son  of  George  P.,  owner  of  the 
Clyde  Hotel  in  1850,  merchant,  supervisor,  died  in  March,  1890;  Henry 
Schindler,  died  August  22,  1887;  James  M.  Nichols,  dry  goods  mer- 
chant with  Albert  Frisbie,  died  the  same  day;  Peter  Fmigh,  shoemaker, 
farmer,  died  November  26,  1SS7;  Thomas  Smith,  father  of  Arthur  H., 
died  in  December,  188'.);  George  W.  Moon,  blacksmith,  died  in  Novem- 
ber, 1887;  Samuel  S.  Morley,  born  in  England,  served  as  postmaster 
from  L862  to  1871;  John  Schindler,  died  in  March,  1*74;  Jacob  Scott, 
father  of  Mrs.  De  Lancy  Stow,  born  in  1803,  came  to  Clyde  in  1831,  hat 
dealer  until  1877,  became  an  Odd  Fellow  in  1845,  died  August  S,  1881  : 
Thomas  Tipling,  crockery  dealer  with  his  brother  John,  and  under  the 
firm  names  of  Tipling  &  Cockshaw  and  Tipling  &  Tuttle,  died  October 
17,  1875;  JohnG.  Hood,  druggist;  George  G.  De  Fancy,  in  business  with 
his  brother  Amos  N.,  died  October  31,  1878;  Philip  Mark  De  Zeng, 
lumber  and  coal  dealer,  and  predecessor  of  A.  H.  Holmes,  recruited 
and  became  major  of  Briggs  Guards,  67th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  son  of  Philip 
N,,  died  April  19,  1888. 

Adam  Fisher,  the  youngest  of  fifteen  children,  was  born  in  1811, 
learned  the  shoemaker's  and  glassblower's  trades,  came  to  Clyde  in 
L833,  and  died  here  September  11,  IS!):!.  His  mother  attained  the  age 
of  liil  and  his  father  104  years.  He  conducted  a  tannery  for  a  time  in 
company  with  S.  Whitman,  and  later  became  a  boot   and   shoe  dealer. 

Jacob  Van  Husk  irk,  born  at  Buskirk's  Bridge,  N.  Y.,  in  ls->:i,  came  to 

Clyde  in  1842,  and  died   here   in   June,    L891.      He  was  a  justice  of  the 

ce  twenty  years,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  from  1859  to 

is; -J  and  an  elder  in   that   church  from   1SUS  until   lsso,  first  lieutenant 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  361 

of  Co.  B  111th  N.  V.  Vols.,  and  the  first  railroad  ticket  agent  in  Clyde 
in  1854.  His  son,  Albert  M.,  was  the  first  superintendent  and  engineer 
of  the  Clyde  water  works,  serving  from  the  fall  of  L889  until  Septem- 
ber.  L891. 

Satnuel  S.  Briggs,  born  in  Chatham,  N.  Y.,  in  1803,  came  to  Galen 
in  1835,  and  purchased  200  acres  and  subsequently  300  more.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  Miller's  Bank,  the  first  financial  institution  in  the 
town,  and  in  1856  he  organized  the  Briggs  Bank  of  Clyde.  He  died 
September  3,  1865,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Samuel  H.  The  latter 
was  born  here  in  18-14.  He  was  president  of  the  Briggs  National  Bank 
in  Clyde,  a  founder  and  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  moved 
to  Rochester  in  1882,  where  he  died  August  8,  1894. 

Adrastus  Snedaker,  born  in  1813,  moved  with  his  parents  to  Sodus  in 
1813,  came  to  Clyde  in  1838,  and  for  sixteen  years  was  station  agent  for 
the  "  Big  Line  "  towing  company.  In  1858  he  was  elected  sheriff,  and 
in  that  capacity  hanged  James  Fee,  March  23,  1860,  the  first  and  only 
person  ever  put  to  death  by  law  in  Wayne  county.  James  W.  and  Al- 
bert L.  Snedaker,  his  sons,  served  in  the  Rebellion,  and  in  their  mem- 
ory the  Snedaker  Post,  No.  173,  G.  A.  R.  of  Clyde  was  named;  this  post 
was  organized  in  July,  1880,  with  thirty  members. 

Daniel  Saxton,  the  father  of  Hon.  Charles  T.  Saxton,  was  born  on 
Long  Island  in  1822,  moved  to  Clyde  in  1845,  and  died  here  in  June, 
1891.  With  A.  F.  Terry  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  coach  lace 
and  harness.     (See  biographical  department). 

Prominent  among  settlers  may  be  mentioned  Jacob  E.  Tremper,  gro- 
ceryman,  died  May  7,  1881;  James  Armitage,  for  several  years  town 
clerk,  died  April  14,  1881;  Ernest  Lux,  cooper  and  coal  dealer,  died 
November  12,  1891;  E.  Willard  Sherman,  born  in  Rose  in  1833,  drug- 
gist and  cooper,  town  clerk,  secretary  Galen  Agricultural  Society,  eleven 
years  clerk  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  died  February  23,  1889;  Jere- 
miah Greene,  moved  to  Sodus  with  his  parents  in  1837,  graduated  from 
Union  College  in  1858,  came  to  Clyde  in  1865,  ruling  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  eleven  years,  died  in  October,  188!);  Peter  F.  Ryerson, 
merchant  and  builder,  died  in  September,  1888;  Emory  W.  Gurnee, 
born  in  Sodus  in  1843,  came  to  Clyde  in  1864,  town  clerk,  village  treas- 
urer six  years,  supervisor,  member  of  assembly  in  1873;  Morgan  Cook- 
ingham,  justice  of  the  peace  and  county  superintendent  of  the  poor, 
died  at  Lock  Berlin  in  June,  1879;  Samuel  V.  Bockhoven,  born  in  New 
Jersey  in  1800,  moved  to  Lyons  while  young,  thence  to  Lock  Berlin  and 


262  LANDMARKS  OF 

Clyde,  died  in  July,  1876;  Charles  E.  Elliott,  banker,  maltster,  etc., 
died  April  s,  L873;  Captain  William  Graham,  died  in  185G,  and  his 
widow  February  L5,  L891 ;  Fredus  Chapman,  died  July  9,  1886;  Captain 
William  Watters,  first  passenger  conductor  over  the  Niagara  Falls  branch 
of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  ticket  agent  at  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral depot  in  Clyde  for  twenty -four  years  from  June,  1860,  died  April  20, 
iss|  ;  Ira  Wells,  father  of  ex-member  of  assembly  E.  B.  Wells,  born  in 
1794,  settled  early  in  Sodus,  removed  to  Lyons,  died  in  April,  1882; 
Henry  Graham,  jr.,  born  in  1802,  blacksmith,  moved  to  Port  Glasgow 
in  is;51  and  kept  hotel,  came  to  Rose  and  later  to  Clyde,  died  October 
17,  1878;  N.  B.  Gilbert,  father  of  W.  H.  Gilbert,  settled  in  Lock  Berlin 
in  1837,  town  superintendent  of  schools,  justice  of  the  peace,  carriage 
manufacturer,  died  there  in  1875.  Barber  Streeter,  some  time  post- 
master at  Lock  Berlin,  died  in  February,  1890.  Many  others  of  equal 
note  are  mentioned  on  subsequent  pages  and  more  fully  in  part  2d  of 
this  volume. 

The  first  school  house  at  Lock  Berlin,  and  probably  the  first  in  Galen, 
was  built  of  logs  near  Black  Creek  about  1814;  its  first  teacher  was  John 
Abbott.  Some  nine  years  later  it  was  burned  and  another  erected  half 
a  mile  east.  About  four  years  afterward  the  district  school  was  divided 
between  Clyde  and  Lock  Berlin,  and  this  school  house  was  abandoned 
and  a  new  one  built  in  this  village.  The  first  school  building  in  Marengo 
was  erected  about  1816,  the  first  teacher  being  Samuel  Stone  and  the 
second  James  McBride.  In  1  sis  the  school  is  said  to  have  had  ninety 
scholars  and  Joseph  Watson  was  the  teacher.  In  Clyde  the  first  school 
was  taught  by  William  McLouth  in  a  log  house  which  stood  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Sylvester  Clarke's  garden.  The  Clyde  High  School  was  legally 
incorporated  April  23,  1834,  by  the  consolidation  of  districts  14  and  1  ;, 
and  the  first  trustees  were  William  S.  Stow,  John  Condit,  George  Bur- 
rill,  Isaac  Lewis,  Sylvester  Clarke,  and  Calvin  D.  Tompkins.  A  two 
story  building  with  a  high  basement  was  erected  that  year  on  the  corner 
of  Lock  and  Caroline  streets;  Professor  William  H.  Sehram  was  the  first 
principal  and  Miss  Abigail  Packard  the  first  preceptress,  assisted  by 
three  teachers.  Subsequently  the  village  was  divided  for  school  pur- 
poses and  a  graded  school  established  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  of 
which  Byron  N.  Marriott  is  the  present  principal.  July  i.  18 74,  the 
cornel- stone  of  the  present  High  School  building  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river  in  Clyde  was  laid  with  Masonic  ceremonies,  and  school  was 
opened   in   if  that  fall.      It   is  of  brick   and  cost  $30,000.      It  maintains 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  263 

primary,  intermediate,  and  academic  departments,  and  is  under  Profes- 
sor Alvin  B.  Bishop,  A.M.,  principal,  and  Florence  G.  Ivison,  precept- 
ress. It  has  a  library  of  1,575  bound  volumes,  and  was  attended  dur- 
ing the  school  year  L893-94by  415  resident  and  112  non-resident  pupils. 
Among-  the  various  principals  in  charge  of  the  school  are  recalled  the 
names  of  Hon.  William  H.  Lyon,  William  Burnett,  Professor  Bennett, 
John  Robinson,  Hugh  R.  Jolly,  and  Edward  Hayward.  Mr.  Lyon  be. 
came  noted  as  the  inventor  of  the  telegraphic  printer;  or,  rather,  as  the 
first  to  demonstrate  through  the  medium  of  a  model  that  the  pen  and 
ink  or  type  could  be  used  in  conveying  messages;  this  occurred  while 
he  was  principal  of  this  school  in  184-1.  The  Board  of  Education  for 
L893-94  consists  of  George  B.  Greenway,  president;  Archibald  M. 
Graham,  secretary  and  treasurer;  and  Willard  N.  Field.  John  G.  Gil- 
lette is  clerk. 

The  town  has  eighteen  school  districts  with  a  school  house  in  each, 
which  were  taught  in  1892-93  by  thirty  teachers  and  attended  by  1,225 
children.  The  value  of  school  buildings  and  sites  is  $51,275;  assessed 
valuation  of  the  districts  $3,367,263 ;  public  money  received  from  the 
State  $5,137.70;  raised  by  local  tax  $8,276.34. 

One  of  the  oldest  burial  places  in  Galen  is  situated  west  of  Marengo, 
and  was  opened  by  the  Quakers  in  connection  with  their  church.  In 
the  western  part  of  Clyde  village  is  an  old,  unused  burying  ground,  in 
which  the  first  interment  was  the  remains  of  a  child  of  Peter  Moon. 
The  Catholics  have  a  very  pretty  cemetery  in  the  southwest  part  of  the 
village,  between  the  railroads.  The  Maple  Grove  Cemetery  Associa- 
tion was  organized  March  25, 1859,  with  these  officers:  Samuel  S.  Briggs, 
president;  Aaron  Griswold,  vice-president;  Leander  S.  Ketchum,  sec- 
retary ;  Isaac  Miller,  treasurer.  Thirteen  acres  of  land  were  purchased 
in  the  southeast  part  of  the  town,  which  has  been  beautified  and  fitted 
up  in  a  very  tasty  manner.  The  presidents  of  the  association  have  been 
as  follows:  Samuel  S.  Briggs,  to  April,  1865;  Aaron  Griswold,  to  April, 
1871;  Samuel  H.  Briggs,  to  April,  1882;  Samuel  S.  Morley,  to  April, 
1883 ;  John  Cockshaw,  to  present  time.  The  other  officers  for  1894  are : 
Sylvester  J.  Child,  vice-president;  George  O.  Baker,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer; John  Cockshaw,  George  O.  Baker,  Sylvester  J.  Child,  Samuel  H. 
Briggs,  William  D.  Ely,  and  Archibald  M.  Graham,  trustees. 

Soon  after  the  first  settlers  came  in  small  distilleries  began  to  spring 
up  and  flourish  in  various  parts  of  the  town.  Abner  Hand  had  one  near 
the  river  two  miles  southeast  of  Clyde,  and  Aaron  Dunn  had  one  on  his 
farm.     Those  in  Clyde  are  noticed  further  on. 


164  LANDMARKS   OF 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  of  Galen  made  a  brilliant 
record,  responding  promptly  to  the  various  calls  for  troops  and  con- 
tributing liberally  of  both  money  and  men.  No  little  credit  is  due  the 
ladies  for  their  patriotism  and  substantial  aid  during  that  long  conflict. 
A  total  of  155  men  went  out  from  this  town,  a  number  of  whom  were 
promoted  to  commissioned  officers,  and  all  of  whom  served  with  honor 
and  distinction.  Dennis  G.  Flynn,  who  died  in  April,  1873,  recruited, 
parts  of  Company  B,  111th,  and  Company  K,  138th  Regiments,  and  be- 
came captain  of  the  latter  in  1864, 

Clyde  Village. — Situated  near  the  center  of  the  town,  on  the  Eric- 
Canal  and  New  York  Central  and  West  Shore  Railroads,  the  village  of 
Clyde  is  one  of  the  most  important  points  in  Wayne  county.  It  com- 
menced an  existence  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  in  1811,  when  Jona- 
than Melvin,  jr.,  erected  the  block  house  previously  described.  In  this 
the  first  town  meeting  was  held  in  1812,  in  which  year  two  more  log 
houses  were  built.  Soon  afterward  the  hamlet  was  given  the  name  of 
"  Lauraville, "  from  Henrietta  Laura,  Countess  of  Bath,  daughter  of  Sir 
William  Pultney.  William  McLouth,  a  surveyor,  laid  out  the  original 
lots  and  streets  south  of  the  river,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  carry  on 
trade  in  the  place.  The  first  store  was  started  about  1815  by  James  B. 
West  in  a  part  of  the  Vanderbilt  tavern.  In  181?  Sylvester  Clarke 
opened  a  store  opposite  the  hotel  and  later  moved  his  goods  to  a  build- 
ing now  the  residence  of  his  son  Sylvester  H.  Among  the  first  lot  own- 
ers after  McLouth's  survey  were  Dennis  Vanderbilt,  R.  James,  W.  Min- 
derse,  W.  Wallace,  E.  Dean,  D.  Southwick,  a  Mr.  Richmond,  J.  Wcrk, 
and  Tubbs  and  West. 

The  first  tavern  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  was  built  and  kept  by 
Dennis  Vanderbilt  about  IS  14.  It  stood  on  the  corner  of  Waterloo  and 
Water  streets,  and  in  its  ball  room  the  flrst  Sunday  school  was  organ- 
ized in  1825.  James  Humeston  a  little  later  put  up  another  near  the 
river  between  the  two  bridges.  This  was  subsequently  kept  for  a  time 
by  Horatio  G.  Kingsbury  and  others,  and  in  183G  it  was  burned.  In 
1837  Herman  Jenkins  built  on  the  site  what  was  last  known  as  the  old 
Humphrey  house,  which  was  demolished  in  1884  to  make  room  for  the 
road  bed  of  the  West  Shore  Railroad.  Mr.  Humeston  was  appointed 
the  lirst  postmaster  when  the  post-office  was  established  in  "Laura- 
ville," under  the  name  of  Galen,  and  kept  the  office  in  his  tavern.  June 
1\!,  L820,  Sylvester  Clarke  was  appointed  to  the  position.  In  the  upper 
story  of  his  building,  which  is  still  standing,  the  Presbyterians  and  Free 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  265 

Masons  held  their  earlier  meeting's,  and  after  a  split  occurred  in  the 
former  the  seeeders  held  services  here  under  Rev.  William  L.  Roberts, 
who  also  taught  a  select  school.  Arza  Lewis  had  a  store  at  an  early 
day  on  Water  street. 

( )n  the  north  side  of  the  River  Dr.  Ledyard,  a  Revolutionary  surgeon, 
received  the  original  title  to  the  land,  and  from  him  it  passed  to  George 
Burrill.  The  first  frame  house  was  built  by  William  S.  De  Zeng,  as 
was  also  the  first  store,  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Hunt 
block,  and  which  was  kept  by  his  agent,  Mr.  Scott.  This  house  subse- 
quently became  the  dwelling  of  William  S.  Stow.  Mr.  De  Zeng  never 
lived  here,  but  his  business  interests  in  Clyde  were  long  an  important 
feature  of  the  village;  he  died  in  Geneva,  August  16,  1882.  About  1817 
this  side  of  the  river  was  surveyed  into  village  lots,  and  in  1818  Andrew 
MeNab,  from  the  River  Clyde,  Scotland,  came  here  to  dispose  of  them. 
The  landscape  evidently  reminded  him  of  his  native  heath,  for  he  gave 
the  name  Clyde  to  the  Canandaigua  outlet  and  this  portion  of  the  village. 

The  first  tavern  here  was  originally  called  the  Mansion  House,  then 
the  Franklin,  the  Sherman,  and  finally  the  Delevan  House,  under  which 
designation  it  burned  in  November,  1885.  From  the  steps  of  the 
Mansion  House  in  1825  Dominic  Moshier  made  the  address  of  welcome 
when  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton  passed  through  the  village  on  the 
"Young  Lion  of  the  West, "  the  first  canal  boat  that  passed  through 
Clyde.  The  Exchange  Hotel,  subsequently  known  as  the  Eagle  House, 
was  built  on  the  canal  bank  near  the  glass  works  in  1825.  Its  first  land- 
lord was  a  Mr.  Garrett,  and  directly  in  front  of  it  was  the  old  canal 
lock  long  since  torn  out.  Opposite  was  the  large  yellow  grocery  of 
Strong  &  Harrington,  and  a  little  west  was  the  American  Hotel,  once 
kept  by  Harry  Goodchild.  This  formed  quite  a  settlement,  but  when 
the  lock  was  removed  the  buildings  disappeared  and  the  Eagle  Hotel 
was  made  an  ashery.  The  site  of  the  present  Clyde  Hotel  was  originally 
occupied  by  the  Clyde  Coffee  House,  a  two-story  hostelry,  erected  by  a 
Mr.  Whitmore  in  1818.  It  was  burned  in  1826  while  Horatio  G.  Kings- 
bury was  proprietor,  and  in  the  same  year  the  first  Clyde  Hotel  was 
built  by  David  Williams  and  Benjamin  Ford.  It  was  two  stories  high, 
but  when  P.  G.  Denison  became  proprietor  he  added  another  and  Peter 
Ryerson  subsequently  built  the  north  wing.  With  adjacent  buildings 
it  was  burned  September  11,  1883.  The  present  Clyde  Hotel  was 
opened  November  18,  1884.  The  present  proprietor,  F.  B.  Smith,  ob- 
tained possession  in  January,  1889. 

34 


im 


LANDMARKS    OF 


January  6,  1830,  Eber  F.  Moon  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Clyde 
Standard,  the  first  paper  published  in  Clyde,  from  a  wood  building  on 
the  site  of  the  S.  S.   I  Lock  (now  the  home  of  the  Clyde  Times  I, 

and  which  is  now  occupied  as  a  tenement  on  Sodus  street.  It  states 
that  boats  passed  through  the  Erie  Canal  on  January  3,  on  their  way  to 
Albany;  it  also  contains  the  following"  local  advertisements:  Elisha 
Blakeman.  select  school;  James  Dickson,  dry  goods  and  groceries; 
Mason  &  Pendleton,  cabinet  ware  and  furniture;  William  S.  Stow,  loo 
building  lots  in  Clyde  for  sale;  James  M.  Watson,  proprietor  Clyde  and 


mekn   View  <>i    Clyde. — From  an  old  print,  ls4n. 


Geneva  mail  stage,  three  trips  each  way  weekly ;  Acker  &  Chapman, 
I  »  S.  Bartles,  Ely,  Shepard  &  Co.,  and  M.  L.  Faulkner  (dry  goods),  all 
published  notices  to  delinquent  debtors:  De  Zeng  &  Rees,  cash  or 
barter  paid  for  ashes:  J.  W.  Furnal  &  Co..  hatters;  D.  Foster,  saddle 
and  harness  maker;  Clyde  Hotel,  Edmund  B.  Hill,  proprietor;  C. 
Bartles,  beer.      The  second  newspaper  was  the  Clyde  Gazette  in  1 6 

In  1830  Clyde  contained  seven  dry  goods  stores,  ten  groceries,  four 
hotels,  two  drug  stores,  a  glass  factor}-,  two  lawyers,  an  insurance  office, 
a  printing  office  and  newspaper,  two  saddle  and  harness  makers,  two 
hatters,  two  grist  mills,  a  saw  mill,  a  wool  carder,  one  cloth  dresser, 
two  physicians,  two  milliners,  live  shoemakers,  two  blacksmiths,  three 
tailors,  two  tanners,  four  storage  and  forwarders,  six  painters,  twelve 
carpenters,  four  masons,  a  cabinet  maker,  two  distilleries,  one  wheel- 
wright, three  coopers,  and  "upwards  vt  200  houses,  most  of  which  have" 
been  built  within  the  last  two  years." 

In  1845  Clyde  had  eleven  dry  goods  stores,   four  groceries,  two  drug- 
inhabitants. 


WAYNE   COUNTY. 


■>Ju 


William  S.  Stow  settled  in  Clyde  in  1825,  and  the  same  year  built  his 
law  office  west  of  and  facing-  the  public  square;  this  structure  is  still 
standing  and  is  occupied  by  his  son,  DeLancey  Stow.  It  is  the  oldest 
office  in  the  village  and  in  it  the  village  government  was  inaugurated. 
In  it  also  Clyde  village  was  incorporated  May  2, 1835,  when  five  trustees 
were  elected,  as  follows:  William  S.  Stow,  Samuel  C.  Paine,  Aaron  T. 
Hendrick,  Arza  Lewis,  and  John  Condit.  Lauraville  then  ceased  to  be 
and  the  settlements  on  both  sides  of  the  river  have  since  been  known  as 
Clyde.  The  post-office,  as  previously  noted,  had  been  called  Galen, 
but  in  18-2 1 i,  through  the  efforts  of  Representative  Robert  S.  Rose  and 
William  S.  Stow,  the  name  was  changed  to  Clyde.  The  present  post- 
master is  De  Lancy  Stow,  who  succeeded  George  G.  Roe  in  October  1, 
181)4. 

The  presidents  of  Clyde  village  have  been  as  follows : 


Aaron  T.  Hendrick,  1885, 
Ira  Jenkins,   1836, 
Nathan  P.  Colvin,  1837, 
William  S.  Stow,  1838-40, 
B.  M.  Vanderveer,  1841, 
Charles  D.  Lawton,  1842, 
William  O.  Sloan,  1843, 
William  S.  Stow,  1844, 
William  O.  Sloan,  1845, 
Albert  Clark,  1846, 
Luther  Field,  1847, 
Ambrose  S.  Field,  1848, 
Jabez  S.  Amoreaux,  1849, 
Charles  E.  Elliott,  1850, 
Alfred  C.  Howe,  1851-53, 
Samuel  S.  Streeter,  1854, 
Samuel  Weed,  1855, 
Albert  F.  Redfield,  1856, 
Adrastus  Snedaker,  1857, 
Aaron  Griswold,  1858, 
John  Condit,  1859, 
Byron  Ford,  1869, 
Solomon  H.  Skinner,  1861, 
William  H.  Coffin,  1862-63, 
Dr.  Darwin  Colvin,  1864-66, 


Aaron  Griswold,  1867-69, 
James  M.  Streeter,  1870, 
Aaron  Griswold,  1871, 
P.  Ira  Lape,  1872, 
Aaron  Gregory,  1873, 
John  Crowell,  1874-75, 
Charles  T.  Saxton,  1876, 
Dr.  Darwin  Colvin,  1877, 
John  Cockshaw,  1878, 
Edwin  Sands,  1879, 
James  M.  Streeter,  1880, 
Marcus  Shafer,  1881. 
Lathrop  S.  Taylor,  1882, 
Albert  F.  Redfield,  1883. 
Edwin  Sands,  1884, 
Levi  Paddock,  1885, 
Michael  A.  Fisher,  1886, 
Arthur  H.  Smith,  1887, 
Avery  H.  Gillette,  1888, 
Charles  R.  Stranghan,  1889, 
Albert  C.  Lux,  1890, 
James  Keesler,  1891, 
James  R.  Miller,  1892, 
Archibald  M.  Graham,  1893, 
George  B.  Greenway,  1894. 


Village  officers  for  1804:  president,  George  B.  Greenway;  clerk, 
Charles  R.  Kennedy;  trustees,  George  B.  Greenway,  George  W.  Cowles, 
Charles   A.    Sloan,    Charles   S.   Skinner,     H.    K.    Compson;    collector, 


268  LANDMARKS   OF 

John  E.  Haight;  treasurer,  William  A.  Hunt;  chief  of  fire  department, 
John  Hak  ;   police  justice,  De  Lance)7  Stow. 

June  3,  L835,  that  part  of  the  village  south  of  the  river  was  designated 
as  corporation  number!,  with  Eleazer  H.  House,  overseer  of  highways; 
that  part  cast  of  Sodus  street,  north  of  the  river,  as  corporation  2,  with 
Richard  Wood,  overseer;  and  that  portion  west  of  Sodus  street  as  cor- 
poration 3,  with  George  Thompson,  overseer.  In  1836  the  following 
ordinance  was  enacted  and  has  never  been  repealed: 

That  any  person  or  persons  who  shall  hereafter  suffer  or  permit  any  playing  with 
cards,  or  dice,  or  other  gatning-table  or  shuffle-board,  or  shall  permit  any  kind  of 
gaming  by  lot  or  chance,  within  his  or  her  house,  out-house,  yard,  or  garden,  within 
the  village  of  Clyde,  shall,  for  every  offense,  forfeit  or  pay  into  the  village  treasury 
the  sum  of  ten  dollars. 

On  May  14,  1840,  the  charter  was  amended  and  authorized  the  trus- 
tees to  raise  ',1,(100  to  extinguish  the  debt  incurred  in  purchasing  a  fire 
engine.  May'.',  1855,  and  in  May,  1873,  the  charter  was  further  amended; 
on  the  latter  date  it  increased  the  corporate  limits  to  four  square  miles, 
making  the  center  of  the  public  square  the  center  of  the  village  and 
allowing  $2,000  per  annum  to  be  raised  for  expenses;  before  that  $1,000 
was  the  maximum  sum.  In  February,  1874,  a  special  bill  was  enacted 
by  the  Legislature  authorizing  the  trustees  to  levy  and  collect  a  tax  of 
$6,000,  in  addition  to  the  regular  tax,  to  pay  the  village  debt  to  that 
date. 

The  first  public  hall,  a  wooden  structure,  stood  on  the  site  of  the 
present  one;  it  was  burned  April  20,  1870,  and  an  act  was  passed  en- 
abling the  town  and  village  to  jointly  raise  $4,000  to  erect  a  new  build- 
ing. This  was  legally  authorized  at  a  special  election  May  3,  1870,  and 
the  present  hall  was  built  during  that  and  the  following  year.  It  is  of 
brick  and  contains  the  village  offices,  the  fire  department  headquarters, 
and  an  opera  house. 

On  April  K),  1824,  Eli  Frisbie,  Simeon  Griswold,  and  James  Dickson 
were  appointed  commissioners  to  build  a  bridge  over  the  river  at  Clyde, 
and  the  supervisor  was  empowered  to  raise  $1,000  for  the  purpose.  This 
bridge  took  the  place  of  the  first  one  built  at  this  point  in  L810,  and 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  upper  bridge.  In  L867  the  old  wooden 
bridge  at  the  corner  of  Geneva  and  Griswold  streets  was  replaced  by  a 
stone  one. 

The  first  license  granted  for  a  public  entertainment  was  dated  June 8, 
L835,  and   permitted  "  Noel  E.  Waring  to  exhibit  for  one  day,  on  the 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  269 

24th  inst. ,  his  Zoological  Institute  Association,  Menagerie  and  Aviary, 
and  also  his  paintings  andSerpant,"  in  consideration  of  the  payment  of 
$10.  The  .first  band  of  musicians  in  Clyde  was  organized  in  L839  under 
the  leadership  of  Major  Gilbert,  of  Palmyra;  he  was  succeeded  in  L840 
by  Major  Pitman,  who  was  paid  a  salary  of  $400  a  year.  This  band  dis- 
banded about  1854.  In  1860  the  Wells  Cornet  Band  was  organized,  and 
in  L878  the  Saxton  Band  was  formed. 

The  Clyde  Fire  Department  was  instituted  January  7,  1830,  by  the 
appointment  of  sixteen  persons  as  a  hook  and  ladder  company.  In  1 841 
the  Cataract  hand  engine  was  purchased  for  $1,000  and  the  first  engine 
company  was  then  organized.  October  20,  1857,  the  old  Cataract  com- 
pany was  reorganized  into  the  Niagara  Fire  Company  No.  2,  to  man  the 
engine  Niagara,  which  had  been  purchased  October  7  at  a  cost  of  $1,000; 
this  engine  and  hose  were  destroyed  in  the  glass  works  fire  July  24, 
1 873.  The  old  Cataract  engine,  long  since  disused,  is  still  in  possession 
of  the  Ever  Readys.  In  1872  two  dams  were  constructed  in  the  Erie 
Canal  to  retain  water  for  use  at  fires.  In  September,  1873,  the  village 
purchased  a  Silsby  steamer  and  1,000  feet  of  hose  for  $5,000,  and  in  the 
same  year  the  Protectives  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  No.  1  was  organ- 
ized. In  June,  1886,  a  fire  bell  was  placed  in  the  town  hall.  In  May, 
1889,  a  new  truck  costing  $1,000  was  purchased  for  the  Protectives,  and 
a  new  chemical  extinguisher  was  bought  for  the  Ever  Ready  Hose  Com- 
pany No.  2. 

Among  the  more  disastrous  fires  that  have  visited  the  village  may  be 
mentioned  the  following:  July  24,  1873,  glass  factory,  loss  about  $55,- 
000;  in  September,  1874,  same  place,  loss  $3,000;  in  October,  1874,  the 
Newman  House,  loss  $8,000;  March  28,  1878,  Barse  block,  loss  $10,000; 
September  11,  1883,  Clyde  Hotel,  St.  John's  Episcopal  Church,  Gillette 
blocks,  etc.,  loss  $25,000;  January  17,  1889,  on  Columbia  street,  loss 
$12,000;  January8,  1890,  same  street,  loss  $7,000;  January  16,  1890, 
on  Glasgow  street,  loss  $7,000. 

The  project  of  providing  an  adequate  water  supply  for  Clyde  was 
agitated  in  1883,  and  on  January  17,  1885,  the  Clyde  Water  Works  Com- 
pany was  organized.  Nothing  was  done,  however,  until  1887,  when  the 
matter  was  revived.  On  May  14,  1888,  the  present  water  works  com- 
pany was  formally  organized  and  in  the  same  month  a  contract  was 
signed  with  the  Bassett  Brothers  to  construct  the  existing  system.  The 
village  bound  itself  to  pay  $1,600  annually  for  five  years  for  water  for 
fire  protection.     Twelve  wells  were  sunk  on  the  N.  G.  Moore  farm  in 


270  LANDMARKS   OF 

the  western  part  of  the  corporation,  and  a  steel  water  tower  with  a  ca- 
pacity of  200,000  gallons,  was  erected  on  Rees  hill.  A  pumping  sta- 
tion equipped  with  two  boilers  and  a  compound  duplex  engine  was 
erected  ami  the  system  went  into  operation  in  the  fall  of  1889.  Albert 
W.  Van  Buskirk  was  appointed  the  first  superintendent  and  engineer, 
and  held  the  position  until  he  resigned  in  September,  L891,  when  the 
present  incumbent.  E.  M.  Ellinwood,  took  charge.  Since  the  inception 
of  the  water  works  the  engines  and  steamer  have  been  superseded,  in 
ease  of  lire,  by  hose  attached  to  the  hydrants. 

The  Clyde  Board  of  Trade  was  organized  in  L890,  and  has  sinee  been 
the  means  of  materially  advancing  the  commercial  growth  of  the 
village. 

The  gas  works  of  Clyde  were  started  about  L856,  and  have  continued 
to  supply  the  village  and  individuals  with  gas  sinee  that  date.  The 
works  are  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  canal,  west  of  the  upper 
bridge,  and  are  now  in  charge  of  George  Tuffts. 

The  Clyde  Electric  Company  was  incorporated  September  20,  1890, 
by  E.  Fred  Stoetzel  (president),  Charles  II.  Ford  (vice-president), 
E.  M.  Mclntyre  (secretary  and  treasurer),  Calvin  Mclntyrc,  and  J. 
George  Kaelber,  with  a  capital  of  $25,000,  which  has  remained  un- 
changed. The  plant  was  erected  that  fall  and  placed  in  operation 
December  25,  in  a  brick  building  between  the  canal  and  the  Central 
Railroad,  west  of  Sodus  street.  It  is  the  only  plant  burning 2,000 candle 
power  arc  lights  in  streets  between  Syracuse  and  Rochester.  They 
have  thirty-eight  are  street  lamps  and  about  500  incandescent  lamps, 
and  a  wired  system  of  fourteen  miles.  The  present  officers  are :  D.  M. 
Wright,  president;  Nathan  Shaw,  vice-president;  E.  M.  Mclntyre, 
secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  banking  interests  of  Clyde  date  from  L837,  when  Miller's  Bank 
was  established  through  the  influence  of  Messrs.  Briggs,  Ford,  Chap- 
man, Smith,  Griswold,  Redlield,  and  De  Zeng.  Stocks  were  issued  to 
farmers  in  exchange  for  mortgages,  which  became  the  securities  under 
State  law.  The  bank  did  a  large  business,  but  it  failed  in  1843, 
spreading  disaster  in  every  direction.  January  ;,  L851,  Isaac  Miller 
organized  the  Commercial  Bank  of  Clyde;  but  he  failed  in  1869  with 
heavy  liabilities.  In  L865  Mr.  Miller,  father  of  Isaae,  established  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Clyde,  he  tilling  the  office  of  president,  anil 
William  II.  Miller,  son  of  Isaac,  cashier.  This  bank  also  failed  in  1869. 
Charles   Hamilton,  who  was   born  in  Steuben  county  in    181'.),  came  to 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  r,  \ 

Clyde  about  L859,  and  for  several  years  prior  to  his  death  (February  23, 
L893)  conducted  a  private  banking-  business. 

The  Briggs  Bank  of  Clyde  was  incorporated  in  1856,  under  the 
State  law,  as  the  Briggs  Bank,  with  Samuel  S.  Briggs,  president, 
and  William  H.  Coffin,  cashier  and  principal  manager.  Its  capital  was 
about  $70,000,  and  among  its  stockholders  were  Messrs.  Briggs,  Coffin, 
Redheld,  and  Ketchum.  In  1859  Mr.  Briggs  became  by  purchase  the 
sole  owner.  January  28,  1860,  Aaron  Griswold  bought  a  one-half 
interest,  and  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Briggs  in  September,  1865,  he  sold  out 
to  Samuel  H.  Briggs,  son  of  Samuel  S.,  who  also  acquired  his  father's 
interest.  In  the  same  year  S.  H.  Briggs  sold  a  part  of  the  business  to 
Lewis  H.  Palmer,  and  in  the  fall  of  1866  its  circulation  was  called  in, 
its  securities  in  possession  of  the  State  redeemed,  and  it  became  a 
private  bank  under  the  name  of  Briggs  &  Palmer.  In  March,  1880,  it 
closed  business  under  this  title,  and  April  19  following  began  anew 
as  the  Briggs  National  Bank  with  paid  in  capital  of  $50,000,  and  with 
these  officers:  Samuel  H.  Briggs,  president;  Lewis  H.  Palmer,  vice- 
president;  J.  W.  Hinman,  cashier;  W.  A.  Hunt,  assistant  cashier. 
These,  and  W.  S.  Hunt  and  George  W.  Cowles,  constitute  the  Board  of 
Directors. 

In  March,  1869,  Aaron  Griswold  and  Charles  E.  Elliott  purchased  the 
office  fixtures  of  the  defunct  First  National  Bank  and  started  a  private 
bank  on  the  corner  of  Columbia  and  Glasgow  streets;  in  the  next  year 
it  was  removed  to  the  corner  of  Glasgow  and  Ford  streets.  The  firm 
name  of  Griswold  &  Elliott  was  soon  changed  to  Griswold,  Elliott  & 
Company,  and  subsequently  to  Griswold  &  Gurnee.  In  May,  1874,  Mr. 
Griswold  retired  and  the  firm  became  Gurnee  &  wStreeter,  but  on  June 
1,  1876,  Aaron  Griswold  repurchased  the  entire  business  and  conducted 
it  until  his  death  in  February,  1883,  when  it  was  discontinued. 

In  1832  a  company  consisting  of  eight  men  was  formed  in  Clyde  for 
the  purpose  of  manufacturing  salt.  A  well  400  feet  deep  was  sunk  and 
$1,800  were  expended  in  promoting  the  enterprise.  Brine  was  obtained 
in  small  quantity,  but  when  exposed  to  the  air  it  turned  red.  An 
artesian  well  was  put  down  near  the  glass  works  which  emitted  gas  and 
produced  a  weak  brine.  In  May,  1887,  a  company  was  organized  with 
a  capital  of  $3,000;  the  trustees  were:  W.  D.  Ely,  J.  M.  Streeter,  A.  H. 
Smith,  W.  H.  Groesbeck,  and  George  O.  Baker.  On  September  13,  a 
well  was  commenced  on  the  vacant  lot  near  the  glass  works;  at  a  depth 
of  340  feet  the  Niagara  formation  appeared,   at  675  feet  the  Clinton 


LANDMARKS   OF 

group,  and  at  758  feet  the  Medina  sandstone,  and  at  1,792  feet  work 
was  suspended.  At  1  1<>  feet  mineral  water  was  found,  and  at  175  feet 
salt  water  was  struck;  at  685  feet  a  pocket  of  gas  was  encountered;  this 
was  'Darned  for  some  time,  but  was  never  utilized. 

The  Clyde  mineral  springs  were  analyzed  by  Professor  Hadley,  of 
Geneva  College,  in  184-1,  and  found  to  contain  the  following  ingredients: 
muriate  of  soda,  55  gr. ;  muriate  of  lime,  30  gr. ;  sulphate  and  muriate 
of  magnesia,  12  gr.  ;  a  gallon  of  the  water  contains  288  grains  of  saline 
matter.  In  1893  a  well  was  sank  in  the  middle  of  the  public  square 
which  produces  water  strongly  impregnated  with  mineral  substances. 

About  the  year  1820  William  S.  De  Zeng  purchased  a  tract  of  land 
within  the  present  limits  of  Clyde,  and  with  James  R.  Rees  founded  the 
present  glass  works  in  1827.  It  was  then  simply  a  window  glass  factory, 
and  the  corner  stone  was  laid  March  27,  1828,  under  the  superintendence 
of  Major  Frederic  A.  De  Zeng.  The  proprietors  since  that  time  have 
been  as  follows: 

William  S.  De  Zeng,  James  R.  Rees  (De  Zeng  &  Rees);  Charles  S.  De  Zeng;  Dr. 
Hiram  Mann;  Lawrence  De  Zeng,  Abner  Burlingame,  Theodore  Hinman  (De  Zeng 
&  Co.);  James  H.  Stokes;  James  H.  Stokes,  William  C.  Ely  (Stokes  &  Ely);  James  II. 
Stokes;  II.  H.  Stevens,  Isaac  Miller  (Stevens  &  Miller);  H.  H.  Stevens,  Isaac  Miller, 
C.  E.  Elliott,  H.  G.  Groesbeck  (Stevens,  Miller  &  Co.);  Isaac  Miller,  George  Rowell, 
Cornelius  Miller  (Miller,  Rowell  &  Co.);  William  C.  Ely;  Dr.  Linus  Ely;  Orrin  South- 
wick;  Orrin  Southwick,  Charles  W.  Reed,  John  Schindler,  George  H.  Hoyt  (South- 
wick,  Reed  &  Co.);  William  C.  Ely,  Charles  W.  Reed,  John  Schindler,  George  H. 
Hoyt  (Ely,  Reed  &  Co.);  William  C.  Ely,  Charles  W.  Reed,  George  H.  Hoyt  (Ely. 
Reed  &  Co.). 

From  IS^S  to  1864  the  window  glass  factor)-  alone  was  run.  In  1864 
tlie  bottle  factory  was  started,  the  first  firm  being  Southwick  &  Woods 
(Orrin  Southwick  and  Almon  Woods);  then  Southwick  &  Reed  (Orrin 
Southwick  and  Charles  W.  Reed).  Afterward  both  factories  were 
under  the  management  of  Southwick,  Reed  &  Co. 

On  July  24,  1873,  the  establishment  was  burned,  but  was  at  once  re- 
built. In  1878  the  buildings  underwent  repairs  and  the  old  corner  stone 
was  replaced  by  anew  one  August  10.  In  isso  Mr.  Rco(]  retired  and 
the  (inn  became  Fly,  Son  &  Hoyt,  by  the  admission  of  Charles  1).  Ely. 
William  C.  Ely  died  September  20,  L886,  since  which  time  the  firm  name 
has  been  William  C.  Ely's  Sons  &  Hoyt  (Charles  1).  and  William  D. 
Ely  and  George  II.  Hoyt.)  Window  glass  and  bottles,  fruit  jars,  etc., 
are  made,  and  the  product  is  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 

In  1831  Condit  &  Van  Buren  established  a  foundry  in  a  wooden  build- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  273 

ing;  and  a  little  later  the  firm  became  Whiting,  Humphrey  &  Co.,  who, 
in  1843,  sold  to  Dolph,  Humphrey  &  Co.  The  latter  erected  a  stone 
building  and  added  the  manufacture  of  machinery  and  here  the  business 
has  ever  since  been  conducted.  Among  their  successors  were  A.  S. 
Field,  Humphrey  &  Wood,  Millard  Olmstead,  F.  Humphrey,  Wood  & 
Chandler.  December  1,  1866,  S.  W.  &  S.  H.  Wood  purchased  the  con- 
cern and  carried  on  business  until  the  death  of  S.  H.  Wood,  when  S.  W. 
assumed  the  business.  In  1887  the  latter  admitted  his  son  Henry  I. 
as  partner  under  the  style  of  S.  W.  Wood  &  Son.  They  make  traction, 
portable,  and  stationary  engines,  iron  and  brass  castings,  and  do  a  gen- 
eral machine  business. 

In  1866  the  First  National  Paper  Manufacturing  Company  of  Clyde 
was  organized,  with  Dr.  Darwin  Colvin,  president,  and  erected  a  build- 
ing with  a  weekly  capacity  of  nine  tons  of  manilla  wrapping  paper. 
The  next  year  the  Clyde  Paper  Manufacturing  Company,  of  which  Aaron 
Griswold  was  president,  began  making  printing  paper.  After  running 
about  two  years,  at  a  heavy  loss,  both  mills  were  closed.  One  of  the 
buildings  was  afterwards  used  by  T.  P.  Thorn  as  a  malt  house,  and  in 
August,  1877,  it  was  burned  with  a  loss  of  $11,000. 

Isaac  Scott,  a  Quaker,  is  said  to  have  started  the  first  tannery  in 
Clyde.  William  Andrews  became  his  partner  and  when  Roberts  & 
Rose  assumed  the  business  Mr.  Scott  established  another  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river.  The  tannery  of  Roberts  &  Rose  was  finally  converted 
into  a  dwelling  and  occupied  by  Asahel  Tichnor,  Ezra  Furman,  and 
others,  and  eventually  was  torn  down.  Root  &  King  also  had  a  tan- 
nery here  at  an  early  day,  and  failed  about  1835. 

In  1818  William  S.  De  Zeng's  father  built  a  dam  across  Clyde  River 
west  of  the  lower  bridge,  and  the  son  erected  a  grist  mill  on  the  north 
side  of  the  stream  just  west  of  the  site  of  the  mineral  spring.  In  early 
days  another  mill  was  built  west  of  the  lower  bridge  and  a  carding  mill 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river  below  that  bridge.  The  first  steam  grist 
mill  was  erected  by  Ford  &  Smith  where  the  lumber  yard  is  now  situated. 
It  was  purchased  by  Aaron  Griswold,  Charles  S.  De  Zeng,  W.  C.  Ely, 
and  H.  G.  Groesbeckin  1851,  who  sold  it  in  1854  to  Briggs,  Coffin  &Co. , 
by  whom  it  was  converted  into  a  distillery.  It  burned  and  was  not  re- 
built. Mr.  Griswold  and  Fredus  Chapman  purchased  in  1843  two  grist 
mills  and  a  saw  mill  which  at  that  time  constituted  the  milling  interests 
of  Clyde,  and  the  two  men  also  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  Mr. 
Griswold  subsecpiently  soldhis  interest  to  Luther  Redfield,  jr.      In  1854 

35 


274  LANDMARKS   OF 

Cornelius  Miller  erected  a  brewery  and  malt  house  which  his  son,  John 
C,  transformed  into  a  grist  mill,  and  its  proprietors  have  since  been 
James  H.  Congdon,  1857;  Zina  Hooker,  1863;  Louis  Strumm  and  John 
Hartman,  1864  ;  Mary  Hartman,  1874;  and  Wood  &  Keesler  since  L883. 
The  latter  have  enlarged  and  remodeled  the  mill  and  substituted  the 
roller  process  for  stones.  S.  Skinner  built  a  steam  saw  and  grist  mill  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river  which  subsequently  passed  to  Joel  Thorn. 
It  was  demolished  in  1883  to  make  room  for  the  West  Shore  Railroad. 

The  malting  business,  though  carried  on  in  a  quiet  manner,  forms  one 
of  Clyde's  most  important  industries.  In  1854  Cornelius  Miller  erected 
a  brewery  and  malt  house  previously  mentioned;  upon  the  death  of 
Louis  Strumm  it  was  leased  for  four  years  by  A.  H.  Smith.  Capacity 
12,000  bushels.  Charles  E.  Elliott  had  a  malt  house  near  the  present 
foundry,  and  his  successors  were  Reed  &  Elliott,  A.  H.  Smith,  and 
Charles  R.  Kennedy,  since  1880.  Capacity  30,000  bushels.  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy also  leases  a  malt  house  of  C.  W.  Reed.  In  I860  Charles  Gordon 
converted  one  floor  of  his  warehouse  into  a  malting  establishment  with 
a  capacity  of  8,000  bushels.  S.  D.  &  J.  M.  Streeter  purchased  the 
building,  and  in  1806  increased  its  capacity  to  60,000  bushels.  In  1891 
S.  D.  Streeter  sold  his  interest  to  George  B.  Greenway,  who  one  year 
later  became  sole  proprietor,  enlarging  its  capacity  to  100,000  bushels. 

John  Stevens  &  Company  started  a  malt  house  capaple  of  carrying 
about  15,000  bushels.  Thomas  P.  Thorn  succeeded  as  proprietor  and 
also  to  that  of  the  Newlove  brewery  adjoining,  and  in  1867  he  enlarged 
the  latter,  making  the  combined  capacity  100, 000  bushels.  Thorn  & 
Fox  started  a  malt  house  in  the  old  paper  mill  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  about  1864,  but  abandoned  it  some  four  years  later.  In  18(18  the 
Nichols  warehouse  was  converted  into  a  malt  house  with  a  capacity  of 
12,000  bushels.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Nichols,  Charles  W.  Reed 
bought  the  property,  enlarged  it  to  a  capacity  of  60,000  bushels,  and 
excepting  two  years,  when  he  was  in  partnership  with  A.  II.  Smith, 
has  since  conducted  it.  Mclntyrc  &  Warner's  malt  house  was  built  as 
a  storehouse  by  Calvin  Mclntyre.  Its  capacity,  formerly  35,000  bushels, 
was  increased  in  L889  to  158,000  bushels.  Thomas  Smith  built  a  malt 
house  in  L856  with  a  capacity  of  8,000  bushels,  which  he  increased,  until 
in  1867  it  was  100,000.  In  lssl  he  associated  his  son  Arthur  II.  in  a 
partnership  styled  T.  Smith  &  Son,  which  continued  until  L888,  when 
J.  K.  Souther,  a  Boston  brewer,  and  A.  II.  Smith  bought  the  concern 
as  the  Smith    Malting  Company.     In  L89Q   Mr.  Souther   purchased  his 


WAYNR    COUNTY.  J7r, 

partner's  interest  and  continues  the  business  under  the  above  name.    In 
1890  Arthur  H.  Smith  bought  the  site  of  the  old  Franklin   House  ad 
joining   the  Central    Railroad    and    erected    his    present   malt   house; 
capacity  100,000  bushels. 

George  A.  Brown  opened  a  harness  shop  in  Clyde  in  1872,  and  from 
that  year  to  the  present  gradually  increased  the  business,  employing 
now  about  fifty-five  hands  in  making  harness  for  the  trade  and  turning 
out  $90,000  in  goods  annually.  He  has  occupied  his  present  quarters 
since  18G4,  and  also  deals  in  carriages,  wagons,  etc. 

The  canning  factory  of  Hemingway  &  Company  was  started  in  the 
old  paper  mill  building  in  1878.  They  have  since  erected  a  large  plant 
and  carry  on  an  extensive  business. 

The  Clyde  Creamery  Company  was  incorporated  in  the  summer  of 
1  89  I,  and  a  factory  placed  in  operation  in  August  of  that  year. 

Of  the  merchants  in  Clyde  thirty  years  ago  Ambrose  S.  Field,  Jacob 
.Strauss,  and  Sylvester  J.  Childs  are  the  only  ones  who  still  continue 
business.  Chester  A.  Ward  opened  a  general  store  in  1838,  and  after- 
ward had  George  M.  Closs  as  partner;  on  the  death  of  the  latter  the 
business  was  closed  out.  Mr.  Ward  was  elected  sheriff  on  the  Whig 
ticket,  moved  west,  and  died  in  Michigan  in  February,  1892.  Among 
other  old-time  merchants  in  the  village  were:  Frisbie  &  Nichols,  A. 
Mundy,  Isaac  Miller,  Halsted  &  Clark,  Luther  Redfield,  jr.,  Frederick 
Bellamy,  J.  D.  Stone,  S.  J.  Sayles,  Edward  Canfield,  Ely  &  Mead, 
Scott  &  Dickinson,  and  J.  C.  Atkins.  Jacob  Zearfoz,  a  German  bach- 
elor, had  a  hat  factory  here  in  early  da3^s. 

The  Clyde  marble  and  granite  works  of  Edward  B.  Wells  was  estab- 
lished by  him  in  1860.  In  1873  he  represented  the  First  Assembly 
District  of  Wayne  county  in  the  Legislature. 

The  S.  S.  Briggs  brick  block,  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  village,  was 
erected  in  1851;  the  A.  E.  Adams  block,  three  stories,  in  1869;  the 
Adams  block,  two  stories,  in  1882;  and  the  L.  W.  Burton  brick  build- 
ing, also  in  1882.  Other  handsome  and  imposing  brick  blocks  have 
been  erected  from  time  to  time,  giving  the  main  street  (Glasgow)  of  the 
village  quite  a  metropolitan  appearance. 

Clyde  village  now  contains  three  dry  goods  stores,  three  hardware 
stores,  seven  groceries,  three  boot  and  shoe  stores,  five  millinery  stores, 
two  jewelry  stores,  three  clothing  stores,  three  drug  stores,  one  news 
room,  a  photograph  gallery,  three  furniture  establishments,  one  furniture 
repair  shop,   two   printing  offices    and   newspapers,    two  hotels,    three 


276  LANDMARKS   OF 

liveries,  two  flouring  mills,  seven  malt  houses,  three  coal  dealers,  one 
lumber  yard,  one  produce  dealer,  five  lawyers,  six  physicians,  three 
dentists,  four  meat  markets,  two  marble  works,  one  warehouse,  a 
machine  shop,  two  cooper  shops,  a  district  graded  school,  a  high  school, 
five  churches,  and  a  population  of  2,638. 

Lock  Berlin. — This  place  was  first  settled  by  Solomon  Ford  in  1805. 
He  bought  one  hundred  acres  of  land  mainly  on  the  south  side  of  the 
canal,  which  five  years  later  became  a  prosperous  farm.  In  his  neighbor- 
hood in  1812  James  Showers,  John  and  McQuiller  Parish,  and  John 
Acker  each  purchased  one  hundred  acres  and  settled.  The  last  survivor 
of  these  families  was  Mrs.  Delia  Gernard,  daughter  of  John  Parish. 
The  first  frame  house  was  built  by  David  Ford  in  1817  on  the  farm 
owned  by  the  heirs  of  Daniel  Jennison.  David,  William,  and  Benjamin 
Ford  erected  and  opened  the  first  store  in  1824,  and  in  connection 
therewith  conducted  a  distillery,  a  brick  yard,  a  cooper  shop,  and  an 
ashery.  Aaron  Griswold  and  William  Ford  started  a  second  mercantile 
business  here  in  1831,  but  a  year  or  two  later  Alfred  Griswold,  brother 
of  Aaron,  purchased  Mr.  Ford's  interest,  and  the  two  continued  trade 
until  March,  1836.  N.  B.  Gilbert,  father  of  W.  H.  Gilbert,  came  here 
in  1837  and  engaged  in  carpentering;  in  1849  he  began  making  carriages, 
which  he  continued  until  his  death  in  1875. 

It  has  generally  been  claimed  that  the  post-office  was  first  established 
in  William  Ford's  store,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  was  the  first  post- 
master. The  present  incumbent  is  James  Dunkley.  James  Darned 
and  Seth  Brown,  the  first  road  commissioners  of  Galen,  were  prominent 
residents  of  the  hamlet ;  and  Samuel  Brockner  was  one  of  its  earliest 
blacksmiths.  In  1838,  and  for  many  years  before,  a  tavern  furnished 
entertainment  for  travelers.  William  Griswold  had  the  lock  grocery  at 
an  early  day  and  went  to  New  York  each  fall  and  spring  to  buy  goods, 
purchasing  generally  from  forty  to  fifty  casks  of  whisky  and  a  liberal 
supply  of  rum,  gin,  and  brandy.  At  that  time  the  place  contained 
about  seventy-five  inhabitants.  The  temperance  movement  long  since 
suppressed  the  large  number  of  bar  rooms  and  lias  given  to  Lock  Berlin 
a  respectable  reputation.  Situated  on  the  canal  and  the  Central  Rail- 
road, in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  the  little  hamlet  now  contains  a 
store,  post-office,  evaporator,  district  school,  church,  and  the  usual 
shops. 

M  \kkm;o. — This  little  village  is  the  site  of  the  first  settlement  in 
Galen.      It  is  situated   in  the  southwest   part    of  the  town  on  lot   95,  on 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  277 

the  Montezuma  turnpike,  a  half  mile  north  from  the  county  line. 
Thomas  Beadle,  of  Junius,  Seneca  county,  originally  owned  the  land, 
and  in  1800  settled  his  son  Laomi  upon  it.  The  latter  erected  the  first 
house  and  the  first  saw  mill,  and  Edward  G.  Ludlow  started  the  first 
store  in  1818;  this  was  in  charge  of  his  agent,  Cyrus  Smith,  who  was  in 
that  year  appointed  the  first  postmaster;  the  present  official  is  David 
H.  Perry.  About  1818  Edward  Wing  built  and  opened  the  first  tavern, 
and  Nathan  Blodgett  started  an  ashery.  The  village  was  rapidly  sur- 
rounded by  thrifty  farmers,  most  of  whom  were  Quakers,  who  long  im- 
parted to  the  community  an  influence  for  good.  They  early  established 
a  church  of  their  sect  and  have  maintained  their  simple  doctrines  and 
quiet  reserve  through  the  intervening  years  to  the  present  day. 

Angell's  Corners,  three  miles  east  of  Marengo  and  half  a  mile  north 
from  the  county  line,  is  a  small  rural  hamlet  of  a  few  farm  houses. 

Meadville,  or  Lock  pit,  is  a  little  settlement  on  the  canal  near  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  town.      It  has  a  grocery  and  a  few  dwellings. 

Churches. — The  oldest  religious  organization  in  this  town  is  the 
Galen  Preparatory  Meeting  of  Friends,  which  was  formed  in  1815  into 
a  regular  monthly  meeting  to  be  held  alternately  in  the  towns  of  Junius 
and  Galen.  Among  the  first  members  from  this  town  were :  David 
Beadle,  Stephen  Y.  Watson,  James  Tripp,  Daniel  and  Nathan  Strang, 
Mathew  Rogers,  and  Henry  Bonnell.  Five  years  prior  to  this  they  had 
organized  the  above  society  in  conjunction  with  Junius,  and  until  1812 
meetings  were  held  occasionally  in  a  log  meeting  house  near  Marengo ; 
in  that  year  their  present  house  of  worship  was  built  one-fourth  of  a 
mile  west  of  that  village.  After,  several  years'  experience  as  a  regular 
monthly  meeting  the  organization  changed  back  to  the  Galen  Prepara- 
tory Meeting  of  Friends,  which  title  it  still  retains. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Clyde  was  organized  by  Rev. 
Francis  Pomeroy,  of  Lyons,  and  Rev.  Hippocrates  Roe,  of  Palmyra, 
July  8,  1814,  with  these  members:  Samuel  Garlic,  William  Diddie,  Ezra 
and  Nabby  Lewis,  John  and  Sally  Grow,  and  Erastus  Wilder.  On  the 
following  day  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government  was  adopted,  and 
Samuel  Garlic,  Erastus  Wilder,  and  Ezra  Lewis  were  chosen  elders; 
Erastus  Wilder,  deacon;  Rev.  Francis  Pomeroy,  stated  moderater; 
Samuel  Garlic,  clerk.  At  this  meeting  Tamar,  wife  of  Erastus  Wilder, 
became  the  first  member  admitted  to  the  society,  and  on  July  10,  Huldah 
and  Charlotte  Grow,  Lydia  Elizabeth  Wilder,  and  John  A.  Addison 
were  christened  and  baptized  into  the  church  by  Rev.  Mr.  Roe.     The 


278  LANDMARKS   OF 

church  was  attended  by  supplies  until  July,  1820,  when  Rev.  Charles 
Mosher  was  made  the  first  pastor;  he  was  succeeded  among'  others  by 
Maltby  Gelston,  Joseph  Fisher,  S.  J.  M.  Beebe,  J.  W.  Roy,  John 
Ward,  Robert  E.  Wilson  (sixteen  years),  J.  R.  Young-,  A.  C.  Roe,  and 
W.  H.  Bates  (twelve  years).  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  C.  Mead, 
and  the  society  has  about  200  members.  The  society  worshiped  a  few 
years  in  the  school  house  south  of  the  river,  and  then  in  the  upper  story 
of  Sylvester  Clarke's  store,  the  same  now  occupied  by  his  son  Sylvester 
H.  as  a  dwelling.  The  first  house  of  worship  stood  on  the  corner  of 
Lock  and  Caroline  streets;  was  of  wood  and  cost  $5,500  ;  its  cornerstone 
was  laid  in  August,  1829.  In  1870  it  was  superseded  by  the  present 
imposing  brick  edifice,  the  corner  stone  of  which  was  laid  August  20. 
The  church  cost  about  $30,000.  It  was  dedicated  November  30,  1871. 
The  parsonage  was  donated  to  the  society  by  General  Charles  P.  Kings- 
bury of  Watertown,  Mass.,  as  a  memorial  to  his  mother,  who  was  long 
one  of  its  members. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1821,  the  Galen  Sabbath  School  Society  was 
organized  at  the  house  of  Ephraim  Marsh  with  the  following  officers: 
Rev.  Charles  Mosher,  superintendent;  Dea.  John  Leavenworth,  vice- 
superintendent;  James Humeston,  secretary;  Dr.  John  Lewis,  treasurer; 
Oliver  Whitmore,  Joel  Blakeman,  Sylvester  Clarke,  Capt.  Jerry  Darrow, 
and  Asahel  Tickner,  trustees.  It  had  thirty-two  teachers  and  was 
attended  by  children  of  all  the  church-going  families  in  the  village  and 
its  vicinity.  Shortly  afterwards  it  was  merged  into  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  among  its  subsequent  superintendents  was  Jacob  T.  Van 
Buskirk  from  1859  to  1873,  who  increased  its  membership  from  fifty- 
seven  to  over  300.  It  now  lias  an  average  attendance  of  L25,  with  G.  A. 
Brown,  superintendent. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Clyde  was  organized  as  early  as  1*1  H, 
and  Rev.  Joseph  Potter  was  the  first  pastor;  but  owing  to  the  loss  (A' 
the  records  to  1843.  further  information  concerning  its  early  history 
cannot  be  obtained.  The  erection  of  an  edifice  was  begun  soon  after 
the  formation  of  the  society— an  edifice  that  has  since  been  remodeled 
into  the  present  church.  In  L843  the  pastor  was  Rev.  Mr.  Maxwell, 
and  following  him  came  Revs.  Mitchell,  Weld),  Vrooman,  Loomis, 
Gilbert,  Cormac,  Cooley,  and  Hubbard,  the  latter  serving  in  1858-59. 
Dissension  sprang  up  in  the  church  which  threatened  its  existence,  and 
it  was  finally  decided  to  dissolve  and  reorganize  thesociety.  September 
10,  180  1,  and  soon  after  the  old  church  had  formally disbanded,  a  meet- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  279 

ing  for  reorganization  was  held  and  the  present  society  was  formed. 
In  September  the  legal  organization  and  recognition  by  council  took 
place  in  Parker's  hall.  The  new  church  had  fifty  members  and  these 
officers:  P.  Sloan,  A.  Devereaux,  J.  Vandenberg,  B.  Jones,  and  J.  S. 
Lamereaux,  trustees;  A.  De  Laney,  treasurer;  La  Fontaine  Russell  and 
Hiram  Burton,  deacons.  The  first  pastor  of  the  new  society  was  Rev. 
William  H.  Steegar;  the  present  pastor  is  Rev.  C.  H.  Howes,  who  is 
also  moderator  of  the  Wayne  Baptist  Association,  1893-94.  In  1864  the 
church  building  was  partially  sold  to  the  Free  Methodists,  who  still  own 
a  half  interest ;  but  the  new  Baptist  society  has  always  used  it  for  their 
meetings.  It  is  a  brick  structure  on  Sodus  street,  and  cost  about 
$2,500.  In  1877  it  was  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  $4,319,  and  on  October  3, 
of  that  year,  it  was  dedicated.  The  church  has  about  one  hundred 
members  and  a  Sunday  school  with  an  average  attendance  of  seventy- 
five  scholars;  the  superintendent  is  W.  L.  Devereaux. 

The  First  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Clyde  was 
organized  in  the  village  school-house  by  Revs.  Isaac  Chase  and  Joseph 
Gardner,  November  23,  1824,  the  first  trustees  being  Jabez  Cook,  Ben- 
jamin B.  Wright,  and  Isaac  Chase.  In  1831  their  first  house  of  worship 
was  finished  and  dedicated  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,900.  It  was  of  wood 
and  was  used  until  1859,  when  a  brick  structure  was  erected  on  the 
corner  of  Sodus  and  Caroline  streets.  Enlarged  and  its  length  increased 
to  one  hundred  feet  it  was  rededicated  November  23,  1871 ;  it  was  again 
remodeled  and  refurnished  in  1892.  The  church  proper  including  the 
parsonage  is  valued  at  about  $30,000,  and  the  society  has  a  membership 
of  375.  The  Rev.  John  Robinson  was  appointed  for  two  years  as  first 
pastor  of  the  new  society.  From  the  organization  in  1824  to  1833  the 
church  was  in  a  circuit.  The  first  regular  appointment  was  in  1833, 
when  Philo  E.  Brown  was  pastor.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  David 
Keppel.  The  Sunday  school  was  organized  in  1824,  and  now  has  an 
average  attendance  of  about  200;  superintendent,  J.  W.  Hinman. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Lock  Berlin  was  organized  in  the 
school  house  in  1835  with  about  twenty-five  members.  Prior  to  this, 
however,  services  had  been  held  in  the  place  by  Methodist  preachers, 
prominent  among  whom  was  Rev.  Loren  Riley.  The  church  building- 
was  erected  in  1838  and  cost  $1,200.  Among  the  first  pastors  were  Rev. 
Silas  Bolls,  Joseph  C.  Chapman,  and  Rensselaer  Harrington,  the  latter 
of  whom  died  recently  in  Lyons.  The  society  has  about  forty  mem- 
bers, under  Rev.  W.  C.  Burbank. 


280  LANDMARKS   OF 

St.  John's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Clyde  was  organized  in  the 
High  School  building-  September  26,  1840,  the  first  officers  being: 
James  C.  Adkins,  senior  warden;  Charles  A.  Rose,  junior  warden; 
William  H.  Griswold,  Josiah  N.  Westcott,  William  S.  Stow,  James  R. 
Rees,  Daniel  H.  Allen,  Henry  Goodchild,  Charles  D.  Lawton,  and 
William  H.  Adams,  vestrymen.  Rev.  Benjamin  W.  Stone,  D.D.,  was 
the  first  rector.  In  1842  the  first  church  edifice,  a  wooden  building, 
was  erected  on  the  site  of  Harmony  Hall  at  a  cost  of  $1,200,  and  was 
consecrated  by  Bishop  William  Heathcote  De  Lancy,  D.D.,  in  May  of 
that  year.  In  1845  it  was  moved  to  the  north  side  of  the  public  square, 
west  of  the  Clyde  Hotel,  on  the  site  of  Mrs.  J.  R.  Muth's  present 
dwelling;  here  it  was  burned  September  11,  1883.  The  present  hand- 
some stone  edifice  was  built  in  1884,  and  is  valued  at  $18,000.  The 
corner  stone  was  laid  by  Bishop  Coxe  of  Buffalo,  September  13,  1884, 
and  the  church  opened  for  service  just  one  year  from  that  day.  The 
parish  has  about  eighty  communicants.  Rev.  Richard  T.  Kerfoot  has 
been  rector  since  January,  1892.  The  officers  for  1894  are:  Homer 
Daboll,  senior  warden;  De  Lancey  Stow,  junior  warden;  Clark  Potts, 
Dr.  J.  N.  Arnold,  Robert  Nichols,  George  B.  Green  way,  and  P.  H. 
Kenyon,  vestrymen.  The  society  owns  a  brick  rectory  east  of  the 
church.  The  Sunday  school  has  an  average  attendance  of  about  fifty, 
under  H.  Cady,  superintendent.  In  the  chapel  of  this  church  is  a  pipe 
organ  that  is  cherished  as  a  memorable  relic  of  the  past.  It  was  donated 
to  this  parish  by  the  Trinity  church  of  Geneva  in  184(i  in  consideration 
of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  members  here  formerly  belonged  to  that 
body.  It  was  used  until  about  1890,  when  it  was  replaced  by  a  hand- 
some pipe  organ  costing  $2,000.  The  old  organ  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  of  its  kind  in  this  State  and  the  first  instrument  purchased  by 
the  Trinity  church  of  New  York  city.  Upon  the  solicitation  of  Rev. 
Davenport  Phelps  it  was  secured  as  a  gift  by  the  Trinity  church  of 
Geneva  soon  after  the  formation  of  that  society. 

St.  John's  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Clyde  had  its  inception  in 
services  of  that  denomination  which  were  held  in  Thomas  Hickey's 
building  by  Rev.  Father  Gilbride  about  1845.  Priests  occasionally 
visited  the  village  until  1851,  when  the  first  edifice,  a  wooden  building, 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,300.  It  was  in  the  Lyons  charge  and  Rev. 
Thomas  O'Brien  was  the  first  pastor.  In  the  spring  of  1869  the  corner 
stone  of  the  present  brick  and  stone  edifice  was  laid,  and  on  Christmas 
following  midnight  mass  was  celebrated  therein  by  Rev.  J.  P.  Stewart, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  281 

to  whom  great  credit  is  due  for  its  erection.  It  was  consecrated  in 
August,  1870,  by  Bishop  McQuaid  and  Father  Stewart.  The  building 
cost  $22,500.  The  parish  has  1,000  communicants.  The  present  pastor 
is  Rev.  Father  J.  J.  Gleason.  The  presbytery  south  of  the  church  was 
built  in  1872,  and  remodeled  in  1891.  The  Sunday  school  was  begun 
in  1856;  it  now  has  an  attendance  of  eighty  scholars,  under  the  super- 
intendence of  Father  Gleason. 

The  German  Lutheran  Church  of  Clyde  was  organized  in  the  old 
M.  E.  edifice  in  1859,  and  occupied  it  until  1864  on  a  lease.  The  first 
pastor  was  Rev.  Mr.  Stahlsmith.  Among  his  successors  were  Revs. 
Thompson,  Schmaltzel,  Schapple,  and  Manns.  The  society  purchased 
a  half  interest  in  the  old  M.  E.  church  building  in  1864.  Services  were 
maintained  with  some  irregularity  until  a  year  or  two  ago,  but  the 
society  has  become  weak  in  numbers  and  is  practically  disbanded. 

The  Free  Methodist  Church  of  Clyde  was  organized  in  Harmony  Hall 
by  Rev.  William  Cooley  early  in  1864.  The  first  trustees  were :  Samuel 
Fornecook,  Henry  Baker,  Henry  Cole,  Harrison  Holcomb,  P.  Grim- 
shaw,  Isaac  Hammond,  Philip  Sours,  and  B.  Griner.  The  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  J.  B.  Stacey,  and  the  present  pastor  is  O.  M.  Owen.  The 
church  is  in  the  Rose  charge  and  the  pastor  resides  at  Rose  Valley.  In 
1864  the  society  purchased  the  old  Baptist  building,  but  through  a  legal 
technicality  it  passed  back  to  that  organization.  The  same  year  the 
Free  Methodists,  jointly  with  the  German  Lutherans,  bought  the  old 
M.  E.  edifice,  the  former's  half  interest  costing  them  $1,600.  It  was 
dedicated  in  the  fall  of  1864.      A  Sunday  school  was  organized  in  1864. 

The  Universalists  formerly  maintained  occasional  services  in  Clyde, 
but  never  effected  an  organization.  From  1859  to  1864  they  used  the 
old  M.  E.  church  buildingf  on  a  lease. 


36 


282  LANDMARKS   OF 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  WOLCOTT. 

The  old  town  of  Wolcott,  comprising-  the  present  towns  of  Butler, 
Wolcott,  Huron,  and  Rose,  was  set  off  from  the  north  end  of  Junius, 
Seneca  county,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1807,  but  a  legal  organization  was 
not  effected  until  April,  1810.  June  11,  1814,  a  special  town  meeting 
was  convened  to  consider  the  question  of  uniting  with  the  town  of 
Galen  (then  including  Savannah).  Sterling,  Cato,  Hannibal,  and  Ly- 
sander  in  the  formation  of  a  new  county  to  be  known  as  Pern,  but  the 
delegates  appointed  were  instructed  to  vote  against  the  proposition. 
The  subject  was  revived  in  1815,  but  was  soon  abandoned.  About 
1823  it  was  once  more  agitated,  and  this  time  effectively,  but  not  with- 
out considerable  difficulty  in  the  adjustment  of  boundary  lines.  Among 
the  committeemen  appointed  for  the  purpose  were  Amos  Snyder,  Nor- 
man Sheldon,  Thomas  Armstrong,  and  Elisha  Plank.  Huron  and 
Butler  both  wanted  to  include  Wolcott  village,  while  the  settlers  in  the 
vicinity  of  Red  Creek  were  willing  to  accommodate  either  town  so  as  to 
make  their  village  the  principal  point  in  the  new  township.  The  mat- 
ter was  finally  settled  and  the  three  towns  were  set  off,  as  at  present 
constituted,  in  1826,  viz.:  Rose  on  February  5;  Huron  on  February 
25;  and  Butler  on  February  26,  leaving  Wolcott  with  its  present  assessed 
area  of  20,828^  acres. 

The  town  lies  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Wayne  county,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Lake  Ontario,  on  the  east  by  Cayuga  county,  on  the 
south  by  Butler,  and  on  the  west  by  Huron  and  the  lake.  The  surface 
is  undulating  with  a  general  inclination  toward  Lake  Ontario.  The  soil 
is  a  sandy  and  gravelly  loam  and  susceptible  of  easy  cultivation.  Port 
Bay,  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  town,  extends  inland  several  miles 
and  receives  the  waters  of  Wolcott  Creek,  which  Hows  from  Butler 
through  Wolcott  village,  where  it  affords  valuable  mill  sites.  In  the 
northeast  corner  is  Blind  Sodus  Bay,  so  named  from  the  sand-bar  which 
stretches  across  its  mouth  from  the  west  shore.  Between  these  arc  two 
smaller  bays,  the   east  one  of  which  receives  the   waters  of  Big  and 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  283 

Little  Red  Creeks,  the  former  flowing  through  the  village  of  Red 
Creek.  These  and  two  or  three  other  small  streams,  all  flowing  to- 
wards Lake  Ontario,  afford  excellent  drainage  and  several  good  mill 
privileges. 

Agriculture  forms  the  chief  industry  of  the  inhabitants.  The  soil  is 
well  adapted  to  all  kinds  of  farming  and  fruit  raising.  Apples,  pears, 
peaches,  plums,  raspberries,  etc.,  are  grown  with  profit,  and  of  late- 
years  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  has  received  more  or  less  attention. 
Originally  the  town  was  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber  indig- 
enous to  this  latitude,  which  furnished  employment  to  a  number  of 
saw  mills,  all  of  which,  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  a  few  portable 
concerns,  have  long  since  gone  down. 

North  of  Wolcott  village  and  along  Big  Red  Creek  are  several  beds 
of  iron  ore.  The  bed  near  the  village  of  Red  Creek  has  been  worked 
in  past  years  with  considerable  profit.  In  various  parts  of  the  town 
evidence  of  salt  water  have  been  discovered.  In  1887  the  Wolcott  Gas 
and  Mining  Company,  of  which  Jefferson  W.  Hoag  was  president,  sunk 
a  well  inside  the  limits  of  Wolcott  village  to  a  depth  of  2,700  feet. 
Brine  and  natural  gas  were  found,  the  latter  in  considerabla  quantities, 
but  neither  was  ever  utilized. 

The  town  was  settled  with  a  class  of  hardy,  resolute  men  and  women, 
who  were  endowed  with  sterling  traits  of  character  and  remarkable 
powers  of  endurance,  and  whose  keen  perception,  habits  of  thrift,  and 
personal  characteristics  are  inherited  by  their  descendants  and  perme- 
ate the  communities  in  which  they  lived.  The  pioneers,  with  very  few 
exceptions,  have  passed  away,  but  the  fruits  of  their  labors  are  visible 
on  every  hand.  The  fertile  fields,  the  beautiful  orchards,  the  pleasant 
and  commodious  homes,  the  thriving  villages — all  are  living  monu- 
ments to  their  hardships  and  privations,  while  the  numerous  schools 
and  churches  attest  the  standard  of  their  ideas  of  civilization. 

The  town  derived  its  name  from  Oliver  Wolcott,  governor  of  Con- 
necticut, from  which  State  and  Massachusetts  many  of  the  first  settlers 
originally  came.  It  lies  wholly  within  the  old  Military  Tract.  The 
original  town  extended  south  to  Galen  and  Savannah  and  west  to  the 
new  pre-emption  line,  and  when  the  latter  boundary  was  established 
all  of  the  present  town  of  Huron,  nearly  all  of  Rose,  and  the  western 
parts  of  Wolcott  and  Butler  were  made  over  to  the  Pultney  estate  as 
compensation.  From  that  estate  Capt.  Charles  Williamson,  the  founder 
of  Sodus  Point,  received  title  to  the  entire  tract  in  payment  for  money 


284  LANDMARKS   OF 

advanced  in  the  purchase  of  previous  patents.  It  thus  became  known 
as  Williamson's  patent. 

During  the  earlier  settlement  of  Wolcott  the  chief  means  of  trans- 
portation was  by  way  of  Sloop  Landing,  an  important  port  on  the  east 
side  of  Great  Sodus  Bay,  between  the  present  sites  of  Port  Glasgow 
and  Bonnicastle.  Thither  all  produce  was  drawn,  whence  it  was  shipped 
to  Canada  or  down  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  promised  a  brilliant  future 
and  maintained  a  wide  prestige  for  many  years.  But  the  Erie  Canal 
drew  nearly  all  the  commerce  southward,  and  Sloop  Landing  gradually 
fell  into  decay.  The  New  York  Central  Railroad,  through  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  count}',  had  a  marked  influence  upon  the  settlement  and 
development  of  this  section,  but  its  most  important  acquisition  was  the 
Lake  Ontario  Shore  Railroad  (now  the  R. ,  W.  &  O. ),  which  was  com- 
menced in  1871  and  completed  through  the  town,  with  stations  at  Wol- 
cott and  Red  Creek,  in  1874.  At  Red  Creek  the  old  settlers,  on  August 
23,  1871,  made  the  occasion  memorable  by  formally  breaking  ground 
for  the  line  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  To  aid  in  the  construction 
of  this  railroad  the  town  was  bonded  at  seven  per  cent.,  the  bonds  be- 
ing exchanged  February  1,  1882,  for  five  per  cent,  bonds,  amounting  to 
$139,000,  of  which  about  $95,000  remain  unpaid.  The  railroad  com- 
missioner is  Wesley  Hall. 

The  first  highway  in  Wolcott  was  the  "old  Galen  road,'"  running 
from  the  salt  works  in  Savannah  to  Capt.  Helms's  place  at  "Floating- 
Bridge"  (now  Port  Glasgow);  this  thoroughfare  was  opened  by  the 
Galen  Salt  Company  prior  to  1808.  The  first  regular  road  was  sur- 
veyed and  established  November  2,  1810,  by  Osgood  Church ;  Jacob 
Shook  and  Peres  Bardwell,' highway  commissioners;  this  is  now  called 
the  New  Hartford  road  leading  south  from  Wolcott  village.  Air. 
Church  surveyed  nearly  all  of  the  early  highways,  and  Messrs.  Shook 
and  Bardwell  were  long  the  road  commissioners.  In  1810  the  old  town 
was  divided  into  nine  road  districts,  the  commissioners  filing  their  re- 
port March  19,  1811.     The  present  town  contains  sixty-three. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  grist  mill  of  Jonathan  Mel- 
vin,  sr.,  in  Wolcott  village  on  April  3,  1810,  a  little  more  than  three 
years  after  the  old  town  had  been  set  off  from  Junius.  The  first  officers 
were  as  follows  : 

Osgood  Church,  supervisor;  Adonijah  Church,  town  clerk;  Obadiah 
Adams.  Osgood  Church,  John  X.  Murray,  assessors;  Ezra  Knapp  and 
Jesse  Mathews,  overseers  of  the  poor;   Isaac   Shook,    Peres  Bardwell, 


WAYNE   COUNTY 


285 


Noah  Starr,  highway  commissioners;  Levi  Wheeler  and  John  Grandy, 
town  viewers;  Glazier  Wheeler,  William  P.  Newell,  James  Alexander, 
Roger  Sheldon,  overseers  of  highways. 

It  is  believed  that  those  who  participated   at  this  town  meeting,  and 
who,  of  course,  were  residents  of  the  old  town  of  Wolcott,  were : 


Osgood  Church, 
Adonijah  Church, 
Aaron  Hoppin, 
Franklin  Ward, 
Alpheus  Harmon, 
Obadiah  Adams, 
Seth  Craw, 
John  Hyde, 
William  P.  Newell, 
Noah  Starr, 
Dr.  Zenas  Hyde, 
John  Hyde, 
Roswell  Fox, 
Zenas  Wheeler, 
John  Woodruff, 
Lambert  Woodruff, 
Charles  Woodruff, 
Peres  Bardwell, 
Silas  Munsell, 
James  Alexander, 


Ezra  Knapp, 
Abijah  Moore, 
Jacob  Shook, 
Eliab  Abbott, 
John  Grandy, 
Roger  Olmsted, 
Gardner  Mudge, 
Alpheus  Collins, 
Abram  Bunce, 
Lyman  Whitney, 
Robert  Van  Tassell, 
Stephen  Herrick, 
Jacob  Ward, 
Eli  Ward, 
Caleb  Mills, 
Jonathan  Melvin,  sr. , 
Nathaniel  Williams, 
Glazier  Wheeler, 
Eli  Wheeler, 
Levi  Wheeler, 
Roger  Sheldon, 


George  Sheldon, 
Harvey  Mudge, 
Moses  Gillett, 
Thomas  Hancock, 
Elijah  Hancock, 
Lucius  Hubbard, 
Jacob  Frober, 
Wareham  Sheldon, 
Consider  Herrick, 
Prentice  Palmer, 
Ashley  Goodrich, 
Thaddeus  Collins, 
Milton  Fuller, 
Pender  Marsh, 
Eliakim  Tupper, 
William  Hallett, 
Jarvis  Mudge, 
Lott  Stewart, 
Jabez  Stewart, 
Jesse  Mathews. 


For  the  first  few  years,  or  until  1826,  the  town  meetings  were  held 
alternately  at  the  houses  of  Obadiah  Adams  in  Wolcott  village,  and 
Lott  Stewart  at  Stewart's  Corners.  It  is  impossible  to  give  a  complete 
list  of  the  supervisors  owing  to  the  records  prior  to  1867  being  burned. 
Osgood  Church  held  the  office  for  four  years  (1810-13),  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Adonijah  Church  (1814-17).  Jesse  Mathews,  Arad  Talcott, 
Norman  Sheldon,  and  perhaps  others  down  to  1826,  when  the  town  was 
divided.  The  first  supervisor  of  the  present  township,  in  that  year, 
was  Dr.  David  Arne.  March  5,  1867,  the  following  town  officers  were 
elected:  Edwin  H.  Draper,  supervisor;  Ezekiel  K.  Teachout,  town 
clerk;  Isaac  Vought,  John  J.  Van  Alstine,  George  E.  Due,  Daniel  C. 
Washburn,  justices  of  the  peace;  William  W.  Phillips,  assessor;  Ashley 
Milliman  and  H.  W.  Burchard,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Isaac  Rice,  high- 
way commissioner;  Harmon  V.  Becker,  collector.  The  supervisors 
since  then  have  been : 


286  LANDMARKS   OF 

Edwin  H.  Draper,  1867-70.  George  W.  Snyder,  1885-86. 

James  W.  Snyder,  1871.  Myron  Wood,  188.7-89. 

Edwin  II.  Draper,  1872-77.  George  R.  Miles,  1890. 

Marion  Conklin,  1878-80.  Alanson  Church,  1891-93. 

Myron  Wood,  1881-84.  George  R.  Miles,   1894. 

The  town  officers  for  1894  are:  George  R.  Miles,  supervisor;  Herbert 
Perkins,  town  clerk;  E.  H.  Kellogg,  E.  H.  Horton,  O.  J.  Frost,  Mills 
Douglass,  justices  of  the  peace;  William  H.  Milliman,  Nathaniel  }. 
Field,  George  Johnson,  assessors;  Burgess  Jenkins,  highway  commis- 
sioner; Hiram  Snyder,  collector;  Rolla  Stewart  and  Henry  Schuyler, 
overseers  of  the  poor. 

Settlement  in  the  present  town  of  Wolcott  commenced  at  Wolcott 
village  as  early  as  180?.  About  1806  Jonathan  Melvin,  sr. ,  who  in  1705 
had  located  on  500  or  600  acres  of  land  on  Melvin  hill  in  Phelps,  On- 
tario county,  purchased  lot  50,  containing  500  acres,  now  included  with- 
in the  corporate  limits.  He  began  improvements  in  1807  or  1X0S,  but 
did  not  settle  his  family  here  until  1811.  His  tract  was  on  William- 
son's patent,  which  included  the  old  town  of  Wolcott.  The  actual  sale 
of  lands  on  this  patent  continued  from  June  L6,  1808,  to  October  15, 
L813,  during  which  period  117  contracts,  covering  about  L0, 000  acres, 
were  made,  the  prices  ranging  from  $2.40  to  $5  per  acre.  The  first 
contract  was  taken  by  Abram  Bunce  for  144  acres,  now  the  Van  Yleet 
farm  in  Butler.  The  sub-agents  for  Williamson's  patent  were  Osgood 
Church  and  Frederick  Wolcott.  The  latter  did  not  live  here,  and  the 
work  devolved  upon  Mr.  Church,  who  made  the  sales  and  accounted  for 
the  proceeds. 

Adonijah  Church,  the  first  town  clerk  and  a  brother  to  (  >sgood,  came 
to  Wolcott  with  his  family  in  1807  and  settled  on  lot  4S.  He  was  one 
of  the  early  commissioners  of  common  schools,  supervisor  from  1X14 
to  1817  inclusive,  and  died  in  1842,  aged  forty-two.  Osgood  Church 
located  on  lot  40  in  1808.  He  was  born  in  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  in 
list),  and  being  a  surveyor  he  laid  out  all  of  the  earlier  roads  in  this 
town.  He  was  a  prominent  citizen,  an  influential  man,  the  first  and 
for  four  years  supervisor,  and  died  March  15,  1815.  October  27,  1809, 
lie  had  deeded  to  him  855  acres  of  land  here  at  $2.  Hi  per  acre. 

Jonathan  Melvin,  sr.,  and  Osgood  Church  were  closely  associated 
with  the  business  development  of  not  only  Wolcott  village,  but  the  old 
town  as  well,  and  for  many  years  carried  on  a  number  of  important 
industries.     .Melvin  began  improvements  about  1808  and  the  following 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  «87 

year  had  a  gristmill  in  operation  on  the  present  Rumsey  site.  He  also, 
and  doubtless  before  this,  built  a  saw  mill,  and  about  1812  he  sold  both 
establishments  to  Obadiah  Adams  for  $10,000.  He  donated  a  site  for 
a  school  house  or  a  church  which  would  include  the  present  Baptist 
church  lot  and  public  square  in  Wolcott  village.  He  sold  a  lot  below 
the  saw  mill  to  Daniel  Mellin.  who  erected  a  fulling,  cloth-dressing, 
and  carding  mill.  He  sold  about  three  acres,  then  known  as  the  swamp 
lot,  to  Dr.  David  Arne ;  this  included  the  site  of  the  new  Presbyterian 
church.  He  built  an  ashery  on  the  north  side  of  Main  street  and  a  dis- 
tillery on  the  west  side  of  the  road  leading  to  the  Beach  grist  mill.  In 
1811  he  moved  his  family  here  and  about  1813  he  erected  a  dwelling 
house  which  he  painted  jet  black.  Mr.  Melvin  was  a  peculiar  man. 
Upon  being  asked  why  he  chose  such  an  unusual  color  for  his  residence 
he  replied :  "I  like  to  see  things  correspond ;  if  my  character  is  black, 
I  paint  the  house  so."  He  always  wore  a  buckskin  apron,  one  for 
work  and  another  on  Sundays  to  church.  His  farm  and  residence  were 
widely  known  as  the   "  Black  House." 

Extensive  business  interests  like  Melvin's  required  more  capital  than 
he  could  command,  and  so  the  banks  at  Utica  and  Geneva  were  called 
upon  to  furnish  funds,  for  which  notes  and  mortgages  were  given  as 
collateral.  This  involved  Osgood  Church,  who  became  Melvin's  en- 
dorser, and  when  their  paper  fell  due  they  unfortunately  found  them- 
selves without  the  necessary  money.  The  banks  were  obdurate,  and 
the  sheriff  levied  upon  everything  the  two  men  owned,  including  about 
450  acres  within  the  present  limits  of  Wolcott  village.  The  property 
was  bid  in  by  the  Geneva  Bank,  or  at  least  passed  into  the  control  of 
that  institution,  by  which  it  was  subsequently  parceled  out  to  individual 
purchasers,  as  noted  further  on.  Melvin  was  a  pensioner  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  and  after  his  failure  here  he  returned  to  Phelps,  where 
he  died  about  1845. 

Obadiah  Adams,  a  brother-in-law  of  Osgood  Church,  came  here  in 
1810  and  purchased  forty  acres  on  the  east  side  of  New  Hartford  street 
in  Wolcott  village.  He  was  a  colonel  in  the  State  militia,  and  from 
about  1812  to  1824  was  the  chief  business  man  in  the  town.  Upon  the 
site  of  the  Wolcott  House  he  built  a  story  and  a  half  frame  dwelling, 
which  he  opened  as  a  tavern,  and  a  year  or  two  later  he  erected  an  ad- 
dition, in  which  he  kept  a  store,  being  the  first  merchant  and  tavern 
keeper  in  the  town  of  Wolcott.  He  also  built  the  first  distillery  and  an 
ashery,  and. had  a  kiln  in  which   he  dried   corn   meal  for    shipment  to 


288 


LANDMARKS   OF 


Canada.  He  bought  wheat  and  had  a  warehouse  at  Sloop  Landing, 
where  he  speculated  in  land,  laid  out  village  lots,  and  erected  several 
very  good  buildings.  He  owned  a  sailing  vessel,  which  plied  the  waters  of 
Lake  ( )ntari<>,  and  he  built  the  first  frame  barn  in  town,  opposite  his  hotel. 
His  tavern,  being  on  the  Oswego-Buffalo  stage  line,  was  a  favorite  and 
important  stopping  place.  He  erected  a  blast  furnace  a  little  east  of  the 
Beach  mill  and  was  about  to  start  operations  in  the  manufacture  of  plow 
castings  when  he  failed  (about  1824).  The  law  then  imprisoned  for 
debt  and  Mr.  Adams  was  taken  by  the  sheriff  to  the  jail  limits  at  Lyons. 
He  was  soon  liberated,  however,  and  1826  he  moved  to  Rochester, 
where  he  opened  a  hotel,  but  died  soon  afterward,  a  poor  man.  The 
last  town  meeting  of  the  old  town  of  Wolcott  was  held  at  his  house  in 
April,  1825. 

Dr.  David  Arne  was  a  practicing  physician  and  the  first  postmaster  of 
the  town.  He  purchased  of  the  Geneva  Bank  the  old  Black  House  farm 
of  250  acres  at  $17  per  acre.  He  was  a  conspicuous  man,  as  was  also 
Obadiah  Adams,  and  the  two  were  inveterate  political  opponents.  Dr. 
Arne  was  justice  of  the  peace,  and  on  one  occasion  swore  out  and  per- 
sonallv  wrote  several  summonses  against  Adams  for  swearing  on  the 
street,  securing  of  course  the  usual  judgments,  which  the  latter  was 
obliged  to  pay.  Mr.  Adams  retaliated  by  suing  the  doctor  for  false 
arrest  and  secured  a  verdict  of  about  $50. 

The  war  of  1812  checked  immigration  somewhat;  the  following  were 
residents  of  the  old  town  of  Wolcott  just  prior  to  that  conflict : 


James  Kellogg, 
Sylvanus  Joiner, 
Jonathan  Mayo, 
Daniel  Lounsbury, 
Isaac  Lounsbury, 
Jonathan  Wilson, 
Henry  P.    Mead, 
Andrew  Petabone, 
Luther  Aldrich, 
Micajah  Aldrich, 
Jacob  Watson, 
Seth  Mead, 
Ira  Smith, 
Samuel  Southwiek, 
Thaddeus  Fitch, 
Giles  Fitch, 
Charles  S.weet, 


Asa  Town. 
Silas  Town, 
John  R.    Laraway, 
Nathan  Parker, 
Norman  Sheldon, 
Orlando  Seymour, 
Nathaniel  Graves, 
John  Burns, 
Abram  Palmer, 
Stephen  Betts, 
Thomas  Avery, 
Loren  Doolittle, 
Thomas  Hale, 
fames  Phillips, 
John  Southwiek, 
Eli  jali  1  low, 
Asahel  Gillett, 


Chester  Andrews, 
Joseph  B.   Grandy, 
James  Van  Aukcn, 
Robert  Mason, 
Daniel  Roe, 
Asa  Whitmore, 
Michael  Vandercook, 
Samuel  Harskell, 
William  Moulton, 
Aaron  Shepard, 
Ralph  Sheldon, 
Samuel  Millin. 
Elisha  Benjamin, 
Simeon  T.  Viele, 
Solomon  Chapin, 
Palmer  Lovejoy, 
Worcester     Henderson, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  289 

Isaac  Gillett,  Elisha  Plank,  Elijah  Olmstead, 

Elihu  Spencer,  C.  Avery,  SimeonBissell, 

John  Calkins,  Stephen  Joiner,  John  Wade, 

Seth  Shepard,  Jeduthan  Wilson. 

Dr.  Denas  Hyde  came  here  in  1807,  and  November  5,  1811,  he  took 
a  contract  for  eight  and  one-half  acres  of  lot  20.  He  was  the  father  of 
Harlow  Hyde,  who  is  now  the  oldest  living"  supervisor  of  the  town. 
The  latter  was  for  twenty  years  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  a  member  of 
Assembty  in  1856-60.  His  son,  James  H.,  was  lieutenant  of  Company 
A,  138th  N.  Y.  Infantry. 

Zenas  Wheeler  came  to  Wolcott  about  the  same  time  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  General  Assembly  in  1837.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  died  in  Phelps  in  March,  1879. 

Lambert  Woodruff  bought  and  settled  on  about  500  acres  adjoining 
the  Black  House  farm,  on  the  north,  in  1808.  He  had  five  sons,  John, 
Jesse,  Charles,  Luther  and  Andrew.  His  homestead  subsequently  be- 
came the  residence  of  Enos  Reed. 

Elisha  Plank  removed  to  this  town  in  the  spring  of  1813,  and  on  May 
21  purchased  467  acres  on  lots  381,  383  and  385,  for  which  he  paid 
$4.25  per  acre.  He  built  a  saw  mill  and  grist  mill  on  Mill  Creek, 
about  one  mile  north  of  the  village ;  both  establishments  were  carried 
away  by  a  freshet  November  1,  1814,  carrying  him  and  a  son  with 
them.  The  latter  was  drowned,  but  the  father  escaped  with  slight  in- 
juries. The  following  spring  his  house  was  burned.  He  erected 
another  grist  mill  on  the  same  site,  and  died  September  25,  1852.  His 
son,  born  in  1796,  came  here  with  the  family  in  1813,  and  died  Decem- 
ber 27,  1886.  He  taught  school  in  early  life  and  held  several  town 
offices. 

Abijah  Moore  was  the  pioneer  settler  on  New  Hartford  street.  He 
came  in  1809  and  brought  his  family  hither  in  1810,  and  led  the  first 
dance  held  in  the  town.  Stephen  and  Sylvanus  Joiner,  on  March  1, 
1811,  purchased  1,050  acres  for  $4.00  an  acre  of  Fellows  &  McNab; 
this  was  on  lot  344,  and  upon  it  they  built  two  frame  barns. 

Hiram  Church  was  a  son  of  Osgood  Church,  previously  mentioned, 
and  was  born  in  Marlboro,  Mass.,  April  8,  1806.  Coming  herewith 
father  in  1808  he  lived  to  see  the  old  town  transformed  from  a  wilder- 
ness into  beautiful  homes  and  thrifty  villages,  and  a  few  years  before 
his  death  he  published  in  the  Lake  Shore  News  a  number  of  articles 
37 


290  LANDMARKS   OF 

pertaining  to  the  early  history  of  this  locality.      He  had  two  daughters 
and  a  sen  (William  O.),  and  died  here  October  13,  1889. 

Giles  Fitch  contracted  for  ninety-six  acres  of  lot  352  July  20,  L811, 
and  the  same  day  Thaddens  Fitch  purchased  a  like  amount  of  the  same 
lot.  The  former  was  the  first  mail  contractor  from  Wolcott  to  Auburn, 
carrying  the  mail  on  horseback  once  a  week  each  way. 

Eliab  Abbott  was  a  settler  of  1808.  <  >n  September  30  of  that  year 
he  contracted  for  fifty-nine  and  a  half  acres  of  lot  370.  Among  other 
pioneers  and  prominent  settlers  in  the  old  town  of  Wolcott  were  Lott 
Stewart,  inn-keeper  at  Stewart's  Corners;  Jarvis  and  Gardner  Mudge; 
Ransom  Ward,  Joseph  Foster,  father  of  Asahel;  Jedediah  Wilson,  on 
lot  66;  Linus  Hibbard,  a  blacksmith;  Jonathan  Runyon,  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier,  who  drew  a  bounty  of  600  acres;  Levi  Smith ;  Samuel  J. 
Otis,  on  lot  352,  an  old  Mason;  Stephen  D.  Fowler,  son  of  John  P.; 
Ephraim  P.  Bigelow;  Isaac  Otis,  on  lot  267;  Daniel  Dutcher,  on  lot  75; 
Benjamin  Brown,  on  lot  320,  who  died  in  June,  1871;  John  Mack, 
father  of  Harrison,  on  lot  31;  Luke  Brinkerhoff,  on  lot  62;  John  Ford, 
a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812;  Daniel  Patterson,  also  a  veteran  of  1812, 
and  the  father  of  John;  William  Sax,  Roger  Olmsted,  George  I.  and 
Garrett  Van  Fleet,  James  M.  Hall,  Rev.  Ira  H.  Hogan,  William  W. 
Phillips,  father  of  John  M.  ;  and  Robert  McArthur,  another  soldier  in 
the  war  of  1812,  and  the  father  of  John.  June  24,  1812,  Thomas  Hale 
contracted  for  200  acres  of  lots  304  and  312  and  August  26,  1813,  he 
purchased  twenty -five  acres  more  of  lot  304.  Charles  Sweeet  bought 
fifty  acres  of  lot  344  October  15,  1813. 

Elias  Y.  Munson,  born  in  New  Jersey  in  July,  1703,  removed  to 
Auburn,  where  he  helped  to  lay  the  walls  of  the  State  Prison,  and  came 
thence  to  Wolcott  in  1820  as  a  clerk  for  Obadiah  Adams.  Upon  the 
failure  of  the  latter  he  went  to  Waterloo,  but  soon  returned  to  Wolcott 
as  agent  in  the  store  of  Reuben  Swift  &  Co.,  whom  he  soon  bought  out. 
About  1821)  he  purchased  of  the  Geneva  Bank  the  old  tavern  stand  and 
farm  of  Adams's.  The  hotel  was  burned  in  the  winter  of  1836-7  and 
in  1837  he  built  the  Northern  Exchange  Hotel,  which  was  the  first  brick 
building  in  Wolcott.  He  subsequently  bought  a  farm  two  miles  south 
of  the  village,  but  two  years  later  returned  and  engaged  in  merchandis- 
ing, a  business  he  followed  until  shortly  before  his  death,  June  23, 
L861.  He  was  the  second  postmaster  of  Wolcott,  and  for  several  years 
was  a  justice  of  the  peace.      He  had  three  children. 

Rev.   Amos    P.    Draper  was  born  in    Dover,  N.  Y.,  in  L791,  and  by 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  291 

trade  was  a  carpenter  and  joiner.  He  "  went  from  the  bench  to  the 
pulpit"  of  the  Baptist  Church  and  beg'an  his  ministerial  labors  in  Wol- 
cott,  subsequently  officiating-  in  Phelps  and  Red  Creek.  He  was  the 
father  of  Dr.  Edwin  H.  Draper,  a  practicing'  physician  in  Wolcott  vil- 
lage; he  also  had  four  children. 

Thomas  Snyder,  born  in  Owasco,  N.  Y.,  in  1796,  came  with  the 
family  in  1813  to  Red  Creek,  where  his  father  purchased  1,000  acres  of 
land.  The  latter  built  the  first  saw  mill  and  grist  mill  in  that  village, 
and  during  his  life  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  place. 

John  O.  Wadsworth,  from  Vermont,  settled  in  Butler  with  his  father, 
Elisha  W.,  in  1819.  In  1832  he  removed  to  Wolcott,  and  was  sheriff  of 
Wayne  county  four  years.      He  was  the  father  of  Henry  Wadsworth. 

Capt.  Horace  L.  Dudley,  born  in  Guilford,  Conn.,  February  25,  1803, 
came  to  Wolcott  in  1824,  and  in  1826  married  Melinda  Hendrick.  He 
was  a  progressive  agriculturist,  held  several  town  offices,  and  was  com- 
missioned captain  in  the  State  militia  August  22,  1829.  He  had  nine 
children,  and  died  March  25,  1880. 

Jedediah  Wilder  was  born  in  Bristol,  N.  Y.,  in  1792,  and  came  to 
Wolcott  village  in  1816.  He  purchased  of  Samuel  Millen  the  fulling 
and  cloth-dressing  mill,  which  he  conducted  until  1826,  when  he  sold 
it  to  Roswell  Benedict  and  bought  a  farm  of  Zenas  Wheeler.  He  was 
one  of  the  earliest  agents  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  for  twenty 
years  a  magistrate  of  the  town,  for  ten  years  president  of  the  Wayne 
Sunday  School  Union,  and  a  soldier  in  the  State  militia  under  Col. 
Swift  during  the  attack  on  Sodus  Point  by  the  British.  He  died 
August  8,   1867. 

William  Olney  Wood,  son  of  Noah,  was  born  in  Otsego  county,  N. 
Y.,  in  August,  1809.  He  finally  removed  to  Butler,  and  learning  the 
trade  of  a  tanner  came  to  Wolcott  village.  In  1831  he  purchased  a  small 
tannery  in  Red  Creek  and  became  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  in- 
fluential men  in  the  town.  He  built  Wood's  Hotel  and  opened  a 
private  banking, office,  and  for  several  years  was  supervisor  of  Wolcott. 
He  had  ten  children,  and  died  in  March,  1879. 

Hon.  Isaac  Leavenworth,  a  native  of  Watertown,  Conn.,  born  June 
17,  1781,  became  a  resident  of  Wolcott  village  about  1838,  and  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life  was  one  of  the  town's  most  prominent  citizens. 
He  founded  the  Leavenworth  Institute,  and  in  1819  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature.  He  was  energetic,  public  spirited,  enterprising,  and  gen- 
erous, and  died  February  26,  1860. 


292  LANDMARKS   OF 

Anson  Drury,  born  in  Vermont  in  1799,  came  to  Huron  with  his  par- 
ents Caleb  and  Jane  in  L816,  and  removed  to  a  f arm  in  Wolcott  in  1855, 
where  lie  died  in  January,  1881.  Jesse  W.  Williams  was  born  in  Bur- 
lington,  Yt.,  October  30,  L797,  served  as  a  teamster,  with  his  father,  in 
the  war  of  1812,  and  came  to  this  town  in  1834,  where  he  died  in- August, 
L876.  M.  P.  Foote,  born  in  Newtown,  Conn.,  in  1805,  came  here  in 
1840,  was  first  a  merchant  and  then  a  farmer,  and  died  September  25, 
L889.  Capt.  Thomas  W.  Johnson  removed  to  Wolcott  when  a  boy, 
served  in  the  Civil  War  and  was  brevetted  major,  and  died  in  Novem- 
ber, 188G.  Jesse  Mathews  was  supervisor  of  the  old  town  in  1817  and 
for  several  years  was  a  justice  of  the  peace;  his  daughter  Amanda  sue. 
eeeded  him  on  the  homestead. 

Prominent  among  other  settlers  and  residents  are  George  W.  Brink- 
erhoff,  born  in  Wolcott  in  1838,  served  in  the  9th  Heavy  Artillery, 
brevetted  major,  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  1891;  George  Doolittle, 
supervisor,  deceased;  Joseph  Ward,  father  of  Reuben,  died  in  1882;  R. 
W.  Vonnglove,  of  North  Wolcott;  Jesse  Olmstead,  the  last  of  nine 
children,  died  September  20,  lss4;  Deacon  Cyrus  Brockway,  died  in 
October,  1875;  John  Turner,  father  of  M.  B.,  died  in  1890;  Isaac  Rice, 
father  of  Amnion,  died  in  L893;  John  Dow,  who  purchased  300  acres  of 
land  at  North  Wolcott  for  $5  per  acre  and  died  in  1884;  Alanson  Frost, 
from  Connecticut,  father  of  Oscar  J.  ;  Hamilton  Hibbard,  who  died 
April  29,  1894.      Many  others  are  noticed  in  Part  II  of  this  volume. 

In  1858  the  town  had  12,995  acres  improved  land;  real  estate  assessed 
at  $549,749;  personal  property,  $55,300;  1,535  male  and  1,478  female 
inhabitants;  593  dwellings,  G09  families,  and  484  freeholders;  15  school 
districts  attended  by  1,223  children;  073  horses,  1,327  oxen  and  calves, 
882  cows,  4,296  sheep,  1,092  swine.  There  were  produced  that  year 
9,  L03  bushels  winter  and  1  L2,751  bushels  spring  wheat,  1,714  tons  hay, 
10,854  bushels  potatoes,  17,456  bushels  apples,  79, 180  pounds  butter, 
2,452  pounds  cheese,  and  840  yards  domestic  cloths. 

In  1890  the  town  had  a  population  of  3,216,  or  515  less  than  in  1880. 
In  1893  the  assessed  valuation  of  land  was  $629,375  (equalized  $644,- 
831);  village  and  mill  property,  $351,035  (equalized  $344,149);  rail- 
roads and  telegraphs,  $102,638;  personal  property,  $23,150.  Schedule 
of  taxes  for  L893 :  Contingent  fund,  $2, 984. 62 ;  town  poor,  $200;  roads 
bridges,  $634.42;  special  town  tax,  $5,800;  school  tax,  $1,019.91; 
count_\-  tax,  $2,440.25;  State  tax,  $1,344.71;  State  insane  tax,  $346.91; 
dogtax,  $72:50.     Total  tax  levy,  $15,185.44;   rate  percent.   .01372759. 


WAYNE   COUNTY  293 

There  are  four  election  districts  and  in  1893  the  town  polled  about  690 
votes. 

In  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  of  Wolcott  sent  to  the  front  a 
large  number  of  her  brave  and  heroic  citizens,  who  did  valiant  service 
in  the  suppression  of  that  sanguinary  conflict.  Some  of  them  rose  to 
the  ranks  of  commissioned  officers ;  many  gave  up  their  life  blood  on 
Southern  battlefields  or  in  rebel  prisons.  The  survivors  are  few,  and 
with  the  dead  they  share  the  tender  remembrances  of  a  grateful  people 
upon  each  Memorial  Day. 

The  first  birth  in  Wolcott  was  that  of  Isaac  Hopper,  and  the  first 
death  in  the  old  town  was  that  of  Sarah  Mills,  who  died  December  25, 
1809,  and  was  buried  on  the  Viele  farm.  The  two  principal  cemeteries 
in  the  present  town  are  those  at  Red  Creek  and  Wolcott  villages.  The 
oldest  portion  of  the  latter  is  known  as  Leavenworth  cemetery,  while 
the  annex,  or  new  part,  is  called  Glenside;  the  receiving  vault  was 
built  in  April,  1887. 

The  first  school  house  in  town  was  a  log  structure  built  in  1810,  in 
Wolcott  village,  on  the  site  of  Dr.  E.  H.  Draper's  present  residence. 
Another  log  school  building  was  erected  two  or  three  years  later  by 
Jonathan  Melvin,  sr. ,  near  the  Knapp  foundry.  This  was  the  first  dis- 
trict in  the  town,  and  was  organized  as  No.  1  about  1812,  the  first 
trustees  being  Osgood  Church,  Lambert  Woodruff,  and  Eliakim  Tup- 
per.  One  acre,  covering  the  site  of  the  Baptist  church,  was  donated 
by  Mr.  Melvin,  and  soon  a  frame  school  house  was  built  thereon;  this 
building  was  subsequently  purchased  by  Obadiah  Adams,  who  moved 
it  across  the  street  and  added  it  to  his  hotel.  A  new  structure  was 
erected  on  the  lot  and  known  as  the  old  red  school  house  until  1843, 
when  it  was  removed  and  a  two-story  building  put  up  in  its  place. 
This  employed  two  teachers,  and  was  burned  in  1865.  Among  the 
earlier  teachers  in  these  buildings  were  Mary  Lambert  (daughter  of 
Lambert  Woodruff),  John  Melvin  (son  of  Jonathan),  Daniel  Butrick, 
Huldah  Seymour  (daughter  of  Dea.  Noah  Seymour  and  afterward  Mrs. 
John  Roe),  Prudence  Wells  (afterward  Mrs.  Jedediah  Wilder),  William 
Plank  (son  of  Elisha),  Loren  Doolittle,  Austin  Roe,  Harlow  Hyde, 
Levi  Hendrick,  Barabus  Knapp,  Willis  Roe,  and  Samuel  Colboth. 

In  1859  Leavenworth  Institute  was  incorporated  and  a  brick  building- 
erected  on  New  Hartford  street  in  Wolcott  village,  through  the  mu- 
nificence of  Hon.  Isaac  Leavenworth,  .who  contributed  one-half  of  the 
funds,  the  balance  being  raised  by  subscription.      It  is  two  stories  high 


294  LANDMARKS   OF 

above  a  stone  basement,  and  for  several  years  contained  the  only  pub- 
lic hall  in  town.  The  first  principal  was  M.  J.  Slee,  and  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  Dr.  James  M.  Wilson,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  E.  N.  Plank.  Upon  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the  public 
school  building  a  project  was  inaugurated  to  consolidate  the  two,  which 
was  effected  November  1,  1865,  under  the  name  of  Leavenworth  Insti- 
tute and  Cmion  Free  School,  the  former  becoming  the  academic  de- 
partment, and  the  district  being  reorganized  as  Union  Free  School 
district,  No.  1,  towns  of  Wolcott,  Huron  and  Butler.  November  4  the 
following  Board  of.  Education  was  elected:  Dr.  James  M.  Wilson, 
Jedediah  Wilder,  E.  N.  Blank,  J.  Talcott,  B.  F.  Peck,  William  H. 
Thacker,  W.  W.  Paddock,  T.  W.  Collins,  C.  P.  Smith,  R.  Sours,  J.  S. 
Roe,  L.  Millington  and  R.  Matthews ;  E.  N.  Plank  was  president ;  W. 
\V.  Paddock,  treasurer;  Chester  Dutton,  secretary  and  librarian.  The 
new  organization  paid  a  debt  of  $250  against  the  institute  and  refunded 
$260  to  the  Leavenwrorth  heirs.  The  first  term  opened  December  12, 
18G5,  with  John  Teller  as  principal,  and  Miss  Tappan  as  preceptress. 
Among  the  successive  principals  have  been  Amos  H.  Thompson,  Pro- 
fessor Hutton,  M.  T.  Brown,  C.  T.  R.  Smith,  Jefferson  W.  Hoag,  Pro- 
fessor Baldwin,  John  T.  Cothran,  W.  R.  Vosburgh,  Edward  Hay  ward, 
E.  B.  Nichols,  John  W.  Robinson  and  E.  D.  Niles.  The  preceptress 
is  Miss  Agnes  Ford. 

The  first  school  house  at  Red  Creek  was  a  frame  structure,  twenty 
feet  square,  on  Canada  street,  and  one  of  its  first  teachers  was  Abigail 
Bunce.  In  1837  the  wooden  building  of  the  present  academy  was 
erected,  and  the  first  teacher  therein  was  Norman  F.  Wright.  March 
27,  1830,  the  Red  Creek  Union  Academy  was  incorporated,  and  among 
the  first  trustees  were  William  ().  Wood,  Amos  Snyder,  Abel  Lyon  and 
Francis  Nichols.  The  first  principal  was  N.  F.  Wright,  A.  M. ;  second, 
John  W.  Armstrong,  A.  M.  ;  third,  Professor  Hendrickson,  associated 
with  Rev.  E.  C.  Bruce,  who  remained  until  1854.  About  this  time  the 
first  brick  building,  fifty  by  seventy  feet,  three  stories  high,  was  erected, 
and  Rev.  William  C.  Mason  was  appointed  agent;  lie  alone  contributed 
$500.  The  fourth  principal  was  Rev.  John  B.  Van  Patten.  In  L858 
or  1859  the  brick  building  burned,  and  the  citizens  subscribed  for 
another.  The  contract  was  let  to  Jonathan  P.  Jones  for  $4,000,  who 
put  up  the  present  structure  with  a  judgment  against  it  of  $1,500.  The 
property  was  sold,  being  bid  off  by  William  1'.  Jones,  who  took  a 
sheriff's  <\<^-\\,  and  who  disposed  of  the  whole    in  1865  to   a    stock  com- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  895 

pany  for  $10,000,  divided  into  shares  of  $25.00  each.  The  institution 
was  reorganized,  a  new  charter  was  obtained,  and  the  name  was 
changed  to  the  Red  Creek  Union  Seminary,  which  it  has  since  born; 
the  trustees  named  in  this  charter  were  William  P.  Jones,  president; 
J.  B.  Decker,  secretary;  Jonathan  P.  Jones,  Lewis  Jones,  Riley  Z.  Pat- 
rick, Parson  Cooper,  Amasa  Ouivey  and  George  Coplin.  Mr.  Decker 
has  served  continuously  as  trustee  and  secretary  since  1865.  The  old 
charter  building  is  still  standing,  and  occupied  by  the  principal  as  a 
residence.  The  Board  of  Education  for  1891-5  consists  of  Parson 
Cooper,  president;  J.  B.  Decker,  secretary;  Riley  Z.  Patrick,  treasurer; 
George  M.  Coplin,  Abram  Harris,  Jay  D.  Frost,  Amasa  Quivey,  Lewis 
Jones  and  William  T.  Clark.  The  principal  is  Albert  D.  Whitney, 
A.  M.,  assisted  by  three  teachers.  The  school  is  in  a  very  flourishing 
condition. 

The  first  school  house  in  the  vicinity  of  North  Wolcott  was  a  log 
structure  erected  about  1835  by  John  Dow.  Prior  to  this  a  school  had 
been  kept  in  "the  shanty"  near  Little  Red  Creek  by  Margaret  Shaft, 
afterward  Mrs.  Elijah  Edwards.  A  frame  school  house  was  built  in 
district  No.  2  in  1840. 

The  town  now  has  fifteen  school  districts  with  buildings,  in  which 
twenty-six  teachers  are  employed,  and  which  are  attended  by  about  920 
scholars.  Value  of  school  buildings  and  sites  in  1893,  $20,220';  assessed 
valuation  of  districts,  $1,370,525;  money  received  from  the  State, 
$3,582,12;  raised  by  local  tax,  $5,146.11. 

Wolcott  Village. — This  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  villages  in  Wayne 
county.  It  lies  in  the  extreme  west  corner  of  this  town  and  partly  in 
the  town  of  Butler,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  R. ,  W.  &  O.  Railroad. 
Containing  valuable  mill  privileges  on  Wolcott  Creek,  it  was  the  site 
of  the  first  settlement  and  the  first  business  interests  within  the  present 
town,  and  much  of  its  earlier  history  has  already  been  recorded  in 
previous  pages  of  this  chapter.  Intimately  connected  with  its  growth 
and  development  from  a  dense  forest  to  a  thrifty  village  are  associated 
the  names  of  Jonathan  Melvin,  sr. ,  Obadiah  Adams,  Osgood  Church, 
Dr.  David  Arfie,  Elias  Y.  Munson,  and  others  heretofore  mentioned. 
The  first  improvements  were  inaugurated  by  Melvin,  and  the  first 
tavern  and  distillery  were  conducted  by  Adams.  The  latter  also  had  a 
cornmeal  kiln,  and  his  huge  hogsheads,  filled  with  meal  for  shipment, 
early  give  the  place  the  name  of  "  Puncheonville. "  Dr.  Arne  was  the 
first  postmaster.     About   1811  Jacob   Butterfield,   a  tanner   and  shoe- 


296  LANDMARKS   OF 

maker,  purchased  of  Mr.  Church  three  acres  on  which  he  built  a  tan- 
nery and  conducted  business  many  years.  William  M.  Nurss  and  Mer- 
ritt  Candy  from  Oneida  county,  came  here  in  L823  and  erected  a  dis- 
tillery and  ashery  on  the  east  side  of  the  creek;  they  purchased  Elisha 
Plank's  grist  mill,  and  also  established  a  store.  Mr.  Candy  died  in 
L828  and  Nurss  closed  out  their  business,  being  succeeded  by  Alanson 
Melvin,  whom  his  father,  Jonathan,  sr. ,  had  left  here  to  wind  up  his 
affairs.  E.  Y.  Munson,  as  previously  noted,  succeeded  to  the  Adams 
tavern  and  all  the  land  on  lot  50  which  Adams  had  purchased  of  Melvin. 
He  sold  to  Stephen  P.  and  Chester  A.  Keyes  all  that  tract  across  Main 
street  from  the  Wilder  lot  to  the  gulf  and  moved  the  old  barn  and  sheds 
over  to  his  tavern  stand.  The  Messrs.  Keyes  occupied  Munson's  old 
store.  Nathan  Pierce,  son-indaw  of  Levi  Smith,  built  a  hotel  opposite 
his  stone  building  and  kept  it  several  years;  it  was  later  known  as  the 
old  White  Hotel.  A  Dr.  Tripp,  from  Montgomery  county,  purchased 
from  the  Geneva  Bank  the  Melvin  mill  property  and  repaired  and  con- 
ducted it  some  time.  The  present  Wolcott  House,  standing  on  the  site 
of  Adams's  pioneer  tavern,  which  was  burned  and  replaced  by  the 
Northern  Exchange,  was  rebuilt  by  Julius  Whiting  in  isso  and  passed 
from  him  to  the  present  proprietor,  S.  A.  Williams,  on  February  1, 
L887;  the  latter  has  also  made  additions.  Abram  Cuyler  settled  here 
in  1833;  his  son,  John  H.,  was  the  first  producer  of  barrel  staves  in  the 
village. 

Wolcott  village  was  incorporated  February  24,  L852,  and  reincor- 
porated in  February,  1873.  March  IS,  1873,  the  following- officers  were 
chosen:  Asa  D.  Kellogg,  president;  B.  Franklin  Knapp,  Horace  L. 
Dudley,  Nelson  Moore,  trustees;  Henry  A.  Graves,  treasurer;  Hiram 
Silliman,  collector;  William  O.  Church,  clerk.  The  presidents  since 
then  have  been : 

Anson  S.  Wood,  is;  I,  Benham  S.  Wood,  L882. 

William  W.  Paddock,  is;:,.  Noah  Wood,  1883. 

George  I'..  Curtis,  1876.  Henry  A.  Graves,  1884. 

Thomas  W.  Johnson,  is;;.  Martin  E.  Cornwell,  1885-87. 

Martin  E.  Cornwell,    1878.  Alanson  Church,   1888. 

David  H.  Mann,  1879.  F.  S.  Johnson,  1889  92. 

Henry  A.  Graves,  1880  si  G.  II.  Northrup,  L893-94. 

The  village  officers  lor  IS'.U  arc:      G.    11.  Xorthrup,  president;   J.    E. 

Lawrence,    1!.    J.    Worden,    II.    A.    Loveless,    trustees;    Joel    Fanning, 

F.  A.  Prevost,  treasurer;   William    Borden  street  commissioner; 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  .".K 

E.  H.  Kellogg,   police  justice;  the  trustees,    assessors;  N.  W.  Merrill, 
collector. 

The  village  has  been  visited  by  a  number  of  conflagrations,  impor- 
tant among  which  are  the  following:  In  1874,  destroying  a  large  amount 
of  property;  July  20,  1875,  eight  business  houses  from  the  Wolcott 
House  to  the  "Arcade"  building,  loss  about  $12,000;  August  28,  1876, 
six  business  places  on  the  east  side  of  Mill  street;  November  11,  1879, 
the  old  landmark,  the  "  Arcade,"  which  was  owned  by  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  leased  for  stores;  February  10,  1884,  eight  business  blocks 
including  the  Lake  Shore  News  office,  rendering  homeless  twenty-three 
business  concerns  and  fourteen  families,  less  about  $150,000;  and 
February  19,  1887,  Campbell's  block. 

In  April,  1884,  it  was  decided  to  raise  by  tax  $2,500  for  the  purchase 
of  a  fire  engine  and  suitable  equipment,  and  in  the  fall  of  1885  the 
present  frame  engine  house  and  village  hall  was  erected.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1886,  a  new  hook  and  ladder  truck  for  Independent  Company  No. 
1  was  purchased.  The  fire  department  is  now  constituted  as  follows : 
Chief,  Henry  A.  Graves;  first  assistant,  Rolla  Stewart;  second  assist- 
ant, J.  G.  Cook.  Independent  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  No  1,  Cy- 
rus E.  Fitch,  foreman.  Wolcott  Fire  Company  No  1,  B.  J.  Worden, 
foreman;   Wolcott  Hose  Company  No  1,  William  Olmsted,  foreman. 

The  first  banking  business  in  Wolcott  village  was  instituted  in  a 
small  way  by  James  V.  D.  Westfall.  Roe  &  Ellis's  private  bank  was 
started  by  Roe,  Ellis  and  Pomeroy  in  1875,  in  the  present  bank  build- 
ing, which  was  erected  for  the  purpose.  In  the  spring  of  1884  Mr. 
Pomeroy  sold  his  interest  to  the  present  firm,  consisting  of  Willis  S. 
Roe  and  A.  D.  Ellis. 

Wolcott  village  now  contains  four  dry  goods  stores,  three  groceries, 
four  drug  stores,  two  hardware  stores,  three  clothing  stores,  two  furni- 
ture and  undertaking  establishments,  a  boot  and  shoe  store,  four 
jewelry  stores,  three  milliners,  a  newspaper  and  printing  office,  a  bank, 
three  hotels,  three  liveries,  two  meat  markets,  a  bakery,  two  harness 
shops,  a  music  store,  four  churches,  five  physicians,  seven  lawyers,  two 
dentists,  two  insurance  offices,  a  variety  store,  two  grist  mills,  two 
foundry  and  machine  shops,  two  lumber  and  three  coal  yards,  a  box 
factory,  a  fruit  warehouse,  one  grain  elevator,  a  laundry,  marble  and 
monumental  works,  a  photograph  gallery,  two  public  halls,  two  wagon 
and  four  blacksmith  shops,  _  and  about  950  inhabitants.  The  present 
postmaster  is  C.  F.  Van  Valkenburg. 
38 


298  LANDMARKS   OF 

Red  Creek — This  village  is  situated  in  the  east  part  of  the  town,  on 
the  stream  of  the  same  name,  and  on  the  R.,  W.  &  O.  Railroad,  and  in 
an  early  day  was  called  Jacksonville  in  honor  of  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson. 
A  post-office  was  established,  the  name  of  which  as  well  as  that  of  the 
village  was  changed  to  its  present  designation  in  1836.  The  first  set- 
tler, tradition  says,  was  a  hunter  and  fisherman  named  Beman,  who 
built  a  rude  hut  on  the  banks  of  Red  Creek,  some  forty  rods  east  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  The  second  comer  was  a  Mr.  Babbitt.  Neither 
of  these  remained  more  than  a  few  years.  In  1811  Noadiah  Childs 
came  in,  built  a  log  house,  and  made  other  improvements.  Then  fol- 
lowed Jacob  Snyder  with  his  ten  children:  John,  Peter,  Thomas,  Amos, 
Noah,  Betsey,.  Polly,  Catharine,  Nancy  and  Jacob,  jr.  He  built  a  log 
house  and  later  a  frame  one  on  the  site  of  the  dwelling  of  the  late  W. 
O.  Wood.  This  was  the  first  frame  house  in  the  village.  Mr.  Snyder 
was  a  Methodist  preacher  and  often  officiated  at  local  meetings.  The 
next  settler  was  Isaac  Easton,  with  eleven  children,  of  whom  the  sons 
were  William.  John,  Mahlon,  Chillion,  David,  Abram  and  Walter. 
This  was  in  1816,  and  soon  afterward  Isaac  Hoppin,  Philip  Bien,  Abra- 
ham Teachout  and  James  S.  Brinkerhoff  came  in. 

The  first  store  was  opened  about  1832  by  Stephen  P.  and  Chester  A. 
Keyes,  who  came  hither  from  Wolcott  village.  Lyon  &  Hawley 
started  another  the  same  year.  Isaac  Easton  was  the  first  blacksmith, 
and  following  him  were  Messrs.  Bunceand  Gage.  Noah  Snyder  opened 
the  first  tavern  about  1829;  it  was  twice  burned  and  rebuilt.  The  first 
brick  buildings  were  the  academy  and  the  store  of  Underbill  &  Lyon, 
the  latter  being  built  in  1854.  The  first  physician  was  a  Dr.  White. 
The  first  lawyer  was  John  W.  Carey,  who  practiced  here  for  six  years 
prior  to  184!),  when  he  removed  to  Wisconsin,  where  he  was  State 
senator  two  terms;  he  is  now  in  Chicago,  and  has  been  general  attor- 
ney for  the  C,  St.  P.  &  M.  Railroad  for  over  twenty-five  years.  J.  B. 
Decker  was  town  superintendent  of  common  schools  for  four  years. 
lie  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  this  State  in  1850,  has  been  district  at- 
torney three  years,  and  a  notary  public  ever  since  that  office  was  cre- 
ated in  the  town.  He  was  a  student  in  the  Red  Creek  Academy  the 
first  year  it  started,  is  a  graduate  of  Union  College,  receiving  the  de- 
grees of  A.  B.  and  A.M.,  and  for  several  years  was  admitted  to  the 
United  States  Courts. 

K.  C.  Hoff,  the  father  of  Hubbard  Hoff,  became  a  merchant  here  in 
is:!  I.      The  first  saw  mil]  on  Red  Creek  was  erected  by  Jacob  Snyder 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  299 

in  1814;  this  was  carried  away  in  a  freshet  March  17,  1820;  another  was 
built  in  1826,  and  has  given  place  to  the  present  one,  owned  by  William 
Camp.  Mr.  Snyder  erected  the  first  grist  mill  on  the  same  stream  in 
1816,  which  was  subsequently  occupied  by  G.  M.  Wood.  A  tannery 
was  built  here  about  1820  by  a  Mr.  Hale.  M.  and  W.  G.  Wood  also 
operated  a  tannery  for  many  years ;  their  old  building  is  now  used  for 
a  fruit  evaporator.  The  present  owners  of  the  two  gristmills  are  Wal- 
lace Benedict  and  Homer  Campbell. 

In  1852  the  village  was  incorporated  with  an  area  of  one  square  mile. 
In  the  spring  of  1874  the  records  were  burned,  and  the  earliest  officers 
obtainable  are  those  elected  in  1876,  when  William  O.  Wood  became 
president  and  A.  T.  Delling  clerk.     The  presidents  since  then  are : 

S.  H.  Hamlin,  1877-78,  E.  Becker,  1888; 

James  Keesler,  1879,  William  H.  Milliman,  1889, 

S.  H.  Hamlin,  1880,  Abram  Harris,  1890, 

J.  P.  Jones,  1881,  C.  O.  Peterson,  1891, 

B.  H.  Benedict,  1882,  George  D.  Barber,  1892, 

J.  D.  Frost,  1883,  Patrick  Keegon,  1893, 

Abram  Harris,  1884-85,  Charles  Longyear,  1894. 
G.  M.  Coplin,  1886-87, 

The  officers  for  1894  are:  Charles  Longyear,  president;  George  Long- 
year,  Daniel  McMullen,  Jacob  D.  Covert,  George  W.  Flint,  trustees; 
John  S.  Smith,  clerk;  George  Robertson,  Parson  Cooper,  George  D. 
Barber,  assessors;  Amasa  Quivey,  collector;  Patrick Malone,  treasurer; 
Daniel  D.  Becker,  police  justice;  Amasa  Q.  Milliman,  police  constable; 
James  Hedges,  street  commissioner. 

William  O.  Wood  established  the  first  banking  business  in  Red  Creek 
and  continued  it  about  four  years,  being  succeeded  by  his  son,  G.  W. 
He  soon  gave  way  to  a  younger  brother  and  A.  M.  Green  as  Wood  & 
Green,  who  finally  discontinued  the  business.  In  the  fall  of  1884  Becker 
&  Hall  purchased  Wood  &  Green's  safe,  etc.,  and  started  a  private 
banking  establishment,  which  they  still  carry  on  in  connection  with  a 
large  general  store. 

In  the  spring  of  1874  the  business  portion  of  the  village  was  almost 
entirely  devastated  by  fire.  In  September,  1878,  the  stave,  saw,  and 
heading  mill  of  James  Van  Voorhees  &  Co.  was  burned,  with  a  loss  of 
$7,000.  February  28,  1884,  the  post-office  building  and  stores  were  con- 
sumed, causing  a  loss  of  some  $16,000.  In  March,  1894,  fire  destroyed 
the  brick  block  on  the  site  on  which  PI.  C.  Van  Alstine  is  now  (August, 
1894)  building  a  handsome  structure. 


300  LANDMARKS   OF 

Red  Creek  village  now  contains  three  general  stores,  two  drug-  stores, 
a  meat  market,  two  hotels,  three  liveries,  a  newspaper  and  printing  of- 
fice, one  furniture  and  undertaking  establishment,  one  jeweler,  five 
blacksmith  and  two  wagon  shops,  two  milliners,  a  photograph  gallery, 
one  grocery,  two  lawyers,  three  physicians,  a  veterinary  surgeon,  two 
warehouses,  one  lumber  and  two  coal  yards,  a  harness  shop,  a  flour  and 
feed  store,  two  grist  mills,  a  cooperage,  a  hardware  store,  saw  mill, 
several  fruit  evaporators,  four  churches,  the  Union  Seminary,  district 
school,  and  about  500  inhabitants.  The  postmaster  is  William  M. 
Milliman. 

North  Wolcott  is  a  small  hamlet  on  the  east  side  of  Little  Red  Creek 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  town.  Minott  Mitchell  purchased  for  spec- 
ulation 3,000  acres,  including  lots  20,  21,  39,  and  40,  and  in  183(1  he 
built  a  saw  mill  on  the  creek  on  lot  3!).  About  1841  Winslow  Dodge 
erected  another,  and  in  1842  John  Dow  put  up  a  third,  which  subse- 
quently became  known  as  the  Casterline  mill.  The  first  steam  saw 
mill  was  built  by  Fowler  &  Conner  in  1804.  In  1844  Hiram  Blanchard 
opened  a  blacksmith  shop  and  about  1865  George  Delemater  built  a 
store.  In  1873  the  post-office  was  established  with  Nathaniel  J.  Field 
as  postmaster,  who  held  the  office  for  nineteen  years,  being  succeeded 
by  the  present  incumbent,  D.  J.  Kyle.  Mr.  Field  became  a  merchant 
here  about  1873.  The  first  frame  house  in  the  locality  was  built  by  a 
Mr.  Hill  in  L837. 

Furnack  Village,  one  mile  north  of  Wolcott,  contains  a  saw  mill, 
bed-spring  manufactory,  and  a  few  houses.  A  blast  furnace  was  built 
here  about  1823  by  Andrew  Chapin  and  conducted  under  the  firm  name 
of  Chapin  l\:  Parks.  They  soon  abandoned  the  iron  ore  bed  near  by  and 
secured  ore  from  the  Red  Creek  ore  bed  north  of  that  village.  The 
business  was  continued  until  Chapin 's  death,  when  the  property  passed 
to  their  former  employees,  Hendrick  &  Seymour,  who  were  succeeded 
by  Hendrick  &  Leavenworth.  The  furnace  has  long  since  been  dis- 
continued. 

The  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Wolcott  was  founded  July  18,  1813, 
by  Revs.  Charles  Mosier  and  Henry  Axtell,  with  twenty-three  mem- 
bers, and  September  7  the  society  was  legally  organized  "at  the  school 
house  near  Obadiah  Adams"  by  the  election  of  these  trustees:  Lam- 
bert Woodruff,  Josiah  Upson,  Jarvis  Mudge,  Noah  Seymour,  Jonathan 
Melvin,  and  John  Wade.  Adonijah  Church  was  the  first  clerk,  and  the 
corporation    certificate    was   filed    before   Judge   Jesse    Southwick,    of 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  801 

Seneca  county,  January  18,  1814.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Daniel 
S.  Buttrick;  he  received  an  annual  salary  of  $200  and  remained  about 
two  years.  The  second  pastor  was  Rev.  William  Clark.  For  twelve 
years  meetings  were  held  alternately  at  the  Adams  and  Cobble  Hill 
school  houses.  An  attempt  was  made  to  build  a  church  by  subscrip- 
tion, but  without  avail,  and  the  result  was  the  erection  of  one  at  South 
Huron  and  another  in  the  village  of  Wolcott.  The  latter  was  built 
where  Dr.  E.  H.  Draper's  residence  now  stands  in  1826,  but  re- 
mained unfinished  inside  until  1832.  The  first  trustees  of  this  church 
were  Alanson  Melvin,  Abijah  Moore,  Elisha  Plank,  John  Woodruff, 
Andrew  Chapin,  and  Merritt  Candy ;  the  first  pastor  was  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Merrill.  The  society  had  twelve  members.'  In  1852  during 
the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Thomas  Wright,  a  new  edifice  was  built  on  the 
site  of  Newberry  &  Burton's  store;  Rev.  Mr.  Wright  preached  the  last 
sermon  February  11,  1883.  The  corner  stone  of  the  third  and  present 
brick  structure  was  laid  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  William  A.  Rice,  July  6, 
1882.  It  was  dedicated  free  from  debt  February  15,  .1883,  and  cost 
complete  $16,814.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  H.  B.  wStevenson,  as- 
sumed charge  in  October,  1889.     The  society  has  about  275  members. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Wolcott. — Preaching  b)r  circuit 
riders  commenced  in  this  section  at  a  very  early  date.  It  was  known 
as  the  Sodus  circuit,  and  the  first  quarterly  meeting  was  held  at  the 
barn  of  Daniel  Roe  on  October  9,  1813.  The  first  class  in  Wolcott  was 
formed  in  1833  with  these  members:  L.  Millington,  leader,  Lovina 
Millington,  Nathan  and  Jerusha  Pierce,  and  a  Mrs.  Southwick.  In 
1838  a  church  was  built.  This  was  replaced  by  the  present  edifice,  the 
corner  stone  of  which  was  laid  June  29,  1872.  It  is  of  brick,  was  dedi- 
cated in  1873,  and  cost  about  $12,000.  The  society  has  about  290 
members  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  J.  C.  B.  Moyer.  The  first 
preacher  located  on  the  original  circuit  was  Rev.  Truman  Gillett. 

The  First  Baptist  church  of  Wolcott  was  incorporated  June  2,  1835, 
with  twenty-four  constitutent  members.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev. 
Isaac  Bucklin,  and  among  his  successors  have  been:  Revs.  Hiller, 
D.  D.  Chittendon,  H.  P.  Stillwell,  Barrel,  Wadhams,  C.  A.  Skinner, 
Peter  Irving,  Garret,  Smith,  O.  P.  Meeks,  A.  H.  Stearns,  A.  R.  Bab- 
cock,  J.  J.  Hammer,  Wm.  Furgeson,  C.  E.  Christian,  and  Abner  Mor- 
rill, the  present  pastor.  The  first  church  was  a  wood  structure  which 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  handsome  edifice.  The  latter  was  built 
in  1880  and  dedicated  March  4,  1881*  by  Rev.   R.  E.  Burton.      It  is  of 


302  LANDMARKS  OP 

brick  and  cost  complete  $6,282.  The  society  has  about  eighty  mem- 
bers. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  of  Wolcott  was  organized  by  Rev. 
Ira  Hogan,  the  first  pastor,  in  1855,  with  seven  members:  Alanson 
Millington  (leader),  Henry  S.  Cornwell  (steward),  Mrs.  H.  S.  Corn- 
well,  Henry  S.  Nichols,  John  and  Aurelia  Cook,  and  Walter  Paddock. 
Services  were  held  in  a  stone  church  that  had  been  erected  by  a  de- 
funct Universalist  society  until  1863,  when  their  present  edifice  was 
built  at  a  cost  of  $3,300;  it  was  consecrated  by  Rev.  James  Smith. 
The  present  membership  is  about  thirty-five,  and  the  pastor  is  Rev. 
Mr.  McChesney. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Red  Creek. — Of  this  society  the 
record  is  as  follows:  "Red  Creek,  formerly  the  eastern  part  of  Rose 
circuit,  was  constituted  by  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  Royal  Hough- 
ton, of  the  Black  River  annual  conference,  preacher  in  charge,  at  their 
session  held  in  Syracuse,  commencing  the  19th  dav  of  Julv,  1843.  The 
society  of  the  station  was  organized  at  a  meeting  of  official  members 
held  at  the  church  at  Red  Creek  on  Saturday,  August  12,  L843,  and  is 
as  follows,  viz.:  Royal  Houghton,  preacher  in  charge;  Abiram  Skeel 
and  Abel  Lyon,  local  preachers;  Aurelius  Dykeman,  exhorter;  Amos 
Snyder,  Harvey  Douglass,  William  G.  Brown,  John  W.  Miller,  and 
Anthony  Prior,  stewards;  William  G.  Brown,  recording  secretary." 
Eleven  classes  were  formed,  with  a  membership  of  ninety-eight.  The 
class  leaders  were  Amos  Snyder,  Benjamin  Jenkins,  John  Quereau, 
James  Cosgrove,  Harvey  Douglass,  Henry  Madan,  John  Ford,  John 
McArthur,  William  G.  Brown,  Silas  Nichols,  and  Jesse  Viele.  Among 
the  pastors  succeeding  Rev.  Mr.  Houghton  were  Revs.  John  W.  Coope, 
P.  S.  Bennett,  M.  H.  Gaylord,  D.  W.  Roney,  E.  Wheeler,  H.  Kinsley, 
John  Slee,  R.  N.  Barber,  Isaac  Turney,  B.  Alden,  George  C.  Wood, 
S.  B.  Crosier,  R.  Redhead,  and  C.  N.  Damen.  The  society  has  a  neat 
edifice  and  also  owns  a  parsonage.  They  have  a  membership  of  about 
150.      Rev.  D.  B.  Kellogg  is  pastor. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Red  Creek  was  regularly  organized  May 
13,  1818,  by  Rev.  William  Clark  with  these  members:  George  B.  and 
Luke  T.  Brinkerhoff,  William  Wood,  Ebenezer  Nale,  Samuel  Van  Fleet, 
Martin  and  Saffarine  Courtright,  John  Turner,  Jane  and  Netty  Brinker- 
hoff,  Catharine  Wood,  Hannah  Courtright,  and  Richard  Van  Fleet. 
The  first  officers  were :  G.  B.  Brinkerhoff,  Luke  T.  Brinkerhoff,  and 
William  Wood,  elders;   Ebenezer  Nale,  deacon.      The  first   session  was 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  303 

held  September  12,  at  the  house  of  George  B.  Brinkerhoff  and  Daniel 
B.  Wheeler  was  received  as  a  member  and  baptized ;  thirteen  persons 
also  joined  by  letter.  The  first  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1838,  and 
the  first  meeting-  in  it  was  held  February  2,  1839.  The  society  owns  a 
parsonage,  which  the}''  built,  and  has  a  membership  of  sixty-five.  The 
present  pastor  is  Rev.  A.  Nelson. 

The  Baptist  Church  of  Red  Creek  was  organized  in  1841,  with  about 
thirty  members.  The  first  trustees  were  William  O.  Wood,  Abram 
Teachout,  and  Daniel  Dutcher,  and  meetings  were  held  in  the  school 
house  several  years.  About  1847  a  church  edifice,  thirty-two  by  fifty- 
six  feet,  was  erected,  and  subsequently  a  parsonage  was  secured. 
Among  the  earlier  pastors  were  Revs.  J.  S.  Everingham,  Kinney, 
Amasa  Curtis,  Ira  Bennett,  and  Ira  Dudley.  The  society  has  about 
forty-five  members  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev.  J.  M.  Shotwell, 
whose  wife  is  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 

St.  Thomas's  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Red  Creek  was  built  in 
1875  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  the  corner  stone  being  laid  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
McQuaid  on  October  26,  of  that  year.  It  is  a  frame  structure  and 
stands  on  Main  street  near  the  depot.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev. 
Father  King;  the  present  one  in  charge  is  Father  Ruby,  who  resides 
in  Cato,  Cayuga  county.     The  parish  has  about  sixty  families. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  of  North  Wolcott  was  built  in 
1863,  the  first  pastor  being  Rev.  Philip  Swift.  The  first  meetings  of 
the  society,  which  was  organized  about  1838,  were  held  in  "  the  shanty  " 
and  afterward  in  the  school  house.  The  church  subsequently  passed 
to  the  control  of  an  M.  E.  society,  but  later  returned  again  to  the  Metho- 
dist Protestants.  There  are  now  about  100  worshipers  and  Rev.  W. 
H.  Church  is  pastor  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 


::ni  LANDMARKS   OF 


CHAPTTER  XX. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  WILLIAMSON. 

Williamson  was  set  off  from  the  town  of  Soduson  February  20,  L802, 
and  until  the  organization  of  Wayne  county  in  182-5  comprised  apart  of 

the  county  of  Ontario.  It  was  originally  known  as  township  No.  11, 
and  its  formation  included  also  within  its  limits  the  present  towns  of 
Marion,  Walworth,  and  Ontario.  Ontario  (including  Walworth)  was 
sel  off  March  27,  L807,  and  Marion  on  April  is,  L825,  leaving  William- 
son with  its  present  assessed  area  of  20,256  acres.  It  is  nearly  six 
miles  square,  and  was  named  from  Capt.  Charles  Williamson,  the  first 
agent  of  the  Pultney  estate.  ( >riginallythe  town  was  divided  into  three 
tracts,  viz.  :  The  Pultney  estate,  comprising  the  north,  west,  and  south- 
west portions,  the  Hornby  tract,  the  southeast  portion,  and  the  Hudson 
the  east  part.      The  land  sold  for  ten  shillings  an  acre. 

Situated  on  the  northern  border  of  Wayne  county,  west  of  the  cen- 
ter, this  township  is  bpunded  on  the  east  by  Sodus,  on  the  sonth  by 
Marion,  on  the  west  by  Ontario,  and  on  the  north  by  Lake  Ontario. 
From  about  the  center  of  the  town  northward,  the  surface  is  generally 
level,  sloping  toward  the  lake;  on  the  sonth  it  is  broken  by  low  ridges. 
The  soil  is  an  alluvial  formation.  In  the  northern  part  it  is  mainly  a 
sandy  loam  while  in  the  south  it  consists  largely  of  clay.  Salmon 
Creek,  emptying  into  the  lake  at  Pnltneyville,  Mink  Creek,  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  town,  and  a  small  brook  west  of  these,  with  a  few  tribu- 
taries, afford  excellent  drainage. 

The  town  is  mainly  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  in  point  of 
productiveness  is  one  of  the  best  in  Wayne  county.  The  raising  of 
-rain,  which  formed  the  chief  product  in  earlier  daws,  has  largely  been 
superseded  by  mixed  farming.  Large  apple  orchards,  set  out  a  gen- 
eration ago,  still  bear  abundantly,  while  pears,  peaches,  quinces, 
grapes,  etc.,  are  cultivated  with  considerable  profit.  During  the  last 
decade  the  growing  of  raspberries  has  developed  extensively,  the  acre- 
age in  is1.):;  being  estimated  at  over  (ion.  The  fruit  industry  has 
brought  into  existence  numerous  evaporators  or  dry  houses,  scarcely  a 
farm  of  any  size  being  without   one. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  305 

In  several  parts  of  the  town  iron  ore  has  been  produced  in  paying 
quantities,  but  the  business  of  digging  it  has  never  been  prosecuted  to 
any  extent.  From  the  present  farm  of  John  P.  Bennett,  his  father, 
Dr.  Josiah  Bennett,  once  took  $200  worth  of  bog  ore. 

The  first  thoroughfare  in  Williamson  was  the  Sodus  road  running 
from  Geneva  via  Palmyra  and  Marion  to  Sodus  Point.  It  crossed  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  town,  passed  through  East  Williamson  village, 
and  was  opened  by  Capt.  Williamson  in  1794.  The  second  highway 
was  a  road  leading  through  Marion  and  Williamson  villages  to  Pultney- 
ville,  over  the  old  Indian  trail  or  "  post  road,"  and  was  later  known  in 
this  town  as  Jersey  street  from  the  fact  that  many  of  the  settlers  along 
its  lines  came  from  New  Jersey.  The  ridge  road,  running  east  and 
west  through  Williamson,  was  opened  at  a  later  date.  Most  of  the 
highwa)^s  were  surveyed  between  1800  and  1820.  Moses  Still  and 
Abraham  Pratt  were  road  commissioners  in  the  first  named  year. 

Until  the  completion  of  the  Lake  Ontario  Shore  Railroad  (now  the 
R.  W.  and  O.)  in  1876  the  only  means  of  transportation  and  travel  were 
by  stage  or  by  water  from  Pultneyville ;  the  advent  of  this  route  gave 
to  the  town  a  commercial  importance  that  it  has  ever  since  maintained, 
and  opened  for  its  .products  the  best  markets  of  the  world.  To  aid  in 
the  construction  of  this  railroad  the  town  was  bonded  for  $60,000. 
These  bonds  are  practically  all  paid  off ,  and  to-day  Williamson  enjoys 
the  distinction  of  being  the  first  town  along  the  route  to  extinguish  the 
indebtedness  incurred  for  this  purpose,  the  credit  for  which  is  mainly 
clue  its  veteran  supervisor,  Hon.  John  P.  Bennett. 

The  first  town  meeting  convened  at  the  dwelling  of  Timothy  Smith 
in  Marion  village  in  March,  1803,  when  Daniel  Douglass,  David  Hard- 
ing, Leonard  Aldrich,  and  Henry  Lovell  were  elected  assessors; 
Leonard  Aldrich  and  Stephen  Bushnell,  commissioners  of  highways. 
The  tax  levy  this  year  was  $145   and   the  wolf  bounty  aggregated  $52. 

March  6,  1804,  the  second  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  residence  of 
Daniel  Powell  in  Marion  and  these  officers  were  chosen:  Luke  Phelps, 
supervisor;  Daniel  Douglass,  town  clerk;  Micajah  Harding,  Samuel 
Millett,  Samuel  O.  Caldwell,  assessors;  Abraham  Pratt,  constable  and 
collector;  S.  O.  Caldwell  and  Micajah  Harding,  overseers  of  the  poor; 
Jonathan  Hill,  Henry  Lovell,  William  B.  Cogswell,  highway  commis- 
sioners; Micajah  Harding  and  Moses  Blakesley,  fence  viewers;  Moses 
Blakesley,  pound  keeper.  Five  dollars  were  voted  for  every  wolf 
39 


30C  LANDMARKS   OF 

killed,  four  dollars  for  each  bear's  head  taken,  and  fifty  dollars  were  to 
be  reused  by  tax  for  the  destruction  of  noxious  animals  in  the  town. 
The  following  license  was  issued  to  John  Fuller,  June  1,  1801  : 

A.  1  >.  1807, — Be  it  known  that  we,  the  commissioners  of  excise  of  the  town  of 
Williamson,  in  the  county  of  Ontario,  Irave  licensed,  and  in  pursuance  of  the  statute 
provided  in  such  case  do  hereby  license  and  permit  John  Fuller,  of  the  town  of  Wil- 
liamson, distiller,  to  sell  by  retail  any  strong  or  spirituous  liquors  under  five  gallons, 
provided  the  same  be  not  drank  in  his  house,  outhouse,  yard,  or  garden,  from  the 
date  of  these  presents  until  the  first  Thursday  in  May  next.  Given  under  our  hands 
and  seals  this  first  day  of  June. 

Caleb  Lyon. 
Pardon  Di  rfee, 
William   Rooeks, 

Executive  Committee. 

The  name  of  the  first  supervisor  (1803)  cannot  be  ascertained,  and  it 
will  also  be  noticed  that  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  more  than  a 
year  after  the  town  was  organized.  The  supervisors  since  1804  have 
been : 

Luke  Phelps,  1804-0.  Daniel  Grandin,  1845. 

Caleb  Lyon,   L807.  John  Cottrell,  1846-48. 

Luke  Phelps,  1808.  William  Stautenburg,  1849. 

Jacob  Hallett,  1809-11.  Hiram  Gallup,    1850-51. 

S.  II.  Caldwell,  1812-16.  Hayden  W.  Curtis,  1852. 

David  Eddy,  1817-1820.  John  S.  Todd,  1853. 

Russell  Whipple,   1821-22.  Henry  W.  Brownell,  1854. 

Freeman  Hart,  1823.  Elias  Cady,  18.-),-). 

Russell  Whipple,  1824-34.  William  H.  Rogers,  1856-59. 

Daniel  Poppino,  1835-36.  Benjamin  J.  Hance,  1860-74. 

John  Borrodaile,  1837-38.  Washington  S.  Throop,  is;;,   78 

William  Johnson,  1839-40.  John  P.  Bennett,   1879  to   1894   iu- 

Jedediah  Allen,  1841-44.  elusive. 

Town  officers  for  1S(.)4  are :  John  P.  Bennett,  supervisor;  Frank  S. 
Wilder,  town  clerk;  H.  N.  Burr,  J.  A.  French,  Samuel  Lyon,  Amasa 
Cady,  justices  of  the  peace;  Joseph  Hanby,  Amos  F.  Selby,  Charles  S. 
Adams,  assessors;  William  A.  Coutant,  collector;  Charles  B.  Hoag- 
land,  highway  commissioner;  John  J.   Lucknor,  overseer  of  the  poor 

In  1858  there  were  in  Williamson  14,796  acres  of  improved  land,  real 
estate  valued  at  $69,632,  2,552  inhabitants,  PC)  dwellings,  529  families, 
128  freeholders,  fourteen  school  districts,  and  791  schoolchildren.  Agri- 
cultural statistics,  L858:  994  horses,  L,278  working  oxen  and  calves, 
l,n:;;  cows,  7,509  sheep,  1,519  swine,  8,803  bushels  winter  wheat,  93,- 
l\C   bushels  spring  wheat,  2,943  tons  of  hay,    L3,835   bushels  potatoes, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  Wt 

32,702  bushels  apples,  91, 822  pounds  butter,  36,175  pounds  of  cheese, 
and  845  yards  domestic  cloths. 

The  assessed  valuation  of  real  estate  in  the  town  in  1893  was  $694,- 
879  (equalized,  664,079);  value  of  village  and  mill  property,  $196,925, 
(equalized  $167,445);  value  of  personal  property,  $115, 000;  total  as- 
sessed valuation,  $1,092,292,  (equalized  $1,032,012).  Schedule  of  taxes 
for  1893:  Contingent  fund,  $751.65;  poor  fund,  $500;  roads  and 
bridges,  $250;  schools,  $944.24;  county  tax,  $2,259.19;  State  tax, 
$1,244.94;  insane  tax,  $321,17;  dog  tax  $119.  Total  tax  levied,  $6,025.41 ; 
rate  per  cent,  .0060056.  The  town  had  a  population  in  1890  of  2,670, 
and  in  1893  polled  603  votes.  In  August,  1890,  it  was  redistricted  into 
three  election  districts;  in  July,  1891,  it  was  again  formed  into  two 
election  districts. 

Settlements  were  commenced  at  Pultneyville  and  Williamson  villages 
following  the  year  1804.  The  pioneers  were  a  sturdy  class  of  New 
Englanders,  and  as  the  town  filled  up  they  imparted  to  the  community 
sterling  characteristics,  which  are  largely  traceable  to  their  descendants 
and  the  present  inhabitants.  By  toil,  frugality  and  hardships  they 
cleared  off  the  dense  forests,  transformed  the  wilderness  into  produc- 
tive farms,  and  built  for  themselves  and  their  successors  pleasant 
homes,  substantial  churches,  good  schools,  thriving  villages. 

The  first  white  settler  in  Williamson  was  "Yankee  Bill"  Waters, 
who  squatted  in  1804  at  "  Appleblossom  Point,"  on  the  lake  shore,  a 
place  that  took  its  name  from  a  few  apple  trees  which  he  planted.  By 
sailors  it  was  known  as  "Apple-boom  Point  "  from  its  resemblance  to 
the  boom  of  a  vessel.  A  hunter  living  only  for  the  sake  of  mere  living, 
he  remained  a  few  years  and  suddenly  and  mysteriously  disappeared 
forever. 

It  was  about  1800  that  the  first  permanent  settlers  came  into  town, 
but  accurate  data  concerning  them  are  deplorably  lacking.  In  fact  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  name  and  locate  any  comers  prior  to  1807,  in  which 
year  Amasa  Gibbs,  John  Sheffield,  James  S.  Seeley,  Gardner  and  Joel 
Calhoun,  Andrew  Stewart,  and  William  Rogers  came  in.  Mr.  Gibbs 
bought  300  acres  of  lots  61  and  02,  which  upon  his  death  passed  to  his 
heirs.  Seeley  located  on  fifty  acres  west  of  Williamson  village,  and  a 
few  years  aftewards  moved  west.  Joel  Calhoun  settled  on  lot  61  on 
the  Ridge,  and  his  brother  Gardner  located  on  lot  25.  Reuben,  a  grand- 
son of  Joel,  now  resides  in  town.  Andrew  Stewart  came  with  his  wife 
and  twelve  children.      A  native  of  Scotland,   he  first  settled  in  Herki- 


308  LANDMARKS   OF 

mer  county,  whence  he  moved   here  and   located  on  lot  3.      He  finally 

sold  to  .Major  William  Rogers,  an  Englishman,  who  had  settled  at  the 
Corners.  Major  Rogers  served  in  the  war  of  181*2,  and  until  1816  kept 
hotel  here.  Some  years  afterwards  he  moved  to  Palmyra,  but  returned 
and  died  in  Williamson  village.  His  children,  Sophia,  Lucy,  Harriet, 
William,  jr.,  and  Franklin,  survived  him.  His  grandson,  George  F., 
lives  in  town.  Major  Rogers  was  very  active  in  inducing  his  country- 
men to  locate  in  Williamson. 

In  1806  J;  W.  Hallett  was  appointed  deputy  land  agent  for  this  town 
and  for  his  services  was  given  1,000  acres  on  the  lake  shore,  includ- 
ing the  site  of  Pultneyville.  He  built  a  log  house  in  that  year  on  a  lot 
recently  occupied  by  Mrs.  Samuel  Cuyler.  He  settled  in  Macedon  in 
J  824.  Capt.  Samuel  Throop  located  on  the  site  of  Pultneyville  in  1806, 
removing  thence  from  Farmington.  He  navigated  Lake  Ontario  until 
1819,  when  he  was  drowned  from  the  schooner  Nancy  while  entering 
Sodus  Bay  during  a  gale.  He  was  originally  from  Connecticut,  was  a 
paymaster  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  sailed  the  first  vessel  owned  at  Pult- 
neyville. 

Jeremiah  Selby,  a  millwright  from  Connecticut,  settled  at  Pultney- 
ville soon  after  1806  and  built  there  the  first  saw  and  grist  mill  in  the 
town.  His  sons,  Jared,  Dyer,  and  Brainard  went  west.  A  grandson, 
Joseph  Church,  born  in  Palmyra,  came  to  live  with  him  when  thirteen 
years  old.      He  was  a  carpenter  here  many  years. 

Matthew  Martin  settled  on  the  first  lot  west  of  Hallett's  reservation, 
which  his  grandson,  Evelyn  Cornwall,  afterwards  owned.  Martin  was 
a  Pennsylvanian.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  this  town  and 
brought  with  him  the  first  sheep,  cattle  and  horses.  He  also  planted 
the  first  corn  and  sowed  the  first  wheat  in  Williamson. 

Elder  Fairbanks  was  presented  with  100  acres  of  land  by  the  Pnltney 
estate  on  condition  that  he  would  come  here  and  preach  the  gospel  two 
years.  He  came  in  1810  and  located  on  his  lot  in  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  town,  and  thus  became  the  pioneer  minister.  Upon  similar  con- 
ditions Rev.  George  D.  Phelps,  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  received  a  lot 
and  settled  just  west  of  Fairbanks.  He  held  two  slaves  who  were 
emancipated  by  the  law  abolishing  slavery  in  this  State.  From  1813 
he  continued  to  preach  until  a  few  years  before  his  death.  In  1810 
William  Ilolling  settled  the  lot  next  west  and  John  Abel  located  on  the 
II  allett  reservation. 

In  1808  Anion  Pratt  settled  on  the  northwest   lot  in  the  town,  where 


WAYNE   COUNTY  •        309 

he  died,  and  which  was  long-  owned  by  his  descendants.  The  father  of 
Egbert  B.  Grandin  located  on  the  second  farm  west  of  Hallett's  reser- 
vation. Egbert  B.  Grandin  was  once  the  editor  of  the  Wayne  Sentinel 
and  the  publisher  of  the  "Book  of  Mormon." 

On  Jersey  street  the  first  settlers  were  a  Mr.  Conk,  who  located  on 
the  farm  afterwards  purchased  by  William  Shipman;  John  Mason,  who 
was  drowned  at  Pultneyville,  and  who  was  the  father  of  Charles  and 
Joseph  Mason;  David  Fish  and  Luther  Bristol,  who  moved  west; 
Joseph  Lewis;  Thomas  Cooper,  who  died  on  his  homestead;  Stephen 
Fish,  who  came  with  his  children,  David,  Isaac,  Zolovicl,  Thomas, 
Perns,  Stephen,  jr.,  Harriet,  Charity  and  Phoebe  (Mrs.  Stephen  Ger- 
rolds),  in  1811;  Lyman  Seymour,  who  died  in  Sodus;  Jacob  Wilber; 
Joseph  Landin;  John  White;  Silas  Nash;  Nathan  Arnold;  Abraham 
Peer,  father  of  Mrs.  Remington  Kiny on;  Benjamin  Waters,  who  died 
and  was  buried  on  his  farm;  John  Lambert,  who  went  west;  Ebenezer 
Seymour,  who  sold  to  Enos  Sanford;  and  Josiah  Wilber,  James  Web- 
ster, Daniel  Hart,  Andrew  Stewart,  William  and  Joseph  Johnson, 
Timothy  Culver  and  Whitford  Hatch. 

Ansel  Cornwall,  who  was  born  in  Chatham,  Conn.,  in  1789,  came  to 
Williamson  in  1812.  He  was  twice  married  and  by  trade  was  a  carpen- 
ter. He  built  the  first  church  (Union)  and  contributed  $1,000  towards 
the  erection  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in  Pultneyville.  At  his  death  he  was 
the  oldest  man  in  town  and  the  oldest  Free  Mason  in  the  county. 

Zimri  Waters  was  born  in  Pultneyville  in  1811,  and  died  in  Septem- 
ber, 1870.  He  was  a  staunch  temperance  advocate,  a  Republican  and 
spiritualist,  and  had  five  children. 

Andrew  and  William  Cornwall  came  to  Pultneyville  from  Connecti- 
cut about  1809.  William  soon  afterward  died,  and  in  1810  Andrew- 
married  Eliza  B.  Martin,  which  was  the  first  marriage  in  town,  the 
ceremony  being  performed  by  an  Irish  missionary.  Mr.  Cornwall  en- 
gaged in  cabinet  making,  served  as  magistrate  eighteen  years,  and  died 
in  1854.      His  sons  were  AndrewT,  jr.,  Evelyn,  and  Dr.  William. 

Other  early  settlers  of  the  town  were  Joel  Howe,  Jeremiah  Cady, 
James  Calhoun  in  1808,  Hugh  Clark  on  lot  23,  Enoch  Tuttle  on  lot  Gl, 
Amos  White,  Col.  John  Cottrellin  1810,  Isaac  Fish  in  1811,  Justin  Eddy 
in  1809,  Alexander  White  in  1811,  Daniel  Poppino  (father  of  Samuel 
wS.),  and  Merritt  Adams  in  1808.  At  Pultneyville  were  Abraham  Pep- 
per, Thomas  Thatcher  (a  blacksmith),  Elisha  Wood  (a  mason),  Richard 
Sweet  (a  tanner),  Richard  White,  Robert  Armstrong,  John  De  Krumft 


310        •  LANDMARKS   OF 

(a  cabinet  maker),  Perkins  and  Jacob  Dana  (coach  and  sleigh  makers), 
Simeon  S.  Strong,  A.  J.  Deming,  M.  A.  Blakeley,  William  Ingalls, 
Oliver  Cobb,  Charles  Gilbert  and  Samuel   Gilbert. 

The  first  birth  of  a  white  person  in  the  town  was  that  of  Capt.  H. 
11.  Throop  at  Pultneyville,  November  in,  ISO?.  The  first  female  child 
born  in  Williamson  was  his  sister  Julia,  born  in  1809.  The  first  deaths 
were  those  of  a  son  (aged  three)  and  daughter  (aged  one)  of  Samuel 
Throop,  who,  with  their  parents  and  Robert  Armstrong  and  Jeremiah 
Selby,  were  capsized  from  a  boat  on  the  lake;  all  escaped  except  the 
children. 

Alpheus  Curtis,  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  settled  in  town  at  an  early 
day  and  died  here;  a  son  survives  him.  His  old  house  stood  on  the 
site  of  the  present  residence  of  Joseph  Britton.  Benjamin  Thompkin- 
son,  a  native  of  England,  came  here  with  his  parents  and  located  east 
of  Pultneyville.  He  became  a  licensed  exhorter  and  subsequently  an 
ordained  local  preacher  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Myron  Holley  Bennett  was  born  here  in  1820  and  died  in  1887.  At- 
kinson Sayles  was  born  in  England  in  1811,  Williamson  in  1831, 
and  died  in  July,  L890.  Remington  Kinyon,  born  in  Hartford,  N.  V., 
in  1803,  moved  here  early  in  life  and  died  October  31,  1891.  Augustus 
Beach  was  born  in  Canada  in  L818,  removed  to  Marion  when  eighteen, 
and  finally  came  to  AVilliamson,  where  he  died  in  1892.  Isaac  E. 
Shipley,  a  life  long  resident  of  Pultneyville,  died  in  June,  L892.  George 
W.  Miller,  a  wagonmaker  and  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church,  died 
here  in  March,  1888,  after  a  residence  of  fifty-six  years.  Deacon  Ros- 
well  Harkness,  a  native  of  Marion,  died  here  the  same  year.  M.  Aaron 
Thorp,  another  old  settler,  died  in  May,  1889.  J.  D.  Pearsall  was  long 
an  active  business  man  in  Williamson  village  and  prominently  con- 
nected with  the  work  of  surveying  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  through 
the  town,  being  appointed  one  of  tin-  railroad  commissioners.  He  built 
the  warehouse  and  elevator  near  the  depot,  and  died  in  L890. 

John  Pallister  and  his  sons,  A.  A.  and  M.  \\,  at  Pultneyville,  be- 
came prominently  identified  with  that  village.  The  father  died  here 
in  December,  L889,  aged  nearly  eighty-one.  The  death  of  his  daughter, 
Mrs.   Evelyn  Cornwall,  occurred  March  31,  L891. 

Norman  Meaker  came    to  Williamson   on   the  canal    soon  after  1825, 

followed  farming  and  droving,  and  died   here  in  July,    L881.      He  was 

of  the  first  to  engage  in  shipping  produce   from  Wayne  county  to 

New  York,  and  at  an  advanced  aged  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the 

Rebellion  two  ami  a  half  years. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  :;il 

Dr.  Josiah  Bennett,  the  second  physician  in  town,  came  in  L815,  and 
Spent  his  life  here.  Wesson  Pratt,  who  died  June  30,  L894,  aged  nearly 
ninety-two,  was  then  the  oldest  man  in  town.  His  son,  Alanson,  re- 
sides on  the  homestead.  Samuel  Gilbert,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  came 
to  the  Genesee  country  on  his  wedding-  trip.  At  Canandaigua  he  got 
stranded,  but  borrowing  five  dollars  of  Major  William  Rogers  (who  had 
removed  there  from  Williamson),  he  came  to  this  town  and  with  the 
money  purchased  five  acres  of  land  on  contract,  which  he  soon  sold  and 
bought  100  acres  farther  back  in  the  woods.  Two  of  his  sons  live  in 
the  Russell  neighborhood  in  Marion. 

Prominent  among  other  settlers  were  William  Tuttle,  born  in  1799, 
died  here  in  February,  1886;  Lorenzo  Fish,  for  twenty-four  years  post- 
master at  Pultneyville,  died  January  23,  1885;  John  J.  Morley.  a  ship- 
builder, son  of  Hon.  Horace  Morley,  born  in  Pultneyville  in  Novem- 
ber, 1823,  died  in  Rochester  in  August,  1885;  Hon.  William  H.  Rogers, 
supervisor  and  assemblyman,  who  removed  to  New  Jersey  in  1887 
after  residing  here  fifty-one  years;  and  John  Reynolds,  who  was  born 
in  1803,  came  to  Pultneyville  in  1829,  engaged  in  business  as  a  mer- 
chant, became  an  active  operator  of  the  "underground  railroad,"  was 
postmaster  under  Tyler's  administration,  and  died  October  15,  1882. 
John  P.  Bennett,  son  of  Dr.  Josiah  Bennett,  is  the  town's  most  prom- 
inent resident.  He  has  been  supervisor  continuously  since  1879,  was 
county  sheriff  from  1861  to  1867,  and  assemblyman  in  1890. 

Hon.  Samuel  C.  Cuyler  was  the  most  distinguished  citizen  this  town 
ever  had.  Born  in  Aurora,  N.  Y.,  in  1808,  the  son  of  a  lawyer,  he  was 
educated  in  Cayuga  Academy  and  settled  in  Pultneyville  in  1830.  His 
mother  was  a. sister  of  Samuel  F.  Ledyard,  of  that  village.  Mr.  Cuyler 
early  became  an  ardent  temperance  advocate  and  a  strong  abolitionist, 
and  ever  afterward  lived  the  life  of  a  true  reformer.  He  was  originally 
a  Whig  and  in  1840  joined  the  Liberty  party.  In  1848  he  became  a 
Free  Soiler  and  in  1855  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  on  the  Repub- 
lican ticket.  For  seven  years  he  was  collector  of  customs  at  Pultney- 
ville. When  the  anti-slavery  struggle  opened  he  espoused  the  cause 
of  emancipation  and  throughout  the  country  his  house  became  famous 
as  a  depot  of  the  "underground  railroad."  From  it  boat  load  after 
boat  load  of  slaves  were  sent  to  Canada,  many  of  them  by  Capt.  H.  N. 
Throop's  steamer.  Mr.  Cuyler  was  a  born  orator  and  during  his  two 
years'  service  in  the  Legislature,  made  a  number  of  effective  speeches 
in  favor  of  equal  suffrage.     He  died  February  13,  1872,  and  was  buried 


312  LANDMARKS   OF 

in  Lake  View  Cemetery  at  Pultneyville.  His  son,  Ledyard  S.  Cuyler, 
survives  him  and  is  now  clerk  of  Wayne  county.  Among- Mr.  Cuyler's 
active  co-workers  in  freeing  slaves  were  Abram  Pryne,  Capt.  Throop, 
and  Griffith  Cooper,  of  Williamson;  Dr.  Cook,  of  Sodus;  and  William 
R.  Smith,  of  Macedon. 

Capt.  H.  N.  Throop  was  born  in  Pultneyville  November  10,  1807,  and 
was  a  son  of  the  Samuel  Throop  previously  mentioned.  From  the  age 
of  fourteen  he  followed  the  business  of  boat  building  and  commanding 
lake  vessels,  and  during  his  life  built  at  Pultneyville  a  number  of 
schooners,  yachts,  and  steamers.  Among"  the  more  important  vessels 
which  Capt.  Throop  constructed  were  the  steamer  Ontario  and  the 
steam  yacht  Magic.  His  brother,  Washington  S.,  was  associated  with 
him  more  or  less  in  business,  and  under  the  hitter's  supervision  the 
captain  built  in  1832  the  stone  house  in  Pultneyville,  which  he  occupied 
until  his  death,  April  L3,   L884." 

Prominent  among  other  citizens  of  the  town  may  be  mentioned  the 
names  of  John  Adams,  the  no-license  commissioner;  Darius  F.  Rus- 
sell, grandson  of  Daniel  (who  settled  very  early  on  the  old  Sodus  road), 
who  resides  on  the  homestead;  the  Wake  family;  John  A.  Sprague, 
coroner;  Reuben  Nash,  who  died  here  a  few  years  since;  R.  M.  and 
G.  F.  Cheetham,  brothers,  bankers;  and  William  Eaton.  Numerous 
others  are  noticed  a  little  further  on  and  in  Part  II  of  this  work. 

During  the  rebellion  the  town  sent  172  of  her  citizens  to  defend  the 
Union.  A  number  of  these  were  killed  in  action  and  several  died  in 
rebel  prisons.  Of  those  who  returned  but  few  have  survived  the  lapse 
of  time  to  tell  the  story  of  the  great  conflict. 

There  are  four  cemeteries  in  this  town.  The  first  land  used  for 
burial  purposes  was  a  plat  on  the  Martin  farm,  and  among  the  first 
burials  therein  were  Mrs.  J.  W.  Hallett,  William  Cornwall,  and  Robert 
Armstrong.  This  is  now  Lake  View  Cemetery  at  Pultneyville  and  for 
its  maintenance  an  association  was  legally  incorporated  a  few  years 
since.  Albert  A.  Pallister  is  secretary  and  superintendent.  A  little 
west  of  Williamson  village  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ridge  road  is  an- 
other pretty  burial  ground.  The  first  interment  in  it  was  the  body  of 
Mrs.  Seeley,  in  L809,  and  the  second  a  child  of  William  Rogers.  There 
is  also  ;i  v  at  East  Williamson,  and  an   old   burying   ground    on 

the  west  side  of  the  road  near  tin-  Marion  town    line. 

The  first  school  house  was  erected  on  the  present  public  square  in 
Pultneyville' in  1808,  and  a  Mr.   Morrison  was  the  first  teacher  therein. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  313 

It  was  burned  in  the  winter  of  L816— 17,  and  in  L811  a  larger  building 
was  erected  on  the  site.  This  was  used  until  it  was  superseded  by  i  In- 
present  stone  structure.  Schools  have  been  maintained  at  Williamson 
since  1811  and  at  East  Williamson  from  an  early  day.  At  the  former 
village  there  is  a  good  graded  school  with  F.  L.  Coop  as  principal.  The 
town  now  has  fourteen  districts  with  a  school  house  in  each,  in  which 
sixteen  teachers  are  employed.  The  -whole  number  of  children  who 
attended  these  schools  in  1803-4  was  579;  value  of  school  buildings  and 
sites,  $10,115;  assessed  valuation  of  the  districts,  $1,019,000;  public 
money  received  from  the  State,  $1,957.80;  amount  raised  by  local  tax, 
$-2,111.81. 

Williamson  Village. — This  is  a  post  village  and  a  station  of  the  R. 
W.  &  O.  Railroad  a  little  south  of  the  center  of  the  town.  Major  Will- 
iam Rogers  came  here  in  1808  and  took  up  100  acres  on  the  west  side 
of  the  four  corners.  In  the  same  year  Abraham  Gallup  purchased  a 
similar  tract  on  the  southeast  corner  and  John  Holcomb  on  the  north- 
east corner.  These  were  the  only  inhabitants  in  the  south  part  of  the 
town  at  that  time.  They  each  built  a  log  house  and  Major  Rogers 
opened  a  tavern  in  his.  This  old  tavern  dwelling  was  twenty  by  fifteen 
feet  in  size  and  one  story  high.  It  was  divided  into  two  rooms,  one  for 
the  family,  the  other  for  the  bar  room,  and  stood  just  west  of  the  site 
of  the  present  hotel.  In  1810  a  log  addition  12x16  feet  was  added  for  a 
bar  room,  and  a  few  shelves  were  partially  filled  with  a  variety  of  goods 
and  groceries.  Rogers  kept  this  tavern  until  1816,  when  the  property 
was  purchased  by  Dennison  Rogers,  of  Palmyra.  The  latter  built  a 
small  frame  addition,  which  was  used  in  connection  with  the  log  part, 
was  rented  to  different  parties,  changed  hands,  rebuilt,  and  finally 
burned.  Major  Rogers  was  the  first  postmaster  and  had  his  office  in 
this  tavern  store.  The  "post  route  "  from  Canandaigua to  Pultneyville 
passed  through  this  settlement.  Mr.  Holcomb  removed  to  Sod  us  in 
1811,  and  Simeon  S.  Strong  transformed  his  log  house  into  a  black- 
smith shop.  It  stood  on  the  lot  occupied  by  John  French.  Mr.  Strong 
carried  on  his  trade  here  until  his  death  in  1827.  He  also  manufac- 
tured rifles. 

About  1815  the  first  regular  store  was  opened  by  Alfred  J.  Deming 
in  a  part  of  the  frame  building  now  occupied  on  the  same  site  by  Frank 
Gordon  &  Co.  William  Gallup  built  the  first  frame  dwelling  in  is  In, 
in  which  he  kept  a  tavern  for  a  period ;  this  is  now  a  part  of  George 
Russell's  residence.     The  first  school  house  was  a  log  building  erected 

40 


:;il  LANDMARKS   OF 

in  L811,  a  little  west  of  the  tavern,  and  in  it  John  Lambert  was  the 
first  teacher.  In  L815  the  place  comprised  two  hotels,  one  store,  a 
blacksmith  shop,  a  school  house,  and  one  frame  and  live  log-  houses. 
Drs.  Bigelow  and  Josiah  Bennett  were  the  earliest  physicians. 

The  Williamson  steam  flouring  mill  was  built  by  William  Eaton,  the 
present  proprietor,  in  L873,  with  three  runs  of  stones.  In  May,  1891, 
these  were  replaced  by  a  full  roller  process. 

C.  J.  Muhl  and  C.  J.  Elve  formerly  carried  on  quite  an  extensive 
business  here  in  their  respective  establishments  in  the  manufacture  of 
wagons  and  sleighs;  but  their  work  now  is  largely  confined  to  repair- 
ing. 

R.  ML  Cheetham  &  Co.  (F.  G.  Cheetham)  opened  their  private  bank 
July  15,   L893.      It  is  the  first  and  only  banking  institution  in  the  town. 

The  Williamson  Fire  Company  No.  1  was  organized  April  20,  1889, 
with  forty  members.  A  brake  engine  and  a  hose  cart,  ladders,  and 
over  500  feet  of  hose  were  purchased  at  a  cost  of  about  $600.  A  frame 
engine  house  is  now  (1894)  in  process  of  erection,  which,  with  the  lot, 
costs  $800.      J.  A.  French  is  foreman  of  the  company. 

Williamson  village  now  contains  three  general  stores,  two  hardware 
;s,  a  drug  store,  two  hotels,  two  liveries,  a  newspaper,  a  private 
bank,  a  clothing  store,  two  jewelry  stores,  a  furniture  and  undertaking 
establishment,  one  grocery,  a  variety  store,  a  photograph  gallery,  five 
physicians,  one  attorney,  one  dentist,  a  harness  shop,  two  meat  mar- 
kets, three  blacksmiths,  two  milliner)*  stores,  two  carriage  and  wagon 
dealers,  two  wood-working  shops,  a  flouring  mill,  two  warehouses  and 
produce  dealers,  a  lumber  yard  and  planing  mill,  three  churches  and 
about  loo  inhabitants.  The  present  postmaster  is  Abraham  Clic- 
quennoi. 

I'i  i  r\i;\  \ii.i  i ■:. -  -This  village  was  named  from  Sir  William  Pultney, 
one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Pultney  estate.  It  lies  on  the  lake  shore 
at  the  mouth  of  Salmon  Creek,  near  the  center  of  the  north  border  of 
i.  and  is  a  United  States  port  of  entry  in  the  Genesee  district. 
During  the  aboriginal  occupancy  of  the  country  this  point  was  a  favor- 
ite meeting  place  of  the  Indians;  here  they  met  the  French  voyageurs 
in  their  maloupes;  here  they  came  on  fishing  excursions;  here  the 
French  expedition  of  L686,  against  the  Senecas,  made  a  hah;  and  here 
was  the  end  of  an  Indian  trail  which  led  to  Seneca  Lake,  and  over 
which  the  early  mails  were  carried  once  a  week  from  Canandaigua,  by 
Andrew  Stewart  on  horseback.      The  first  postmaster  was  Samuel  Led- 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  315 

yard.       Merc   also   Commodore   Vco  landed  a  small   force  of    English 

marines  in  June,  IS  14,  which  were  fired  on  by  the  militia  that  had  as- 
sembled under  Gen.  John  Swift.  It  had  been  agreed  between  the 
commanders  that  the  British  were  to  have  all  the  public  property  in 
the  place,  but  persons  and  private  property  were  to  be  respected.  Most 
of  the  United  States  stores  had  been  removed.  Boats  landed  and  took 
on  board  a  quantity  of  flour  from  the  storehouse.  The  American 
militia  were  stationed  some  distance  back,  and  it  was  understood  by 
them  that  the  British  were  confined  by  the  stipulation  to  the  warehouse 
yard.  Two  or  three  of  them  came  outside  some  distance,  and  were 
fired  upon  by  one  of  the  militia,  and  an  officer  was  wounded.  A  signal 
was  at  once  given  to  the  fleet,  which  commenced  firing,  and  the  party 
on  shore  went  to  the  tavern  and  captured  Richard  White  and  Russell 
Cole,  and  thence  to  the  storehouse  and  took  Prescott  Fairbanks.  Cole 
escaped  before  leaving  shore;  the  others  were  taken  to  Montreal.  Fair- 
banks was  soon  released,  and  White  was  exchanged  some  time  after. 
Fortunately  for  Pultneyville  and  her  people,  a  signal  was  given  to  the 
fleet  that  they  were  needed  in  another  quarter,  and  the  shore  party, 
hastily  taking  to  their  boats,  pulled  away.  In  this  skirmish  the  British 
suffered  a  loss  of  two  killed  and  two  wounded.  One  man  was  killed  on 
shore  by  their  own  firing,  and  the  other  on  the  ship  by  the  premature 
discharge  of  a  cannon.     The  militia  lost  none. 

As  early  stated,  J.  W.  Hallett  was  given  1,000  acres  of  land,  where 
Pultneyville  now  is,  in  1806;  he  accordingly  settled  here  that  year,  as 
also  did  vSamuel  Throop  and  Samuel  Ledyard.  In  1807  Mr.  Throop 
erected  on  village  lot  No.  2  the  first  frame  house  in  the  place,  and  in  it 
he  kept  tavern  until  1810.  Mr.  Hallett:s  log  dwelling,  built  in  1806, 
stood  on  a  lot  subsequently  owned  by  Mrs.  Samuel  C.  Cuyler.  Jeremiah 
Selby  in  1808  put  up  another  on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Jay 
streets;  in  1809  he  erected  a  saw  mill  and  grist  mill,  one  on  each  side 
of  the  mouth  of  Salmon  Creek.  Near  these  mills  during  that  year 
Samuel  Ledyard  built  the  first  log  store  building  here;  several  years 
later  he  superseded  it  with  a  frame  structure  twenty  rods  east  of  the 
log  house.  Mr.  Ledyard  also  constructed  piers  for  a  harbor,  built  two 
warehouses,  and  began  a  forwarding  and  shipping  business  to  Canada 
and  down  the  St.  Lawrence.  Russell  Cole  put  up  a  blacksmith  shop, 
and  afterward  built  a  larger  one  on  the  site  of  the  James  B.  Cragg 
house. 

In  1810  Russell  Whipple  built  a  larger  tavern  which  comprised  a  part 


316  LANDMARKS   OF 

of  the  hotel  that  was  burned  in  1887.  The  year  before  a  tannery  and 
distillery  had  been  placed  in  operation.  The  old  tannery  building- is 
now  used  as  a  eider  mill  and  dry  house.  In  1812  the  village  consisted 
of  a  saw  mill,  a  grist  mill,  one  store,  one  tavern,  a  distillery,  a  tannery, 
two  warehouses,  a  cabinet  shop,  a  school  house,  and  about  twenty 
dwellings.  April  12,  1887,  fire  destroyed  the  old  hotel  (which  had  been 
kept  several  years  by  William  Smith),  a  drug  store,  harness  shop,  two 
dwelling  houses  and  the  post-office. 

The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Mallory  in  1810.  In  1819  a  Mr.  Allen 
started  a  forge.  In  1825  a  Union  church  edifice  was  built,  the  corner 
stone  being  laid  by  members  of  Pultneyville  Lodge,  No.  159,  F.  and 
A.  M.,  which  was  organized  in  1811.  This  building  was  lengthened 
and  remodeled  a  few  years  since,  a  basement  put  under  it,  and  is  now 
the  (hites  Public  Hall.  The  grist  mill  here  was  erected  by  James  B. 
Cragg,  and  upon  his  death  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  sons.  The 
present  proprietor  is  George  Lee. 

Pultneyville  now  contains  a  hotel,  two  general  stores,  a  drug  store, 
two  blacksmith  shops,  a  cooperage,  one  flouring  mill,  a  lumber  yard, 
a  public  hall,  storage  and  forwarding  business,  a  government  light- 
house, two  churches,  a  district  school,  and  about  300  inhabitants.  The 
postmistress  is  Ellen  Tufts. 

E  \m'  Williamson.— This  little  rural  hamlet  was  settled  by  Holland- 
ers at  an  early  date.  It  is  located  near  the  east  border  of  the  town, 
south  of  the  railroad,  and  consists  of  a  post-office,  two  stores,  two 
churches,  a  blacksmith  shop,  school,  and  about  twenty  dwellings.  The 
postmaster  is  J.  J.  Lacknor. 

Churches. — The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Williamson  was  or- 
ganized by  Rev.  Allen  C.  Collins,  a  missionary,  November  21,  1816, 
the  constituent  members  being:  Isaac  Curtis,  Barnabas  Moss,  Luther 
Bristol,  Alinda  Paddock,  Lucretia  and  Nancy  Moody,  Eunice  Nash, 
Christiana  Mason,  Wilhelmina  Pepper,  John  Albright,  Abraham  Pep- 
per. Maria  Fairbanks,  Catharine  Curtis,  and  Marcia  De  Kruyft.  The 
first  church  edifice  was  a  brick  structure  erected  in  1828,  one-fourth  of 
a  mile  south  of  Williamson  village.  It  cost  $3,000,  and  was  used  until 
L859,  when  it  was  demolished.  From  that  year  until  1862  meetings 
were  held  in  the  Baptist  Church.  The  present  edifice  was  begun  in 
the  latter  year  and  finished  in  L866.  The  first  settled  pastor  was  Rev. 
lei  White,  who  was  installed  January  24,  1  s is.  The  society  has 
now    eighty-five   members,    under    Rev.    L.    W.    Page,    of  Rochester, 


WAYNE   COUNTY. 


317 


pastor.  The  Sunday  school  was  organized  as  early  as  1832;  the  pres- 
ent superintendent  is  Edward  Cornish. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Williamson  was  organized  by  Rev.  Mar- 
vin Allen,  with  thirty  members  December  12,  1826,  the  first  trustees 
being"  David  Williams,  Pasqua  Austin,  Dr.  Josiah  Bennett,  Daniel  Pop- 
pino,  James  Wright,  R.  A.  Lee,  and  Lewis  Bradley.  The  first  church 
building  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  present  edifice  in  1827,  and  was 
dedicated  the  same  year  by  Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  the  first  pastor.  It  was  a 
"galleried"  structure,  and  was  built  by  subscription  "payable  in  grain 
or  money."  In  1842  it  was  burned  and  in  the  next  year  the  present 
cobble  stone  church  was  built;  it  was  dedicated  by  Rev.  Seth  Ewer  in 
184H.  The  society  has  about  sixty  members  under  the  pastoral  charge 
of  Rev.  C.  B.  Welcome.  The  Sunday  school,  which  was  organized 
with  the  church,  has  seventy-five  scholars,  with  Nelson  Olcott  as  super- 
intendent. 

The  Second  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Williamson  was  incor- 
porated March  26,  1828,  with  the  following  members: 


Serall  Robins, 
John  Wake, 
Richard  Britton, 
Ira  Clark, 
John  M.  Bull, 
David  Alexander, 
S.  P.  W.  Douglass, 
George  Howell, 
Anthony  Wake, 
Erastus  Seely, 
Thomas  Wake, 
Benjamin  Green, 


Richard  Abbey, 

Thomas  Pallister, 

John  Clark, 

Earl  Wilcox, 

Levi  Eddy, 

John  Hutchins, 

Stephen  Skellinger  and  wife 

Charles  B.  Gardner, 

Jonathan  Wake, 

Nathaniel  Russell, 

Allen  C.  Tracy, 

Lyman  Robins, 


Isaac  Fish, 
Lyman  Sandford, 
Thomas  Britton, 
J.  W.  Sherman, 
Simeon  Miller, 
William  Danforth, 
A.  B.  Pepper, 
William  Wake, 
Harry  Fish, 
William  Grigsby, 
Munson  Seelv. 


The  original  trustees  were  Richard  Britton,  John  Wake,  and  Serall 
Robins.  The  first  house  of  worship  was  built  of  cobble  stone  in  1830, 
and  still  stands  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ridge  road  about  two  miles 
west  from  Williamson  village.  It  has  always  been  locally  known  as  the 
"  Ridge  Chapel. "  In  1856,  when  the  present  church  was  erected  in 
the  village,  the  chapel  was  converted  into  a  dwelling  and  is  now  used 
as  a  dry  goods  house  by  John  Starks.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  John 
E.  Showers.  The  society  has  always  maintained  regular  services  and 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Pultneyville  apparently  had 
a  nominal   existence  prior  to  1830,  for  in  1833  there  was  a  record  of  a 


318  LANDMARKS  OF 

parsonage  being  purchased.  It  is  known  that  an  edifice  was  erected 
in  L825  (the  same  building-  since  remodeled  and  raised,  was  known  as 
Gates  Public  hall)  by  the  Union  Society,  which  was  independent  of  gen- 
eral church  government,  but  which  contributed  the  use  of  the  church 
in  any  Christian  denomination.  This  house  was  used  for  more  than  a 
generation  and  was  maintained  by  disposing  of  the  pews  on  subscrip- 
tion. The  first  settled  pastor  was  Rev.  E.  H.  Cranmer,  in  lS51-:>. 
The  society  was  incorporated  April  S,  L872.  with  John  Van  Winkle, 
Albert  Milliman,  Ansel  Cornwall,  James  Shipley,  and  Walter  Shipley, 
trustees.  The  corner  stone  of  the  present  brick  church  was  laid  July 
1.  is! 4.  under  pastoral  charge  of  Rev.  J.  A.  Fellows,  jr.  It  was  dedi- 
cated March  27,  1875,  and  cost  $7,888.76.  In  1878  a  new  parsonage 
was  built  nearly  on  the  site  of  the  old  one  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,200. 
The  present  membership  is  100.  Rev.  Byron  B.  Showers  is  pastor, 
and  Isaac  Fisher,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School. 

The  Reformed  Church  of  Pultneyville  was  organized  May  13,  1850, 
the  first  pastor  being  Rev.  A.  K.  Kasse.  The)7  first  worshiped  in  a 
building  removed  here  from  East  Williamson,  where  it  had  been  used 
as  a  Presbyterian  chapel.  It  is  now  a  storehouse  owned  by  Mary  Cot- 
trell.  The  present  frame  church  was  built  in  1872  and  cost  about 
$4,000.  The  parsonage  was  built  in  1888,  and  cost  $1,215.  The  so- 
ciety  has  about  170  members,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  M.  Van 
I  )orn. 

Protestant  Episcopal  services  were  held  at  a  comparatively  early  date 
at  the  house  of  Samuel  Ledyard  in  Pultneyville,  and  St.  Paul's  Epis- 
copal Church  was  formally  organized.  It  had  but  a  brief  existence, 
however,  and  never  acquired  a  substantial  meeting  place. 

The  Reformed  Church  of  East  Williamson  was  organized  November 
1.  L854,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Rochester.  It  had  forty  constituent  mem- 
bers and  Rev.  A.  B.  Veenhuizen  was  installed  the  first  pastor.  In 
L852  a  cobble  stone  church  was  built  and  it  was  used  until  1890,  when 
the  present  frame  edifice  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $6,200.  It  was  dedi- 
cated February  L0,  L891.  A  frame  parsonage  was  built  in  1883  and 
cost  $1,700.     The  lot  of  ten  acres  on    which    the   buildings  stand  was 

purchased  of  Josiah   Bruno  in    L882  for  $2, The  society   has  261 

members,  with  Rev.  Martin  <  >ssewaarde,  pastor. 

The  First  Free  Methodist  Church  of  East  Williamson  was  organized 
October  6,  L866,  by  Rev.  Benjamin  Winget.  Services  were  held  in 
school  houses  and  dwellings  until  1887,  when  the  present  frame  church 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  319 


was  built;  the  parsonage  was  built  in  1889,  the  entire  property  now 
being-  worth  about  $2,800.  The  first  pastors  were  Rev.  Charles  Bee- 
man  and  wife,  the  latter  a  licensed  evangelist.  The  present  pastor  is 
Rev.  James  A.  Tholens.     The  membership  is  35. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  ONTARIO. 

( hitario,  the  northwest  corner  town  in  Wayne  county,  was  set  off 
from  Williamson  as  Freetown  on  the  27th  of  March,  1807.  The  name 
was  changed  February  12,  1808.  As  originally  constituted  it  included 
also  Walworth,  which  was  organized  into  a  separate  township  April  20, 
1829.  This  town  derives  its  appellation  from  Lake  Ontario,  which 
forms  its  northern  boundary;  Williamson  lies  on  the  east,  Walworth  on 
the  south,  and  Monroe  county  on  the  west.  It  contains  an  area  of 
19,171  acres. 

Excellent  drainage  is  afforded  by  Bear,  Deer,  and  Davis  Creeks, 
which  flow  northerly  into  the  lake.  The  surface  is  generally  level, 
with  a  slight  inclination  northward;  through  the  south  part  of  the  town 
extends  the  famous  ridge,  to  the  north  of  which  the  soil  is  a  clay  loam ; 
on  the  south  it  is  largely  a  gravelly  loam  and  muck.  The  chief  in- 
dustry is  farming.  Wheat,  oats,  barley  and  fruit  are  grown  in  abun- 
dance. Considerable  attention  is  given  to  raspberries  and  apples,  and 
there  are  a  number  of  well  equipped  evaporators  scattered  throughont 
the  town. 

In  1810  Noah  Fuller,  while  hunting,  found  two  salt  springs,  which 
he  secured  by  title  and  sold  to  Stimson  &  Schanks,  who  commenced 
manufacturing  salt  the  same  year.  They  continued  the  business  five 
or  six  years,  but  it  proved  unprofitable  and  they  abandoned  it. 

In  1811  a  Mr.  Knickerbocker,  in  digging  a  well  near  the  center  of 
the  town,  discovered  the  first  bed  of  iron  ore  here  in  the  form  of  red 
oxide.  Extending  east  and  west,  it  had  an  average  width  of  half  a 
mile  and  a  depth  of  from  six  to  forty  inches.  Little  notice  was  taken 
of  Knickerbocker's  discovery  until  four  or  five  years  later,  when 
Samuel  Smith,    one  of  Walworth's  pioneers,  constructed  a  forge  near 


320  LANDMARKS   OF 

the  furnace  dam  and  began  manufacturing  iron  at  the  rate  of  400 
pounds  per  day.  Soon  afterward  two  more  forges  were  erected.  In 
L825  Henry  S.  Gilbert  built  the  first  furnace  on  the  site  of  the  one  re- 
cently abandoned  at  Furnaceville.  Its  capacity  was  three  or  four  tons 
daily,  and  the  iron  was  drawn  to  Rochester.  In  1840  the  Clinton  Iron 
Company  erected  another  furnace  of  six  or  seven  tons  capacity  on  the 
property  subsequently  owned  by  Joseph  La  Frois.  This  was  carried 
on  until  1867,  when  the  plant  was  burned. 

In  February,  1870,  the  Ontario  Iron  Company  was  organized  with 
these  officers:  James Brackett,  president;  Isaac  Palmer,  vice-president; 
W.  H.  Bowman,  secretary  and  treasurer;  the  latter  was  succeeded  by 
John  H.  White  in  1873,  and  two  years  later  William  H.  Averill  became 
secretary,  and  Isaac  S.  Averill  treasurer.  A  large  furnace,  containing 
two  blast  ovens  and  two  blooming  tubes,  was  erected  in  1870  at  Fur- 
naceville, the  site  of  Gilbert's  pioneer  establishment,  and  the  first  iron 
was  manufactured  October  10.  The  capacity  was  twenty  tons  of  No.  1 
iron  per  clay,  and,  including  the  miners,  from  100  to  -200  men  were 
employed.  A  switch  connected  the  furnace  with  the  R.,  W.  &  O.  Rail- 
road at  Ontario  village,  and  upon  it  a  locomotive  and  several  cars  were 
placed  by  the  company.  About  $200,000  were  expended  in  the  enter- 
prise, and  several  ore  beds  were  opened  and  worked.  The  business 
eventually  declined,  and  in  1887  the  works  were  permanently  aban- 
doned. The  old  stone  walls,  the  railroad,  the  adjacent  ore  beds  and 
heaps  of  iron  refuse  are  the  only  evidences  left  of  one  of  the  largest 
manufacturing  establishments  ever  founded  in  Wayne  county. 

The  town  was  originally  covered  with  heavy  timber;  portions  of  the 
surface  were  marshy  and  conducive  to  the  creation  and  spread  of  mias- 
matic diseases,  which  troubled  the  early  settlers  for  many  years.  Suf- 
fering from  all  the  hardships  and  privations  incident  to  a  new  country, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  many  of  them  became  discouraged,  but  if  they 
did  history  fails  to  record  the  fact.  The  pioneers  braved  the  perils  of 
frontier  life  witli  commendable  heroism,  and  established  for  succeeding 
generations  comfortable  homes,  thriving  villages,  nourishing  churches, 
and  excellent  schools.  The  fruits  of  their  labors,  seen  on  every  hand, 
attest  their  Sterling  characteristics  and  exalted  ideas  of  civilization. 

The  Lake  Ontario  Shore  Railroad  (now  the  R.,  \Y.  &  ().)  was  con- 
structed through  the  town  and  opened  in  is1;  I,  for  which  bonds  were 
voted  to  theamountof  $85,000  on  December  24,  L870,  when  Lorenzo  R. 
Boyington,  Ilezekiah  Hill,  and  Alonzo  \V.  Casey  were   appointed  rail- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  321 

road  commissioners.  In  May,  1871,  $5, <)<)(>  <>l  stock  of  said  railroad  was 
subscribed  for  at  par,  and  in  September  following  $51,000  in  bonds 
were  issued,  the  balance  of  $34,000  being  issued  about  September, 
1.873.  December  4,  1893,  the  net  indebtedness  of  the  town  was  esti- 
mated at  $50,517.21.  The  opening  of  the  road  imparted  a  new  impetus 
to  this  section.  Prior  to  its  construction  transportation  and  communica- 
tion were  carried  on  by  teams  or  by  water  from  Pultneyville. 

It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  any  information  concerning  the  earliest 
town  meetings  as  the  records  prior  to  1878  are  destroyed.  The  first 
town  meeting  after  Walworth  was  set  off  was  held  at  Ashville  Culver's 
tavern  in  Ontario  village  in  April,  1830,  and  among  the  officers  chosen 
were  the  following :  Henry  S.  Gilbert,  supervisor;  John  Stolph,  town 
clerk:  Joseph  Patterson  and  Ashville  Culver,  magistrates;  Daniel  In- 
man,  collector;  Alonzo  Peckham,  constable.  The  supervisors  since 
1878  have  been : 

Stephen  N.  Maine,  1878-82.  Russell  Johnson,  1889-91. 

Francis  A.  Hill,  1883-88.  Freeman  Pintler,  1892-93. 

Charles  J.  Nash  was  elected  town  clerk  in  1879  and  has  served  con- 
tinuously to  the  present  time.  The  Board  of  Health  was  organized 
April  20,  1882.  The  officers  for  1894  are  E.  D.  Willits,  supervisor; 
Charles  J.  Nash,  town  clerk;  Walter  L.  Cone,  Chauncey  C.  Norton, 
Harvey  Jones,  assessors;  George  H.  Brown,  Russell  Johnson,  Oscar 
C.  Palmer,  Horatio  Waldo,  justices  of  the  peace;  William  Jamieson, 
collector;  Charles  Fewster,  highway  commissioner;  Charles  Gurney, 
overseer  of  the  poor. 

The  first  settler  in  Ontario  was  Freeman  Hopkins,  who  came  from 
Rhode  Island  and  located  on  the  lake  shore  in  1806.  Being  a  Quaker, 
and  consequently  deprecating  warfare,  he  returned  with  his  family  to 
the  east  upon  the  beginning  of  hostilities  with  the  British  in  1812,  but 
came  again  to  this  town  in  1818.  He  built  the  first  saw  -mill,  and  be- 
coming blind  in  old  age  he  drowned  himself  in  a  cistern.  The  birth  of 
his  daughter  Melissa  on  May  7,  1806,  was  the  first  in  Ontario. 

In  1807  Peter  Thatcher  settled  with  his  family  in  the  north  part  of 
the  town  in  a  log  cabin  which  he  had  caused  to  be  built  the  )^ear  be- 
fore. He  came  in  a  one-horse  wagon  from  Oneida  county,  and  was  the 
pioneer  blacksmith  in  Ontario,  building  a  log  shop  near  his  home  in 
1811.  Daniel  Inman  came  here  from  Connecticut  in  1807  and  pur- 
chased 400  acres  where  Ontario  village  now  stands.      He  erected  his  log 

41 


322  LANDMARKS   OF 

dwelling  on  the  site  of  the  old  steam  mill.  In  L810  lie  built  the  first 
tavern  and  at  an  early  day  put  up  a  saw  mill.  He  was  the  first  post- 
master and  collector  in  town,  and  a  prominent  and  influential  man  for 
many  years.  With  his  son  Joseph,  he  finally  went  west.  The  same 
year  James  Lavens,  also  from  Connecticut,  purchased  99^  acres  of  lot 
76  for  $298.50  and  settled  his  family  upon  it.  His  daughter  was  Mrs. 
Joseph  W.  Gates. 

In  L808  Jonas  Davis  located  on  the  farm  which  finally  passed  to  his 
nephew,  Munson  Davis.  About  the  same  time  came  Noah  Fuller  from 
Massachusetts,  Major  Inglesby,  from  Connecticut,  and  Messrs.  Fifer  and 
Kilburn.  The  latter  died  in  Webster  and  Fifer  in  this  town.  Major 
Inglesby  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  eventually  moved  west. 
Elder  Wilkins  came  from  Massachusetts  with  a  large  family  and  settled 
near  the  lake  shore.      He  died  soon  afterward  and  the  family  removed. 

From  this  date  to  1810  few  settlers  arrived.  In  the  latter  year  Isaac 
Simmons  came  in  from  Connecticut,  and  in  1815  built  a  tavern,  which  he 
kept  a  few  years,  when  he  moved  to  Monroe  county.  Amos,  Amasa,  and 
Levi  Thayer  removed  from  Rhode  Island  and  located  on  the  ridge  in 
the  west  part  of  the  town,  but  they  soon  went  to  Palmyra  and  engaged 
in  merchandising.  Willard  Church  (on  the  lake  shore),  John  Case,  and 
David  Jennings  settled  in  Ontario  about  the  same  time. 

In  1811  Zebedee  Hodges  came  in;  he  was  the  father  of  Zebedee  J. 
and  Isaac  Z.  Hodges  and  Mrs.  Jesse  Hurley.  The  same  year  Dr.  Will- 
iam Greenwood,  the  pioneer  physician,  located  at  Ontario  village  and 
practiced  until  his  death  in  1829.  Milton  Worster,  who  had  settled  in 
Macedon  in  1810,  came  here  in  1811  and  began  the  manufacture  of  axes 
in  a  log  shop,  an  occupation  he  followed  in  Ontario  village  many  years. 
Alfred  Town  located  on  the  Peter  Freer  farm  and  died  here.  losiah 
Goodman,  a  Vermonter,  removed  hither  from  Oneida  county  with  his 
son  Alanson,  then  fifteen  years  of  age.  William  Billings  and  Nathaniel 
Grant  were  pioneers  in  the  west  and  center  parts  of  the  town  respect- 
ively; the  latter  died  here  and  the  former  in  Webster.  The  death  of 
Harriet  Kilburn  occurred  in  1811,  and  was  the  first  in  town. 

William  Middleton  removed  from  New  Jersey  to  Montgomery 
county,  N.  V.,  and  thence  to  Ontario.  In  1S10  he  purchased  300  acres 
of  land  on  the  lake  shore  for  $3  per  acre,  and  settled  his  family  thereon 
in  L812.  He  was  the  first  hatter  in  town  and  prosecuted  the  business 
t  twenty  years.  His  son  Joseph  succeeded  to  the  paternal  home- 
stead.    John  Stolph,  the  first  clerk  of  the  present  township,  became  a 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  323 

settler  the  same  year;  he  finally  removed  to  Illinois.  Nathan  Ilalloek, 
the  first  tailor,  resided  near  the  lake  shore  until  his  death.  George 
Sawyer  came  from  Connecticut  and  located  on  the  Ridge  road  west  of 
Ontario  Center,  whence  he  moved  eighteen  years  later  to  Michigan. 

The  war  of  1812  checked  the  tide  of  immigration  and  few  settlers  ar- 
rived until  that  conflict  subsided.  In  1813  George  Putnam,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Chauncey  Smith,  located  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town  and 
Burton  Simmons  and  Jared  Putnam  near  the  Monroe  county  line.  The 
three  were  from  Connecticut.  Among  others  who  came  in  about  this 
time  were  Samuel  Sabin,  John  Edmonds,  Lewis  Janes,  and  Abraham 
Smith. 

In  1815  Ezekiel  Alcott  settled  in  town  and  commenced  the  manu- 
facture of  pearlash.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  enterprise  and  in- 
fluence. The  following  year  Ashviile  Culver  and  Isaac  Gates  came  to 
Ontario.  The  former  was  an  early  tavern  keeper  and  one  of  the  first 
magistrates  of  the  present  town.  Mr.  Gates  had  eighteen  children,  all 
but  four  of  whom  accompanied  him  hither  from  Chenango  county.  In 
1817  Joseph  W.  Gates,  a  son  of  Isaac,  made  a  visit  here  and  in  1818 
settled  permanently.  He  taught  school  winters,  was  married  in  1820, 
and  purchased  an  article  of  Stephen  Sabin  for  fifty  acres  of  land  at  $5 
per  acre. 

Hezekiah  Hill  was  born  in  1811,  in  Walworth,  where  his  parents 
had  settled  in  1800,  and  where  his  father  died  in  1815.  He  early 
taught  school,  held  several  town  offices,  married  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Strickland,  and  moved  to  Ontario  village  in  1848.  He  laid  out  the  site 
into  village  lots  and  sold  them.  He  was  a  very  prominent  man  and 
always  highly  respected. 

Other  early  settlers  were  Gardner  Robb,  Samul  Gilbert,  Henry  Barn- 
hart,  Henry  S.  Gilbert,  a  Mr.  Knickerbocker,  Alonzo  Peckham,  Messrs. 
Stimson  &  Schanks,  Alanson*  Goodnow,  Joseph  Middleton,  Cyrus 
Thatcher,  Reynolds  K.  Northrup,  Israc  Pratt  and  Jonathan  Chandler. 
Nathan  K.  Pound  came  here  in  March,  1835,  and  held  various  town 
offices. 

Prominent  among  subsequent  settlers  and  present  residents  of  On- 
tario may  be  mentioned  the  names  of: 

Freeman  Pintler,  Alanson  Warner,  Charles  Pease. 

A.  W.  Casey,  D.  L.  Reed,  Aldrich     Thayer,     and 

G.  W.  Crandall,  O.  F.  Whitney,  Joseph  W.  Gates,  two 

Dr.  F.  M.  Ellsworth,  Dr.  L.    D.  Rhodes,  of  the  oldest  citizens. 


324  LANDMARKS   OF 

W.  E.   Clark,  E.  Rood,  jr.,  Melvin  B.  Gates, 

X.  A.  Pitts,  B.  B.   Weeks,  E.  D.  Willits, 

B.  W.  Gates,  M.  A.  Risley,  J.  C.  Howk, 

F.  A.  Hill,  J.  A.  Stokes,  Alexander  Sands, 

P.H.Norton,  N.  C.  Richmond,  G.P.Norton, 

B.J,   Hopkins,  Edson  Smith,  Charles  J.  Nash, 

J.  B.  Pratt,  Flynn     Whitcomb  (ex-         R.  A.  Woodhams, 

member  of  Assembly,) 

And  many  others  noticed  a  little  farther  on  and  in  Part  II.  of  this 
work. 

The  first  grist  mill  in  town  was  erected  about  1825  by  Henry  Barn- 
hart,  on  the  farm  subsequently  owned  by  Henry  Brewer.  It  has  long 
been  discontinued  for  milling  purposes.  In  an  old  warehouse  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  Ontario,  an  early,  and  probably  the  first,  store  was 
opened  in  1830  by  Henry  S.  Gilbert,  who  closed  out  at  the  end  of  two 
years. 

The  first  school  house  was  a  log  structure  erected  about  1816  on  the 
lake  road,  on  the  farm  latterly  owned  by  Abraham  Albright.  It  was 
finally  demolished  and  a  stone  building  put  up  near  by  ;  the  latter  in  turn 
gave  place  to  a  brick  school  house.  In  1820  a  school  building  was 
erected  on  the  Daniel  Eldridge  place  in  which  Lucy  Chandler  taught 
the  first  three  terms.  In  1835  the  structure  was  torn  down.  In  June, 
L894,  districts  5  and  6,  comprising  the  villages  of  Ontario  and  Ontario 
Center,  were  united  to  form  a  union  free  school  district,  and  the  sum 
of  $8,000  was  voted  for  the  erection  of  a  suitable  school  house  near  the 
old  dividing  line.  It  is  expected  to  have  the  building  in  readiness  for 
the  fall  term  of  school. 

The  town  has  fourteen  districts,  with  a  school  house  in  each,  taught 
during  the  year  L892— 3  by  sixteen  teachers  and  attended  by  069  scholars; 
value  of  buildings  and  sites,  $11,450;  assessed  valuation  of  districts, 
sl.  1  76,000;  public  money  received  from  the  State,  $2,057.82;  raised  by 
local  tax,  $3,  146.49. 

No  town  in  Wayne  county,  in  proportion  to  the  size,  can  show  a  bet- 
ter record  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  than  Ontario.  During  that 
sanguinary  struggle  a  total  of  L90  brave  and  heroic  citizens  went  out 
from  within  her  borders  to  fight  the  nation's  battles.  Many  of  them 
met  untimely  deaths  on  Southern  fields,  or  in  Rebel  prisons;  a  few 
were  promoted  to  commissioned  officers.  The  veterans  who  remain  to 
tell  the  thrilling  story  of  that  conflict  are  steadily  joining  their  comrades 
gon<  and  on  each  Memorial  day  the  survivors  and  the  dead  are 

tenderly  remembered  by  a  grateful  country. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  325 

In  1858  the  town  had  13,887  acres  improved  land,  real  estate  assessed 
at  $464,509,  personal  property  valued  at  $72,588,  1,222  male  and  L,10J 
female  inhabitants,  451  dwellings,  466  families,  371  freeholders,  1 1 
school  districts,  1,319  school  children,  886  horses,  1,201  oxen  and 
calves,  923  cows,  4,020  sheep  and  1,286  swine.  There  were  produced 
that  year  9,510  bushels  winter  and  83,610  bushels  spring-  wheat,  2,686 
tons  hay,  15,272  bushels  potatoes,  17,431  bushels  apples,  86,375  pounds 
butter,  17,400  pounds  cheese,  and  1,669  yards  domestic  cloths. 

In  1890  the  population  was  6,211,  or  351  less  than  in  1880.  In  1893 
the  assessed  value  of  land  aggregated  $754,832  (equalized  $686,561); 
village  and  mill  property,  $183,143  (equalized  $176,153);  railroads  and 
telegraphs,  $86,482;  personal  property,  $72,400.  Schedule  for  taxes 
for  1893:  Contingent  fund,  $1,476.36;  town  poor  fund,  $300;  roads  and 
bridges,  $200;  special  town  tax,  $3,789.34;  school  tax,  $934.68;  county 
tax,  $2,236.34;  State  tax,  $1,232.34;  State  insane  tax,  $317.92;  dog- 
tax,  $121.50.  Total  tax  levy,  $11,173.10;  rate  per  cent.,  .01018646. 
The  town  has  two  election  districts,  and  in  1893  polled  475  votes. 

Ontario  Village  is  situated  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town 
about  a  mile  east  of  Ontario  Center.  It  lies  on  the  ridge  road,  running 
east  and  west,  and  is  a  station  and  post-office  on  the  south  side  of  the 
R.,  W.  &  O.  Railroad.  The  site  was  originally  settled  in  1807  b)T 
Daniel  Inman,  who  built  a  saw  mill   and  tavern  as  previously  noted. 

Ashville  Culver  erected  a  second  public  house  in  1827,  and  Gardner 
Robb  subsequently  put  up  a  third  hostelry  on  the  site  of  the  present 
hotel.  In  1828  the  village  contained  two  taverns,  one  blacksmith  shop, 
a  saw  mill,  and  about  ten  houses.  Robert  Horton  in  1854  erected  and 
kept  the  first  store,  which  was  finally  destroyed  by  fire.  In  1873  the 
Ontario  Sun,  afterward  changed  to  the  Lake  Shore  Independent,  was 
started,  and  after  a  brief  existence  discontinued  publication.  The  ad- 
vent of  the  railroad  gave  new  impetus  to  the  village,  and  since  then  it 
has  developed  rapidly  and  steadily.  Its  broad  streets  are  lined  with 
commodious  business  houses  and  attractive  dwellings.  June  21,  1885, 
the  hotel  and  other  buildings  were  burned,  entailing  a  loss  of  $30,000, 
but  upon  its  site  a  new  and  better  hostelry  was  at  once  erected. 

A  foundry  and  agricultural  implement  manufactory  was  started  a 
number  of  years  ago  by  George  Parnell,  sr. ,  who  continued  it  until  his 
death,  when  the  business  passed  to  his  son,  George,  jr. 

The  village  of  Ontario  now  consists  of  four  general  stores,  a  drug- 
store,   one    furniture  and    undertaking   establishment,    one    hardware 


326  LANDMARKS   OF 

store,  a  meat  market,  harness  shop,  two  blacksmith  shops,  an  hotel  and 
livery,  one  clothing  and  shoe  shore,  one  jeweler,  four  milliners,  a 
bakery,  one  variety  store,  a  shoe  shop,  one  lumber  and  coal  yard,  two 
produce  dealers,  a  foundry,  an  agricultural  implement  dealer,  three 
physicians,  three  ehurches,  a  district  school,  and  about  600  inhabitants. 
The  present  postmaster  is  H.  E.  Van  Derveer. 

(  >NTARio  Center  is  a  post  village  on  the  Ridge  road  a  little  south  of 
the  center  of  the  town  and  about  one  mile  west  of  Ontario.  It  lies 
south  of  the  R. ,  W.  &  O.  Railroad,  the  station  being  nearly  midway 
between  the  two  villages.  Reynolds  K.  Northrup  built  a  tavern  on  the 
site  of  the  present  hotel  in  1830;  this  was  finally  removed  and  a  portion 
converted  into  a  hardware  store.  Another  hotel  was  erected  in  which 
the  Masons  held  their  meetings  until  its  destruction  by  fire.  Soon  af- 
terward the  lodge  was  moved  at  midnight  to  Ontario  village,  where  it 
is  still  continued.  The  old  hotel  burned  in  1886,  under  the  proprietor- 
ship of  E.  A.  Booth,  who  also  built  and  keeps  the  present  one.  Foote 
&  Northrup  erected  a  store  on  the  southwest  corner  about  1830,  and 
in  it  business  was  conducted  until  it  was  burned  in  1844.  The  village 
now  contains  three  general  stores,  a  hardware  store,  one  drug  store,  an 
hotel  and  livery,  harness  shop,  blacksmith  shop,  a  carriage  repository, 
one  church,  a  district  school,  one  physician,  and  about  300  inhabitants. 
The  postmaster  is  John  Freeh. 

Furnaceville,  situated  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  derives  its 
name  from  the  blast  furnace  that  was  operated  there  almost  contin- 
uously from  1825  to  L887.  It  owes  its  existence  to  that  establishment, 
and  for  fifteen  years  following  1870  was  a  very  busy  hamlet.  In  is;:; 
the  post-office  was  established  with  L.  J.  Bundy  as  postmaster.  Since 
the  furnace  was  abandoned  the  place  has  lost  nearly  all  its  former  pres- 
tige, and  consists  now  of  merely  a  store  and  post-office  and  a  number  of 
dwellings.      The  postmaster  is  Arthur  L.    Fries. 

Fruitland  (Lakeside  station)  is  a  post-office  on  the  R.,  W.  &  O. 
Railroad,  about  two  miles  west  of  Ontario  Center.  The  postmaster  is 
1).  J.  Fitzgerald. 

Lakeside  is  a  postal  hamlet  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Fruit- 
land.     The  postmistress  is  .Mrs.  W.  G.    Willard. 

hes. — The  Baptist  Church  of  Ontario  was  organized  July  3, 
lsi  ;,  with  Jonathan  Chandler  and  Abraham  Foster  as  deacons  and  Rev. 
George  B.  Davis  as  first  pastor.  In  18o4  a  church  edifice  was  built  at 
Ontario  Center;   it  was  repaired  in   L849  and  used  as  a  house  of  worship 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  327 

until  1884,  when  the  society  moved  to  Ontario  village.  The  old  build- 
ing" is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Charles  J.  Nash  as  a  storehouse  and 
carriage  repository ;  for  a  few  years  the  elections  were  held  in  it.  In 
1884  the  society  purchased  the  old  Advent  Church  in  Ontario  village, 
repaired  it,  and  have  since  used  it  as  a  place  of  worship.  There  are 
about  100  members  and  a  Sunday  school  of  which  S.  S.  Russell  is 
superintendent.  Among-  the  pastors  succeeding  Rev.  Mr.  Davis  were 
Revs.  James  Davis,  Kinney,  James  Going,  Draper  (sixteen  years),  Sam- 
uel Culver,  Willam  Corbin,  Orin  Munger,  and  others.  The  present 
pastor  is  Rev.  Lazarus  Golden,  who  was  installed  in  April,  1891. 

The  First  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  Ontario  was  organized  by 
Rev.  George  Pegler  in  March,  1857,  with  these  members:  William  and 
Mary  Pye,  John  and  Elizabeth  Clark,  John  and  Elizabeth  Pye,  Robert 
Norgate,  Henry  Alton,  Thomas  Barnsdale,  Thomas  and  Ann  Smith, 
George  Smith,  Aaron  W.  Graham,  Francis  Eaton,  Matilda  Cooper, 
Seth  Easton,  Sarah  and  Eliza  King,  O.  B.  and  Caroline  Turner,  and 
William  Brandish.  The  first  trustees  were  John  Clark,  O.  B.  Turner, 
and  Seth  Easton,  and  the  first  class  leader  was  William  Pye.  In  1865 
their  present  frame  edifice  was  built  in  Ontario  village,  and  was  dedi- 
cated May  15,  1869,  by  Rev.  Adam  Crooks.  The  Sunday  school  was 
organized  with  the  church  with  John  Cooper  as  superintendent.  The 
church  was  remodeled  a  few  years  since  and  connected  with  it  is  a 
frame  parsonage.  There  are  about  100  members  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  Rev.  F.  J.  Wilson.  The  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school 
is  Flynn  Whitcomb. 

St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake  Roman  Catholic  church  of  Ontario  was  or- 
ganized by  Rev.  P.  C.  McGrath  in  August,  1869,  with  about  forty 
families.  In  1870  the  present  edifice  was  erected  in  Ontario  village, 
and  is  valued  at  $4,000.  Rev.  Father  McGrath  became  the  first  pastor, 
and  remained  in  that  capacity  many  years.  The  present  incumbent  is 
Rev.  Joseph  Maguin,  of  Webster. 

The  Free  Advent  Christian  church  was  legally,  organized  by  Revs. 
R.  C.  Brown  and  James  E.  Wells,  December  23,  1874,  with  the  follow- 
ing members :  Levi  L.  Allen,  James  Woodhams,  Willard  T.  Bishop, 
Sarah  Briggs,  Roxa  Decker,  Amelia  E.  Decker,  John  Freeh,  Rebecca 
Hutson,  Melvin  and  Melvina  A.  Howe,  Sylvester  Howe,  Mrs.  George 
Near,  Charles  and  Helen  Prentiss,  Laura  Truax,  George  Wilson,  and 
Jacob  Wemesfelder.  The  first  trustees  were  William  Birdsall,  Heze- 
kiah  Hill,    and  Willard   T.  Bishop.     The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  James 


328  LANDMARKS   OF 

E.  Wells.  In  1875  a  frame  church  was  creeled,  mainly  through  the 
efforts  and  liberality  of  Hezekiah  Hill;  it  was  dedicated  on  December, 
;;,  L875,  by  Rev.  Miles  Grant.  In  1878  Rev.  Milton  Miles  became 
pastor  and  served  until  October  1,  1879;  on  the  20th  of  the  preceding 
January  the  society  was  reorganized,  but  soon  after  that  year  it  dis- 
banded and  the  property  reverted  to  Mr.  Hill,  who  sold  it  in  L884  to 
the  baptist  society  for  $1,000.  A  Sunday  school  was  organized  January 
3d,  187(1,  with  Henry  E.  Van  Derveer  as  superintendent. 

ddie  Presbyterian  church  of  Ontario  Center  was  organized  by  Rev.  Mr. 
bliss  in  L832.  The  Congregational  form  of  government  was  adopted, 
which  was  afterward  changed  to  Presbyterian,  and  the  first  meetings 
were  held  in  a  school  house  in  Ontario  village.  The  constituent  mem- 
bers were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sutphin,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Curtis,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mack,  and  Mr.  Decker.  In  1 S42  the  present  stone  edfice  in  Ontario 
Center  was  built  and  dedicated.  The  earlier  pastors  were  Revs.  Bliss, 
Merritt,  judson,  Eddy,  Burbank,  Manley,  Halcomb,  Young-,  Bosworth, 
and  others.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  H.  G.  C.  Halloek  and  J.  C. 
Ilowk  is  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  The  society  has  about 
seventy-five  members. 

The  first  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Ontario  was  organized  as  a 
class  about  1812,  at  the  dwelling  of  Zebedee  Hodges,  where  many  of 
the  earlier  meetings  were  held.  In  1836  a  stone  edifice,  36x46  feet, 
was  built  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Ontario  Center.  This  was 
torn  down  in  L865,  and  in  1866  the  corner  stone  of  the  present  structure 
was  laid  by  Rev.  I.  II.  Kellogg.  It  is  of  brick  and  was  dedicated  in 
August,  1867.  In  May,  L872,  this  church  became  a  separate  charge- 
prior  to  that  it  was  connected  with  the  Walworth  circuit.  The  society 
has  about  eight}-  members  under  the  pastorship  of  Rev.  Joseph  S. 
Duxbury.      II.  S.  Stanford  is  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 

The  Second  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Webster,  locally  known 
as  the  "  Boston  Church  "  from  the  fact  that  it  is  situated  in  a  locality 
called  New  boston,  was  organized  in  the  summer  of  1838  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Osborne  with  about  nine  members.  In  1849  the  present  frame  edifice 
was  built  near  tin-  county  line  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  town.  It 
was  dedicatad  by  Rev.  John  1  )ennis,  and  is  valued  at  ,si  ,000.  The  society 
has  about  fifty  memb  rs  and  a  Sunday  school  of  sixty  scholars.  The 
first  name  on  the  record  as  pastor  is  Rev.  L.  1!.  Chase,  who  presided 
this  and  the  church  in  Webster  from  L869  to  L872;  in  L872— 3  Rev. 
P.  W.  Chandler  was  pastor   of   this  and    the  First    M.  E.  church  previ- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  329 

ously  mentioned,  since  which  time  the  two  have  constituted  one  charge. 
The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Duxbury.  The  two  societies 
own  jointly  a  frame  parsonage  at  Lakeside,  the  value  of  which  is 
$1,200. 

The  First  Free  Methodist  Church  of  Ontario  was  organized  December 
9,  L866,  with  eleven  members,  viz.:  George  and  Adelaide  Willard, 
Horace  and  Eliza  T.  Moore,  Barton  and  Mary  Vandewarker,  Bennett 
H.  and  Hannah  Tarber,  Richard  and  Adelia  Ridley,  and  Hannah  E. 
Tarber.  The  first  Board  of  Trustees  consisted  of  George  Willard, 
Charles  E.  Heuston,  and  Willard  Rogers.  It  was  incorporated  January 
5,  1867,  and  the  first  pastor  was  Rev.  J.  Olney  in  1866-67.  The  society 
now  has  forty-five  members,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  J.  E. 
Tiffany.  The  first  and  present  church  edifice  was  built  of  wood  in  1867 
at  a  cost  of  $1,200;  it  will  seat  200  persons,  and  is  situated  about  three 
miles  west  of  Ontario  Center.  At  its  organization  the  church  was  in 
the  Bushnell  Basin  circuit ;  it  is  now  in  the  Webster  and  Ontario  charge. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  MACEDON. 

Macedon,  the  southwest  corner  town  in  Wayne  county,  was  formed 
from  the  western  part  of  Palmyra  on  the  29th  of  January,  1823.  It  has 
an  area  of  23,040  acres,  and  is  divided  into  seventy-two  parallelogram 
lots  containing  320  acres  each.  The  surface,  which  is  rolling  and 
irregular,  is  drained  by  Ganargwa  (Mud)  and  Spring  Creeks,  the  former 
flowing  easterly  through  the  southeast  part  of  Macedon  and  the  village 
corporation,  and  affording  excellent  mill  sites.  Spring  Creek  also  flows 
easterly  through  the  north  part  of  the  town,  and  both  streams  pass  into 
the  town  of  Palmyra  north  of  Palmyra  village.  West  of  Macedon 
village,  extending  to  the  county  line,  is  an  extensive  swamp  covering 
560  acres,  some  of  which  has  been  reclaimed  into  comparatively  good 
farming  land. 

The  soil  is  generally  well  adapted  to  agricultural  purposes.  North  of 
the  Erie  Canal  it  is  principally  a  gravelly  and  clayey  loam,  while  south 
of  that  waterway  it  is  largely  a  sandy  formation.     Fertile  and  generally 

42 


330  LANDMARKS   OF 

susceptible  of  easy  cultivation,   it  produces  abundant  crops  of  grain, 

potatoes,  hay,  and  fruit,  which  constitute  the  chief  products.  In  late 
years  fruit-growing  has  received  considerable  attention  and  proves 
fairly  successful.      Peppermint  is  also  grown  in  considerable  quantities. 

The  town  was  originally  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber,  con- 
sisting of  beech,  oak,  whitewood,  and  maple,  nearly  all  of  which  has 
been  cut  down  and  converted  into  lumber  and  firewood.  The  lumber 
Imsiness,  while  it  continued,  supplied  work  for  several  local  saw  mills, 
but  these  have  all  either  gone  down  or  been  removed.  As  an  example 
of  the  great  height  attained  by  some  of  the  trees  of  this  section,  it  is 
remembered  that  a  stately  maple,  long  since  leveled  by  the  wind,  once 
towered  erect  on  the  summit  of  Ramsdell  hill  and  from  many  miles 
around  was  distinctly  visible,  a  beacon  for  the  pioneer. 

The  first  town  meeting  for  the  town  of  Macedon  convened  at  the 
house  of  Lydia  Porter  on  February  11,  1823,  at  which  the  following 
officers  were  chosen:  Abraham  Spear,  supervisor;  John  Lapham,  town 
clerk;  Asa  B.  Smith,  William  B.  Capron,  Calvin  Bradish,  assessors; 
George  Crane,  Ira  Lapham,  Isaac  Durfee,  highway  commissioners; 
Isaac  Durfee  and  George  Crane,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Stephen  Spear, 
collector;  Jonathan  Ramsdell,  Charles  Bradish,  Thomas  C.  Hance, 
commissioners  of  common  schools;  William  P.  Richardson,  Bernard 
Beal,  Alexis  Packard,  inspectors  of  common  schools;  Otis  Southworth, 
Bernard  Cook,  Ira  Hill,  constables.  It  was  voted  that  ''three  per 
cent,  be  paid  for  collecting  taxes."  At  the  annual  town  meeting  held 
at  the  dwelling  of  Abner  Hillon  the  first  Tuesday  in  April  following, 
these  same  officers  were  regularly  elected. 

The  supervisors  of  this  town  have  been  as  follows: 

Abraham  Spear,  1823-25,  Nathan  Lapham,  1850, 
Charles  Bradish,  1826,  Evert  Bogardus,  1851-52, 
A.  Spear,  1821  28,  A  tievbtein  is:,:;,  and  A.  1'.  Ran- 
George  Cram-,  1829  31,  dall  was  appointed  and  served 
A.  Spear,  1832-33,  until  is.".  I. 
John  Lapham,  18:!  I.  Stephen  L.  Ramsdell,  is.",.""), 
Charles  Bradish,  is:!.",.  G.   C,    Everett   was   chosen  at  a 
Isaac  Durfee,  1836-37,  special  town  meeting  in  1856, 
C.  Bradish,  1838-40,  and  at  a  regular  meeting  Pur- 
Thomas  Barnes,  L841    13,  dy  M.  Willitts, 
Allen  C.  Purdy,  1844    15  Lemuel  Durfee,  1857, 
J.  Lapham,  1846   17,  Joab  S.  Biddlecom,  1858  60, 
Abial  I).  Gage,  1848,  Thomas  W.  Mead,  lsiil   63, 
Samuel  Everett,  L849,  Robert  H.  Jones,  1864-65, 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  331 

Marvin  A.  Eddy,  1866,  Charles  B.  Herendeen,  1877-79, 

Walter  W.  Brace,   1867,  Hiram  C.  Durfee,  1880-81, 

H.  H.  Hoag,  1868-69,  Daniel  S.  Shourds,  L882, 

Lyman' Bickford,  1870-72,  George  W.  Kirkpatrick,  1883-84, 

W.  W.  Mumford,  is?:;,  Isaac  Dean,  1885-87, 

L.  Bickford,  1874,  Henry  J.  Breese,  1888-89, 

W.  W.  Mumford,  1875,  William  B.  Billings,  1890-93, 

Jeremiah  Thistlethwaite,  1876,  Frank  W.  Hawes,  1894. 

The  town  officers  for  1894  are:  Frank  W.  Hawes,  supervisor;  George 
Bough  ton,  town  clerk;  Charles  T.  Jennings,  W.  F.  Woods,  Albert  H. 
Breese,  J.  E.  Baker,  justices  of  the  peace;  Charles  R.  Whitehead,  as- 
sessor; George  Krauss,  collector;  Isaac  R.  Hoag,  highway  commissioner ; 
Edson  J.  Corser,  overseer  of  the  poor. 

In  1858  there  were  in  Macedon  18,674  acres  improved  land  1/249  male 
and  1,185  female  inhabitants,  453  dwellings,  493  families,  366  free- 
holders, 14  school  districts,  815  school  children,  909  horses,  1,329  work- 
ing oxen  and  calves,  953  cows,  10,288  sheep,  and  1,924  swine.  The  as- 
sessed valuation  of  real  estate  was  $951,179,  and  of  personal  property 
$121,670.  During  that  year  there  were  produced  25,787  bushels  win- 
ter and  110,900  bushels  spring  wheat,  3,163  tons  hay,  16,777  bushels 
potatoes,  27,949  bushels  apples,  77,662  pounds  butter,  9,900  pounds 
cheese,  and  32  yards  domestic  cloths. 

In  1890  the  town  had  a  population  of  2,564  or  307  less  than  in  1880. 
In  1893  its  real  estate  was  assessed  at  $1,044,134  (equalized  $990,308); 
personal  property,  $148,125;  village  and  mill  property,  $215,280 
(equalized  $206,121);  railroads  and  telegraphs,  $584,504  (equalized 
$547,142).  Total  assessed  valuation,  $1,992,043  (equalized  $1,891,696). 
Schedule  of  taxes,  1893:  Contingent  fund,  $1,015.71;  town  poor  fund, 
$400;  special  tax,  $75;  school  tax,  $1,730.78;  county  tax,  $4,141.09; 
State  tax,  $2,281.97;  State  insane  tax,  $588,70;  dog  tax,  $249.  Total 
tax  levied,  $10,839.19;  rate  per  cent.,  .00544124.  The  town  has  two 
election  districts  and  in  !8(.)3  polled  416  votes. 

The  earliest  settlements  in  this  town  were  made  in  the  vicinity  of 
Macedon  village  along  the  Palmyra-Pittsford  road,  the  pioneers  being 
principally  from  New  England.  Practically  the  town's  development 
dates  from  the  commencement  of  the  Erie  Canal,  which  traverses 
Macedon  from  east  to  west  through  nearly  its  central  part.  New 
comers  after  the  completion  of  that  great  waterway  in  1825  thence- 
forward came  in  easier  and  more  rapidly.  The  construction  of  the 
main  line  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  running  almost  parallel 


332  LANDMARKS   OF 

with  the  canal,  lent  a  new  impetus  to  the  town's  business  interests  and 
ever  afterwards  assured  it  a  commercial  importance  that  has  been 
steadly  maintained  and  improved.  A  third  commercial  improvement 
was  inaugurated  in  1883  in  the  construction  of  the  West  Shore  Rail- 
road, which  in  1885  passed  under  control  of  the  first  named  corpora- 
tion as  lessees.  Both  of  these  railroads  run  through  the  central  part  of 
the  town  just  north  of  Macedon   village. 

The  first  settler  in  Macedon  was  Webb  Harwood,  who  came  with  his 
family  from  Massachusetts  in  1789,  making  the  journey  with  an  ox 
team  and  wagon  in  forty-six  days.  He  settled  in  the  east  part  of  the 
town,  cleared  a  small  plat,  built  a  rude  log  cabin,  and  lived  there  many 
years.  Mr.  Harwood  died  in  1824,  and  the  family  finally  went  west. 
Ebenezer  Reed,  also  from  Massachusetts,  probably  arrived  in  the  same 
year,  and  lived  neighbor  to  Harwood. 

Israel  Delano  was  a  settler  of  1790;  he  located  in  the  south  part  of 
the  town  and  soon  afterward  died,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
white  man  to  die  in  Macedon.  Darius  Comstock  reared  a  family  here 
and  subsequently  went  to  Michigan.  His  daughter  Hannah  was  born 
in  1703,  and  was  the  first  female  white  child  born  in  town.  Paul  Reed 
was  another  pioneer  of  about  this  period. 

Abraham  Spear  settled  with  his  family  in  Macedon  in  1791,  purchas- 
ing 500  acres  of  land  in  the  east  part  of  the  town.  He  died  soon  after- 
ward, and  his  farm  passed  to  his  sons,  Abraham,  jr.,  Ebenezer  and 
Isaac.  The  first  of  these  three  became  the  first  supervisor  of  the  town 
and  was  otherwise  prominent  in  local  affairs.  Jonathan  Warner,  Abner 
Hill,  Constant  Southard,  Barnabas  Brown,  Jacob  Gannett,  and  David 
White  were  also  early  settlers.  Mr.  Gannett,  in  1801,  built  the  first 
grist  mill  in  town  on  Ganargwa  Creek.  A  son  was  born  to  him  in  1791, 
who  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Macedon. 

William  Porter,  who  settled  in  the  west  part  of  the  town  on  a  farm 
subsequently  owned  by  Hon.  John  Lapham,  owned  the  first  tavern  in 
Macedon  prior  to  1810,  and  continued  as  its  landlord  until  his  death  in 
L825.  This  was  a  two-story  frame  structure  and  in  a  remodeled  form 
was  long  used  as  a  residence.  In  1812  Ebenezer  Spear,  above  men- 
tioned, opened  a  second  hotel,  but  a  few  years  later  it  was  changed  to 
a  dwelling  and  is  still  used  for  that  purpose. 

Hon.  John  Lapham  came  to  Palmyra  with  his  father  in  1796;  after 
his  marriage  in  L818  to  Saloma,  daughter  of  William  and  Lydia  Porter, 
he  removed  to  Macedon,  and  lived  here    until   his  death  July  4,    1867. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  333 

He  was  several  times  elected  supervisor  and  in  18,47  was  chosen  mem- 
ber of  Assembly  from  Wayne  county.  He  had  nine  children,  of  whom 
Stephen  W.  still  resides  in  town.  Mrs.  Lapham  died  in  Macedon  vil- 
lage several  years  ago.  Two  other  settlers  of  this  period  were  Ber- 
nard Beal,  one  of  the  first  school  inspectors,  and  Henry  Wilber.  Mr. 
Beal  was  the  father  of  Ira  and  De  Witt  Beal,  who  lived  on  the  home- 
stead.    Emery  Beal  still  lives  in  the  town. 

Among  the  new  comers  of  1792  were  John  Bradish  and  his  family, 
consisting  of  his  wife  and  sons  Calvin,  Luther  and  Charles.  Luther 
was  elected  lieutenant-governor  of  this  State,  and  died  in  New  York 
city ;  Charles  and  Calvin  moved  to  Michigan  and  died  there. 

Bartimeus,  Cyrus,  and  John  Packard,  three  brothers,  after  a  journey 
of  six  weeks  with  ox  teams,  arrived  here  February  22,  1792.  Barnabas 
Packard,  their  father,  had  preceded  them  and  bought  640  acres  of  land 
upon  which  the  sons  located,  paying  18^  cents  per  acre.  Cyrus  died 
in  Perinton.  Bartimeus  died  September  10,  1854,  on  the  homestead 
now  occupied  by  his  grandson.  John  died  in  Michigan.  F.  C.  John- 
son, great-grandson  of  the  latter,  is  ex-postmaster  and  a  merchant  in 
Macedon  village. 

In  1793  David  Warner  came  to  Macedon,  returned  east  to  winter, 
came  again  the  next  spring,  and  soon  afterward  married.  Nahum 
Warner,  his  son,  died  here  a  few  years  since.  Deacon  Noah  Porter 
settled  on  a  part  of  the  farm  recently  occupied  by  ex- Sheriff  William 
P.  Nottingham.  Other  settlers  of  about  this  time  were  Bernard  Bates, 
and  Barnett  and  Stephen  Peters.  Thomas  Bussey  settled  east  of 
Macedon  Center  in  1794.  Of  his  large  family  Mrs.  Perry  (aftewards 
Mrs.  Gannett)  and  Mrs.  Lapham  died  in  town  some  years  since. 

An  early  and  perhaps  the  earliest  physician  was  Dr.  Gain  Robinson, 
who  settled  near  the  east  line  of  the  town  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  a 
son  of  David  Aldrich.  In  1821  Dr.  Plunkett  Richardson  located  on 
the  Durfee  farm  and  practiced  medicine  until  his  death  in  1833.  In 
1826  Dr.  Benjamin  W.  Dean  became  a  physician  at  the  Center. 

Abraham  Lapham  came  to  this  town  with  his  family  in  1795,  and 
settled  on  the  farm  lately  owned  by  Zachariah  Van  Duzer.  The  first 
person  baptized  in  Macedon  was  the  wife  of  Joseph  Finkham,  a  pioneer, 
the  ceremony  being  performed  in  1797  by  an  Irish  missionary.  Mr. 
Finkham  paid  two  shillings  an  acre  for  fifty  acres,  on  which  farm  he 
died. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  1795  were  Benjamin  and  Jonathan  Wood, 


SU  LANDMARKS  OF 

Nathan  and  John  Comstock,  the  father  of  Hector  Turner,  and  N.  Dick- 
inson. William  F.  Dickinson,  a  son  of  the  latter,  died  in  Macedon  vil- 
lage several  years  ago. 

In  L796  Deacon  Palmer  settled  on  a  large  farm  in  the  northeast  part 
of  the  town  and  died  there.  A  son  now  resides  in  the  town.  Ephraim 
Green  located  where  his  son  Almon  afterwards  lived.  A  son  of  the 
latter  was  a  clerk  in  the  State  Legislature  several  years,  and  another 
is  now  station  agent  at  West  Walworth. 

George  Crane,  Bartlett  Robinson  (a  mechanic  and  pioneer  builder), 
Brice  Aldrich,  and  Ethan  Lapham  were  settlers  of  1800.  Lewis  and 
Morgan  Robinson,  sons  of  Bartlett,  also  settled  permanently  in  town, 
and  Mrs.  Arnold  Bristol,  a  daughter  of  Brice  Aldrich,  is  still  living 
here.  Robert  Teadman  came  from  Rhode  Island  in  L810  and  bought 
140  acres  now  owned  by  Mrs.  George  Frey. 

The  first  blacksmith  in  town  was  Walter  Walker,  who  opened  a  shop 
about  1805,  on  or  near  the  place  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Abel  Run- 
van.      Mr.  Walker  was  soon  succeeded  by  Daniel  Kimball. 

One  of  the  pioneer  orchards  was  set  out  about  1795  by  Abraham 
Lapham;  another  covering  seven  acres  was  set  at  an  early  day  by 
Nathan  Comstock,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Martin  Weedrick.  This 
latter  orchard  during  many  years  bore  the  only  grafted  fruit  in  the 
town.  Mr.  Lapham  built  the  first  frame  house  in  Macedon  prior  to 
L800.  It  was  repaired,  removed,  and  again  repaired  and  now  stands 
on  John  H.  Murphy's  farm. 

Prominent  among  other  early  comers  are  the  names  of  Ebenezer 
Still  (a  Revolutionary  soldier),  Asa  Aldridge,  Alexander  Purdy,  Dur- 
fee  Osband,  Walter  Lawrence  (whose  son  Walter  resides  on  the  home- 
stead), William  Willits,  Nathaniel  Brailey,  Artemas  Ward,  and  Levi 
Camborn. 

Thomas  C.  Hance  came  to  Macedon  from  Maryland  in  1817,  and  in 
the  same  year  opened  the  first  store  in  town.  He  continued  business 
until  ls\!;>,  when  he  purchased  a  farm  near  the  Center,  where  he  lived 
until  his  death,  April  19.  1888,  at  the  great  age  of  L06  years.  During 
the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  resided  with  his  son  Abraham.  Another 
pioneer  merchant  was  Israel  Richardson. 

Among  the  oldest  frame  dwellings  now  tenanted  are  those  occupied 
bv  the  families  of  f.  W.  Arnold,  Bartimeus  Packard,  and  Israel  Delano. 
On  the  exterior  these  residences  have  never  been  changed.  The  house 
of  Monroe  Carman  is   another  old  remodeled  structure,    as  is  also  the 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  335 

one  occupied  by  James  Duggan,  wherein  occurred  the  death  of  Jona- 
than Ramsdell,  the  "Quaker  preacher. "  Probably  the  oldest  barn  in 
the  town  is  the  one  standing  on  the  Bartimeus  Packard  place,  which 
was  erected  in  1799. 

In  Part  II  of  this  work  mention  is  made  of  many  other  pioneers  and 
prominent  citizens  of  the  town  ;  to  these  may  be  added  the  following 
names  of  others  who  are  more  or  less  conspicuous  in  later  generations: 
William  and  Cyrus  Packard,  sons  of  Philander  Packard ;  John  G.  Mead, 
son  of  Richard;  B.  S.  Durfee,  son  of  the  late  Stephen  Durfee;  William 
B.  Billings,  ex-supervisor;  Charles  T.  Jennings,  justice  of  the  peace; 
Frank  B.  Hicks,  ex-postmaster  and  merchant  at  the  Center;  George 
Marshall,  son  of  John  C.  ;  the  Hance  brothers,  sons  of  Abraham,  who 
died  in  December,  1893 ;  Gideon  Baker,  a  typical  representative  of  the 
olden  time;  A.  H.  Briggs,  justice  of  the  peace;  James  Harbou,  Joseph 
AY.  Bentley,  DeWitt  C.  Lapham,  Thomas  Bussey,  Thomas  Blaker,  and 
Isaac  Tallman,  son  of  Darius,  a  true  descendant  of  pioneer  days. 

The  Durfee  family  was  prominent  in  the  early  settlement  of  this  town 
and  among  its  representatives  is  Hiram  C.  Durfee.  Charles  B.  Heren- 
deen,  ex-supervisor,  is  a  son  of  Charles  B.,  sr. ,  and  grandson  of  Durfee 
Herendeen,  whose  father,  Welcome,  purchased  160  acres  of  land  in 
Macedon  in  1811,  and  died  thereon  in  1837.  Welcome  Herendeen  mar- 
.  ried  a  daughter  of  Gideon  Durfee.  George  Everett  resided  on  the  farm 
settled  by  his  father,  and  died  in  Palmyra  a  few  years  since.  Other 
prominent  men  who  have  long  made  this  town  their  home  are  Joab 
Biddlecom,  Silas  N.  Gallup,  Lyman  Bickford,  Samuel  Everett,  Z.  A. 
Van  Duzer,  Menzo  and  Samuel  Smith,  Gideon  Smith,  Daniel  S. 
Shourds  (nurserymen),  David  Cramer,  Edwin  Robinson,  John  Lane, 
Gilbert  Budd,  the  Downing  brothers  (maltsters  in  Palmyra),  Thomas 
Lampson,  and  Frank  Allyn.  These  men,  each  in  his  own  way,  have 
contributed  materially  to  the  growth  and  welfare  of  the  town. 

The  volunteers  from  the  town  of  Macedon  who  participated  in  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion  numbered  167.  Each  and  every  one  did  valiant  ser- 
vice in  that  sanguinary  conflict,  and  the  present  generations  proudly  hon- 
ors their  deeds  of  heroism.  But  few  of  the  old  veterans  still  remain 
among  us,  death  having  claimed  many  of  their  number  since  their  terms 
of  active  service  expired. 

Deacon  Noah  Porter,  as  early  1800,  donated  to  the  town  the  first  plat 
for  a  burial  place,  situated  about  one  mile  east  of  Macedon  Center,  on 
land  now  owned  by  Edwin  Robinson.      It  contains  the  undisturbed  re- 


336  LANDMARKS   OF 

mains  of  many  of  the  earlier  pioneers  and  for  ten  yearsormore  was  the 
principal  cemetery  in  Macedon.  The  Friends'  burying  ground  at 
Maeedon  was  opened  prior  to  1820,  and  is  still  in  use. 

The  progress  of  education  within  the  limits  of  this  town  is  doubtless 
the  best  evidence  of  the  unusual  intelligence  and  refinement  manifested 
by  the  present  generation  of  inhabitants.  It  was  prior.to  1800  that  the 
first  school  house  was  erected,  a  frame  structure  half  a  mile  below  the 
west  lock,  on  the  north  side  of  the  canal,  in  the  corporation  of  Macedon 
village.  Soon  afterward  it  was  removed  by  Deacon  Noah  Porter  and 
made  over  into  a  residence. 

In  1803  another  frame  school  building  was  erected  on  property  now 
owned  by  David  Glossenger,  but  after  a  usefulness  of  three  decades,  it 
was  torn  down.     John  Brandish  was  the  first  teacher  in  that  house. 

In  1871  a  graded  school  was  established  in  Macedon  village  under  the 
principalship  of  Prof.  William  Goodenough,  in  a  building  erected  for  a 
Union  Free  School.  The  present  Union  school  house  was  built  of  brick 
in  1887-88,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000.  It  is  of  one  story  and  the  school  main- 
tains an  academic  department.  The  present  Board  of  Education  (1894) 
consists  of  Eli  H.  Gallup,  president;  William  S.  Eddy,  secretary;  Ira 
L.  Purdy,  Isaac  Dean,  and  Carl  C.  Herendeen.  George  W.  Boughton 
is  treasurer.  Four  teachers  are  employed  and  George  H.  Cullihgs  is 
principal.      The  school  district  is  free  from  debt. 

On  the  northwest  corner  of  Macedon  Center  there  stood  in  early 
days  a  small  public  hostelry  known  as  the  Hollister  House,  a  name  sub- 
sequently changed  to  the  Macedon  Center  House.  After  the  opening 
of  the  canal  this  tavern  was  no  longer  prosperous,  but  it  continued  to 
entertain  travelers  and  dispense  liquor  for  several  years  afterward. 
William  Barker  about  this  time  formed  a  plan  to  open  a  Friends'  boarding 
school,  but  did  not  carry  them  oat;  yet  the  suggestion  developed  into 
the  purchase  on  April  24,  L841,  of  John  Gidersleeve  of  the  old  tavern 
property  at  a  cost  of  $1,150,  the  purchasers  being  Jonathan  Ramsdell, 
Daniel  T.  Burton,  and  Durfee  Osband.  On  the  11th  of  April,  1842, 
through  Durfee  ( >sband,  then  member  of  Assembly,  the  Macedon  Acad- 
emy was  legally  incorporated,  and  on  September  13,  Messrs.  Ramsdell, 
Burton,  and  ( )sband  deeded  the  property  to  the  following  trustees  named 
in  the  charter:  Thomas  C.  Hance,  Thomas  Barnes,  Philander  Packard, 
Ira  Odell,  William  C.  Johnston,  Evert  Bogardus,  Henry  Tillou,  John 
Johnston,  [ames  Cunningham,  Israel  Woolsey,.  Joshua  Delong,  John  C. 
Marshall,  John  Van  Vliet,  Walter  Johnson,  and  Caleb  Van  Duzer.     On 


WAYNE   COUNTY. 


337 


May  24,  1843,  a  strip  of  land  two  rods  wide,  west  of  the  tavern  lot, 
was  bought  by  James  T.  Hoag,  but  afterwads  a  part  of  this  was  sold. 
In  1841,  school  was  first  opened  in  the  old  tavern  with  Eaton  B.  North- 
rop, principal,  and  Stephen  Ramsdell  and  Austin  Mandeville,  assistants. 
Mr.  Northrop  died  October  17,  1843,  aged  twenty-eight 'years.  Sep- 
tember 14,  1842,  it  was  resolved  to  build  an  extension  for  the  academy 
proper,  and  use  the  old  tavern  for  a  boarding  house.  The  contract  was 
let  to  Evert  Bogardus.     The  present  building  was  erected  in  1853,  and 


if;  '«■<•' 

,!aiii|  -  ,555^  "r«"^i- 

•■MACEOON1.GENTR&  house- 


the  first  session  opened  in  it  November  7,  of  that  year,  with  160  students. 
In  1859  the  old  academy  was  sold  to  Dr.  Esten,  removed  to  the  site  of 
William  Barker's  residence,  and  burned  September  6,  of  the  same  year. 
In  1863  a  commercial  department  was  established  in  the  academy.  The 
boarding  house  (the  old  tavern)  was  destroyed  by  fire  the  next  morning 
after  the  close  of  the  fall  term  in  November,  1873.  The  academy  was 
founded  by  adherents  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  for 
more  than  half  a  century  has  wielded  a  powerful  influence  in  guiding 
the  morals  and  elevating  the  standard  of  education  in  this  section  of 
Western  New  York.  Plain  and  unpretentious  in  its  outward  appear- 
ance, its  curriculum  governed  by  strict  rules  sometimes  locally  termed 
"  blue  laws, "  fostered  by  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  State,  it  has 
ever  maintained  an  enviable  prestige  and  flourished  while  many  similar 
43 


338 


LANDMARKS   OF 


institutions    succumbed  to  the  changing    status  of    state  and  society 
The  presidents  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  have  been  as  follows: 


Ira  Odell,  1842, 
Durfee  Osband.  1845, 
Philander  Packard,  1846, 
Thomas  Barnes,  L848, 
J.  C.  Marshall,  1849, 


J.  M.  Howland,  1852, 
T.  J.  Mead,  1856, 
L.  Whitcomb,  1857, 
William  Bloodgood,  1863, 
Stephen  Durfee,  18G4, 


Principals  of  the  academy 


1841-42, 

Eaton  B.  Northrup, 

1868-69, 

1842-43, 

Eaton  B.  Northrup, 

1869-70, 

1843-44, 

Stephen  Wood, 

1870-71, 

1844-45, 

Stephen  Wood, 

1871-72, 

1845^6, 

Stephen  Wood, 

1872-73, 

1846-47, 

John  W.  Stebbins, 

1873-74, 

1847-48, 

John  W.  Stebbins, 

1874-75, 

1848-49, 

Hiram  Wheeler, 

1875   76, 

1849-50, 

Samuel  Centre, 

1876-77. 

1850-51, 

Samuel  Centre, 

1877-78, 

1851-52, 

Samuel  Centre, 

1878-79, 

1852-53, 

Samuel  Centre, 

1879-80, 

is:,:;  54, 

William  M.  McLaughlin, 

1880-81, 

1854-55, 

Willism  M.  McLaughlin, 

1881-82, 

L855  56, 

William  M.  McLaughlin, 

1882-83, 

1856-57, 

Charles  S.  Halsey, 

1883-84, 

1857-58, 

Thomas  McC.  Ballantine, 

1884-85, 

1858-59, 

George  H.  Whitney, 

1885-86, 

1859-60, 

Brain  erd  Kellogg, 

1886-87, 

1860-61, 

Edwin  B.  Harvey, 

1887  -88, 

1861-62 

Edwin  B,  Harvey, 

1888-89, 

1862-63, 

Charles  S.  Halsey, 

1889-90, 

1863-64, 

Charles  S.  Halsey, 

1890-91, 

1864-65, 

Charles  S.  Halsey, 

1891-92, 

1865-66 

Gardner  Fuller, 

1892  93, 

1866-67 

Gardner  Fuller, 

1893-94, 

1867-68, 

James  S.  Lemon, 

A.  L.  Hance,  1872, 
J.  G.  Mead,  1875, 
Isaac  Baker,  1876, 
H.  H.  Hoag,  1883, 
Burton  S.  Durfee,  1888  94. 


H.  George  Miller, 
H.  George  Miller, 
George  S.  Andrews, 
Richard  H.  Dennis, 
Henrietta  W.  Downing, 
Andrew  J.  Nellis, 
J.  Edmund  Massee, 
J.  Edmund  Massee, 
V.  A.  Crandall, 
Byron  C.  Mathews, 
D.  I).  Van  Allen, 
Frederick  A.  Hyde, 
Charles  H.  Boynton, 
Charles  H.  Boynton, 
Fred  A.  White, 
Margaret  J  agger, 
Lewis  H.  Clark, 
Lewis  H.  Clark, 
Lewis  H.  Clark, 
Lewis  H.  Clark, 
Lewis  H.  Clark, 
Lewis  H.  Clark, 
Lewis  H.  Clark,  jr., 
Cyrus  S.  Palmer. 
Edwin  W.  Stevens, 
J.  Carson  Benedict. 


The  Board  of  Trustees  for  L894-  'J 5  are 


Joseph  W.  Bentley, 
William  B.  Billings, 
Benjamin  C.  Blaker, 
Thomas  R.  Blaker, 
1  lurton  S.  Durfee  (president), 


I  >arwin  Eldridge, 
Frank  B.  Hicks  (secretary), 
James  Harbou, 
Myron  L.  Hoag, 
Charles  T.  Jennings  (treas- 
urer), 

Honorary  Members:   Humphrey  H,  Hoag,  Guidon  T.  Smith. 
Executive  Commitee:  Burton  S.  Durfee,  Frank  B.  Hicks,  Myron  L 


Dewitt  C.  Lapham, 
George  Mansfield, 
Cyrus  Packard, 
Isaac  P.  1  loag, 
Charles  H.  Parker. 


1  loag. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  339 

Faculty:  J.  Carson   Benedict,  principal,  Latin,   psychology,  mathematics,  physics, 
and  chemistry.      Francis    May   Matteson,    preceptress,    German,    drawing,    ai 
history,    and   higher   English.      Nellie   V.    Blaker,    assistant,    physiology,    history, 
English,  and  civics.     Mrs.  Frances  K.  Mandeville,  music. 

Alumni  Association  (organized  in  1884):  Beal  M.  Smith,  president;  Lizzie  J. 
Blaker,  vice-president;  Mina  C.  Packard,  secretary;  Beal  M.  Smith,  Lizzie  J.  Blaker, 
Charles  B.  Herendeen,  Mina  C.  Packard,  executive  committee. 

The  town  of  Macedon  has  thirteen  school  districts,  attended  during 
the  year  1892-93  by  595  children,  and  taught  by  fifteen  teachers.  The 
valuation  of  school  buildings  and  sites  aggregates  $16,250;  assessed 
valuation  of  the  districts  $1,945,000;  public  money  received  from  the 
State  $1,937.02;  amount  raised  by  local  tax  $2,473.40. 

The  Macedon  Historical  and  Geographical  Society  was  organized  at 
the  house  of  William  C.  Packard  on  February  1,  1894,  with  about  twen- 
ty-five members,  and  with  the  following  officers:  Frank  B.  Hicks,  pres- 
ident; Miss  Ada  E.  Hance,  vice-president;  Miss  Mina  C.  Packard,  sec- 
retary; Charles  B.  Herendeen,  treasurer;  Miss  Nellie  V.  Blaker,  libra- 
rian.     Its  object  is  to  collect  and  preserve  local  history. 

The  first  grist  mill  in  town  was  built  by  Jacob  Gannett  in  1801,  on 
his  premises  on  Ganargwa  Creek  half  a  mile  west  of  Macedon  village. 
It  had  one  run  of  stone.  The  mill  race  was  constructed  about  1825  as 
a  feeder  for  the  canal,  and  a  few  years  later,  about  1832,  a  Mr.  Patter- 
son obtained  the  right  of  use  of  this  raceway  and  bought  and  removed 
the  Gannett  mill  to  its  present  site  in  the  village.  Subsequent  proprie- 
tors were  Allen  Purdy  and  John  Willits,  Ese  Wilber,  George  Wilber, 
Russell  Allen,  Caldron  White,  and  Mr.  Allen  again.  In  1877  J.  S. 
Biddlecom  purchased  the  property  and  later  transferred  a  one-half  in- 
terest to  his  grandson,  Bayard  Biddlecom,  making  the  firm  J.  S.  Biddle- 
com &  Co.,  who  are  the  present  proprietors.  The  building  has  been 
materially  repaired,  a  full  roller  process  substituted  for  the  stones,  and 
a  saw  mill  added  about  1878. 

The  frame  grist  mill  near  the  Walworth  town  line,  north  of  Walworth 
Station,  is  owned  by  the  widow  of  John  Craggs.  It  is  operated  by  both 
steam  and  water  power. 

Macedon  Village. —  This  village,  situated  a  little  southeast  from  the 
center  of  the  town,  was  incorporated  in  November,  1856,  and  comprises 
within  its  limits  one  square  mile.  The  charter,  relative  to  municipal 
officers,  was  amended  May  4,  1868.  The  original  proprietors  of  the 
land  were  Enoch  Gannett,  and  Abiatha  Powers,  who  paid  18f-  cents  per 
acre,  and  who  in  1828  sold  to  William  Willits,  Alexander  Purdy,  and 


340  LANDMARKS   OF 

John  Lapham,  from  whom  the  first  village  lots  were  purchased  in  1830. 
When  the  three  last  named  became  owners  of  the  real  estate  here,  the 
present  limits  contained  only  two  one-story  frame  houses,  one  of  which, 
that  owned  by  Enoch  Gannett,  has  been  repaired  and  is  now  occupied 
as  a  residence  by  William  Van  Wincklen. 

As  early  as  1815,  a  carding  and  cloth-dressing-  mill  was  erected  near 
the  site  of  the  Biddlecom  flouring-  mill  by  Daniel  Lapham  and  Mr. 
Gannett,  and  continued  in  operation  in  1818,  It  was  the  first  industry 
in  the  place  and  at  one  period  did  an  extensive  business.  Gannett  and 
Lapham  also  built  two  log  houses  here  about  1815. 

In  1829  Purdy  and  Williams  erected  a  store  building  which  is  now, 
in  a  repaired  form,  used  as  a  harness  shop.  John  Robson  opened  a 
blacksmith  shop  in  1831,  and  in  1832  Michael  Ellsworth  built  the  first 
tavern.  This  was  afterwards  enlarged  and  was  burned  in  1882,  and  on 
its  site  the  present  frame  hotel  was  erected. 

In  1831  a  small  furnace  situated  at  the  four  corners  a  mile  west  of 
the  village  was  removed  to  the  corporation,  enlarged  and  operated  on 
the  site  of  the  present  foundry.  At  the  four  corners  also  the  post-office 
was  established  about  1831,  but  it  soon  came  to  the  village  with  Alex- 
ander Purdy  as  postmaster.     The  present  incumbent  is  John  P.  Kaiser. 

Among  the  merchants  who  formerly  carried  on  trade  here  were  Wil- 
liam Willits,  Alexander  Purdy,  Richmond  &  Lampson,  Hawkins  & 
Brace,  Brace  &  Eddy,  Eddy  &  Underhill,  Leonard  L.  Cramer,  William 
R.  Van  Wincklen,  N.  B.  Packard  &  Co.,  C.  B.  Herendeen,  Ira  L. 
Purdy,  Ausman  &  Ripley,  John  Little,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Wheeler,  John 
McCann,  George  Gifford,  Isaac  Cramer  and  David  Cramer.  A  dry 
goods  store  was  built  by  John  Lapham  in  1834,  and  for  some  time 
occupied  by  Albert  White;  repaired  and  remodeled,  it  occupies  the 
same  site  and  is  owned  by  Charles  J.  Servoss. 

The  present  creamery  of  W.  D.  Herendeen  was  formerly  occupied 
by  him  as  a  plaster  mill.  The  cider  mill  and  mint  distillery  operated 
by  Charles  H.  Plumb,  was  originally  used  as  a  tannery,  which  had 
various  proprietors,  the  last  one  being  Wallace  Mumford.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1889,  Mr.  Plumb  purchased  the  property  and  doubled  the  capacit)^ 
of  the  cider  mill  and  in  1893  added  a  peppermint  distiller}-. 

The  firm  of  Bickford  &  Huffman,  formed  in  October,  1842,  are  the 
pioneer  builders  of  fertilizer  grain  drills  in  America.  During  the  first 
ten  or  twelve  years  they  did  a  country  jobbing  and  repair  business, 
making  plows,  and  later   seme  few  steam    engines,  and  some  mowers 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  341 

and  reapers.  The  first  grain  drills  were  made  in  L8'49,  about  twenty  in 
number,  and  were  almost  entirely  hand  made.  Their  introduction 
upon  the  market  was  very  successful,  and  opened  an  era  of  prosperity 
which  culminated  in  1860.  At  the  close  of  that  year  the  firm  occupied 
a  leading"  position  as  manufacturers  in  their  line.  The  grain  drill  trade 
being  confined  exclusively  to  the  Southern  States,  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion  in  1861  caused  a  complete  suspension  in  trade, 
and  the  loss  of  a  large  share  of  the  firm's  capital.  With  trade  thus 
destroyed,  the  company  with  a  little  capital  saved  from  the  wreck  en- 
gaged in  other  lines  of  manufacture,  and  carried  on  their  business  until 
1866  and  '67,  when  the  demand  for  grain  drills  again  revived  in  the 
South,  but  with  many  obstacles  that  had  not  been  present  before.  The 
demand  was  at  first  greatly  limited  by  the  greatly  reduced  number  of 
buyers,  and  second  by  the  lessened  ability  of  the  buyers  to  pay  for  the 
goods  purchased.  During  these  years  a  movement  was  made  to  secure 
a  portion  of  the  trade  in  the  Northern  States,  and  with  limited  means 
and  capital  the  firm  was  fairly  successful.  In  1870  Mr.  Huffman  died, 
leaving  his  interest  to  his  widow,  who  continued  the  business  with  Mr. 
Lyman  Bickford  as  partner,  acting  as  manager.  In  November,  1885, 
Mr.  Bickford  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  business  to  his  partner, 
the  former  Mrs.  Huffman,  the  present  Mrs.  Kirkpatrick,  who  thus  be- 
came the  sole  owner  of  the  plant  and  business,  with  G.  W.  Kirkpatrick 
as  general  manager.  The  new  management  found  the  business  lack- 
ing a  sufficiently  systematized  organization,  and  operated  without 
definite  data  of  the  cost  of  manufacture,  sales,  collections,  or  any  other 
department ;  and  while  this  change  was  being  effected,  vast  improve- . 
ments  were  made  in  the  construction  of  the  drills,  which  still  occupy 
front  rank  in  their  line  in  the  world.  In  January,  1893,  the  business 
was  incorporated  into  a  stock  company,  under  the  style  of  Bickford  & 
Huffman  Company,  which  with  a  business  thoroughly  systematized, 
with  grain  drills  combining  the  latest  improvements  patented,  with  a 
largely  extended  trade,  domestic  and  foreign,  a  well  equipped  plant, 
with  an  energetic  management,  bows  to  no  superiors  in  the  world  in 
their  line  of  manufacture.  Officers,  G.  W.  Kirkpatrick,  president ;  H. 
M.  Kirkpatrick,  vice  president ;  W.  P.  Thistlethwaite,  secretary  and 
treasurer. 

The  village  of  Macedon  now  contains  a  newspaper  and  printing  office, 
one  general  store,  a  grist  and  saw  mill,  two  dry  goods  stores,  one  boot 
and  shoe  store,   a  meat  market,   three  harness  shops,   a  lawyer,   three 


342  LANDMARKS   OF 

physicians,  a  grain  drill  manufactory  and  foundry,  a  jewelry  store,  one 
drug  store,  a  cider  mill  and  mint  distillery,  one  hotel,  a  butter  factory, 
a  canal  grocery,  a  lumber  yard,  an  undertaker,  two  coal  and  two  produce 
dealers,  a  union  school,  three  churches,  and  the  usual  other  shops  and 
artisans.  The  village  has  stations  on  both  the  New  York  Central  and 
West  Shore  railroads. 

The  first  charter  election  tor  the  village  was  held  December  31,  L856, 
when  the  following  officers  were  chosen  :  James  Rice,  jr.,  president  ; 
Daniel  Langdon,  Henry  Huffman,  John  Lapham,  J.  J.  Acker,  trustees  ; 
William  E.  Willits,  treasurer;  11.  E.  Ripley,  clerk.  The  presidents 
have  been  : 

I1.  M.  Willits,  is:,;,  In,  i..  Purdy,  L873, 

C.  E.  Langdon,  1858,  Lyman  Bickford,   1874   78, 

M.  A.  Eddy,  1859,  W.  L.  Acker,  L879, 

W.  L.  Acker,  I860,  Jesse  Halsey,  L880  81, 

G.  B.  Arnold,    L861,  L.  L.  Cramer,  18*2  s::, 

Lyman  Bickford,  1862,  [saac  Dean,  1884, 

Alexandei  Arthur,  1863  64,  George  W.  Korkpatrick,  1885, 

Anse]  Perkins.  L865,  C.  C.  Cramer,   1886, 

H.  B.  Johnson,  lsfiG,  C.  C.  Herendeen,  1887, 

Jeremiah  Thistlethwaite,  1861;  I).  C.  Brundage,  1888  90, 

S.  X.  Gallup,  1868,  Isaac  Dean,  1891, 

H.  P.  Underbill.  L869,  D.  C.  Brundage,  L892, 

Henry  Huffman,  1870,  IL  M.  Little,  L898-94. 

S.  N.  Gallup,  1871-72, 

The  offieers  for  ISii-l  are  as  follows  :  IL.  M.  Little,  president  ;  H.  J. 
ese,  E.  J.  Corser,  John  Simmons,  trustees;  C.  J.  Servoss,  clerk  ; 
Pred  C.  Johnson,  treasurer;  David  Courter,  collector;  E.  J.  Corser, 
overseer  of  the  poor  ;  William  Nettleship,  street  commissioner;  John 
Simmons  and  H.  J.  Breese,  assessors.  According  to  the  census  of  L890 
the  village  had  a  population  of  533. 

Macedon  Center. — -Regarded  from  an  imaginative  standpoint  this  is 
the  pleasantest  village  in  this  town,  and  being  the  scat  of  Macedon 
Academy  it  is  probably  as  widely  known  asany  other  place  of  itssize  in 
Wayne  county.  At  a  very  early  day  Asa  Aldridge  settled  on  the  two 
east  corners;  Ebenezer  Still  on  the  northwest  corner,  and  Artemas  Ward 
west  of  tin-  village  ;  but  a  suggestion  that  this  might  become  a  point  of 
considerable  importance  found  no  response  in  their  ideas  of  enterprise 
and  duringtheir  holdings  they  declined  to  sell  lots  for  building  purposes. 
Mr.  Ward  is  regarded  as  the  first  permanent  settler  on  the  site  of  the 
village.     In  1825  Ward  and  Still  died  and  Aldridge  sold  his  property  to 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  848 

John  Johnson.  At  the  request  of  Durfee  Osband  in  L826,  Benjamin  T. 
Hoxsie  came  hither  from  Massachusetts  to  open  a  store,  which  he  built 
on  the  southwest  corner  lot,  where  he  continued  business  many  • 
In  1840  his  old  building  was  converted  into  a  dwelling.  This  may  be 
considered  the  substantial  beginning  of  Macedon  Center,  although  it 
had  previously  been  a  stopping  place  for  travelers  and  boasted  a  hot  I. 
the  Hollister  House,  afterwards  the  old  Macedon  House.  One  of  the 
early  landlords  was  Levi  Camborn,  a  blacksmith,  who  was  granted  a 
license  for  one  year  to  sell  wine.  His  successors  probably  also  dispensed 
liquor,  for  it  is  remembered  that  arum  pole,  the  last  one  in  this  section, 
was  raised  in  front  of  this  tavern  on  the  site  of  the  present  temperance 
monument.  When  the  tidal  wave  of  total  abstinence  swept  over  this 
State  in  the  latter  part  of  the  thirties,  the  agitation  seemed  to  center  in 
this  vicinity,  and  many  were  the  meetings  held  to  discuss  the  objection- 
able traffic.  These  discussions  warmed  enthusiasm  into  action  and  the 
movement  culminated  in  1845  in  the  erection  of  a  marble  obelisk  nine, 
feet  high,  which  was  procured  from  Vermont  by  Ira  Lapham.  It  came 
by  canal  and  was  dedicated  to  the  cause  of  temperance  on  July  4,  of  that 
year,  the  oration  being  delivered  by  Hon.  William  C.  Bliss,  of  Roches- 
ter.    The  stone  bears  the  inscription,  "  Total  Abstinence — 1845." 

The  first  physician  to  locate  here  was  Dr.  Benjamin  W.  Dean.  A 
man  named  Post  followed  Hoxie  as  a  merchant,  and  among  the  later 
traders  here  were  a  Mr.  Lamb  (who  built  the  store  now  occupied  by 
Frank  B.  Hicks),  Evert  Bogardus,  William  Bloodgood,  Elias  Hicks 
(father  of  Frank  B.),  from  1808  to  1873,  Charles  Rowe  one  year,  John 
N.  Brownell  (afterwards  county  sheriff),  and  Frank  B.  Hicks  since 
1883.  Opposite  the  academy  was  once  a  stationery  store  and  Ira  Odell 
later  had  a  tailorshop  in  the  same  building.  The  village  now  has  the 
academy,  three  churches,  a  general  store,  a  wagon  and  blacksmith 
shop,  and  a  population  of  about  150. 

The  post-office  was  established  here  between  1830  and  L835,  probably 
in  the  building  now  occupied  by  Rachel  Arnold  and  Judith  Post.  One 
of  the  earliest  postmasters  was  Ira  Odell,  who  served  more  than  twenty 
years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Monroe  Norton.  Elias  Hicks  had  the 
office  from  1866  to  1873.     The  present  incumbent  is  Lewis  II.  Dick. 

West  Macedon,  located  on  the  canal  in  the  western  part  of  the  town, 
enjoys  the  distinction  of  having  had  a  post-office  which  by  some 
means  got  into  the  presidential  class,  and  which  is  also  said  to  have 
been  the  first  money-order  office  in  Wayne  county.      It  was  established 


344  LANDMARKS   OF 

in  1856  with  Echabod  W.  Briggs  postmaster,  who  continued  in  the  office 
until  shortly  before  his  death  not  many  years  ago,  when  the  office  was 
discontinued.  The  place  has  lost  nearly  all  of  its  former  importance  as 
a  business  point,  and  is  now  merely  a  rural  hamlet. 

Walworth  station  is  situated  on  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  in 
Maeedon  about  four  miles  south  from  Walworth  village  in  the  town  of 
Walworth. 

The  Baptist  Church  of  Maeedon  was  organized  in  1800  as  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Palmyra,  with  nineteen  constituent  members, 
namely:  William  Rogers,  Lemuel  and  Ruth  Spear,  Noah  and  Ruth 
Potter,  Benjamin  Wood,  James  and  Hannah  Fuller,  Bartimeus  Packard, 
James  Rogers,  Abram  Spear,  William  Jones,  Elizabeth  Jones,  Polly 
Baker,  M.  Wood,  and  Joseph  Case.  Until  1800  meetings  were  held  at 
Webb  Harwood's,  but  in  that  year  a  frame  church  edifice  was  built. 
One  of  the  first  pastors  was  Rev.  Jeremiah  Irons,  from  1804  to  1820. 
During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Paul  S.  Prichard,  in  1834-35,  the  church 
divided,  one  portion  retaining  the  name  and  organizing  the  present 
Baptist  society  of  Palmyra,  and  the  other  forming  the  Maeedon  Baptist 
Church  and  holding  the  property.  The  first  pastor  of  this  latter  divis- 
ion was  Rev.  Peter  Turk,  under  whom  the  edifice  (then  standing  on 
the  Ranney  farm,  three  miles  east  of  Maeedon  village)  was  taken 
down,  removed  to  the  present  site,  rebuilt  and  rededicated.  Dining 
the  pastorate  of  Rev.  D.  D.  Lovell  it  was  remodeled  and  repaired  at  a 
cost  of  $3,500,  and  again  dedicated  in  March,  1874.  The  society  now 
has  about  sixty  members,  with  Rev.  J.  M.  Bates,  pastor.  The  frame 
parsonage  was  becjueathed  to  the  church  by  one  of  its  prominent 
members. 

St.  Patrick's  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Maeedon  was  organized  by 
Rev.  William  Casey  in  1850,  with  some  200  communicants.  The  pres- 
ent frame  edifice  was  erected  that  fall  and  consecrated  Jul}-  4,  1857,  by 
Bishop  John  Tirnon,  of  Buffalo.  In  1875  a  transept,  a  sanctuary  for 
the  altar,  and  a  vestry  were  added  and  the  whole  reconsecrated  Sep- 
tember 26th  of  that  year  by  Bishop  Bernard  J.  M.  McQuaid,  of  Roch- 
ester. The  parish  now  numbers  about  500  souls.  Rev.  Father  Casey 
was  in  charge  from  Palmyra  until  September  1,  L883,  when  the  present 
pastor,  Rev.  M.  A.  F.  Holmes,  became  the  first  resident  priest.  The 
parsonage  was  purchased  of  Ceorge  P.  Lapham  in  September,  1883, 
for  $3,000. 

The  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd  (Universalist)  of  Maeedon,   was 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  345 

legally  organized  b)^  Rev.  Harvey  Boughten,  on  March  8,  1874,  with 
thirty-five  members.  The  church  edifice  was  finished  and  dedicated  in 
May,  1873,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Boughton  was  installed  the  first  pastor  and 
remained  until  1884;  he  was  succeeded  by  Revs.  C.  L.  Waite,  H.  K. 
White,  R.  W.  McLaughlin,  and  the  present  incumbent,  C.  L.  Paddock. 
The  present  church  building  was  remodeled  and  rededicated  in  March, 
1889,  and  a  pipe  organ  costing  $2,500  placed  therein.  The  edifice  is 
of  brick  and  frame,  and  is  valued  at  $10,000,  and  connected  is  a  frame 
parsonage  worth  $2,000.  The  society  has  eighty-six  members.  A 
Sunday  school  was  inaugurated  in  1873  with  Henry  B.  Underhill  su- 
perintendent.    The  present  incumbent  is  Lyman  Bickford. 

The  Society  of  Friends  held  meetings  at  Macedon  Center  as  early  as 
1800,  but  when  their  original  house  of  worship  was  built  can  not  be 
determined.  It  is  known  that  it  was  a  two-story  structure  with  a 
gallery  on  three  sides,  and  as  the  number  of  members  gradually  de-_ 
creased  it  was  decided  to  reduce  its  towering  proportions.  About  this 
time  (1827)  the  Orthodox  branch  withdrew.  While  chipping  from  the 
lower  ends  of  the  posts  the  building  suddenly  collapsed  and  it  was  then 
rebuilt  in  its  present  form  on  the  northeast  corner.  This  is  known  as 
the  Hicksite  branch.  The  Orthodox  members,  soon  after  their  with- 
drawal, erected  \he  old  house  locally  called  the  Orthodox  house,  which 
was  replaced  by  the  present  edifice  in  1868,  in  which  the  first  service 
was  held  November  22,  of  that  year.  The  old  house  was  sold  to  J.  N. 
Brownell,  removed  by  him  to  the  north  side  of  the  street,  and  is  now 
used  by  Ansel  Clark  as  a  barn. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Macedon  Center  existed  as  a 
class  at  quite  an  early  date,  and  among  the  first  class  leaders  were 
Abraham  Aldrich  and  Levi  Camborn.  It  appears  upon  the  minutes  of 
the  quarterly  conference  held  near  Canandaigua  October  24,  1812,  and 
is  afterwards  noticed  on  the  records  until  1833,  between  which  date  and 
1844  it  drops  out  of  recorded  mention.  Prior  to  1859  Walworth  and 
Macedon  stood  together  several  years,  but  at  that  time  a  change  was 
effected  and  Macedon  and  Perinton  were  united.  The  first  house  of 
worship  was  built  some  time  previous  to  1825,  on  the  premises  now 
owned  by  J.  W.  Colburn.  In  1847  a  new  edifice  was  erected  on  a  new 
site  donated  to  the  society  by  Durfee  Osband,  and  this  was  remodeled 
into  the  present  structure  in  1831,  at  a  total  cost  of  about  $2,000.  The 
parsonage  was  purchased  in  1863  for  $1,500.  The  original  house  of 
worship  was  purchased  by  S.  V.  R.  Mallory,  removed  October  24,  1850, 

44 


346  LANDMARKS   OF 

and  became  a  part  of  the  dwelling-  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Henry 
Tillou.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  A.  B.  Norton.  John  G.  Mead  has 
been  recording  steward  of  the  society  since  1805,  succeeding  Dnrfee 
Osband. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  SAVANNAH. 

Savannah,  the  southeast  corner  town  in  Wayne  county,  was  formed 
from  Galen  on  November,  24,  1825.  It  comprises  the  eastern  part 
of  lot  27  of  the  Military  Tract,  and  has  an  area  of  21,908  acres,  which 
was  originally  surveyed  into  lots  of  600  acres  each.  It  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Butler,  on  the  east  by  Cayuga  county,  on  the  south  by 
Seneca  county,  and  on  the  west  by  Galen.  The  name  Savannah  is 
derived  from  the  Latin,  Sabanum,  and  from  the  Spanish,  Savana  or 
Sabana,  and  means,  according  to  Webster,  an  extensive  open  plain  or 
meadow,  or  a  plain  destitute  of  trees,  and  covered  with  grass.  From 
the  following  brief  description  it  will  be  seen  that  the  town  was  appro- 
priately named. 

In  the  southern,  central,  and  northern  portions  the  surface  is  broken 
into  ridges  of  drift  sand,  which  generally  trend  north  and  south.  In 
the  southwest  part  is  an  extensive  swamp,  covering  nearly  1,900  acres. 
It  is  thickly  covered  with  a  coarse  grass,  which  was  successfully  utilized 
in  1867  in  the  manufacture  of  paper  by  the  two  paper  mills  then  con- 
ducted at  Clyde.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  reclaim  this  immense 
tract  by  a  system  of  drainage,  but  the  undertaking  was  evidently  too 
great  for  the  means  obtainable.  At  one  time  it  was  proposed  to  turn 
the  course  of  Crusoe  Creek  to  the  northeast,  but  commercial  interests 
at  Oswego  interfered  and  the  scheme  was  abandoned.  A  second  plan 
was  to  blast  out  the  bed  of  Seneca  River,  thus  lowering  it  enough  to 
drain  the  surface;  this  also  was  never  carried  out.  A  resident  some 
years  since  spent  several  thousand  dollars  endeavoring  to  reclaim  a 
small  portion,  but  as  soon  as  the  work  was  suspended  it  went  back  to 
its  original  condition.  The  soil  is  a  rich  black  muck,  and  a  few  feet 
below   the  surface  lies  a  stratum  of  valuable   marl  and   shell.      In  wet 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  347 

seasons  the  whole  is  covered  with  shallow  water  and  presents  a  con- 
tinuous inland  lake.  Flowing-  northeasterly  from  Galen  through  the 
north  end  of  this  swamp  is  Marsh  Creek,  which  empties  into  a  small 
body  of  water  north  of  vSavannah  village,  called  Crusoe  Lake.  Through 
this  lake  from  the  town  of  Butler  flows  Crusoe  Creek,  which  forms  a 
junction  with  Seneca  River,  a  little  north  of  the  railroad.  The  con- 
siderable body  of  elevated  land  thus  surrounded,  lying  between  the 
swamp  and  Seneca  River,  is  locally  termed  Crusoe  Island ;  it  is  nearly 
six  miles  long  and  four  miles  wide,  and  extends  southward  to  the  Ctyde 
River  in  Seneca  county,  but  more  than  one-half  of  its  area  lies  within 
the  limits  of  this  town.  Extensive  low  swampy  lands  border  Crusoe 
Creek  and  Seneca  River  and  form  the  northwestern  portion  of  the 
famous  Montezuma  marshes.  Seneca  River  forms  the  eastern  boundary 
line  of  the  town  and  county  for  nearly  five  miles.  Excepting  the  large 
open  marsh  in  the  southwestern  part,  the  town  was  originally  covered 
with  heavy  timber,  nearly  all  of  which  long  ago  disappeared.  The  soil 
of  the  high  lands  is  a  sandy  and  gravelly  loam.  The  whole  is  very 
fertile,  particularly  the  portions  bordering  on  the  marshes.  It  is  gen- 
erally susceptible  of  easy  cultivation,  and  produces  excellent  crops  of 
hay,  grain,  fruit,  etc.  Agriculture  forms  the  chief  industry,  and  fruit 
growing  is  given  considerable  attention.  In  1858  the  town  produced 
15,925  bushels  of  winter  and  113,854  bushels  of  spring  wheat,  1,901 
tons  of  hay,  14,376  bushels  of  potatoes,  14,907  bushels  of  apples,  69,- 
216  pounds  of  butter,  2,290  pounds  of  cheese,  and  1,366  yards  of  do- 
mestic cloths.  Of  domestic  animals  Savannah  then  contained  675 
horses,  1,348  oxen  and  calves,  761  cows,  4,947  sheep,  and  1,335  swine. 

Probably  no  town  in  Wayne  county  ever  acquired  the  degree  of 
prominence  among  sportsmen  that  was  obtained  by  Savannah  in  years 
gone  by.  It  even  yet  maintains  a  respectable  reputation  in  this  direc- 
tion, and  fishing  and  duck  hunting  have  always  attracted  the  most  atten- 
tion ;  on  the  marshes  along  Seneca  River  grows  a  species  of  wild  oats 
which  in  the  fall  attracts  numerous  blackbirds,  many  of  which  fall  vic- 
tims to  the  sportman's  gun. 

The  highest  elevation  of  land  in  the  town  is  Fort  Hill,  so  named  from 
an  ancient  earthwork  discovered  upon  its  extreme  summit.  It  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  a  work  of  defense,  but  aside  from  this  its  history  is 
buried  in  oblivion.  It  is  situated  near  Seneca  River  south  of  the  rail- 
road. The  old  Jesuit  "  Relations  "  notice  a  mission  as  existing  on  this 
hill  about  1657.      It  was  established  by  Father  Rene  Menard. 


348  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  development  of  the  town  in  its  earlier  settlement  was  slow,  yet 
it  has  enjoyed  a  steady  growth  and  kept  pace  with  other  similar  subdivi- 
sions of  the  county.  The  extensive  marshes  have  ever  menaced  the 
health  and  comfort  of  the  inhabitants.  The  pioneers  were  a  sturdy 
class  of  people  from  New  England  and  the  eastern  part  of  this  State, 
and  imparted  to  the  community  their  sterling-  characteristics,  indomit- 
able energy,  and  native  perseverance.  They  subdued  a  gloomy  wilder- 
ness and  built  attractive  homes,  many  of  which  have  passed  to  their 
children  and  grandchildren.  The  latter  have  inherited  the  noble  traits 
of  their  ancestors,  and  ably  maintain  the  moral  status  so  thoroughly  im- 
planted by  the  generation  that  has  passed  away.  Their  pleasant  homes 
and  comfortable  surroundings  seldom  manifest  a  sign  of  the  primitive 
conditions  of  frontier  life. 

Unlike  all  the  other  southern  towns  in  Wayne  county,  Savannah  was 
not  destined  to  enjoy  the  immediate  benefits  of  the  Erie  Canal,  forthat 
waterway  approached  it  only  through  the  extreme  southwest  corner; 
but  the  advent  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  in  1854  gave  an  im- 
petus to  the  settlement  and  caused  the  village  of  Savannah  to  sp'ring  up 
and  become  incorporated.  Prior  to  this  not  even  a  hamlet  worthy  the 
name  existed  within  its  borders.  The  completion  of  the  West  Shore 
Railroad  in  1884  afforded  still  better  transportation  facilities.  These 
railroads  run  parallel  through  the  southern  central  part  of  the  town  and 
have  stations  at  Savannah  village. 

Before  settlers  began  to  arrive  the  Galen  Salt  Works  were  established 
on  lot  37  near  Seneca  River.  The  original  patent  of  this  lot  was  vested 
in  Dr.  James  Young,  of  the  Revolution.  A  well  was  sunk  400  feet  deep, 
which  produced  strong  brine;  another  well  was  put  down  which  emit- 
ted inflammable  gas.  But  the  manufacture  of  salt  here  was  unsuccess- 
ful and  the  business  was  finally  abandoned.  In  1808  the  works  were 
apparently  prosperous,  but  in  1811  they  had  ceased  operations  entirely, 
and  Prentice  Palmer  moved  in  from  Butler  to  take  care  of  them.  The 
owners  opened  a  highwajr  in  the  town  which  led  from  their  works  to 
Great  Sodus  Bay.  This  was  known  as  the  Galen  road,  and  extended 
westward  to  Clyde.  The  first  thoroughfare  in  this  vicinity,  however, 
was  an  old  military  trail  called  the  State  road,  which  ran  west  to  the 
block  house  (Clyde),  but  this  was  impassable  when  settlers  began  to  ar- 
rive. The  construction  of  the  Montezuma  turnpike  gave  a  decided  im- 
petus to  immigration.  About  1835  a  mail  route  was  established  from 
Auburn  via  Montezuma,  through  Savannah  and  Butler  toWolcott,  with 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  349 

a  post-office  at  Crusoe  Lake  called  "Crusoe."  When  the  New  York 
Central  Railroad  was  completed  this  route  was  discontinued  and  the 
post-office  moved  to  Savannah  village.  The  eastern  plank  road  was  con- 
structed at  an  early  day  from  Clyde  to  Port  Byron  byway  of  the  old  salt 
works  and  Howland's  Island,  the  latter  points  being-  connected  by  a 
bridge,  which  after  a  few  years  was  neglected  and  finally  went  down. 
This  road  was  graded  to  the  river,  but  planked  eastward  from  Clyde 
only  to  the  highway  leading  north  from  the  depot.  Other  thoroughfares 
were  surveyed  and  opened  from  time  to  time,  and  all  are  kept  in  excel- 
lent condition. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  Crusoe  House,  one-half  mile 
east  of  Crusoe  Lake,  in  April,  1825,  and  David  Cushman  was  elected  the 
first  supervisor.  The  absence  of  the  early  town  records  renders  it  im. 
possible  to  give  the  other  officers  chosen  at  this  meeting  or  of  the  sub- 
sequent supervisors  until  1845.  The  supervisors  since  then  have  been 
as  follows : 

Sylvanus Thompson,  1845.  R.  M.  Evens,  1862-63. 

Nelson  Payn,  1846.  William  G.  Soule,  1864-65. 

Chauncey  T.  Ives,  1847-48.  William  R.  Stultz,  1866-71. 

Nelson  Payn,  1849.  Charles  Wood,  1872-74, 

Benajah  Abrams,  1850.  John  A.  Munson,  1875-78. 

Charles  D.  Haddon,  1851-52.  Amnion  S.  Farnum,  1879-83. 

Ebenezer  Fitch,  1853.  Alonzo  D.  Wood,  1884-86. 

Frank  Knapp,  1854.  John  A.  Munson,  1887-89. 

Benajah  Abrams,  1855.       -  E.  L.  Adams,  1890-92. 

James  M.  Servis,  1856-61.  Addison  P.  Smith,  1893-94. 

The  town  officers  for  1894  are:  Addison  P.  Smith,  supervisor;  Charles 
C.  Taylor,  town  clerk;  John  H.  Bixby,  W.  C.  Soule,  Charles  Reed,  H. 
C.  Rising,  justices  of  the  peace;  Ebenezer  Harrington,  highway  com- 
missioner; John  L.  Spoor  aud  Gustavus  Stuck,  overseers  of  the  poor; 
E.  M.  Clark,  George  Anderson,  H  O.  Bagley,  assessors;  Fred  M.  Had- 
don, collector. 

The  Wayne  County  Gazetteer  and  Directory  (1866)  states  that  Elias 
Converse  and  Joseph  Mosher  made  the  first  settlements  in  Savannah  in 
1812,  but  according  to  information  furnished  by  H.  H.  Wheeler,  of 
South  Butler,  and  printed  in  a  subsequent  publication,  it  is  evident  that 
settlers  were  living  within  the  borders  of  this  town  as  early  as  1808.  In 
that  year  Eli  Wheeler  visited  this  region,  and  in  1810  located  on  a  farm 
of  200  acres  in  Butler.  Stephen  Titus  was  living  in  Savannah,  three 
miles  east  of  Harrington's  Corners,  in  1808,  and  Noah  Starr  and  Eph- 


350  LANDMARKS   OF 

raim  Burch  were  residents  of  that  neighborhood  inl810.     Silas  Winans 

located  one-half  mile  east  of  Harrington's  as  early  as  1812. 

In  1811  Prentice  Palmer  moved  hither  from  Butler  to  care  for  the  then 
idle  establishment  of  the  old  Galen  Salt  Works.  He  was  originally  from 
Massachusetts,  and  in  1815  he  removed  to  the  town  line  one-half  mile 
west  of  South  Butler.  For  man)-  years  he  was  justice  of  the  peace,  con- 
stable, and  collector. 

Daniel  Harrington,  the  grandfather  of  the  late  resident  of  that  name, 
located  at  the  junction  of  the  Muskeeto  Point  and  Galen  roads  prior  to 
L815,  and  from  him  the  place  was  long  known  as  Harrington's  Corners. 
His  sons  were  John,  Nehemiah,  Theophilus,  Ira,  and  Peter.  The  same 
year  Noah  and  Horace  Peck  (Brothers),  Aaron  Hall,  and  Peter  Blasdell 
settled  on  the  south  side  of  the  State  road  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
town. 

The  first  settlers  between  Harrington's  Corners  and  the  old  Galen 
Salt  Works  were  Michael  Weatherwax  and  Job  Cushman  in  1818.  David, 
son  of  the  latter,  married  Poll}-  Ann,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Prentice 
Palmer,  and  died  in  town;  his  widow  married  John  Gorham,  and  their 
daughter  became  the  wife  of  George  Wilson,  who  settled  on  the  Cush- 
man homestead.  Orrin  Wellman,  whose  father,  Paul,  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  married  Hannah,  another  daughter  of  Mr.  Palmer,  and 
resided  on  lot  39  under  a  lease  from  Jacob  Winchell.  This  property  for 
many  years  was  celebrated  in  the  annals  of  litigation.  About  L820 
Charles  Clapp  settled  on  a  farm  south  of  Mr.  Weatherwax,  and  Howell 
Bidwell,  his  brother-in  law,  on  the  place  subsequently  occupied  by  By- 
ron G.  Clark.  Horace  Bidwell,  a  brother  of  Howell,  located  therewith 
him  and  married  Rhoda,  youngest  daughter  of  Paul  Wellman. 

Joseph  Mosher  and  George  Yredenburgh  settled  on  the  road  from 
Weatherwax 's  to  Crusoe  Creek  in  1812.  From  a  landing  place  at  the 
junction  of  this  road  and  the  creek  there  was  prosecuted  for  many  years 
a  small  commercial  business  in  row  boats.  Mr.  Mosher  became  well 
known  for  his  numerous  swarms  of  bees. 

Settlements  on  Crusoe  Island,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town,  com- 
menced about  as  early  as  those  already  mentioned.  Smith  Ward  came 
in  by  water  from  Montezuma  to  May's  Point,  and  thence  to  a  locality 
on  the  Montezuma  turnpike  since  known  as  Penstock.  In  1818  Nehe- 
miah Bunyea  settled  near  the  north  end  of  the  island  and  erected  a 
dwelling  on  the  site  of  the  old  Soule  homestead;  in  1819  George  Vre- 
denburgh  and  Elias  Converse  (father-in-law  of  Bunyea)  moved  over. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  851 

Mr.  Vredenburgh  afterward  married  Sally,  youngest  daughter  of  Mr. 
Converse,  and  to  them  a  child  was  born,  being  respectively  the  first 
marriage  and  the  first  birth  in  town.  Mr.  Bunyea  finally  moved  to  the 
Kingsbury  farm  and  built  thereon  the  first  barn  on  the  island;  he  event- 
ually went  to  Montezuma,  where  he  erected  for  Dr.  Clark  and  Jethro 
Wood  the  two  conspicuous  dwellings,  long  since  landmarks,  and  for  the 
Montezuma  Turnpike  Company  the  first  bridges  across  the  Cayuga  and 
Canandaigua  outlets.  His  father-in-law,  Dr.  William  May,  from  whom 
May's  Point  was  named,  was  the  first  physician  at  Montezuma. 

Titus  Lockwood,  a  one-legged  Revolutionary  soldier,  settled  on  the 
State  road  in  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  town  in  1819;  about 
1825  he  sold  to  John  M.  Cobb.  Jerry  Mead  came  in  from  Cayuga  county 
about  1819,  settled  south  of  Lockwood,  and  died  a  few  years  later.  His 
successor  was  John  Caywood,  who  came  from  Galen  and  who  died  on 
the  place,  aged  102  years. 

In  1820  Leonard  Ferris,  with  his  father,  Caleb,  and  mother,  Judah, 
and  Richard  R)^an,  his  brother-in-law,  settled  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  town,  and  Amos  Winnegar  on  the  farm  adjoining  that  of  Silas  Winan. 
Henry  Winnegar,  a  brother  of  Amos,  located  about  1830  on  the  place 
afterward  occupied  by  his  son  James  R.  In  1822  Philip  Cook  located 
west  of  Crusoe  Lake  and  about  the  same  year  Henry  O'Neil  settled  near 
by.  In  1827  James  Stiles  came  in,  at  which  time  Medad  Blasdell,  son 
of  Peter,  sr.,  and  Samuel  Gilbert  were  residents.  The  latter  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Hubbard  Hamlin,  and  he  by  his  son-in-law,  Mansfield  B. 
Winnegar.  Ashley  Hogan,  Russell  Palmer  (brother  of  Prentice),  and 
Luther  Chapin  became  settlers  between  1823  and  1825.  Russell  Pal- 
mer was  active  in  town  affairs  and  served  as  supervisor,  justice  of  the 
peace,  etc.     Mr.  Chapin  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1828. 

On  a  road  leading  from  the  turnpike  across  the  island  to  Crusoe  Creek 
Henry  Taylor  built  a  house  in  1824,  near  where  the  Central  depot  now 
stands.  He  died  in  October,  1893.  About  the  same  year  George  F. 
Torry,  Channcey  Ives,  and  Garry  Burnham  settled  in  the  neighborhood. 

In  the  northwest  part  of  the  town  Edward  Bivins  and  Benjamin  Hall, 
brothers-in-law,  settled  in  1818;  about  1819  Richard  Rice  started  an 
ashery  in  Savannah  on  the  old  State  road  at  a  point  then  called  "  In- 
dian Camp."  Thomas  Hall,  from  Saratoga  county,  the  father  of  Joshua, 
Benjamin,  Elias,  Stephen  and  Peter,  was  an  early  settler.  Another 
Thomas  Hall,  a  Baptist  preacher  from  Junius,  Seneca  county,  held  the 
first  religious  services  in  the  town.      He  was  father  in-law  of  Richard 


352  LANDMARKS   OF 

Rice,  and  the  successors  to  his  homestead  were  John  Sedore,  William 
Robinson,  John  Gorham,  and  William  Reed.  A  Mr.  Stackus  erected  a 
log  house  on  the  west  side  of  Fort  Hill  at  an  early  day  and  got  out  quan- 
tities of  oak  staves  and  heading  for  market.  Royal  Torrrey,  father  of 
George  F.,  built  the  celebrated  Crusoe  House  in  1824;  it  stood  north  of 
Crusoe  Creek  and  one-half  mile' east  of  Crusoe  Lake,  on  the  Savannah 
and  South  Butler  road  and  for  many  years  was  the  only  tavern  in  the 
town.  In  it  were  held  the  earlier  town  meetings  and  the  public  gath- 
ings.  When  the  railroad  was  completed  in  1854  it  ceased  its  career  of 
usefulness.  Mr.  Torrey  built  the  first  saw  mill  in  town  in  1824,  a  mile 
east  of  his  hotel. 

To  the  foregoing  list  of  early  settlers  may  be  added  the  names  of 
Benjamin  Seeley,  John  Green,  Abner  and  Ezra  Brockway,  Henry 
Myers,  Sampson  McBane,  Alexander  and  Martin  Lamb,  and  John 
Brockway. 

Prominent  among  those  now  living  are  Albert  Williams,  Jacob  and 
Abner  Wurtz,  George,  George  A.,  and  Ebenezer  Farrand  (sons  of  B. 
C,  who  died  in  May.  1894),  Benjamin  F.  Gage,  John  H.  and  Charles 
G.  Wood,  Richard  S.  and  John  T.  Crandall,  James  B.  Wiley  (ex-super- 
intendent of  the  poor),  John  B.  and  Henry  Carris,  Rev.  Philip  Swift 
(brother  of  the  late  Rev.  Nathan  M. ),  George  Safford  (for  many  years  the 
conductor  of  the  only  Cheddar  cheese  factory  in  the  county,  and  which  is 
now  used  for  an  evaporator),  Simeon  Titus  (contractor),  Rev.  D.  D. 
Davis,  Jacob  S.,  George  W. ,  and  Frank  Taylor  (sons  of  Henry),  Wel- 
ling C.  and  Ernest  C.  Soule  (sons  of  William  G.),  Herbert  C.  Soule 
(son  of  Rowland),  George  Lockwood,  Ebenezer  Harrington,  Aaron  F. 
and  Andrew  S.  Hall,  O'Connell  Ferris,  James  M.  Hadden,  John  A. 
Munson  (ex-supervisor,  ex-assemblyman,  and  son  of  Archibald),  Ensign 
L.  Adams,  Amnion  S.  Farnuim  (clerk  of  the  board  of  supervisors), 
Horace  W.  and  Addison  R.  Smith,  Hutchings  E.  Newton  (proprietor 
of  the  Newton  House),  Adelbert  Hungcrford,  Arthur  W.  Evans,  Dr. 
W.  H.  Sweeting,  D.  J.  Gotten,  Adam  and  Sylvester  Secor,  H.  Owen 
Bagley,  Norman  and  George  D.  Springstead,  Jeduthan  E.  Tallman,  E. 
M.  Clark,  and  Benjamin  South  wick. 

Moses  Cook,  a  son  of  the  pioneer,  Peter,  died  here  in  September, 
L891.  Rev.  Nathan  R.  Swift,  born  in  1821,  settled  on  a  farm  in  Savan- 
nah soon  after  L841,  and  died  there  in  December,  L890.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  and  president  of  Adrian  College,  of  which  he  was  long 
treasurer  and  for  twenty-five  years  a  trustee.      F.  M.  Johnson,  a  native 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  353 

of  this  town,  died  here  in  1891.  Dr.  W.  H.  Smith,  father  of  Horace 
W.  and  Addison  P.,  and  for  twenty-five  years  a  practitioner  in  .Savan- 
nah village,  died  in  California  in  1891;  Sylvester  A.  Farnum,  father  of 
Hon.  A.  S.,  died  here  in  February,  1892. 

In  1858  Savannah  had  951  males  and  811  female  inhabitants,  343 
dwellings,  349  families,  212  freeholders,  and  11,251  acres  improved 
land.  The  real  estate  was  assessed  at  $455,362  and  the  personal  prop- 
erty at  $8,000.  In  1890  the  population  was  1,788,  or  sevent3^-nine  less 
than  in  1880.  In  1893  the  real  estate  was  assessed  at  $623,690  (equal- 
ized $636,500);  village  and  mill  property  $127,679  (equalized  $115,- 
824);  railroads  and  telegraphs  $257,259  (equalized  $233,120);  personal 
property  $246,425.  Schedule  of  taxes  1893:  Contingent  fund,  $1,- 
222,19;  poor  fund,  $300;  roads  and  bridges,  $550;  school  tax,  $1,074.16; 
county  tax,  $2,570.06;  State  tax,  $1,416.24;  State  insane,  $365.36;  dog 
tax,  $74.  Total  tax  levied,  $8,135.88;  rate  per  cent.,  .00710134.  The 
town  has  two  election  districts  and  in  1893  polled  367  votes. 

During  the  Rebellion  the  town  contributed  158  volunteers  to  the 
Union  forces.  Its  obligations  in  that  long  conflict  were  cheerfully  and 
promptly  met,  and  its  citizens  may  well  feel  proud  of  Savannah's  ex- 
cellent war  record. 

The  first  school  house  in  Savannah  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Evans  Cemetery  as  early  as  1816,  and  the  first  teacher  therein 
was  Loren  Brown,  who  received  five  dollars  per  month.  On  what  was 
then  Big  Hill,  where  now  stands  an  old  orchard,  a  log  school  house 
was  built  in  1822;  the  first  teachers  in  it  were  Maria  Westcott  and 
Austin  Roe.  In  Savannah  village  a  union  school  was  established  sev- 
eral years  since  by  the  consolidation  of  two  districts,  and  a  brick  school 
house  erected  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  In  1892  this  was  replaced  by  the 
present  frame  structure  at  an  expense  of  $8,000;  this  was  opened  in 
February,  1893.  It  has  four  departments,  a  library  of  500  volumes, 
and  employs  five  teachers,  the  present  principal  being  Howard  N.  Tol- 
man.  Although  nominal^  a  graded  institution,  it  affords  all  the  privi- 
leges of  a  High  school  and  is  governed  accordingly.  It  was  placed 
under  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  State  mainly  through  the  efforts  of 
C.  G.  Plumb,  M.  D.,  now  of  Red  Creek.  The  trustees  elected  in 
August,  1893,  were  D.  J.  Cotten,  president;  J.  A.  Munson,  secretary; 
and  E.  M.  Clark.  The  town  has  twelve  school  districts  with  a  school 
house  in  each,  employing  seventeen  teachers,  during  the  year  1892-93. 
The  number  of  children  attending  these  schools  is  458.     The  school 

45 


354  LANDMARKS   OF 

buildings  and  sites  are  valued  at  $16,7(30;  assessed  valuation  of  districts 
$1,248,646;  money  received  from  the  vState,  $2,133.23;  amount  raised 
by  local  tax,  $11,217.99. 

The  first  saw  mill  has  previously  been  mentioned.  Following  that 
came  another  on  Crusoe  Creek,  near  the  plank  road  crossing,  which 
was  erected  by  Kendrick  Bixby.  It  was  operated  by  steam,  and  about 
1850  was  sold  to  Othniel  Palmer,  son  of  Prentice,  in  whose  possession 
it  burned.  A.  Wise  built  a  steam  saw  mill  near  the  west  town  line, 
with  which  he  converted  a  fine  grove  of  hemlock  on  the  farm  of  Charles 
A.  Rose  into  lumber.  Archibald  Munson  built  another  saw  mill  near 
Fort  Hill  and  sawed  up  a  large  quantity  of  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  and 
whitewood  timber.  Gideon  Ramsdell  erected  one  near  the  site  of  the 
old  Galen  Salt  Works  some  twenty-five  years  since,  which  facilitated 
his  extensive  lumber  operations  for  the  railroad.  A  saw  mill  near 
South  Butler  was  the  last  one  of  the  kind  in  town.  It  was  built  by 
Samuel  B.  Tucker  and  O.  H.  Wheeler  in  1839,  and  finally  passed  into 
the  possession  of  Bradway  &  Crofoot,  who  conducted  it  several  years. 
They  also  carried  on  a  large  business  in  manufacturing  shingles  and 
cooperage.  Capt.  William  B.  Dodge  built  and  conducted  at  the  depot 
in  Savannah  village  a  flouring  mill,  cider  mill,  saw  mill,  and  wheel- 
barrow manufactory;  these  were  operated  about  three  years,  when  they 
burned.  Hiram  Dieffendorf,  about  1864,  erected  a  large  barrel,  stave 
and  heading  manufactory  near  the  depot,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire 
in  the  fall  of  1866;  it  was  rebuilt  and  soon  burned  again. 

Hill  &  Munson's  flouring  mill  west  of  the  depot,  was  built  by  Hill  & 
Bradley  in  1889.  In  February,  1890,  John  A.  Munson  purchased  Mr. 
Bradley's  interest.  This  contains  the  full  roller  process,  and  is  the  only 
grist  mill  in  town.  Mr.  Munson  also  carries  on  the  coal,  grain,  and 
lumber  business  that  was  established  by  his  father,  Archibald,  in  1858, 
and  which  was  conducted  by  the  latter  until  his  death  in  December, 
is;:;. 

Savannah  Village. —  This  is  the  only  village,  post-office,  or  railroad 
station  in  the  town,  and  its  corporate  limits  include  nearly  the  whole  of 
military  lots  64-  and  65,  of  township  27.  These  lots  contain  600  acres 
each,  and  were  set  apart  and  reserved  for  the  support  of  the  gospel. 
When  the  railroad  was  completed  and  the  depot  built  in  1854  this  place 
comprised  only  Michael  Curry's  grocery  store  and  Henry  Taylor's  resi- 
dence. In  1867  it  was  legally  incorporated  and  the  first  officers  elected 
were:    Board    of    Trustees,    Hiram  Dieffendorf    (president),    Peter  J. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  855 

Powell,  Nicholas  C.  Vaught,  and  Patrick  McCullum ;  police  justice, 
Joseph  Renyon ;  assessors,  William  R.  Stults,  John  Evans,  Horace 
Wadsworth;  collector,  Hezekiah  Stults;  clerk  and  treasurer/ Edward 
Luce ;  street  commissioner  and  police  constable,  M,  Quackenbush. 
The  succeeding  presidents  have  been: 

W.  E.  Smith,  1868,  Charles  Wood,  1876. 

Peter  J.  Powell,  1869-70,  Records  inaccessible,  1877  to  1885, 

Charles  Wood,  1871,  A.  Gregg,  1886, 

Cyrus  Andrews,  1872,  C.  B.  Jepson,  1887-88, 

Delos  Betz,  1873,  Ammon  S.  Farnum,  1889-91, 

Andrew  J.  Holdridge,  1874,  A.  S.  Hall,  1892-93, 

Charles  H.  Hamlin,  1875,  A.  S.  Farnum,  1894. 

The  village  officers  for  1894  are:  A.  S.  Farnum,  (president),  Horace 
W.  Smith,  Ensign  L.  Adams,  Charles  B.  Jepson,  trustees ;  O.  Clate 
Silver,  clerk;  E.  M.  Crandall,  collector;  Hiram  Ellis,  police  justice; 
William  H.  Fitch,  police  constable ;  L.  C.  Sherman,  treasurer;  J.  Wy- 
man  Joslyn,  street  commissioner;  Dr.  William  H.  Phelps,  Andrew  J. 
Holdridge,  John  A.  Munson,  assessors. 

Archibald  Munson  settled  on  a  farm  here  in  1825  and  erected  the  sec- 
ond house  on  the  site  of  the  village;  Henry  Taylor,  previously  men- 
tioned, preceded  him  in  1824.  The  first  regular  store  was  opened  by 
John  Evans  in  1854  near  the  railroad ;  in  1855  he  went  into  partnership 
with  R.  W.  Evans  and  moved  to  a  larger  building  erected  by  Winans 
Winnegar,  where  business  was  afterward  prosecuted  by  R.  W.  Evans 
alone,  William  R.  Stults,  and  W.  G.  Smith.  The  Savannah  Hotel  was 
built  by  Archibald  Munson  in  1858  and  opened  by  Bela  Smith  and  A  J. 
Squires,  lessees,  February  20,  1859.  This  subsequently  had  several 
landlords.  The  first  blacksmith  shop  was  built  and  kept  by  Joseph 
Remer  in  1854.  Putnam  &  Co.  's  barrel  factory  was  started  by  them  in 
1893.  In  1888  A.  J.  Conroe  began  the  manufacture  of  a  Chinese  laun- 
dry bluing;  in  October,  1893,  the  business  was  sold  to  C.  H.  Betts,  of 
Wolcott,  who  organized  the  present  Consolidated  Bluing  Company.  A 
few  years  since  the  manufacturing  of  flag  salt,  a  proprietary  medicine, 
was  commenced ;  this  was  developed  into  quite  an  extensive  business 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  W.  H.  Sweeting.  Besides  these  the  village  con- 
tains six  general  stores,  one  hardware  store,  a  jewelry  store,  two  hotels 
and  liveries,  two  newspapers  and  printing  offices,  a  meat  market,  two 
coal,  lumber,  and  produce  dealers,  one  millinery  store,  a  grist  mill,  two 
churches,  a  graded  school,  three  physicians,  the  usual  shops,  etc.,  and 
a  population  of  505. 


356  LANDMARKS   OP 

The  Savannah  Fire  Company  No.  1,  was  organized  July  26,  1887,  and 
reorganized  February  6, 1893.  It  is  equipped  with  a  hand  engine,  hose 
cart,  ladders,  hose,  etc.  The  officers  for  1894  are:  Michael  McGinniss, 
president;  George  W.  Cooper,  vice-president;  O.  Clate  Silver,  secretary; 
Horace  W.  Smith,  treasurer;  W.  C.  Soule,  chief  engineer;  D.  B.  Remer 
and  Addison  P.  Smith,  foremen. 

May's  Point,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  contains  a  store  and  a  half 
dozen  dwellings.  A  half  mile  north  is  the  jewelry  establishment  of 
William  Farrand. 

Churches. — The  Presbyterian  church,  of  Savannah,  was  organized  by 
Revs.  Wilson  and  Young,  from  Lyons,  in  1864,  in  the  district  school 
house,  with  seventeen  constituent  members.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev. 
George  W.  Warner  and  the  first  elders  and  deacons  -were  Moses  Treat 
and  John  North.  Their  house  of  worship  was  built  at  a  cost  of  about 
$5,000,  and  was  dedicated  August  18,  1864,  by  Rev.  Horace  Eaton, 
D.D.,  of  Palmyra.  The  first  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  was 
Archibald  Munson,  and  the  last  pastor  of  the  church  was  Rev.  E.  B. 
Fisher.  The  society  finally  grew  weaker  in  members  and  influence,  and 
is  now  virtually  disbanded.  The  edifice  though  still  owned  in  the  name 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  was  converted  into  a  cold  storage  in  1893. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  Savannah,  was  organized  about 
L861  and  their  frame  edifice  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  November, 
L870.  This  church  owes  its  foundation  largely  to  Archibald  Munson, 
who  contributed  $1,000  towards  the  lot  and  building,  and  who  was  other- 
wise influential  in  sustaining  and  promoting  its  interests.  The  society's 
parsonage  was  erected  in  1883-84  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,500.  The  pres- 
ent pastor  is  Rev.  G.  E.  Campbell. 

St.  Patrick's  church  (Roman  Catholic),  of  Savannah  was  built  in  1875- 
76,  and  cost  about  $2, 500.  Fulfilling  the  wishes  of  Mrs.  Michael  C.  Curry 
the  lot  on  which  it  stands  was  donated  to  the  parish  by  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  Andrew  McDade,  of  Rochester.  The  church  is  in  charge  of  the 
resident  priest  in  Clyde  and  is  served  from  there.  It  owes  its  founda- 
tion to  the  Rev.  P.  W.  O'Connell,  D.D.,  assisted  by  Edward  Flinn. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  357 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  ARCADIA. 

Arcadia1  was  set  off  from  the  western  part  of  Lyons  on  the  loth  of 
February,  1825.  It  originally  comprised  a  portion  of  the  old  district  of 
Soclus  (which  see),  from  which  the  town  of  Lyons  was  formed  March 
1,  1811.  It  lies  immediately  west  of  the  southern  center  of  Wayne 
county,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Sodus,  on  the  east  by  Lyons, 
-£>n  the  south  by  Ontario  county,  and  on  the  west  by  the  counties  of  On- 
tario and  the  towns  of  Palmyra  and  Marion.  The  town  has  an  area  of 
30,914  acres,  and  lies  wholly  within  the  bounds  of  the  old  Pultney 
estate,  of  which  Capt.  Charles  Williamson  was  the  local  agent  or  pat- 
entee. 

The  surface  is  diversified  by  drift  ridges,  basins,  and  valleys,  and 
was  originally  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber.  The  soil  is  very 
fertile  and  easily  cultivated,  being  mainly  a  sandy  or  gravelly  loam  ad- 
mixed with  more  or  less  clay.  Gypsum  exists  in  the  southwest  and 
marl  near  the  center.  Outside  of  Newark  village  the  chief  industry  is 
agriculture,  in  which  the  town  has  ever  maintained  a  foremost  position. 
Wheat,  oats,  corn,  barley,  hay,  apples,  small  fruits,  tobacco,  potatoes, 
vegetables,  peppermint,  etc.,  are  grown  extensively  and  with  profit. 
In  the  production  of  peppermint  and  the  shipment  of  oil  the  town  is 
one  of  the  most  important  in  the  United  States. 

The  principal  stream  is  Ganargwa  Creek,  which  flows  easterly 
through  the  town  and  receives  a  few  small  tributaries.  Trout  Run, 
flowing  northward  through  Marbletown  and  a  corner  of  Newark  vil- 
lage, courses  thence  easterly  into  Lyons.  In  1799  the  Legislature 
passed  an  act  making  Ganargwa  (Mud)  Creek  a  navigable  stream,  and 
dams  could  not  be  constructed  without  locks.  This  afforded  the  earli- 
est communications  with  eastern  markets,  and  until  the  completion  of 

1  According  to  Pausanias,  an  eminent  Greek  geographer  and  historian,  the  word 
Arcadia  is  derived  from  the  eponymous  hero  Areas,  the  son  of  Calisto,  and  in  Greece 
is  applied  to  the  largest  county  in  the  Peloponnesus.  Why  or  by  whom  the  name 
was  given  to  this  town  has  never  been  definitely  determined. 


358  LANDMARKS   OF 

the  Erie  Canal  in  1825  was  the  principal  route  of  transportation.  The 
opening  of  the  canal  had  a  marked  influence  upon  the  development  and 
subsequent  growth  of  this  section,  and  especially  imparted  to  Newark 
a  decided  impetus. 

In  1854  the  direct  line  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  was  com- 
pleted and  opened,  and  assured  to  the  town  a  future  that  has  more  than 
fulfilled  expectations.  In  1852  the  Sodus  Point  and  Southern  (now  the 
Sodus  branch  of  the  Northern  Central)  Railroad  was  incorporated,  a 
route  was  surveyed,  and  grading  was  commenced,  but  in  1857  the  work 
was  suspended.  In  1870  the  work  was  revived,  the  road  was  com- 
pleted, and  the  first  train  passed  over  it  July  4,  1872.  It  has  stations 
at  Newark,  Fairville,  and  Zurich.  To  aid  in  the  construction  of  this  the 
town  was  bonded  September  1,  1870,  for  $122,000,  of  which  sum  $114,- 
400  remained  unpaid  January  1,  1804.  The  railroad  commissioners  are 
Clark  Phillips,  J.  G.  Pitts,  and  Peter  R.  Sleight.  The  West  Shore  (orig- 
inally the  New  York,  West  Shore  and  Buffalo)  Railroad  was  completed 
and   formally  opened  January  1,  1885. 

The  first  road  leading  to  Phelps  was  laid  out  from  Newark  south- 
ward to  the  outlet,  and  the  earliest  effort  to  improve  the  highways  was 
the  building  of  bridges  across  the  Ganargwa.  In  1804  a  bridge  was 
erected  at  the  "Excelsior"  mills  of  Howell  &  Reeves,  and  others  fol- 
lowed until  the  construction  of  the  plank  road  over  the  flat,  which  was 
done  by  subscription,  the  prime  movers  being  Messrs.  Bartle,  Miller, 
and  Blackmar.  It  was  known  as  the  Newark  and  Sodus  road,  and  Mr. 
Bartle  was  president  of  the  company.  Travel  avoided  it,  however,  to 
escape  the  toll  and  the  road  was  given  to  the  town.  In  1825  forty-nine 
road  districts  were  formed  and  as  many  overseers  were  chosen. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  William  Popple's  coffee  house  in 
Newark  on  April  5,  1825,  and  the  following  officers  were  elected: 
James  P.  Bartle,  supervisor;  Theodore  Partridge,  town  clerk;  Heze- 
kiah  Dunham,  Joseph  Luce,  Andrew  Finch,  assessors;  Hiram  Sover- 
hill  and  Joseph  Mills,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Henry  Cronise,  Edmund 
T.  Aldrich,  Durfee  Sherman,  commissioners  of  highways;  Hiram  So- 
verhill,  William  Terry,  James  McCain,  constables;  Caleb  P.  Lippett, 
Artemus  Doane,  John  L.  Kipp,  commissioners  of  common  schools; 
George  W.  Scott,  Artemus  Doane,  Joseph  A.  Miller,  inspectors  of  com- 
mon schools;  Samuel  Soverhill,  pound  master.  The  keeping  of  the 
town  poor,  being  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  was  awarded  to  Abraham 
Loper  for  $199;  the  next  year  it  was  given  to  Peter  Foster  for  $14:!, 


^y^ux^y- 


WAYNE   COUNTY 


359 


and  in  1827  to  Mr.  Loper  again  for  $114.  May  25,  1825,  Rufus  A.  Roys 
was  chosen  marshal  to  enumerate  the  legal  voters,  and  on  November 
7,  Truman  Hart  received  357  votes  for  senator  and  Ambrose  Hall,  333 
and  A.  Kipp  341  for  members  of  assembly.  The  following-  have  served 
as  supervisors : 


James  P.  Bartle,  1825-27, 
George  W.  Scott,  1828, 
John  L.  Cuyler,  1829-30, 
Joseph  A.  Miller,  1831-32, 
Edmund  B.  Bill,  1833, 
Esbon  Blackmar,  1834, 
James  P.  Bartle,  1835, 
James  Miller,  jr.,  1836-37, 
James  P.  Bartle,  1838, 
Silas  Peirson,   1839, 
Vincent  G.  Barney,  1840, 
Joseph  A.  Miller,   1841, 
Ezra  Pratt,  1842, 
Abraham  Fairchild,   1843, 
Perry  G.  Price,  1844, 
George  H.  Middleton,  1845, 
George  C.  Mills,  1846, 
George  W.  Scott,  1847, 
George  Howland,  1848, 
James  S.  Crosby,  1849, 
Clark  Mason,  1850, 
Ezra  Pratt,  1851, 
Esbon  Blackmar,  1852, 
James  D.  Ford,  1853, 
Albert  F.  Cressey,  1854, 


James  D.  Ford,  1855-59, 

Elon  St.  John,  1860-62, 

Artemas  W.  Hyde,  1863-65, 

Elon  St.  John,  1866, 

Henry  Cronise,  jr.,  1867, 

George  H.  Price,  1868, 

Tie  vote  between  James  W.  Ford 

and  Silas  S.  Peirson,  1869, 
Oliver  Crothers,  1870, 
Charles  W.  Stuart,  1871-72, 
Jacob  Lusk,  1873. 
Edwin  K.  Burnham,  1874, 
James  H.  Miller,  1875-76, 
George  H.  Price,  1877-79, 
James  Jones,  1880, 
J.  Dupha  Reeves,  1881-82, 
E.  K.  Burnham,  1883-84, 
W.  H.  Nicholoy,  1885, 
Henry  J.  Peirson,  1886-87, 
Carlos  A.  Stebbins,  1888, 
J.  Dupha,  Reeves,  1889-94, 
Henry  J.  Peirson  resigned  in  the 
fall  of  1887  and  E.  K.  Burnham 
was  appointed  to  fill  the  unex- 
pired term. 


The  town  officers  for  1894  are  :  J.  Dupha  Reeves,  supervisor;  T. 
Davis  Prescott,  clerk ;  Clarence  Conklin,  B.  C.  Williams,  R.  F.  Randall, 
and  Dr.  J.  W.  Barnes,  justices  of  the  peace;  Emor  E.  Burleigh,  Richard 
Van  Dusen,  and  Charles  O.  Smith,  assessors;  William  H.  H.  Hebbins, 
collector;  Christopher  C.  Lusk,  overseer  of  the  poor ;  Charles  J.  Schwartz, 
highway  commissioner;  Harvey  E.  Shurtleff,  Oliver  A.  Eggleston,  and 
Hanson  A.  Gardner,  constables;  Godfrey  Geuthner,  game  constable. 

More  than  one  hundred  years  have  passed  since  the  first  white  settle- 
ment was  made  within  the  present  limits  of  Arcadia.  Time  and  toil 
have  transformed  a  primitive  wilderness  into  productive  fields  and  pleas- 
ant homes.  The  rude  log  cabins  have  long  since  been  superseded  b)^ 
spacious  residences,  and  the  little  church  and  school  house  have  given 


360  LANDMARKS   OF 

place  to  more  commodious  institutions.  Of  the  pioneers  none  remains 
to  recount  the  hardships  and  privations  of  frontier  life,  but  a  few  of 
their  children  and  man)'  of  their  grandchildren  still  link  the  past  to  the 
present  and  tell  the  tales  of  the  early  fireside,  incidents  ever  dear  to  the 
heart  of  the  long-time  citizen. 

The  first  settlers  were  Joseph  Winters  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  who 
located  near  the  Ganargwa  in  the  west  part  of  Arcadia  in  1791.  Win- 
ters was  a  surveyor,  and  was  useful  in  running  the  earlier  lot  lines 
and  roads.  He  settled  on  the  farm  subsequently  owned  by  Demos- 
thenes Smith,  while  Franklin  took  up  his  residence  near  the  Palmyra 
border.  A  child  of  the  latter  died  in  1792,  being  the  first  white 
death  in  town.  Arnold  Franklin  either  came  with  the  two  just  men- 
tioned or  very  soon  afterward,  and  located  at  Jessup's  Corners.  His 
improvement  was  finally  purchased  by  Hiram  Soverhill.  In  1793 
George  Culver,  son  of  Moses,  came  hither  and  was  followed  two  years 
later  by  the  Long  Island  colony  detailed  in  the  chapter  devoted  to 
Palmyra. 

December  16,  1709,  Samuel  Soverhill  took  from  Captain  Williamson 
a  deed  for  140  acres  of  land,  which  has  ever  since  been  known  as  the 
Soverhill  homestead,  and  for  which  he  paid  $589.50  in  wheat  delivered 
at  Geneva  at  fifty  cents  per  bushel.  The  farm  lot  was  surveyed  Octo- 
ber 25,  1790.  Mr.  Soverhill  came  on  foot  from  New  Jersey,  and  the 
same  year  built  a  log  house  on  his  purchase.  The  next  spring  he 
brought  his  wife  and  three  children  hither  on  horseback.  Being  a 
blacksmith  he  built  a  small  shop  and  made  axes,  scythes,  and  other 
edged  tools  and  plows.  About  1812  he  built  a  dam  and  a  saw  mill  on 
the  creek  and  manufactured  lumber  until  water  failed  and  timber  be- 
came scarce.  He  built  the  first  barn  in  the  neighborhood  and  probably 
in  the  town ;  it  stood  on  the  site  of  the  orchard  lot,  from  which  it  was 
moved  and  finally  demolished.  The  frame  was  hewed  and  the  oak 
shingles  were  four  feet  in  length.  Mr.  Soverhill  died  in  1819  and 
his  wife  in  18GG,  both  on  the  old  homestead.  Their  son,  Hiram 
Soverhill,  born  October  17,  1800,  was  the  first  white  male  child  born  in 
the  town,  and  is  still  living  here.  Joel  Soverhill,  another  son,  occupies 
the  original  farm. 

During  these  years  wild  beasts  were  a  constant  menace  to  the  early 
settlers.  Little  stock  was  kept,  and  these  were  closely  guarded.  Upon 
the  fiat  a  part)-  of  Indians  came  annually  and  pitched  their  rude  brush- 
tents,  and  here  they  hunted  and  fished,  and,  visiting  the   settlers,  de- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  361 

maiided  bread.  They  were  fed  by  the  settlers' wives,  who  feared  to 
offend  them.  As  settlement  increased,  game  and  fish  grew  scarce, 
and  they  left  for  more  promising  localities. 

Simeon  Burnett,  a  bachelor  and  a  hat  maker,  lived  near  Soverhill, 
and  after  erecting  a  log  house  sold  out  and  removed.  Ira,  Eben,  and 
Phineas  Austin,  brothers,  settled  on  adjoining  farms  which  their  father 
had  purchased  for  them,  and  upon  which  they  were  succeeded  by  J. 
and  G.  G.  Austin.  Henry  Cronise  and  Henry  Lambright  came  here 
from  Maryland  with  a  number  of  slaves.  The  former  settled  north  of 
the  creek,  and  the  latter  south.  Henry  Cronise  is  said  to  have  owned 
the  first  reaper  in  town.  A  man  named  Beatty  joined  Cronise  on  the 
west.  John  D.  Robinson  bought  600  acres  on  Ganargwa  Creek  and 
divided  the  tract  among  his  sons,  Peter,  John,  and  Harry.  The  latter 
finally  sold  to  the  Crosbys,  who'  failed  to  make  their  payments,  and 
gave  way  to  Paul  Reeves,  who  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Jacob  H. 
John  Robinson  died  here  and  a  part  of  his  farm  passed  to  Joel  Sover- 
hill. Peter  Robinson  sold  to  Aaron  Vandercarr.  Pliny  Foster  settled 
near  Soverhill,  but  finally  removed  to  Newark  and  died  there,  being 
succeeded  by  his  son,  Bailey  D.  Foster.  Samuel  Fairchild,  a  stone 
mason,  and  Silas  Paine  were  also  early  comers.  The  latter  was  a  noted 
fisherman  and  had  a  son  named  Hunter,  who  was  thrown  from  a  wagon 
and  instantly  killed.  A  daughter  of  Silas  Payne  became  the  wife  of 
James  Miller  and  inherited  the  farm  at  her  father's  death.  It  then 
passed  to  Milo  Galloway,  to  David  Jewell,  to  Artemus  W.  Hyde,  and 
to  Miles  Hyde. 

Artemus  W.  H3^de  was  a  doctor  by  profession,  but  a  tavern  keeper 
by  practice,  and  built  and  opened  an  inn  at  Hydeville,  a  place  that 
took  his  name.  He  followed  this  business  during  his  life,  making  his 
hostelry  a  favorite  resort.  He  bought  farms  around  him  and  became 
a  large  land  owner.  The  settlement  has  acquired  considerable  noto- 
riety as  the  birthplace  of  modern  spiritualism.  John  Fox,  with  his 
wife  and  five  children,  rented  a  house  and  shop  here  and  followed  his 
trade  of  blacksmith.  The  parents  were  reputed  honest,  industrious 
people.  On  the  night  of  March  31,  1849,  two  daughters,  Margaret  and 
Catherine,  and  their  niece,  Elizabeth  Fish,  claimed  they  heard  mys- 
terious rappings,  and  a  system  of  communication  devised  by  the  mother 
led  to  the  revelation  that  one  John  Bell  had  killed  a  peddler  and  buried 
his  body  in  the  cellar.  People  gathered  in  large  numbers  and  discussed 
the  rappings,  which  were  continued;    and  the  girls,  emboldened  by 

46 


362  LANDMARKS   OF 

their  success,  removed  to  Rochester  in  May  and  gave  public  exhibi- 
tions. These  were  widely  reported  and  took  the  name  of  the  celebrated 
"  Rochester  rappings." 

Other  early  settlers  were  Nathaniel  Reeves,  father  of  Samuel  and 
Harmon;  Thomas  Crandall,  who  introduced  grain  cradles  into  the 
town;  Caleb  Tibbetts  and  John  and  Joseph  Tibbetts;  Joseph  Riggs; 
two  Dutchmen  named  Rettman  and  Vaninwagen ;  James  M.  Stever, 
near  Fairville,  who  also  had  an  ashery,  and  finally  sold  to  John  Nichols, 
a  carpenter;  Elisha  Avery,  who  was  succeeded  by  Newton  Clark;  and 
John  Chambers,  Nathaniel  Avery,  and  Jesse  Owen. 

John  Welcher  came  from  New  Jersey  in  1798  and  located  north  of 
Jessup's  Corners.  He  had  fifty  acres,  and  eventually  became  a  wealthy 
farmer.  Ezekiel  Cronise  came  in  the  same  year,  on  foot,  carrying  a 
rifle  that  passed  into  the  possession  of  J.  S.  Cronise,  of  Newark. 
Joseph  Fellows  was  an  early  settler  in  the  neighborhood,  as  were  also 
Benjamin  Johnson,  Ezra  Pratt,  Thomas  Rogers,  Jacob  Van  Etten,  and 
a  Mr.  Howard. 

Among  the  pioneers  south  of  the  Ganargwa  were  Lewis  Jessup,  Will- 
iam Stansell,  Rev.  Wesley  Benton,  Enoch  De  Kay  (a  miller),  and 
Jeremiah  Lusk.  Silas  Peirson  located  near  Simon  Burnett.  He  came 
from  Long  Island  and  was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  was  the  father  of' 
Henry  R.  Peirson  and  the  grandfather  of  Silas  S. 

Other  settlers  south  of  the  creek  were  Elder  Roe,  a  Baptist  preacher; 
Gaines  Howell;  Jacob  Hill,  who  built  a  cobblestone  house;  John  Nor- 
ris;  Jonathan  Fairchild,  a  brother-in-law  of  Joel  Hall;  Abraham  Rush; 
B.  Roberts;  O.  Tobias;  Mr.  Daniels,  the  father  of  Clark  and  James; 
Luke  Van  Dusen;  Ezra  H.  and  C.  C.  Chadwick;  M.  Trowbridge,  who 
died  almost  a  centenarian;  Messrs.  Phillips,  Robinson,  W.  Ridley,Aldrich, 
A.  and  E.  D.  Frisbie,  Abraham  Garlock  (father  of  Peter),  Daniel 
Smith,  Alanson  and  William  Fisk  (on  lot  57),  Lyman  Husted  (a  black- 
smith on  lot  87),  Sackett  L.  Husted,  Samuel  Gilky,  John  Starks,  Will- 
iam Tinney,  Preston  R.  Parker,  Chester  Burke,  the  Wolfroms,  the 
Van  Valkenburgs,  Simeon  Bryan,  Joseph  and  Caleb  Tibbetts  (whose 
property  finally  passed  to  Carlos  A.  Stebbins),  and  Luther  Sanford  and 
son. 

John  Phillips  came  to  Arcadia  from  Rensselaer  county,  N.  Y.,  in 
May,  ls:5f),  and  died  December  0,  1860.  Clark  Phillips,  his  son,  was 
born  August  5,  1817,  removed  to  this  town  with  his  parents,  and  be- 
came a  prominent  citizen.      He  was  county  superintendent  of  the  poor, 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  363 

postmaster  at  Newark,  and  commissioner  during-  the  construction  of 
the  Sodus  Point  and  Southern  Railroad,  of  which  he  became  a  director 
in  1871. 

Joseph  Caldwell  purchased  four  hundred  acres  of  timber  land,  built  a 
saw  mill,  and  manufactured  large  quantities  of  lumber.  John  Halstead 
also  had  a  saw  mill  and  carried  on  a  store.  H.  J.  Mesick,  an  early 
settler,  built  another  on  Whipspool  brook,  and  was  also  a  very  extensive 
farmer.  A  Mr.  Aldrich  operated  a  machine  shop  and  near  by  Warren 
S.  Bartle  had  a  furnace.  These  were  pioneer  industries  conducted  in 
the  vicinity  of  Marbletown,  where  Mr.  Stansell  also  had  an  early  saw 
mill. 

In  1803  Paul  Reeves  and  Gilbert  Howell  built  a  saw  mill  on  Ganargwa 
Creek  in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  and  in  1804  they  erected  a  grist  mill 
on  the  site  of  a  subsequent  structure.  James  Bennett  very  early  had  a 
saw  mill  at  Hydeville,  and  for  a  time  a  small  grist  mill  was  operated 
there.  Henry  Hyde  also  had  a  saw  mill  at  that  place.  In  1830  there 
were  four  distilleries  located  along  the  Ganargwra  and  operated  respect- 
ively by  Harrison,  Luce,  Sherman  and  Mansfield. 

Luther  Finley  became  one  of  the  earliest  mail  carriers  in  this  section. 
He  began  by  carrying  the  mails  from  Newark  to  Phelps,  and  ever  since 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad  was  opened  he  has  continued  the  busi- 
ness between  the  Newark  post-office  and  station  and  Arcadia.  He  owned 
and  ran  the  first  omnibus  in  the  village. 

Prominent  among  other  citizens  of  the  town  are  recalled  the  names 
of  Henry  R.  Peirson,  Marvin  I.  Greenwood,  Hon.  E.  K.  Burnham, 
Fletcher  Williams,  Joel  H.  Prescott  (formerly  a  merchant),  Lewis  J. 
Bryant,  Moses  F.  Hamm,  J.  Dupha  Reeves,  Byron  Thomas  (ex-county 
clerk),  Richard  P.  Groat  (ex-sheriff  and  ex-member  of  assembly),  Robert 
Turnbull  (a  Scotchman  who  died  in  September,  1889),  William  C.  Peir- 
son (who  died  July  26,  1889),  Samuel  Bloomer  (who  died  in  March, 
1889),  John  S.  Cronise  (a  retired  hardware  merchant),  J.  P.  Garlock 
(on  a  portion  of  the  old  Bryant  homestead),  William  H.  Hyde,  Orrin 
Blackmar,  Uriah  Hutchings  (who  died  in  1890),  John  Dillenbeck, 
Andrew  C.  Bartle,  M.  E.  Burnham  (a  merchant  who  died  in  November, 
1891),  D.  P.  Smith  (on  the  farm  his  father  settled  in  1836),  and  many 
others  mentioned  a  little  further  on  and  in  Part  II  of  this  volume. 

In  1858  the  town  had  24,539  acres  of  improved  land,  real  estate 
assessed  at  $1,421,601,  personal  property  at  $101,728;  there  were  2,832 
male  and  2,684  female  inhabitants,   987  dwellings,   1,102  families,   796 


:iii|  LANDMARKS   OF 

freeholders,  24  school  districts  and  1,993  school  children,  1,453  horses, 
1,735  oxen  and  calves,  L, 493  cows,  L0,821  sheep,  and  2,788  swine.  The 
productions   were    44,032    bushels   winter   and    180,099    bushels  spring 

wheat,  t,580  tons  hay.  23,870  bushels  potatoes,  38,424  bushels  apples, 
140,054  pounds  butter,  5,331  pounds  cheese,  and  803  yards  domestic 
cloths. 

In  1890  the  town  had  a  population  of  6,310,  or  COS  less  than  in  1880. 
In  L893  the  assessed  value  of  land  aggregated  $1,235,83!)  (equalized 
$1,249,346);  village  and  mill  property,  $878,889  (equalized  $899,868); 
railroads  and  telegraphs,  $594,230  (equalized  $582,020) ;  personal  prop- 
erty, $-230,510.  Schedule  of  taxes,  1893:  Contingent  fund.  $3,530.71  ; 
town  poor  fund,  $2,300;  roads  and  bridges,  $1,(500;  special  town  tax, 
$8,108;  school  tax,  $2,709.76;  county  tax,  $6,  183.42;  State  tax,  $3,572.- 
72;  State  insane  tax,  $921.69;  dog  tax,  $:S54.  Total  tax  levy,  $29,988,- 
08;  rate  per  cent.,  .01020187.  August  11,  1890,  the  town  was  divided 
into  six  election  districts,  which  have  since  been  reduced  to  four,  and  in 
L893  a  total  of  1,132  votes  was  polled. 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  sent  to  the  front  more  than 
440  of  her  brave  and  loyal  citizens  to  fight  the  nation's  battles.  All  did 
valiant  service,  serving  with  credit  to  their  town  and  regiments,  which 
are  properly  noticed  in  a  preceding  chapter. 

There  are  several  burial  places  in  the  town,  the  most  important  of 
which  are  those  at  Newark  village.  The  original  plat  of  the  Newark 
cemetery  was  donated  for  the  purpose  by  Rev.  Roger  Benton,  the  father 
of  John  W.  In  it  lie  many  of  the  earlier  pioneers.  The  Willow  Lawn 
Cemetery  was  opened  about  1847  and  improved  under  the  supervision 
of  Stephen  Culver. 

At  Jessup's  Corners  the  first  school  house  in  town  was  built  as  early 
as  1806,  and  in  it  a  Air.  Olmstead,  Martin  Root,  Jonathan  Scott,  and 
Eliza  Romeyn  were  early  teachers.  Samuel  Soverhill  donated  a  site 
upon  which  a  log  school  building  was  erected  in  1810.  It  contained  a 
fireplace  in  each  end,  and  among  its  earliest  teachers  were  Dennis 
Clark,  Henry  Parks  (who  served  in  the  war  of  1812),  Jesse  Owen,  Eliza 
Romeyn,  Hiram  Soverhill,  and  Ahiel  Guthrie.  The  latter  continued 
five  years  and  at  one  time  had  106  scholars  on  his  roll.  The  settlers 
desired  a  place  to  hold  religious  services,  and  this  school  house  was  en- 
larged by  an  addition  twenty  feet  in  length,  making  it  60x24.  Those 
concerned  in  the  extension  were  Samuel  Soverhill,  Pliny  Poster,  Lewis 
Jessup,    Joseph    Bennett,    and    Paul    Reeves.       The    interior    of    the 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  365 

chtirchly  school  house  was  provided  with  a  pulpit  of  whitewood  boards 
arranged  to  form  a  semi-circle.  Above  this  clerical  stockade  only  the 
head  of  the  preacher  was  visible.  Elders  Roe  and  Pomeroy  officiated. 
Elder  Roe  was  accustomed  to  discourse  three  to  four  hours.  The  sing- 
ing of  that  pioneer  choir  was  as  attractive  as  the  sermon  was  tedious. 
It  was  led  by  Adonijah  H.  Fairchild.  Samuel  Soverbill  sang  bass, 
Isaac  Soverhill  tenor,  and  Susan  Soverhill  counter.  Finally  the  "Id 
frame  was  removed  and  in  1836  a  cobble-stone  school  house  was 
erected. 

The  first  school  house  in  Newark  was  built  on  a  site  donated  for  the 
purpose  by  Jacob  Lusk.  It  was  finally  sold  and  converted  into  a  shop. 
The  second  one  was  erected  on  the  east  side  of  Miller  street  by  Joseph 
Miller,  sr. ,  and  was  known  as  Marvin  Hall.  It  was  two  stories  high, 
the  lower  story  being  used  for  a  school  and  church  and  the  upper  part 
for  a  Masonic  lodge  room.  A  third  house  was  a  stone  building  on  the 
corner  of  Church  and  Charles  streets,  and  in  this  Cornelius  Horton 
was  a  teacher  in  1832.  The  same  year  Philander  Dawley  taught  in  a 
school  house  in  East  Newark  (then  Lockville),  and  in  1837  he  had  a 
school  in  the  basement  of  the  Baptist  church;  from  1839  to  1843  he 
taught  in  the  old  stone  school  house,  in  which  the  enrollment  reached 
over  300  scholars.  At  one  time  there  were  five  select  schools  in  session 
in  Newark. 

In  1844  Newark  village  had  within  its  limits  four  common  school  dis- 
tricts and  buildings,  viz.  :  One  building  near  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad  station,  one  facing  South  street  on  a  part  of  the  M.  E.  Briggs 
lot,  one  in  the  east  part  of  the  village,  and  one  on  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  present  Union  School  lot,  being  respectively  Districts  No.  24,  9 
18,  and  8.  In  1845  the  formation  of  a  union  school  district  was  agitated 
and  in  1847  a  consolidation  was  effected,  but  hard  fighting  on  the  part 
of  the  opponents  obtained  a  reversal  of  the  proceedings.  The  agitation 
was  continued,  however,  until  May  3,  1849,  when  the  four  districts 
were  again  consolidated  as  Union  School  District  No.  8.  At  this  time 
Dr.  Joseph  A.  Burrows  was  town  superintendent  of  schools;  the  four 
districts  contained  472  scholars  between  the  ages  of  five  and  sixteen, 
taxable  property  aggregating  $189,032,  and  school  houses  and  sites 
valued  at  $1,300.  The  first  officers  were  George  H.  Middleton,  George 
C.  Mills,  and  Ruel  Taylor,  trustees;  Daniel  Kenyon,  clerk;  Henry 
Lusk,  collector;  who  were  chosen  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  new  dis- 
trict held  at   the  Universalist  church   on   May  3,  1849,  of  which  Clark 


366  LANDMARKS   OF 

Mason  was  chairman  and  Joel  H.  Prescott  clerk  pro  tent.  It  was  de- 
cided to  purchase  a  four-acre  lot  lying  between  Miller  and  Church 
streets  and  to  levy  a  tax  of  $2,000  to  pay  for  the  same,  but  the  oppo- 
nents of  consolidation  soon  afterward  rescinded  these  and  other  resolu- 
tions, and  in  1850,  by  agreement,  the  new  town  superintendent,  George 
W.  Thompson,  dissolved  Union  District  No.  8,  and  old  Districts  Nos.  8 
and  9  were  permanently  united  under  the  same  designation.  August 
10,  1850,  these  officers  were  chosen:  vStephen  Aldrich,  William  Tabor, 
and  Rockwell  Stone,  trustees;  Frederick  A.  Rew,  clerk;  John  C.  Ban- 
nister, collector. 

In  1850-51  a  two-story  school  house  was  erected,  the  building  com- 
mittee being  the  trustees  and  G.  H.  Middleton,  Eliab  T.  Grant,  Benja- 
min F.  Wright,  Stephen  Culver.  John  Daggett,  and  Ruel  Taylor.  It 
was  opened  December  3,  1851.  March  23,  1857,  it  became  a  Union  free 
school  under  the  laws  of  1853,  the  first  trustees  being  Joel  H.  Prescott, 
Stephen  Culver  and  Ruel  Taylor.  February  5,  1863,  a  reorganization 
was  effected  under  the  name  of  the  Newark  Union  Free  wSchool  and 
Academy,  thus  placing  the  institution  under  the  Regents  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  State  of  New  York.  From  1870  until  1890  the  project 
of  building  a  new  and  larger  school  house  was  agitated  with  periodical 
regularity,  but  nothing  materialized  except  numerous  repairs  to  the  old 
structure.  October  7,  1890,  the  trustees  were  authorized  by  popular 
vote  to  erect  a  new  structure  and  to  levy  a  tax  on  the  district  of  $30,- 
000,  against  which  they  were  to  issue  bonds  payable  within  ten  years. 
March  4,  1891,  the  contract  was  let  to  Charles  Schuman  for  $20,912,  to 
whom  the  old  school  house  was  sold  for  $1,200.  The  total  cost  of  the 
new  building  was  $3\J,450.47.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  June  11,  1891, 
and  the  edifice  was  formally  dedicated  on  the  17th  of  December  follow- 
ing. It  is  a  handsome  brick  structure  with  stone  foundation,  and  was 
erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  one  under  the  supervision  of  trustees  A. 
D.  Soverhill,  M.  F.  Hamm  and  C.  P.  H.  Vary. 

The  first  principal  was  George  Franklin,  who  was  engaged  December 
8,  1851,  remaining  till  1854.  His  successors  have  been  C.  M.  Chitten- 
den, C.  P.  Head,  F.  D.Hodgson,  H.  Vosburgh,  B.  C.  Rude,  E.  V.  De 
Graff,  J.  Dorman  Steele,  Jacob  Wilson,  O.  B.  Seagravc.  W.  1.  Norton, 
C.  A.  Peake,  Dr.  W.  S.  Aumock,  \V.  G.  Bassett,  P.  I.  Bugbee,  and 
John  W.  Robinson.  The  Board  of  Education  for  1894-5  consists  of  P. 
Davis  Prescott,  president;  Dr.  A.  A.  Young,  secretary;  and  C.  P.  H. 
Vary;  James  P.  Ballou,  treasurer;  George  F.  Palmer,  collector. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  367 

Prior  to  the  Rebellion  a  brick  building- was  commenced  on  Asylum 
hill  which  was  intended  for  a  Baptist  Collegiate  Institute,  but  funds 
failed,  work  was  suspended,  and  about  a  dozen  years  later  it  was  pur- 
chased and  finished  by  the  German  Methodists  for  a  Lutheran  Acad- 
emy. From  September  3,  1873,  to  June  26,  1876,  it  was  used  as  a  col- 
lege, but  want  of  students  and  lack  of  funds  caused  the  mortgage  to 
foreclose  and  it  became  the  property  of  George  Wagner  of  Rochester. 
It  remained  idle  until  selected  by  the  State  for  the  present  custodial 
asylum,  of  which  it  forms  the  center  or  main  building. 

The  town  has  twenty-three  school  districts  with  a  school  house  in 
each,  which  in  1892-93  were  taught  by  thirty-six  teachers  and  attended 
by  1,412  scholars;  value  of  school  buildings  and  sites,  $50,225;  assessed 
valuation  of  the  districts,  $3,034,000;  public  money  received  from  the 
State,  $5,289.53;  raised  by  local  tax,  $11,208.96. 

Newark  Village  lies  in  the  southern  central  part  of  the  town  imme- 
diately south  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad.  Through  it  also  runs 
the  West  Shore  and  Northern  Central  Railroads  and  the  Erie  Canal,  the 
construction  of  the  latter  giving  rise  to  the  place.  It  is  ninety-seven 
miles  from  Buffalo  and  329  miles  from  New  York,  and  is  a  consolida- 
tion of  the  villages  of  Miller's  Basin  (changed  to  Newark)  and  Lock- 
ville  (changed  to  East  Newark,  or  Arcadia  post-office).  The  site  was 
originally  owned  by  Jacob,  Isaac,  and  Philip  Lusk,  sons  of  Jeremiah,  and 
the  vicinity  of  East  Newark  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  the  fu- 
ture village.  John  Spoor  settled  there  prior  to  1800,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Nicholas  Stansell,  the  pioneer  of  Lyons,  who  died  in  1819, 
and  was  followed  as  proprietor  by  his  son  William.  Mr.  Stansell  erected 
a  saw  mill  and  dam,  a  second  saw  mill,  and  a  raceway.  Lewis  J.  Ben- 
ton and  his  father  also  built  a  saw  mill  here,  and  Roderick  Price  earty 
engaged  in  merchandising  and  shipping  grain.  He  put  up  a  grist  mill 
and  did  a  large  business,  and  for  his  mills  John  Drum  burned  the  first 
kiln  of  brick  in  town.  The  Legislature  authorized  Mr.  Price  to  tap  the 
canal  at  the  middle  lock  for  water  power.  He  sold  to  Lamer  eaux  and 
Grant. 

In  May,  1820,  Joseph  Miller  took  a  contract  to  construct  one  and  one- 
fourth  miles  of  the  canal,  and  purchasing  100  acres  of  Jacob  Lusk  he 
had  a  plat  surveyed  into  village  lots  by  Hiram  Tibbetts.  Streets  were 
laid  out,  the  present  public  square  was  set  aside,  and  lots  were  offered 
for  sale  at  $30  and  upwards.  On  lot  28  Mr.  Miller  built  a  warehouse, 
and   across  the  street  on  the  same  side  of  the  canal  James  P.  Bartle 


368  LANDMARKS  OF 

erected  and  opened  a  store  under  the  firm  name  of  Bartle,  Morton  &  Co. 
Benjamin  H.  Kipp  put  of  houses  on  lots  L5  and  -l',  and  Vincent  G.  Bar- 
ney built  and  opened  a  tavern  on  the  site  of  Perkins  &  Peirson's  bank. 
Dr.  Richard  P.  Williams  moved  in  and  erected  a  house  on  the  east  side 
of  Main  street,  afterward  the  residence  of  Dr.  Charles  G.  Pomeroy. 
I  )rs.  Button  and  Terry  were  also  early  physicians.  The  first  lawyer 
was  George  W.  Scott,  a  bachelor,  in  1825.  The  first  marriage  in  the 
village  was  that  of  Joseph  Miller,  jr.,  and  Louisa  Fletcher,  and  Allen 
Miller  was  the  first  child  born  in  the  place.  For  this  couple  Joseph 
Miller,  jr. ,  built  a  house  on  the  west  side  of  Main  street  opposite  his  own . 

The  first  tavern  was  that  of  Vincent  G.  Barney,  which  stood  on  the 
corner  of  Canal  and  Main  streets.  It  was  two  stories  high  and  was 
subsequently  called  the  Eagle  Hotel,  and  among  its  other  early  landlords 
were  Jacob  Wright  and  a  Mr.  Hutchinson.  North  of  the  canal  was  a 
tavern  kept  by  Caleb  Tibbetts,  among  whose  successors  were  Messrs. 
Terry,  Porter,  James  Kent,  Andrew  Vanderhoof,  Hiram  Rockefellow, 
and  Colwell,  in  whose  possession  it  burned.  A  Mr.  Langley  had  another 
near  the  east  canal  bridge  that  was  burned  in  1828  and  rebuilt.  There 
was  also  the  Temperance  House,  which  was  kept  by  Dr.  Nichols.  The 
Newark  Hotel  was  built  by  Joseph  Chipps,  and  next  to  it  stands  the 
Gillson  House.  At  East  Newark  (then  Loekville)  a  tavern  was  erected 
and  in  1827  kept  by  Abner  Bannister. 

Besides  Bartle,  Morton  &  Co.,  previously  mentioned,  Philip  Lusk 
was  an  early  merchant;  he  also  had  an  ashery  on  the  old  school  house 
lot,  and  in  a  building  erected  for  a  chair  factory  Rockwell  Stone 
made  potash  and  kept  a  store,  being  succeeded  by  Albert  F.  Cressy, 
who  was  the  first  hardware  merchant.  James  Blakely  was  the  second 
hardware  dealer,  and  later  came  the  firm  of  Cronise  &  Co.  Esbon  and 
Ransom  Blackmar  were  early  store  keepers  and  also  did  an  extensive 
business  shipping  grain.  Bartle,  Morton  &  Co.  were  succeeded  by 
James  G.  Ford  and  E.  T.  Grant.  The  first  meat  vendor  was  a  Mr. 
Filkins,  the  first  jeweler  a  Mr.  Hotchkiss,  and  the  first  milliner  Mrs. 
Electa  Partridge.  Luther  Hutchinson  opened  the  first  livery  stable  in 
1827  and  ran  a  line  of  stages  and  carried  the  mail  to  Geneva.  The  first 
blacksmith  was  James  T.  Kipp,  and  another  early  one  was  Roger  Ben- 
ton, a  Methodist  preacher,  whose  smithy  stood  near  the  subsequent 
residence  of  his  son  John  W.  John  P.  Groat  was  a  blacksmith  at  what 
was  called  Groat's  Corners,  near  Philip  Lusk's  store.  One  of  the 
earliest  carpenters  was    Peter   P.  Coher.     John  Daggett  early  began 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  369 

manufacturing  carding  machines  in  a  little  shop  standing  south  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  on  Main  street.  He  sold  out,  built  a  furnace,  and 
prosecuted  a  large  business.  During  the  war  he  went  South,  returned, 
and  died,  and  his  furnace  was  converted  into  an  agricultural  imple- 
ment works,  by  Samuel  R.  Tracey.  Another  furnace  was  early  con- 
ducted by  the  sons  of  Philip  Lusk,  a  little  west  of  Newark  Hotel.  J. 
B.  Gardenier,  a  carpenter  by  trade,  purchased  early  the  old  Eagle 
furnace  on  Union  street,  a  livery  stable,  and  the  Newark  Hotel  of  Mr. 
Chipps,  the  builder.  He  carried  on  quite  an  extensive  business,  but 
finally  sold  out  and  bought  several  canal  boats,  and  in  1880  the  Union 
Hotel.  He  died  in  April,-  1801.  Vaughn  &  Mandeville  built  a  furnace 
and  machine  shop  at  Groat's  Corners,  and  were  succeeded  by  Wilber  & 
Son,  and  they  by  Joseph  Wilber. 

The  advertisers  in  the  Newark  ^Egis  of  December  1,  1839,  were  L. 
L.  Rose  &  Co.,  W.  K.  Powers,  Alfred  Scribner,  Doane  &  Partridge, 
Hudson  &  Button  (assignees),  dry  goods  and  groceries;  A.  S.  Lovejoy, 
watches  and  jewelry;  Roger,  Danieldson  &  Co.,  drugs,  dry  goods,  and 
groceries;  A.  F.  Cressy,  hardware;  Milo  Galloway,  manufacturer  of 
water-wheels;  Mills  &  Barse,  steam  saw  mill;  Miss  Ruth  Parsons, 
millinery  and  mantua  making;  C.  L.  Norton,  dentist;  Miles  &  Sickles, 
tailors;  Newark  House,  S.  Nichols,  proprietor;  Ford  &  Grant,  dry 
dry  goods,  groceries,  crockery,  and  hardware;  E,  Miles,  jr.,  dry  goods, 
clothing,  and  furs,  also  "black,  blue,  drab,  diagonal,  rib,  block,  fancy 
stripe,  zigzag,  snakeskin,  and  thunder  and  lightning  cassimers  from 
$1.50  to  $5;"  B.  Greene  &  Co.,  cabinet  and  chair  factory  and  steam 
saw  mill;  M.  H.  Tuttle,  drugs;  Samuel  R.  Tracey,  carriage  shop; 
Maline  Miller,  boot,  shoe,  and  leather  store;  Mrs.  Fanning,  millinery 
and  dressmaking;  Ballard  &  Shaver,  boots  and  shoes ;  H.  L.  Fisk,  in- 
surance; A.  W.  Marsh,  physician  and  surgeon;  S.  G.  &  H.  Rogers, 
grist  mill;  Drs.  Coventry  &  Lewis,  medicine  and  surgery;  Eleazer 
Mighells,  carding  and  .  cloth  dressing ;  Middleton  &  Culver,  lawyers ; 
William  Payne,  livery;  Bartle  &  Bronnon,  lumber;  Erastus  O.  Pond, 
machine  shop  and  furnace;  Mr.  Peck,  "Newark  Select  School";  P. 
Dawley,  "Arcadia  village  school  under  his  tuition." 

Added  to  the  foregoing  the  following  are  known  to  have  been  in 
business  prior  to  1845:  W.  Kenyon,  O.  H.  Allerton,  E.  B.  Doane  &  Co., 
Gray,  Bill  &  Co.,  A.  G.  Danieldson,  A.  T.  &  H.  Blackmar,  J.  S. 
Crosby,  D.  B.  Blakely,  J.  G.  Soverhill,  A.  Anson,  Willis  Brownell 
(blacksmith),  Dr.  C.  S.  Button,  Dr.   E.   H.   Rockwood,  and  Dr.  Philip 

47 


370  LANDMARKS   OF 

L.  Jones.  The  first  brick  building  was  erected  by  Esbon  Blackmar  in 
L836  and  finally  became  the  residence  of  Orrin  Blackmar.  The  first 
brick  block  was  built  about  the  same  time  by  Eleazer  Mighells  and 
John  Church.  About  1847  the  park  was  graded  and  planted  to  shade 
trees. 

March  9,  1824,  a  library  was  organized  "at  Barnes's  Hotel"  with 
James  P.  Bartle,  Joseph  A.  Miller,  Richard  P.  William,  John  S.  Keep, 
Cyrus  S.  Button,  Artemus  Doane,  and  Joseph  Miller,  as  trustees.  A 
respectable  collection  of  books  was  secured  and  circulated  for  several 
years,  and  when  the  society  dissolved  they  were  transferred  to  the 
Union  school  library. 

At  East  Newark  there  were  two  tanneries,  long  since  abandoned, 
and  a  shoe  shop  and  tannery  formerly  operated  by  Brown,  Doolittle  & 
Baldwin.  Gibson  &  Jessup  had  an  agricultural  machine  shop  that  was 
burned  in  1837  and  rebuilt.  Their  specialty  was  threshing  machines. 
Of  the  earlier  merchants  were  Jesse  Owen  &  Co.,  L.  L.  Rose  &  Co., 
and  L.  N.  Straw.  The  locks  on  the  canal  at  this  point  early  gave  the 
place  the  name  of  Lockville.     Grorge  H.  Price  has  a  dry  clock  there. 

The  opening  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  with  a  station  on 
the  northernmost  limits  of  Newark  village,  nearly  a  mile  from  the  busi- 
ness center,  developed  settlement  in  that  locality  and  led  to  several 
business  interests.  Hotels  were  erected  by  Gideon  Lewis  and  Thomas 
Langdon  and  a  third  is  kept  by  Sylvester  Sandford.  A  feed  mill  was 
built  in  1890  by  C.  A.  Stebbins  and  is  now  operated  by  the  Reeves 
Milling  Company,  of  which  J.  Dupha  Reeves  is  general  manager. 
The  firm  also  operate  a  flouring  mill  a  mile  northeast  of  the  station  on 
the  site  of  the  pioneer  mill  erected  by  Mr.  Reeves's  grandfather,  Paul 
Reeves.  The  latter  sold  out  in  1814,  built  a  mill  in  Williamson,  and 
died  there.  Stores  are  kept  by  J.  A.  Sanford  and  P.  G.  Lewis,  a 
warehouse  by  C.  H.  Perkins  &  Co.,  and  a  large  vinegar  establishment 
by  the  Duffy,  Mountfort  &  Greene  Cider  Company.  The  depot  here 
was  burned  in  January,  1894,  and  rebuilt. 

James  P.  Bartle  was  the  first  postmaster  in  Newark,  and  had  his 
office  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Canal  streets.  His  successors  were 
Dr.  Williams,  E.  T.  Grant,  Theodore  Menson,  Daniel  Rusk,  R.  Lord, 
Hiram  Clark,  Elias  W.  Ford,  Joel  H.  Prescott,  Clark  Phillips,  W.  L. 
Willctt,  A.  D.  Smith,  W.  H.  Nicholoy,  and  Mitchell  Chadwick,  the 
present  incumbent.  March  15,  1893,  a  free  delivery  system  was  estab- 
lished, and  js  the  only  one  in  Wayne  county.      Two  mail  carriers  are 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  371 

employed.  The  posmaster  at  Arcadia  (East  Newark)  is  William  Tl. 
Spragaie,  who  succeeded  John  Dillenbeck.  It  is  said  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Arcadia  office  was  due  to  the  representation  that  an 
"  impassable  hill  "  existed  between  that  part  of  the  village  and  Newark 
post-office. 

Among-  the  several  handsome  brick  or  stone  blocks  in  Newark  are 
the  wStever  block,  erected  in  1875;  the  Blackmar  and  Herrick  blocks, 
built  in  1878;  the  Frey  block,  in  1877;  the  Stuerwald  block,  in  1883; 
the  Sherman  Opera  House  and  block,  which  was  formally  opened  in 
November,  1885;  and  the  Brewer  block,  erected  in  1893. 

Newark  village  was  incorporated  July  21,  1853,  but  the  first  election 
was  not  held  until  January  24,  1854,  at  the  Newark  Hotel, then  kept  by 
Andrew  Vanderhoof,  at  which  seventy-seven  votes  were  polled  and  the 
following  officers  chosen;  John  P.  Sahlor,  James  W.  Perrington,  James 
D.  Ford,  John  Daggett,  and  George  H.  Middleton,  trustees;  Stephen 
Culver,  clerk;  Fletcher  Williams,  treasurer;  Henry  Lusk,  collector; 
David  Lamereaux,  Charles  Ten  Brook,  and  Albert  F.  Cressey,  assessors ; 
John  Haight,  Hiram  Betts,  and  Samuel  R.  Tracy,  street  commission- 
ers. The  first  charter  election  was  held  March  8,  1854,  and  the  follow- 
ing were  elected:  John  Daggett,  George  H.  Middleton,  John  P. 
Sahlor,  James  D.  Ford,  and  Jesse  Owen,  trustees;  Stephen  Culver, 
clerk;  Fletcher  Williams,  treasurer;  Peter,  Kipp,  collector;  David 
Lamereaux,  Jolon  Taylor,  and  E.  Darwin  Smith,  assessors;  John 
Haight,  Benjamin  F.  Wright,  and  Thomas  Palmer  street  commission- 
ers ;  Willis  Brownell  and  Lawrence  Hackett,  poundmasters.  The  village 
was  divided  into  three  wards  and  street  districts,  and  March  23,  1855, 
suitable  ordinances  were  adopted.  In  1868  a  lock-up  was  built,  in  1887 
the  corporate  limits  were  enlarged,  and  in  1893  a  number  of  sewers 
were  constructed  as  an  extension  of  the  system.  The  presidents  of 
the  village  have  been  : 

John  Daggett,  1854-56,  Harrison  Van  Auken,  1869. 

H.  L.  Mundy,  1857,  Oliver  Crothers,  1870, 

Joel  H.  Prescott,  1858,  Charles  W.  Stuart,  1871, 

Durfee  A.  Sherman,  1859,  Richard  H.  Palmer,  1872, 

James  G.  Granger,  1860.  Jacob  Lusk,  1873, 

I.   K.  Chipps,  1861,  David  F.  Wilcox,  1874, 

John  W.  Benton,  1862-63,  Oliver  Crothers,  1875, 

A.  O.  Lamereaux,  1864,  John  E.  Stuart,  1876, 

John  S.  Cronise,  1865-66,  David  F.  Wilcox,  1877-78, 

Meade  Allerton,  1867,  Charles  S.  White,  1879, 

A.  C.  Bartle,  1868,  Charles  W.  Stuart,  1880, 


3?'2  LANDMARKS   OF 

Wilbur  F.  Nutten,  1881,  Moses  F.  Hamm,  1887, 

James  H.  Miller,  1882,  Newell  E.  Landon,  1888, 

Frederick  M.  Allerton,  1883,  Hanson  A.  Gardner,  1889-91. 

Henry  J.  Peirson,  1884,  Thomas  Whittleton,   1892, 

Emor  E.  Burleigh,  1885,  Augustus  A.  Young,  1893, 

John  Stuerwald,  1886,  John  E.  Stuart,  1894. 

The  village  officers  for  1804  are:  John  E.  Stuart,  president;  William 
T.  Peirson,  Nathaniel  Cook,  J.  B.  McDermott,  Alois  Seigrist,  William 
H.  Keller,  and  C.  A.  Tator,  trustees;  E.  Fred  Cowles,  clerk;  P.  R. 
Sleight,  treasurer;  M.  W.  Plass,  collector;  H.  R.  Drake,  Thomas  K. 
Langdon  and  A.  H.  Vanderbilt,  assessors;  George  Wright  and  William 
J.  Lawrence,  street  commissioners;  Henry  L.  Rupert,  attorney;  Will- 
iam Jenkins,  chief  of  police. 

August  8,  1835,  twenty  men  were  appointed  to  form  a  fire  company 
and  man  the  fire  engine  owned  by  the  town,  but  nine  of  these  declined 
to  serve,  and  on  September  14  nine  more  were  chosen.  Junel,  1859, 
Newark  Engine  Company  No.  1  was  organized  with  fifty  members, 
and  with  these  officers:  Clark  Mason,  foreman;  Ira  Pratt,  assistant 
foreman;  Joel  H.  Prescott,  treasurer;  A.  I.  Bristol,  secretary;  Arcadia 
Fire  Company,  No.  2,  was  formed  at  the  same  date  with  William  E. 
Olds,  foreman;  William  G.  Daggett,  assistant  foreman;  Myron  Owen, 
secretary;  T.  F.  Horton,  treasurer;  and  forty-three  firemen.  John 
Matteson  was  appointed  fire  warden.  March  29,  1859,  two  fire  engines 
had  been  purchased  at  a  cost  of  $350  each,  and  Messrs.  Sherman  and 
Kemper  were  appointed  a  committee  to  purchase  hose,  hooks,  and 
ladders  as  accompanying  apparatus.  The  village  appropriated  $300 
for  engine  houses  and  E.  T.  Grant  and  Morton  Kemper  were  appointed  v 
a  building  committee;  they  obtained  a  five  years' lease  of  Ganargwa 
Hall.  June  IT,  18G2,  a  hook  and  ladder  company  was  formed  with 
thirty  members  and  with  Gideon  L.  Bennett  as  foreman.  In  18G2  and 
1st,:;  incendiary  fires  endangered  property  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
village  offered  a  reward  of  $500  for  the  apprehension  of  the  criminals. 
Jul}'  2,  1879,  two  Babcock  extinguishers  were  purchased  for  $050,  and 
in  L886  Excelsior  Hook  and  Ladder  Company,  No.  1,  was  organized 
with  fourteen  members.  In  January,  L888,  the  N.  Y.  C.  Hook  and 
Ladder  Company  was  formed. 

In  1864  Joel  H.  Prescott  was  chief  engineer  of  the  fire  department 
with  James  D.  Ford  and  John  L.  Mills  as  assistants.  Among  Mr. 
Prescott's  successors  have  been  Charles  H.  Perkins  in  1868,  John  S. 
Cronise  in  IS72,  Edwin   K.  Burns  in  1874,  J.  Stuerwald  in  1875,  M.  J. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  373 

Flynn  in  1888,  Thomas  J.  Jenkins  in  1889,  E.  M.  Hooper  in  L890,  Will- 
iam T.  Peirson  in  1891,  and  E.  B.  Elliot  in  1892.  The  present  chief  is 
P.  E.  Nellis;  George  Crater,  first  assistant;  William  G.  Schufelt,  sec- 
ond assistant.  The  department  now  consists  of  Protective  Extin- 
guisher Company  No.  1,  Deluge  Hose  Compan}7  No.  1,  Excelsior  Hook 
and  Ladder  Company,  No.  1,  and  New  York  Central  Hose  Company 
No.    1. 

January  22,  1886,  the  first  steps  were  inaugurated  to  construct  a  vil- 
lage water  supply  system,  but  the  matter  was  held  in  abeyance  until 
April  18,  1887,  when  a  franchise  was  granted  an  out  of  town  company, 
which  erected  a  stand  pipe  on  Asylum  hill  and  placed  the  present 
works  in  operation  in  January,  1888.  April  18,  1887,  a  franchise  was 
nlso  granted  to  construct  and  maintain  an  electric  light  plant,  but  this 
was  subsequently  revoked  and  another  granted  to  the  Newark  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company,  Ltd.,  on  December  21.  May  23,  1889,  a 
permanent  contract  was  signed  for  the  maintenance  of  forty  arc  street 
lamps,  which  number  has  since  been  increased  to  fifty-two.  H.  A. 
Gardner  is  the  local  superintendent  of  both  concerns. 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Newark  is  derived  from  the  old  Bank  of 
Newark,  an  individual  enterprise,  originating  at  Palmyra  as  the  Palmyra 
Bank.  It  was  moved  to  Newark  by  Fletcher  Williams,  the  veteran 
banker,  and  with  himself  as  president,  and  Lambert  McCain  as  cashier, 
business  was  commenced  in  the  store  of  Rockwell  Stone,  north  of  the 
canal.  The  building  now  in  use,  on  the  west  side  of  Main  street,  was 
leased  for  a  time,  and  on  expiration  of  the  lease  was  purchased  The 
bank  was  organized  in  March,  1864,  with  the  following  Board  of  Direc- 
tors: Fletcher  Williams,  A.  Ford  Williams,  Joseph  A.  Miller,  EliabT. 
Grant,  jr. ,  Samuel  S.  Morley,  and  Anna  D.  Williams.  Fletcher  Williams 
was  chosen  president  and  has  ever  since  served  in  that  capacity.  A. 
Ford  Williams  was  cashier  till  June  6,  1865,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
E.  T.  Grant,  jr.,  who  resigned  April  1,  1869,  and  was  followed  by  Byron 
Thomas.  Mr.  Thomas  subsequently  resigned  and  was  in  turn  succeeded 
by  E.  T.  Grant,  the  present  cashier.  Mrs.  Sarah  H.  Williams  is  vice- 
president  and  Miss  Lillian  Eggleston  is  assistant  cashier.  The  capital 
is  $50,000.  The  present  directors  are:  Fletcher  Williams  Mrs.  Sarah 
H.  Williams,  Joel  H.  Prescott,  Byron  Thomas  and  E.  T.  Grant. 

Peirson  &  Perkins's  private  bank  was  started  by  S.  S.  Peirson,  and  E. 
P.  Soverhill  in  October,  1866.  In  December,  1S67,  the  latter  sold  his 
interest  to  Henry  R.  Peirson  and  five  years  later  C.  H.  Perkins  relin- 


374  LANDMARKS   OF 

quished  his  law  practice  and  bought  out  the  last  named  partners. 
Besides  a  general  hanking  business  the  firm  deals  extensively  in  produce, 
etc. 

Vary  &  Sleight  started  their  private  bank  in  1887  and  have  occupied 
the  present  quarters  since  180'.'. 

The  New  York  State  Custodial  Asylum  for  Feeble-Minded  Women. — 
The  history  of  the  Custodial  Asylum  dates  from  1878,  when,  as  a  result 
of  the  efforts  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  "to  establish  a  custodial 
institution  for  unteachable  idiots  and  feeble-minded  persons,"  the  Leg- 
islature made  provisions  to  open  a  department  for  feeble-minded  gins 
and  young  women,  under  the  direction  and  control  of  the  Trustees  of 
the  New  York  Asylum  for  Idiots  at  Syracuse.  The  institution  was 
opened  September  3,  1878,  as  a  branch  of  the  New  York  Asylum  for 
Idiots,  with  two  inmates,  the  late  C.  C.  Warner  as  superintendent,  and 
his  wife  as  matron.  The  sum  of  $18,000  was  appropriated  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  before  November  a  building  had  been  rented  and  twenty-seven 
inmates  received.  This  building  forms  the  middle  one  of  the  present 
group  facing  the  north,  and  was  originally  built  for  a  theological  insti- 
tute. In  1881  the  usefulness  of  the  asylum  had  become  so  marked  and 
well  recognized  by  State  and  county  officials  that  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed, consisting  of  the  comptroller,  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion, and  trustees  of  the  Idiot  Asylum,  to  determine  whether  the  prop- 
erty should  be  purchased  or  the  lease  continued.  They  recommended 
that  the  institution  be  permanently  established.  In  1881  Hon.  S.  S. 
Peirson  and  in  1885  Hon.  E.  K.  Burnham  represented  the  district  in  the 
Assembly,  and  it  is  due  to  their  untiring  efforts  that  a  bill  was  passed 
May  14,  1885,  incorporating  and  permanently  establishing  the  New  York 
State  Custodial  Asylum  at  its  present  commanding  location  in  the  village 
of  Newark.  Ever  since  the  institution  was  first  projected  Mr.  Burnham 
has  been  one  of  its  most  ardent  supporters  and  benefactors. 

The  first  board  of  trustees  appointed  by  Governor  David  B.  Hill 
consisted  of  Hon.  David  Decker,  of  Elmira;  Rev.  M.  S.  Hard,  then  of 
Canandaigua;  Darwin  Colvin,  M.D.,  of  Clyde;  Mrs.  Lucy  W.  Butler, 
of  Syracuse:  Mrs.  Lucien Yeomans,of  Walworth;  Mrs.  E.  C.  Perkins,  of 
Newark;  Charles  G.  Pomeroy,  M.  D.,  of  Newark;  S.  N.  Gallup,  of 
Macedon;  and  S.  S.  Peirson,  of  Newark. 

The  new  board  met  at  the  asylum  June  5,  1885,  and  organized  with 
S.  S.  Peirson,  president;  Rev.  M.  S.  Hard,  secretary;  and  S.N.  Gallup, 
treasurer.  .  C.  C.  Warner  and  his  wife  were  retained  as  superintendent 


&  9?.' (oLi^It 


€Z>'m 


WAYNE   COUNTY  375 

and  matron.  They  resigned  in  March,  1886,  and  were  succeeded  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  Landon  Willett,  who  gave  place  to  the  present  effi- 
cient incumbents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  W.  Winspear,  July  5,  1893.  Mrs. 
Yeomans  declined  the  appointment  as  trustee  and  Mrs.  Helen  B.  Case, 
of  Rochester,  was  appointed  to  the  position.  In  1887  Dr.  Pomeroy 
died  and  his  place  was  filled  by  Hon.  E.  K.  Burnham.  In  1886  the 
east  dormitory  and  boiler  house  were  erected  and  steam  fixtures  put 
in  the  main  and  east  buildings.  In  1888  the  laundry  was  built,  and  in 
1889  the  west  dormitory  was  completed.  Charles  Schuman  &  Co.  were 
the  contractors  and  builders  of  all  these  structures  and  S.  N.  Keener 
the  architect,  except  the  laundry.  The  chapel  was  finished  and  dedi- 
cated June  10,  1890,  at  which  time  there  were  310  inmates.  The  hos- 
pital building,  conveniently  and  pleasantly  located  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  principal  group,  was  completed  and  occupied  February  15, 
1893,  and  the  Legislature  of  that  year  appropriated  $45,000  for  main- 
tenance, $10,000  for  the  erection  of  a  cottage  dormitory  (the  foundation 
of  which  has  been  laid),  and  $3,000  for  the  disposal  of  sewerage. 
The  location  of  the  Custodial  Asylum  is  one  of  the  most  sightly  and 
healthful  in  Western  New  York.  It  commands  an  extensive  view  of 
the  surrounding  country.  The  grounds,  comprising  a  little  more  than 
forty  acres,  are  beautifully  laid  out  under  the  supervision  of  C.  H, 
Perkins,  and  are  planted  with  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers.  They  also 
contain  a  well  cultivated  garden,  which  furnishes  many  of  the  vege- 
tables used  in  the  institution,  and  connected  with  the  latter  is  a  pro- 
ductive greenhouse.  Throughout,  the  buildings  are  well  furnished, 
comfortably  heated  and  ventilated,  and  scrupulously  clean.  Most  of 
the  work  and  the  making  of  wearing  apparel  are  performed  by  the 
inmates. 

According  to  the  last  annual  report  of  the  trustees,  transmitted  to 
the  Legislature  January  17,  1894,  the  entire  property  of  the  Custodial 
Asylum  was  valued  at  $154,445.99.  The  daily  average  population 
during  the  year  ending  September  30,  1893,  was  340;  on  that  date  the 
whole  number  of  inmates  was  326;  cost  of  maintenance,  $46,475.72. 
The  present  officers  are  as  follows:     Trustees, 

Darwin  Colvin,  M.D.,  Clyde,  Silas  N.  Gallup,  Macedon, 

Mrs.  Eliza  C.  Perkins,  Newark,  Hon.  Charles  McLouth,  Palmyra, 

Hon.  E,  K.  Burnham,  Newark,  Mrs.  Gertrude  A.  Moss,  Rochester, 

Hon.  Silas  S.  Peirson,  Newark,  Hon.  Daniel  Candee,  Syracuse. 
Mrs.  Lucy  W.  Butler,  Syracuse, 


:'.7<i  LANDMARKS   OF 

Officers  cif  the  Board, — Hon.  Silas  S.  Peirson,  president;  Hon.  E.  K.  Rurnham, 
secretary;  Mrs.  Eliza  C.  Perkins,  treasurer. 

Executive  Committee. — Dr.  Darwin  Colvin,  Hon.  S.  S.  Peirson,  Mrs* E.  C.  Perkins, 
Hon.  E.  K.  Burnham,  Hon.  Charles  McLouth. 

Resident  Officers. — C.  W.  Winspear,  superintendent;  Mrs.  Gertrude  E.  Winspear, 
matron;  M.  Alice  Brownell,  M.D.,  physician;  Miss  Kate  J.  Rahill,  assistant  matron; 
Miss  Alice  M.  Burnett,  teacher;  Miss  Gertrude  Hoxie  and  Miss  Amelia  Sauter, 
supervis<  >rs. 

The  Wayne  County  Preserving  Company  was  founded  by  Ezra  A. 
Edgett  in  1856.  Mr.  Edgett  was  born  in  Freehold,  N.  Y. ,  November 
1,  1828,  and  moved  with  his  parents  in  1835  to  Camden,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  married  Harriet  Marvin  in  L856,  when  he  came  to  Newark,  where 
he  died  in  January,  1889.  He  was  the  pioneer  in  the  canning  business 
in  the  State,  and  was  very  successful.  The  works  were  burned  in  IS]  -J, 
but  were  rebuilt  and  are  owned  by  Mrs.  Edgett  and  Hon.  E.  K.  Bttrn- 
ham.  Besides  this  there  are  in  the  village  the  Reed  Manufacturing 
Company,  capitalized  at  $30,000;  the  foundry  and  machine  shop  of 
Thomas  L.  Hamer;  the  lumber  and  planing  establishment  of  C.  Conk- 
lin  and  Stephen  N.  Keener  and  D.  I.  Garrison  (Keener  &  Garrison) ;  the 
nurseries  of  Charles  W.  Stuart  &  Co.  (started  in  1852),  and  Jackson  & 
Peirson;  the  granite  and  marble  works  of  Lynn  Brothers,   and  others. 

The  population  of  Newark  village  in  1844  was  about  1,800;  in  1858  it 
numbered  2,042;  in  L875  about  3,000;  in  1880,  2,450;  and  in  1890,  2,824. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  progressive  villages  of  Western  New  York, 
and  in  many  respects  ranks  foremost  among  those  of  Wayne  county.  .  A 
spirit  of  enterprise  and  social  advancement  is  manifest  on  every  hand, 
while  the  many  attractive  residences,  handsome  blocks,  excellent 
churches  and  schools,  and  flourishing  industries  attest  general  activity 
and  substantial  prosperity. 

Fairville  is  a  post  village  north  of  the  center  of  the  town,  five  miles 
from  Newark  and  about  a  mile  northwest  from  the  station  of  the  same 
name  on  the  Sodus  Point  &  Southern  Railroad.  The  original  owner  of 
the  site  was  Joseph  P.  Crandall,  who  built  and  opened  a  tavern  there 
many  years  ago.  His  son  was  a  physician,  and  an  earlier  practitioner 
was  Dr.  Nicholas.  James  Bennett  operated  a  tannery  for  sometime, 
and  G  E.  Robinson  early  kept  a  store,  while  P.  Fleck  had  a  wagon 
shop.  The  place  contains  two  churches,  a  school  house,  one  or  two 
stores,  a  hotel,  blacksmith  shop,  mint  still,  and  about  1  liO  inhabitants. 
The  postmaster  is  Henry  Brier. 

Zurich -is,  a  postal  hamlet  and  station  on  the  Sodus  Point  &  Southern 


O^tz    o/    tDedtadt 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  377 

Railroad  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  town.     The  postmaster  is  John 
McNamara,  who  succeeded  C.  S.  Schufeldt. 

Marbletown  is  a  rural  hamlet  in  the  southeast  part  of  Arcadia,  on 
Trout  Run,  and  formerly  contained  a  church,  which  was  moved  to 
Newark. 

Hydeville,  a  small  settlement  lying  northwest  of  Newark,  is  chiefly 
noted  as  the  birthplace  of  what  became  the  Rochester  rappings  and 
spiritualism,  as  heretofore  mentioned.  It  is  now  merely  a  cluster  of 
houses. 

Churches. — The  present  town  of  Arcadia  originally  comprised  a  part 
of  the  old  Seneca  Circuit  of  Methodism,  which  dates  back  to  1796,  but 
the  first  ministers  that  traversed  our  limits  probably  came  in  1801,  their 
names  being  James  and  Josiah  Wilkinson.  Smith  Weeks  and  John 
Billings  were  the  circuit  riders  of  1802-3,  and  Roger  Benton  (the  black- 
smith) and  Sylvester  Hill  performed  these  duties  in  1804-5.  In  1805 
Mr.  Benton's  health  failed  and  in  1806  he  settled  permanently  in  Newark, 
in  which  year  the  Lyons  circuit  was  formed  and  his  house  became  and 
continued  a  regular  appointment  until  1815,  when  the  first  M.  E.  church 
in  town  was  erected  on  his  farm  on  the  site  of  the  present  Newark 
cemetery,  the  frame  being  raised  October  1,  of  that  year,  under  the 
circuit  pastorship  of  Rev.  Daniel  Barnes.  The  edifice  was  dedicated 
June  22,  1816,  and  the  builders  were:  Roger  Benton,  Jeremiah  Lusk, 
the  families  of  Luce  and  Stansell,  Ezra  Lambright,  Henry  Cronise,  and 
Messrs.  Winters  and  Aldrich.  The  structure  was  used  for  about  twelve 
years,  when  it  was  converted  into  a  dwelling  and  a  second  building 
erected  near  the  center  of  the  village,  among  its  builders  being  Roger 
Benton,  JohnL.  Kipp,  Joseph  Miller,  Henry  Cronise,  Minor  Trowbridge, 
L.  Bostwick,  William  Stansell,  Pinkham  Crommett,  and  Oliver  Morley. 
In  1854,  under  the  pastorship  of  Rev.  J.  K.  Tuttle,  the  nucleus  of  the 
present  church  was  built  on  Main  street  and  dedicated.  At  this  time 
Henry  Cronise,  Peter  P.  Kechor,  Oliver  Morley,  John  W.  Benton,  and 
L.  J.  Benton  were  trustees.  The  edifice  was  remodeled  and  rededicated 
February  1,  1888,  by  Charles  N.  Sims,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  chancellor  of 
Syracuse  University.  The  first  parsonage  was  built  on  Mr.  Benton's 
farm  in  1824.  The  society  now  has  about  375  members  under  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  Rev.  J.  E.  Allen. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Newark,  was  constituted  at  the 
village  school  house  on  the  20th  of  April,  1825,  by  Revs.  Francis 
Pomeroy  and  H.  P.  Strong,  with  sixty-three  numbers,  of  whom  thirty- 

48 


378  LANDMARKS   OF 

seven  were  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  East  Palmyra.  Peter 
Cook  and  John  G.  Kanouse  were  the  first  elders.  In  November,  L826, 
•the  first  pastor,  Rev.  Alfred  Campbell,  was  installed  and  served  until 
September,  1828,  when  Rev.  Peter  Kanouse  took  charge.  Among  his 
successors  prior  to  1850  were  Revs.  James  Boyle,  Henry  Snyder,  J.  K. 
Ware,  George  W.  Elliott,  David  Gushing,  and  G.  R.  H.  Shumway 
(for  twenty-five  3^ears).     The  present  pastor,  Rev.  A.  Parke  Burgess, 

D.  D.,  assumed  charge  in  March,  1874.  The  first  church  edifice,  a 
wooden  structure,  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  present  building  in 
L827;  and  to  extinguish  the  indebtedness  incurred  by  its  construction 
Elder  Pliny  Foster  mortgaged  his  farm  for  $500.  In  1852  this  edifice 
was  replaced  by  another  foundation,  on  which  new  walls  were  slowly 
reared  until  June,  1853,  when  a  conflagration  reduced  them  to  ashes. 
Rebuilding  was  immediately  commenced  and  the  present  structure  was 
completed  at  a  cost  of  about  $18,000,  the  basement  being  first  occupied 
January  1,  1854.  In  1875  it  was  enlarged  at  an  expense  of  $12,000.  A 
Sunday  school  was  organized  by  members  of  this  denomination  in 
Newark  as  early  as  1814.     The  society  has  about  450  members. 

The  Christian  Church  of  Newark  was  organized  at  Marbletown  in 
1834,  and  reorganized  June  4,  1836,  from  which  date  until  1845,   Elders 

E.  M.  Galloway  and  Benjamin  Bailey  served  as  pastors.  They  were 
followed  by  Revs.  J.  C.  Burgdurf,  S.  D.  Burdzell,  A.  S.  Langdon,  W, 
T.  Canton,  G.  H.  Hibbard,  J.  C.  Burgdurf  again,  S.  B.  Bowdish,  L. 
Coffin,  Irving  Bullock,  O.  T.  Wyman,  D.  W.  Moore,  and  the  present 
incumbent,  Rev.  J.  W.  Wilson,  who  is  also  superintendent  of  the  Sun- 
day school.  The  Marbletown  society  finally  disbanded,  and  in  1864 
their  edifice  was  taken  down  and  the  material  brought  to  Newark. 
where  it  was  used  in  the  construction  of  the  German  Methodist  Church 
on  Miller  street.  A  new  church  society  was  organized  in  Newark  vil- 
lage and  a  house  of  worship  built  on  the  south  side  of  Miller  street  at  a 
cost  of  aboiit  $5,000.  The  present  membership  numbers  about  seventy- 
five. 

The  Baptist  Church  of  East  Newark  was  organized  as  the  Lockville 
Baptist  Church  in  July,  1834,  with  twenty-four  members.  The  first 
pastor  was  Rev.  Moses  Rowley.  In  1836  a  site  was  purchased,  upon 
which  a  brick  edifice  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $2,500.  When  the  name 
of  that  part  of  Newark  village  became  Arcadia  the  name  of  the  church 
was  changed  to  correspond,  and  in  December,  1864,  when  many  of  its 
members  united  with  a  new  society  located  at  the  more  populous  cen- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  379 

ter,  the  first  named  title  was  adopted.  The  division  left  sixty-three 
members;  in  18G9  the  number  was  eighty.  The  pastors  succeeding 
Rev.  Mr.  Rowley  were  Revs.  John  Dudley,  R.  P.  Lamb,  Joseph  Spoor, 
David  Bellamy,  L.  O.  Grinnell,  William  Roney,  vSidney  Wilder,  and 
Joseph  B.  Vrooman,  under  whom  the  division  occurred.  The  society 
eventually  went  down  and  the  property  was  sold  to  the  Dutch  Reform 
Church. 

The  First  Universalist  Society  of  Newark  was  organized  August  7, 
1837,  with  forty-nine  members.  The  same  year  a  brick  edifice  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  The  church  was  legally  organized  in  May, 
1842,  by  D.  K.  Lee,  with  twenty-one  members,  and  the  house  of  wor- 
ship was  used  until  January,  1871,  when  it  was  sold.  That  year  the 
present  structure  was  built  at  an  expense  of  $15,000,  and  dedicated 
March  13,  1872,  the  first  pastor  officiating  being  Rev.  George  B.  Stock- 
ing. The  pastors  of  the  old  church  were  Revs.  Kneeland  Townsend, 
Henry  Roberts,  D.  K.  Lee,  E.  W.  Locke,  J.  J.  Austin,  D.  C.  Tomlin- 
son,  C.  A.  Skinner,  S.  L.  Rorapaugh,  A.  Kelsey,  R.  Fiske,  L.  C. 
Brown,  C.  Fleuhrer,  and  W.  B.  Randolph.  The  society  has  about 
sixty  members  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  James  P.  Curtis. 

The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  East  Newark  was  organized  prior  to 
1844,  at  which  time  Rev.  William  Turner  was  pastor,  and  in  which 
year  it  numbered  thirty  members.  The  society  finally  weakened  and 
disbanded,  but  a  few  years  since  was  reorganized  under  the  same  name 
as  a  missionary  field  belonging  to  the  Classis  of  Rochester  and  in 
charge  of  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of 
America.  The  old  brick  Baptist  Church  was  purchased,  and  in  it  both 
English  and  Holland  services  are  held  regularly.  Rev.  Jacob  Dyk  is 
pastor:elect.     The  society  has  about  100  members. 

The  German  Evangelical  Association  Church  of  Newark  was  organ- 
ized with  twenty-seven  members  in  1845  by  Rev.  Philip  Miller.  Their 
house  of  worship  was  erected  on  Miller  street  in  1864  and  consecrated 
by  Rev.  M.  Fitzinger.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  M.  Miller,  and  among 
his  earlier  successors  were  Revs.  Jacob  Siegrist,  Jacob  L.  Jacoby,  M. 
Lane,  August  Holzworth,  and  Charles  Wissman.  The  present  pastor 
is  Rev.  Fred  Lahmeyer  and  the  society's  membership  numbers  about 
100. 

St.  Mark's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Newark  was  legally 
organized  at  the  house  of  Esbon  Blackmaron  July  22,  1851,  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Bissell,   of  Geneva.     The  first  officers  were  Thomas  Davis  and  Ebe- 


380  LANDMARKS   OF 

nezer  Cress}-,  wardens;  Esbon  Blackmar,  Fletcher  Williams,  George 
Perkins,  David  Mandeville,  John  Daggett,  Clark  Mason,  A.  W.  Marsh, 
and  Joel  H.  Prescott,  vestrymen.  Episcopal  services  had  been  held  in 
Newark  as  early  as  1830  by  Rev.  T.  F.  Ward  well,  of  Lyons,  and  the 
organization  was  made  possible  by  the  confirmation  of  a  class  by  Bishop 
De  Lancey  in  the  old  M.  E.  Church.  August  15,  1851,  a  contract  was 
let  to  George  Perkins  for  a  church  edifice  to  cost  $1,725,  exclusive  of 
the  spire,  which  was  to  be  built  by  Fletcher  Williams  for  $200.  The 
building  and  lot  cost  $3,174.27,  the  bell  $300,  and  the  organ,  the  gift 
of  the  Ladies'  Society,  $450.  The  church  was  consecrated  by  Bishop 
De  Lancey  on  December  28,  1852;  the  building  committee  consisted  of 
Esbon  Blackmar,  Fletcher  Williams,  and  Joel  H.  Prescott.  Rev. 
Charles  W.  Hayes  was  installed  the  first  rector  September  19,  1852, 
organized  a  Sunday  school  October  3,  with  Joel  H.  Prescott  as  super- 
intendent, and  continued  in  charge  until  1854,  when  Rev.  Charles  W. 
Homer  assumed  charge.  Under  him  the  first  Christmas  tree  in  Newark 
was  uncovered  at  the  rectory  in  1855.  Among  his  successors  were 
Revs.  William  O.  Gorham,  John  H.  Rowling,  P.  T.  Babbitt,  W.  J. 
Pigott,  and  John  Leach.  In  1876  a  rectory  was  purchased  for  $3,000. 
The  parish  has  about  eighty  members  with  Rev.  L.  D.  Van  Dyke,  D. 
D.,  as  rector. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Newark  was  established  with  about 
forty  members  in  1855,  mainly  through  the  efforts  of  Rev.  Father  Pur- 
cell,  who  was  followed  by  Fathers  Clark,  Lee,  Charles,  S.  M.  Rimmels, 
and  others.  A  frame  edifice  was  built  in  1855.  The  present  pastor  is 
Rev.  D.  W.  Kavanaugh,  of  Lyons. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Newark  was  first  a  removal  and  after- 
ward a  reorganization  r>i  the  society  of  this  denomination  in  East 
Newark,  previously  detailed.  The  removal  occurred  in  1864,  and  in 
1865  a  church  edifice  was  built  at  a  cost  of  several  thousand  dollars.  It 
stands  on  the  south  side  of  Miller  street  and  was  originally  designated 
"Hope  Chapel."  In  December,  1874,  the  society  was  reorganized 
under  its  present  name,  the  first  officers  being  Josiah  Failing,  Clark 
Phillips,  Marvin  I.  Greenwood,  Jesse  G.  Pitts,  William  Fisk,  and  T. 
Hunt,  trustees;  Clark  Phillips,  president;  M.  I.  Greenwood,  secretary; 
William  Fisk,  treasurer.  A  parsonage  was  purchased  for  $1,700,  and 
the  pastor  at  the  time  of  reorganization  was  Rev.  V.  Wilson.  The 
society  has  about  190  members  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev.  F. 
W.  Kneeland. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  381 

The  German  Lutheran  Church  of  East  Newark  was  organized  March 
27,  1872.  The  original  membership  numbered  twenty-seven,  and  the 
first  meetings  were  held  in  the  Baptist  Church  by  Rev.  C.  C.  Manz,  a 
missionary,  once  in  two  weeks.  The  society  has  thirty  five  or  forty 
members  with  Rev.  Robert  T.  Vosberg  as  pastor.  The  Sunday  school 
has  an  average  attendance  of  forty  scholars. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Fairville  was  constituted  with  eighteen 
persons  March  31,  1860.  Rev.  Mr.  Gushing,  of  Newark,  had  preached 
here  in  the  school  house  and  later  in  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  was  fol- 
lowed in  1859  by  Rev.  Mr.  Holcomb.  July  20,  1860,  John  Aiken  ex- 
ecuted a  deed  of  the  present  lot  to  Elon  St.  John,  John  Bockoven, 
William  H.  Van  Inwagen,  Franklin  Koffman,  and  Charles  E.  Crandall, 
trustees,  for  $200.  The  building  committee  consisted  of  Elon  St.  John, 
John  Bockoven,  Marvin  Lee,  William  H.  Van  Inwagen,  and  Charles 
E.  Crandall.  The  contract  was  let  August  24,  1861,  to  Elon  St.  John, 
for  $2,500,  and  the  corner  stone  was  laid  by  Rev.  Mr.  Holcomb  on 
October  2,  1861.  The  edifice  was  dedicated  October  16,  1862,  by  Rev. 
Charles  Hawley,  of  Auburn.  January  1,  1866,  the  church  was  legally 
oganized  by  the  Presbytery  of  Lyons  with  eighteen  members,  and  with 
William  H.  Smith  and  Henry  West  as  ruling  elders.  The  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  Mr.  Young,  the  present  incumbent  being  Rev.  J.  W.  Low- 
den.      The  society  has  about  seventy  members. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Fairville  was  organized  at  a 
comparatively  early  date,  and  a  house  of  worship  erected  in  1857.  The 
society  has  about  seventy-five  members  and  a  Sunday  school  with  an 
average  attendance  of  fifty  scholars.  The  pastor  is  Rev.  Joseph  Max- 
well. 


382  LANDMARKS   OF 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  MARION. 

This  town  was  formed  from  Williamson  on  the  18th  of  April,  1825, 
and  originally  was  called  "  Winchester, "  which  name  was  changed  to 
Marion  April  15,  1826.  An  interior  township,  nearly  square,  it  lies 
west  from  the  center  of  Wayne  county,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Williamson,  on  the  east  by  Sodus  and  Arcadia,  on  the  south  by  Pal- 
myra, and  on  the  west  by  Walworth.      Its  area  embraces  17,:591  acres. 

Marion  is  one  of  the  best  farming  towns  in  Wayne  county.  The  sur- 
face is  broken  into  a  succession  of  drift  hills  and  ridges,  intervened  with 
fruitful  valleys,  the  whole  being  well  adapted  to  agriculture.  The  soil 
is  a  gravelly  loam  and  drift,  and  in  the  northern  part  is  largely  under- 
laid with  a  limestone  formation.  Drainage  is  afforded  almost  entirely 
by  Red  Creek,  which  has  its  source  near  the  north  boundary,  flows 
southerly  a  little  east  of  the  center  of  the  town,  and  passes  into  Pal- 
myra, emptying  in  the  Ganargwa  near  East  Palmyra  village.  This  stream 
affords  some  good  mill  sites  and  has  a  number  of  small  tributaries. 
Near  the  village  of  Marion  is  a  sulphur  spring,  which  produces  a  con- 
stant supply  of  water  possessing  valuable  medicinal  properties,  but  it 
has  never  been  much  utilized  for  medical  treatment. 

In  common  with  adjacent  divisions  of  Wayne  county  this  town  was 
originally  covered  with  heavy  timber  which  long  gave  profitable  em- 
ployment to  the  early  settlers.  Much  of  it  was  burned  for  the  ashes, 
but  a  considerable  portion  was  converted  into  lumber,  which  brought 
into  existence  a  number  of  saw  mills.  All  of  these  long  ago  disappeared. 
The  pioneers,  as  soon  as  land  was  cleared,  devoted  their  efforts  to  raising 
wheat  and  other  grain,  and  until  late  years  this  branch  of  farming  pre- 
dominated. The  growing  of  fruit,  especially  of  apples,  was  also  given 
early  attention,  and  during  the  last  decade  the  culture  of  raspberries 
has  been  extensively  developed.  A  large  number  of  the  farms  of  the 
present  day  support  substantial  dry-houses  or  evaporators. 

The  primitive  log  cabins  of  the  first  settlers  were  long  since  super- 
seded by  modern  dwellings,    which  the  present  generation  surround 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  383 

with  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  this  age.  Some  of  these  are  still  oc- 
cupied as  homesteads,  but  the  inevitable  changes  of  time  have  placed 
many  in  the  hands  of  later  comers.  The  older  settlers,  with  few  excep- 
tions, have  passed  away;  but  scattered  here  and  there  over  the  town 
are  worthy  descendants  of  those  sturdy  pioneers  who  endured  the  hard- 
ships of  frontier  life,  subdued  the  wilderness,  established  homes, 
churches,  and  schools,  and  reared  large  families  in  the  observances  of 
the  laws  of  modern  civilization. 

Tradition  says  that  early  settlers  here  sought  the  hills  in  preference 
to  the  more  fertile  valleys,  and  in  consequence  the  first  roads  ran  from 
summit  to  summit  without  any  definite  course,  except  to  avoid  as  far 
as  possible  the  wet  low  lands.  The  first  highway  through  the  town  was 
the  old  Geneva  and  Canandaigua  road,  which  passed  through  Palmyra 
and  Marion  to  the  upper  corners ;  this  was  what  is  now  the  thoroughfare 
that  runs  northeasterly  to  East  Williamson.  The  second  road  was  an 
enlargement  of  the  Indian  trail,  or  the  "  old  post  route,"  leading  from 
Canandaigua  to  Pultneyville,  and  continued  northward  from  the  Sodus 
road  from  Marion  upper  corners.  The  Sodus  road  was  laid  out  by  Capt. 
Charles  Williamson  in  1794.  Considerable  labor  was  expended  in  im- 
proving these  and  other  early  highways,  and  in  this  direction  the  town 
has  constantly  kept  pace  with  the  advancement  in  road  making. 

The  town  has  never  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  a  railroad  within  its 
borders.  Its  inhabitants  have  always  depended  upon  the  more  primi- 
tive means  of  transportation  by  teams,  yet  its  productive  soil,  excellent 
educational  facilities  and  many  natural  advantages  have  placed  it  in 
the  front  rank  of  interior  civil  divisions  of  the  Empire  State.  Mails, 
passengers,  freight,  etc.,  are  still  conveyed  by  stage,  principally  be- 
tween Marion  village  and  Palmyra.  The  nearest  railroad  stations  are 
East  Palmyra  on  the  New  York  Central  on  the  south  and  Williamstown 
on  the  R.  W.  and  O.  on  the  north. 

The  first  annual  town  meeting  of  the  town  of  Marion  (then  Winches- 
ter) was  held,  pursuant  to  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  1824,  at 
the  house  of  Daniel  Wilcox,  April  14,  1826,  and  the  following  officers 
were  elected:  Seth  Eddy,  supervisor;  Samuel  Moore,  town  clerk: 
Isaac  R.  Sanford,  David  Eddy,  Thomas  Lakey,  assessors:  Samuel  Ball, 
collector;  Samuel  Dellano  and  Joseph  Caldwell,  overseers  of  the  poor; 
Reuben  Adams,  jr.,  Peter  Eddy,  Benjamin  Mason,  highway  commis- 
sioners; Samuel  Ball  and  Jeremiah  Angell,  constables;  Joseph  Cald- 
well, Thomas  Lakey,  Samuel  Moore,  commissioners  of  common  schools ; 


384 


LANDMARKS   OF 


[esse  Mason,  Homer  Adams,  James  Smith,  inspectorsof  public  schools; 
Gideon  Sherman,  ponndkeeper.  The  town  then  had  thirty-live  road 
districts  and  a  pathmaster  was  subsequently  appointed  for  each.  Sam- 
uel Moore  was  town  clerk  until  1832,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Elisha 
R.  Wright.  In  1850  a  bounty  of  one  shilling-  each  was  offered  for  all 
crows  killed  in  town.  The  supervisors  of  Marion  have  been  as  fol- 
lows: 


Seth  Eddy,  1826, 
Jesse  Mason,   1827, 
Isaac  R.  Sanford,  1828, 
Elias  Durfee,   1829-33, 
William  R.  Sanford,  1834, 
Elias  Durfee,  1835, 
Marvin  Rich,   1836, 
Elias  Durfee,  1837-38, 
Seth  Eddy,  1839-40, 
Onion  Archer,  1841-45, 
Peter  Boyce,  1846-47, 
Nelson  D.  Young,  1848-49, 
Oscar  Howell,  1850-51, 
Nelson  D.  Young,  1852-53, 
Isaac  A.  Clark,  1854, 
Elias  Durfee,  1855-59, 


Pardon  Durfee,  1860-61, 
Ira  Lakey,  1862-63, 
( h-ville  Lewis,  1864-65, 
Nelson  D.   Young,  1866-69, 
Dwight  Smith,  1870-72, 
Charles  Tremain,  1873, 
Dwight  Smith,  1874-75, 
Nelson  D.   Young,  1876-78, 
Henry  R.   Taber,  1879, 
Chester  F.  Sweezy,  1880-82, 
Henry  R.  Taber,  1883-86, 
Seth  B.  Dean,  1887-88, 
Henry  R.  Taber,   1889-92, 
Henry  C.  Allen,    1893, 
Henry  R.  Taber,  1894. 


The  town  officers  for  1894  are  as  follows:  Henry  R.  Taber,  super- 
visor; Richard  B.  McOmber,  town  clerk;  Myron  J.  Mersen,  J.  Smith 
Crane,  Jefferson  Sherman,  Harmon  S.  Potter,  justices  of  the  peace; 
Sidney  F.  Durfee,  Charles  S.  Pratt,  George  H.  Lookup,  Charles  L.  Tas- 
sell,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Isaac  A.  Johnson,  commissioner  of  high- 
ways; Horace  A.  Warner,  collector. 

The  first  settlement  in  this  town  was  commenced  by  Henry  Lovell 
in  1795.  He  located  on  a  farm  now  the  south  and  west  portions  of 
Marion  village,  and  his  log  house  stood  on  the  lot  more  recently  owned 
by  Buckley  Newton.  Mr.  Lovell  was  a  typical  hunter  and  is  said  to 
have  killed  thirty  deer  in  one  day.  A  child  born  to  him  in  1705  lived 
but  a  few  weeks;  this  was  the  first  birth  and  the  first  death  in  town, 
and  his  only  neighbors  at  the  time  were  Daniel  Powell  and  wife,  who 
buried  the  babe  on  a  knoll  back  of  Lovell's  house.  Betsey  Lovell,  a 
daughter  of  Henry,  was  the  second  white  child  born  in  the  town.  Mr. 
Lovell  finally  removed  to  the  west. 

Daniel  Powell,  wife  and  eight  children,  came  to  Palmyra  from  Mass- 
achusetts in  1794  and  removed  to  Marion  in  1795.      He  was  a  wealth}- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  385 

man  for  those  days,  endowed  with  extraordinary  strength  and  endu- 
rance, and  eventually  cleared  over  500  acres  in  this  town  and  William- 
son. In  Marion  he  took  up  a  farm  of  126  acres,  which  he  partially 
cleared,  and  sold  it  in  1816  to  David  Harding. 

In  1705  David  Sweezey  came  here  with  his  family  from  New  Jersey, 
making  the  entire  trip  in  light  boats,  which  were  carried  from  stream 
to  stream  where  necessary.  He  settled  on  a  large  farm  in  the  south 
part  of  the  town,  upon  which  he  lived  until  his  death.  After  being 
owned  by  his  heirs  and  others  it  ultimately  came  into  the  possession  of 
D.  F.  Luce.  Another  settler  of  this  year  was  Samuel  C.  Caldwell,  also 
from  New  Jersey,  who  came  hither  by  ox  team  and  wagon.  At  his 
death  a  son  succeeded  him  on  the  homestead. 

Elizabeth  Howell  and  David  Sherman  were  married  in  the  winter  of 
1794-95,  and  this  was  the  first  marriage  celebrated  in  the  town.  Miss 
Howell  came  to  Marion  in  the  family  of  David  Sweezey.  Mr.  Sher- 
man, a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  came  from  Washington  county,  N.Y. , 
to  East  Palmyra  in  1791,  but  in  the  fall  of  that  year  returned  east  on 
foot.  The  next  winter  he  moved  to  East  Palmyra  with  two  yoke  of 
oxen,  and  early  in  1796  came  thence  to  this  town,  settling  on  100  acres 
of  the  Caldwell  farm.  This  he  soon  sold  to  Samuel  O.  Caldwell.  He 
purchased  and  cleared  another  farm,  upon  which  he  died  and  upon 
which  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Zepheniah,  and  the  father  of 
Jefferson  Sherman. 

Samuel  O.  Caldwell  is  reputed  to  have  drawn  the  first  load  of  goods 
from  Canandaigua  to  Pultneyville  for  Capt.  Charles  Williamson,  to 
whom  he  was  introduced  as  "  a  man  who  could  drive  two  yoke  of  oxen 
and  a  sled  over  logs  two  feet  high."  The  trip  was  made  in  August  in 
six  days,  with  the  above  named  outfit.  In  1795  nearly  every  settler  in 
this  region  was  down  with  the  fever  and  ague,  and  it  is  stated  that  Mr. 
Caldwell  went  to  mill  near  Geneva  for  them  all.  He  subsequently 
moved  thither  two  families  from  Rhode  Island  and  another  from  New 
Jersey  with  his  ox  teams. 

Deacon  Joseph  Caldwell  was  born  in  Marion  September  24,  1799,  and 
died  August  31,  1875.  In  1829  he  married  Sarah  Smith  and  had  born 
to  him  three  children,  of  whom  the  only  son,  Samuel  G.,  was  a  graduate 
of  Union  College  and  of  the  Albany  Law  School,  and  became  a  banker 
in  Omaha,  Neb.  Amanda  M.,  one  of  the  daughters,  married  John  S. 
Rich,  who  settled  in  Marion  village  in  1851.  Mr.  Rich  was  assistant 
census  marshal  in  1860,  deputy  marshal  for  the  northern  district  of  New 
49 


386  LANDMARKS   OF 

York  for  several  years,  a  special  agent  of  the  treasury  department,  and 
a  life  long  Democrat.  Deacon  Caldwell  was  a  graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  deacon  in  the  Congregational  church  over  fifty 
years,  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  leading  agriculturist  of  the  town 
and  county. 

Robert  Springer,  a  Rhode  Islander,  came  to  this  town  about  1796, 
cleared  a  small  plot,  returned  East,  and  the  next  year  brought  his 
family  to  his  frontier  home.  His  sons  were  Isaac,  Richard,  Robert,  jr., 
Samuel,  and  Israel. 

William  B.  Cogswell,  another  Rhode  Islander,  settled  early  in  Marion 
and  few  years  later  took  up  a  farm  subsequently  occupied  by  his  son. 
Reuben  Adams  and  son,  Reuben,  were  also  settlers  of  this  period. 

Among  the  comers  during  the  years  1797,  1798,  1799,  and  later,  were 
Luke  Phelps  and  Harris  Cooley,  from  Massachusetts;  David  and  Will- 
iam Harding,  from  Rhode  Island;  Micajah  Harding,  Seth,  William  and 
David  Eddy,  John  Harkness,  from  Massachusetts;  Zadoc  Huggins,  Seth 
Harris,  from  Rhode  Island;  John  Case,  Jesse  Harding,  David  Mason, 
Gideon  Sherman,  Zebina  Crane,  and  Judge  Marvin  Rich.  Luke  Phelps 
was  the  first  supervisor  of  the  town  of  Williamson,  and  his  sons,  Jared 
and  Ezra,  became  prominent  in  local  affairs.  Ezra  was  a  surveyor  and 
ran  many  of  the  original  lot  lines,  laid  out  most  of  the  early  roads,  and 
was  for  some  time  highway  commissioner.  His  son,  Deacon  Ezra 
Phelps,  succeeded  him  on  the  homestead.  David  and  William  Harding 
both  died  in  town.  Micajah  Harding,  prominent  in  civil  and  religious 
affairs,  raised  a  company  of  sharpshooters  and  served  in  the  war  of 
1812.  The  three  Eddys  settled  on  what  is  called  the  Eddy  ridge. 
Seth  Eddy  was  the  first  supervisor  of  Marion,  the  first  deacon  of  the 
Baptist  church,  and  captain  of  a  company  of  drafted  men  in  the  war  of 
1812.  David  Eddy  became  side  judge.  The  children  of  John  Hark- 
ness were:  Seth  E.,  Roswell,  Leverett,  William,  and  Mrs.  S.  Miller. 
Zadoc  Huggins  taught  the  first  singing  school,  and  John  Case,  a 
Methodist,  was  the  first  preacher  in  town.  Seth  Harris  met  his  death 
by  drowning  in  the  lake.  David  Mason  had  three  sons,  John,  Benja- 
min, and  Jesse.  The  latter  was  endowed  with  exceptional  ability. 
Zebina  Crane,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Daniel  Dean,  and  the  grandfather  of 
Zebina  Crane,  died  here  in  1820.  Judge  Marvin  Rich  was  a  very 
prominent  citizen  and  subsecpicntly  moved  to  Rochester. 

Prior  to  1812  the  following,  among  others,  settled  in  Marion:  Stephen 
Sanford,    from   Rhode  Island;    Harvey  Riley,    father  of   Peleg,  Hiram, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  :;*; 

and  Rescom  Riley,  and  Mrs.  Van  Ostram ;  William  and  Thomas  Corry, 
Rhode  Islanders,  from  whom  Corry  Corners  was  named,  where  both  of 
them  died;  Stephen  Vaughn,  Julius  Hutchinson,  Joel  Hall,  William 
Hadsell,  and  Abraham  and  Darius  Pratt.  Joel  Hall  and  his  sons,  Joel, 
jr.,  and  Amasa,  at  that  time  married  men,  were  the  first  comers  to  the 
Hall  settlement.  Joel  Hall,  sr. ,  was  endowed  with  unusual  strength 
and  performed  feats  almost  marvelous.  He  was  the  grandfather  of 
Warren,  Joseph,  Amasa,  jr.,  and  Lead  Hall,  residents  of  Marion,  Wal- 
worth, and  Williamson. 

In  the  winter  of  1825  Richard  Sweet  built  a  canal  boat  at  Marion 
village,  and  in  the  spring  drew  it  on  ox  sleds  to  Palmyra  and  launched 
it ;  the  trip  occupied  two  days. 

Among  other  early  settlers  of  Marion  were  Eliphalet  Dean,  father  of 
Daniel ;  Elias  Durfee,  who  built  and  operated  a  furnace  for  several 
years;  Eponitas  Ketchum,  Thomas  Clark,  who  died  on  his  homestead ; 
John  Smith,  from  New  Jersey;  James  Center,  who  sold  his  farm  to  M. 
L.  Rogers  in  1835;  Philip  Potter,  a  Rhode  Islander,  who  died  here 
aged  92 ;  and  Thomas  Young,  who  was  succeeded  on  the  homestead  by 
his  son,  Nelson  D. 

Marion  Heslor,  a  native  of  this  town  and  long  a  prominent  business 
man  here,  died  in  February,  1888.  Delos  Hutchins,  equally  as  well 
known,  died  in  April  following.  James  McDowell,  also  a  prominent 
citizen,  died  in  September,  1892,  aged  forty-eight  years.  Earl  Wilcox 
was  the  eldest  son  of  William  and  Ruth  Wilcox,  and  was  born  in  Pal- 
myra March  30,  1794.  He  settled  in  Marion  in  1827  and  died  here  in 
March,  1874,  being  at  that  time  the  oldest  native  of  the  town  of  Pal- 
myra. He  married  Jane  Stewart  and  had  ten  children,  five  of  whom 
survive  him. 

Hon.  Jefferson  Sherman  was  born  in  this  town  October  20,  1835,  and 
died  on  the  homestead  August  31,  1894.  He  was  a  very  prominent 
man,  held  several  local  offices  of  responsibility,  and  represented  the 
Second  Assembly  District  of  Wayne  county  in  the  State  Legislature  of 
1879  and  1880. 

Prominent  among  other  citizens,  sons  of  whom  are  descendants  of 
the  pioneers  already  mentioned,  are  recalled  the  names  of  Dwight 
Smith,  Peter  Boyce,  Chester  F.  Sweezey,  Henry  R.  Tabor  (present 
supervisor),  Henry  C.  Allen,  Seth  B.  Dean,  Ira  Lakey,  Orville  Lewis, 
Buckley  Newton,  Allen  Knapp,  Daniel  F.  Luce,  W.  Cogswell,  J.  A. 
Shaw,  John  Copping,   Z.  Howell,  A.  Turner,  W.  Lookup,  T.  M.  Clark 


388  LANDMARKS   OF 

(ex-county  sheriff),  Abel  Clark  (son  of  F.  M.),  Philo  D.  Green,  Jere- 
miah Angell,  Isaac  A.  Clark,  B.  B.  Adams,  Henry  Butler,  L.  Milliman, 
Amasa  Stanton,  Everard  White,  C.  H.  Curtis,  James  Tassell,  Sidney 
Durfee,  John  and  Jeremiah  Clark  (brothers  of  T.  M.),  R.  K.  Warner, 
John  and  William  Smith,  Thomas  S.,  jr.,  and  Emery  Potter,  A.  B. 
Short,  Horace  M.  Winslow,  William  C.  Austin,  H.  R.  Taber,  D. 
Henry  Crane,  Stephen  Reeves,  Charles  Tremain,  Salem  W.  Sweezey, 
Conway  W.  Young-,  Charles  N.  Stearns,  Eugene  H.  Brewster,  and 
Jacob  Baker.  Numerous  others  are  mentioned  further  on  and  in 
Part  II  of  this  volume. 

The  first  physician  in  town,  and  for  many  years  the  only  practitioner 
here  was  Dr.  Seth  Tucker,  who  located  first  a  little  northeast  of  the 
upper  corners  in  Marion  village.  He  later  moved  to  the  farm  upon 
which  C.  H.  Curtis  subsequently  settled. 

The  pioneer  tavern  was  opened  by  a  Widow  Styles  as  early  as  1800; 
it  stood  on  the  lot  in  Marion  village  owned  by  Amasa  Stanton.  The 
first  grist  mill  was  erected  by  Isaac  Phillips  in  1807,  and  Enoch  Turner 
opened  the  first  store.     The  first  blacksmith  was  Harkness  Gifford. 

From  the  first  call  of  troops  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  to  the 
close  of  that  sanguinary  conflict  the  town  of  Marion  promptly  and  gen- 
erously responded  with  many  of  her  ablest  citizens.  A  total  of  186 
men  went  from  within  her  borders  to  fight  the  nation's  battles.  Out 
of  the  depleted  number  that  returned  but  few  remain,  and  this  little 
band  of  heroic  veterans  is  becoming  smaller  and  smaller  as  death 
claims  them  for  the  muster  roll  of  eternity. 

As  previously  noted,  the  first  burial  was  made  on  the  farm  of  Daniel 
Powell.  The  second  death  was  that  of  William  Powell  in  1800,  the 
third  that  of  Anna  Powell,  and  the  fourth  that  of  Mrs.  Daniel  Powell ; 
all  were  interred  in  the  same  plot.  The  second  burying  ground  was 
opened  at  the  upper  corners  in  1804;  and  the  third  was  the  present 
cemetery  in  Marion  village,  the  first  person  buried  therein  being  Mrs. 
Perry  Davis.  In  1853  the  Marion  Cemetery  Association  was  incor- 
porated and  this  plat  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  that  organization. 
Five  acres  of  land  were  subsequently  purchased  of  William  F.  Burbank 
and  added,  and  about  1880  three  and  one-half  acres  were  bought  of 
William  C.  Austin.  A  project  is  now  (1894)  on  foot  to  erect  a  suitable 
soldiers'  monument  on  a  lot  in  the  cemetery  set  aside  for  the  purpose. 
The  present  (1894)  officers  are:  John  S.  Rich,  president;  David  Lown, 
secretary;    William  G.  Austin,    treasurer;   John  S.    Rich,  David  Lown, 


WAYNE   COUNTY. 


389 


William  C.  'Austin,  and  William  W.  Burbank,  executive  committee ; 
Presson  Peer,  Stephen  Reeves,  Washington  Hathaway,  Charles  San- 
ford,  Allen  Knapp,  and  the  officers  previously  named,  trustees. 

The  first  school  house  in  town  was  a  log  dwelling  which  stood  in 
Marion  village  on  or  near  the  lot  now  owned  by  C.  C.  Potter;  the  first 
teacher  in  it  was  James  Rogers,  who  was  succeeded  by  Ebenezer 
Ketchum.  Then  came  Asahel  Powers,  the  father  of  Daniel  Powers, 
of  Rochester.  The  first  school  house  erected  for  the  purpose  stood  on 
the  Robinson  farm,  and  was  burned  in  1814.  Morrison  Huggins 
opened  a  select  school  about  1838,  in  the  upper  part  of  an  old  stone 
school  house  in  the  village. 

March  27,  1839,  the  old  Marion  Academy  was  incorporated  and  the 
same  year  a  building  was  erected  for  its  use.  The  first  principal  was 
Ornon  Archer,  who  made  it  a  success,  but  after  his  retirement  the 
school  died  out  and  the  charter  was  abandoned  in  1851. 

The  Marion  Collegiate  Institute  was  incorporated  July  6,  1855,  and 
school  opened  that  year  with  about  ninety  students  in  a  room  fitted  up 
over  a  hardware  store.  In  1856  the  present  commodious  brick  building- 
was  erected  by  subscription.  It  is  forty-four  feet  square  and  three  stories 
high,  and  is  supplied  with  a  library  and  scientific  apparatus.  The  first 
board  of  trustees  consisted  of  fourteen  members,  of  whom  Rev.  J.  W. 
Osburn  was  president;  Nelson  D.  Young, treasurer;  and  A.  H.  Dow, 
secretary. 

The  presidents  of  the  board  have  been: 


Rev.  J.  W.  Osburn,  1855, 
Rev.  Amasa  Stanton,  1855, 
Jacob  Baker,  1857, 
Charles  Tremaine,  1872, 

The  principals  have  been  as  follows ; 

I.  N.  Sawyer,  1855, 

S.  F.  Holt,  1857, 

C.  H.  Dann,  1857, 

Rev.  P.  J.  Williams,  1859, 

A.  S.  Russell,  M.  D.,1861, 

R.  T.  Spencer,  1862, 

A.  S.  Russell,  M.  D.,  1863, 

G.  H.  Miner,  1863, 

Thomas  B.  Lovell,  1864, 

Rev.  E.  G.  Cheeseman,  1870, 

W.  T.  Mills,  1872, 


Nelson  D.  Young,  1873, 
Seth  B.  Dean,  1884, 
William  C.  Austin,  1894. 


Rev.  W.  H.  Sloan,  1873, 
J.  Burns  Frazer,  1874, 
Edson  Plaisted,  1877, 

Congden,  1877, 

D.  Van  Cruyningham,  1878, 
.Charles  E.  Allen,  1879, 
Herbert  E.  Mills,  Ph.  D.,1883, 
F.  W.  Colgrove,  D.  D.,  1884, 
Merritt  H.  Richmond,  1889, 
Elmer  G.  Frail,  1890, 
Fenton  C.  Rowell,  1893, 
W.  C.  Tifft,  A.  M.,  1894-5. 


390  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  Board  of  Trustees  for  1894-94  consists  of  William  C.  Austin, 
Marion,  president;  Stephen  Reeves,  Marion,  recording  secretary;  Rev. 
Samuel  P.  Merrill,  Rochester,  corresponding  secretary;  Horace  M. 
Winslow,  Marion,  treasurer;  Salem  W.  Sweezey,  Marion;  Myron  H. 
Adams,  M.  D.,  Rochester;  Eugene  A.  Brewster,  Palmyra;  Melville 
M.  Eddy,  Williamson ;  I).  Henry  Crane,  Marion ;  Rev.  Cyrus  W.  Mer- 
rill, Johnstown;  Charles  N.  Stearns,  Marion;  Charles  Tremaine, 
Marion;  Conway  W.  Young,  Marion.  Executive  Committee,  Eugene 
H.  Brewster,  Seth  B.  Dean,  and  Conway  W.  Young. 

The  alumni  since  1854  aggregates  160  graduates.  When  the  present 
school  building  was  completed  a  debt  of  about  $0,000  hung  over  it;  a 
proposition  was  made  by  the  trustees  of  the  institute  which  gave  to  the 
church  that  would  voluntarily  assume  the  indebtedness  the  sectarian 
control  of  the  institution  forever.  The  Baptist  Church  of  Marion  came 
forward,  raised  the  necessary  money,  and  has  since  had  the  spiritual  di- 
rection and  fostering  care. 

The  town  has  thirteen  school  districts  with  school  houses,  which  are 
taught  by  fourteen  teachers  and  attended  by  about  550  pupils.  In 
L892-93,  the  school  buildings  and  sites  were  valued  at  $11,050;  assessed 
valuations  of  districts,  $1,349,000;  money  received  from  the  State, 
$1,747.03;  raised  by  local  tax,  $3,097.70. 

In  1858  there  were  in  Marion  14,302  acres  improved  land;  real  estate 
valued  at  $488,585,  and  personal  property,  $71,012;  985  male  and  952 
female  inhabitants;  382  dwellings ;  419  families;  366  freeholders;  thir- 
teen school  districts  and  756  school  children;  840  horses;  1,084  oxen 
and  calves;  974  cows;  3,703  sheep;  and  1,032  swine.  That  year  there 
were  produced  12,473  bushels  winter  and  108,745  bushels  spring  wheat ; 
2,684  tons  hay:  15,740  bushels  potatoes;  34,035  bushels  apples;  90,550 
pounds  butter;  18,703  pounds  cheese;  and  592  yards  domestic  cloth. 

In  1890  the  town  had  a  population  of  2,144,  or  44  more  than  in  1880. 
In  1893,  its  17,801  acres  of  land  were  assessed  at  $809,024  (equalized 
$681,587);  village  and  mill  property,  $169,500  (equalized  $135,743); 
personal  property,  $314,228.  Schedule  of  taxes  1893:  Contingent  fund, 
$663.55;  town  poor  fund,  $150;  roads  and  bridges,  $250;  schools, 
$1,035.29;  county  tax,  $2,477.05;  State  tax,  $1,304.9!);  State  insane  tax, 
$352.  I  1 ;  dog  tax,  $86.  Total  tax,  $6,615.  19;  rate  per  cent,  .00511713. 
The  town  has  two  election  districts,  and  in  1893  polled  410  votes. 

Marion  Village.— This  is  the  only  village  in  the  town  of  Marion. 
It  is  situated  south  of  the  center  of  the  town,  on  the  west  side  of  Red 


WAYNE   COUNTY  391 

Creek  and  contains  two  "centers,"  locally  known  as  the  upper  and  lower 
corners.  Prior  to  1810  the  upper  corners  attained  the  greater  impor- 
tance of  the  two  localities,  and  for  several  years  thereafter  it  maintained 
an  equal  competition.  At  the  lower  corners  the  first  landed  proprietors 
were  Daniel  Lovell  and  Timothy  Smith,  whose  successor  in  1811  was 
James  Galloway.  Timothy  Smith  erected  the  original  of  the  present 
hotel,  one  of  whose  long-time  landlords  was  Samuel  Todd,  a  major  in 
the  War  of  1812.  Harris  Cooley  bought  forty  acres  of  land  on  the  west 
side  of  Main  street  and  cleared  it,  and  in  front  of  the  M.  E.  church  he 
stuck  for  a  fence  stake  the  huge  willow  tree  which  was  cut  down  in  1880. 
As  early  as  1800  a  widow,  Mrs.  Styles,  opened  the  first  tavern  in  the 
town  and  village  on  the  lot  owned  by  Amasa  Stanton.  It  furnished 
whisky  to  the  early  settlers;  in  this  connection  it  is  worth  while  to  note 
the  fact  that  no  licenses  have  been  granted  in  the  town  for  nearly  fifty 
years.  Mrs.  Styles  was  also  a  doctress  and  practiced  the  primitive 
healing  art  along  with  her  hotel  business.  The  first  gristmill,  operated 
by  water  power  and  having  one  run  of  stone,  was  erected  by  Isaac 
Phillips  in  1807.  near  the  site  of  the  present  flouring  mill.  Rufus 
Amsden  early  had  a  carding  mill  where  the  canning  factory  now  stands. 
Harkness  Gifford  carried  on  blacksmithing  where  Charles  Jagger  now 
resides,  and  Judge  Marvin  Rich  had  a  cabinet  shop  on  the  site  of  the 
dwelling  that  was  formerly  used  by  Samuel  Smith,  blacksmith.  The 
first  store  was  opened  on  the  Isaac  Morrison  place  by  Enoch  Turner, 
who  also  had  a  tavern.  A  tavern  and  a  distillery  were  conducted 
by  James  Huggins  where  John  Van  Hee  now  lives.  These  various 
industries  flourished  around  the  lower  corners  at  a  very  early  day  and 
constitute  the  foundation  of  the  present  thriving  village. 

In  1825  there  were  in  operation  here  a  grist  mill,  saw  mill,  distillery, 
an  ashery,  blacksmith  shop,  post-office,  the  tavern  of  Daniel  Wilcox,  a 
store  kept  by  Archer  Galloway,  and  a  school ;  there  were  four  houses 
on  the  west  and  seven  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street. 

The  upper  corners  comprised  a  blacksmith  shop,  the  cabinet  shop  of 
Richard  Bourne,  the  office  of  Dr.  Seth  Tucker,  and  about  ten  houses. 
In  1831  a  saw  mill  was  built  by  James  Wright  and  a  Mr.  Wing.  It  was 
called  an  "ox-mill"  from  the  fact  that  its  power  was  obtained  from  a 
tread  wheel  driven  by  oxen ;  it  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  ruins  of 
the  old  Cogswell  saw  mill. 

Marion  village  now  has  two  general  stores,  two  hardware  stores,  two 
drug  stores,  two  groceries,  two  jewelry  stores,  two  millinery  shops,  two 


392  LANDMARKS   OF 

meat  markets,  one  lawyer,  three  physicians,  a  newspaper  and  printing 
office,  one  veterinary  surgeon,  a  bakery,  four  wagon  and  blacksmith 
shops,  one  hotel,  five  churches,  the  Marion  Collegiate  Institute,  a  fine 
public  school  building,  a  grist  mill,  the  foundry  and  machine  shop  of 
Lewis  Smith,  a  canning  factory,  a  ladder  and  fruit  evaporator  manu- 
factory, two  undertakers,  a  mint  stiil,  and  about  900  inhabitants.  The 
postmaster  is  J.  E.  Richmond.  The  grist  mill  was  built  by  James  Ran- 
dall, who  sold  it  to  the  present  proprietor.  The  canning  factory  was 
started  in  the  old  Curtis  foundry  and  fanning  mill  manufactory  in  is!i:i 
by  the  Wayne  County  Canning  Company.  H.  K.  White  is  the  general 
manager. 

Ham,  Center,  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  town,  formerly  had  a 
post-office,  but  it  was  discontinued  several  years  ago.  It  is  now  merely 
a  pleasant  rural  hamlet.  The  place  took  its  name  from  Joel  Hall  and 
his  son  Joel,  jr.,  and  Amasa,  who  settled  there  in  1810. 

Churches. — The  earliest  religious  services  in  town  were  held  by 
Rev.  John  Case,  a  Methodist.  Elder  Fairbanks,  a  Baptist,  was  proba- 
bly the  first  of  his  denomination  to  preach  here.  Rev.  vSeba  Norton 
began  preaching  in  Marion  in  1802,  coming  from  Sodus  every  two 
weeks. 

The  first  Baptist  Church  of  Marion  was  organized  as  the  First  Baptist 
Church  of  Williamson,  February  \M>,  1804,  by  Rev.  Seba  Norton,  with 
the  following  constituent  members:  Reuben  and  Anna  Adams,  Luke 
and  Elizabeth  Phelps,  Micajah  Harding,  Robert  and  Rebecca  Springer, 
Betsey  Sherman,  Sally  Teal,  Elder  Seba  Norton  and  wife  Margaret, 
David  and  Abby  Harding,  Ezra  and  Phebc  Phelps,  Sally  Harding, 
Betsey  Adams,  David  Foster,  and  Mchitable  Adams.  The  first  Lord's 
Supper  was  celebrated  March  lo,  Iso  I,  by  fifteen  communicants,  and 
until  L829  meetings  were  held  in  the  Mason  school  house.  In  that  year 
the  society  erected  the  first  church  edifice  in  town.  It  was  of  wood, 
with  galleries  on  three  sides,  and  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  east 
street  about  twenty-five  rods  from  the  corner.  In  L850  it  was  trans- 
formed into  a  store  and  is  still  used  and  known  as  the  Clark  building. 
In  L 850  the  present  church  was  erected  and  dedicated  November  25. 
This  was  repaired  and  remodeled  in  L867  and  rededicated  November 
L5,  by  Rev.  T.  S.  Harrison.  The  society  bought  a  parsonage  at  an 
early  day  which  they  subsequently  sold  to  Mrs.  Case  (whose  daughter, 
Mrs.  Seeley,  now  owns  it),  when  the  present  one  was  built.  The  pas- 
tor is  Rev.  J.  D.    Merrill  and  the  membersnip  of  the  church  is  about 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  393 

L70.  The  Sunday  school  of  the  church  has  an  average  attendance  of 
I  to  pupils  with  H.  M.  Winslow,  superintendent.  The  property  of  the 
church  is  valued  at  about  $12,000. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Marion  was  organized  as  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Williamson  in  November,  1808,  by  Revs.  James 
I  lotehkiss  and  Oliver  Ayer.  In  1825,  at  the  organization  of  the  town,  the 
name  was  changed  to  the  .Congregational  Church  of  Marion.  Subse- 
quently it  adopted  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government  and  its  pres- 
ent designation.  The  names  of  the  eight  original  members  are  Luke 
Phelps,  Timothy  and  Ruth  Smith,  David  Swezey,  Zadoc  and  Thankful 
Huggins,  and  Samuel  and  Sarah  Waters.  Luke  Phelps  was  the  first 
deacon.  Their  first  house  of  worship,  a  frame  structure,  was  erected 
and  dedicated  in  1831,  was  repaired  in  1850  and  again  in  1866,  and  is 
still  in  use.  The  first  regular  pastor  was  Rev.  H.  R.  Powell  in  1820; 
the  present  incumbent  is  Rev.  Charles  Ray.  The  whole  number  of 
members  since  the  organization  is  about  600;  the  present  number  is 
seventy-one.  Willard  Pullman  is  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school, 
which  was  organized  about  1827 ;  its  attendance  now  is  from  fifty  to 
seventy-five. 

The  Christian  Church  of  Marion  was  organized  November  1,  1820, 
as  the  Church  of  God,  by  Rev.  David  Millard  and  Joseph  Badger,  with 
forty-one  members.  In  1832  the  first  edifice,  of  stone,  36  by  40  feet, 
was  erected  at  the  upper  corners,  and  the  first  services  were  held  in  it  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Farley,  September  16.  Their  present  frame  church,  40  by 
60  feet,  with  a  stone  basement,  was  built  in  1856  and  dedicated  in  1857 
by  Rev.  John  Ross.  The  value  of  the  church  property  is  $7,500.  The 
first  pastor  was  Oliver  True,  who  officiated  until  1828;  following  him 
have  been  Revs.  Benjamin  Farley,  Joseph  Bailey,  E.  M.  Galloway,  W. 
T.  Caton,  Stephen  Mosher,  Amasa  Stanton  (from  1848  to  1866),  Irving 
BullocV(till  1879)  Mr.  Hammond,  J.  W.  Lawton,  J.  W.  Wilson,  and  E. 
M.  Harris  since  May,  1893.  The  society  has  180  members.  Their  pres- 
ent parsonage  was  built  in  1892.  The  Sunday  school  has  about  100 
pupils  under  Richard  B.  McOmber,  superintendent. 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Marion  was  organized  in 
1845  by  Rev.  Porter  McKinster,  with  twelve  members,  but  the  society 
had  no  pastor  or  place  of  worship  until  1854.  In  that  year  Rev.  John 
Dennis  reorganized  the  church.  Their  frame  edifice,  28  by  40  feet,  was 
erected  in  1855  and  dedicated  in  December;  in  1878  it  underwent  ex- 
tensive repairs,  and  the  property,  including  a  parsonage,  is  now  valued 

50 


394  LANDMARKS   OF 

at  about  $4,500.  The  society  has  100  members  under  the  pastoral  care 
of  Rev.  E.  H.  King.  The  Sunday  school,  organized  in  1854,  has  an 
average  attendance  of  sixty-five  scholars. 

The  Reformed  Church  of  Marion  was  formed  in  1860  and  legally  organ- 
ized with  fifty-six  members  in  1870  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Warnshuis.  In  1872 
the  present  frame  edifice,  40  by  72  feet,  was  built  and  dedicated.  In 
1871  Rev.  J.  W.  Warnshuis  was  installed  pastor  and  remained  until 
October,  1876.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Peter  Ihrman,  who  is  also 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  The  church  has  now  about  300 
members.  Their  frame  parsonage  was  purchased  of  Charles  L.  Tassell 
at  a  cost  of  $1,800. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  WALWORTH. 

Walworth,  lying  in  the  middle  of  the  towns  which  form  the  extreme 
west  border  of  Wayne  county,  was  organized  from  Ontario  on  April  20, 
1829.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Ontario,  on  the  east  by  Marion, 
on  the  south  by  Macedon,  and  on  the  west  by  Monroe  county,  and  com- 
prises an  area  of  20,425  acres.  It  received  its  name  in  honor  of  Gen. 
Chancellor  Walworth.  With  a  surface  of  high,  rolling  upland,  whose 
ridges  run  almost  parallel  north  and  south,  it  is  one  of  the  most  elevated 
and  picturesque  parts  of  the  county;  from  several  points  magnificent 
scenery  is  visible  in  all  the  panoramic  splendor  of  Mother  Nature.  The 
deep  valleys  and  .lofty  hills,  composed  of  a  rich  sandy  loam,  are  very 
fertile  and  easily  cultivated,  and  to  the  industrious  husbandman  )deld 
abundant  crops  of  grain,  hay,  potatoes,  fruit,  etc.  There  are  a  number 
of  large  orchards  which,  in  favorable  seasons,  produce  enormous 
revenue.  Drainage  is  afforded  by  several  rivulets  on  the  north  and  by 
tributaries  of  Red  Creek  on  the  south.  There  is  no  water  power  in  this 
town. 

The  land  was  originally  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  timber  con- 
sisting principally  of  beech,  maple,  hemlock,  ash,  and  basswood,  all  of 
which  has  fallen  before  the  pioneer's  axe,  and  been  superseded  by  broad 
fields  of  civilized  industry.     The  wild  game  of  early  times  long  ago  dis- 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  395 

appeared,  and  the  pretty  homes  of  the  present  generation  are  surrounded 
only  by  domestic  animals.  Instead  of  the  rude  log  cabins  of  our  fore- 
fathers now  stand  the  handsome  residences  made  possible  by  their  early 
toil  and  frugality ;  the  malarial  fever  and  ague  which  afflicted  them  so 
terribly,  disappeared  with  the  changing  conditions  of  man  and  climate. 

The  town  of  Walworth  has  never  enjoyed  the  commercial  advantages 
granted  to  nearly  all  her  sister  towns  in  Wayne  county ;  yet  it  has  ever 
maintained  a  degree  of  prominence  that  speaks  well  for  the  industry 
and  enterprise  of  the  inhabitants,  and  which  has. placed  it  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  minor  civil  divisions  of  this  State.  Lacking  the  rapid  ship- 
ping facilities  afforded  by  rail  and  water,  its  rich  soil  and  industrious 
population  tend  to  offset  the  absent  means  of  transportation.  Its  near- 
est railroad  stations  are  Walworth  and  Macedon  on  the  New  York 
Central  on  the  south,  and  Ontario  and  Lakeside  on  R.  W.  &  O.  on  the 
north,  all  distant  from  three  to  four  miles  from  the  bounds  of  the  town. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  obtain  much  accurate  information  concern- 
ing the  early  town  meetings  and  officers.  Many  of  the  names  of 
supervisors  are  noted  a  little  further  on,  and  many  others  are  omitted 
because  of  the  incompleteness  of  the  records. 

The  settlement  of  Walworth  began  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  town 
at  or  near  what  is  now  Walworth  village,  and  the  first  settlers  were 
Andrew,  John,  Samuel,  and  Daniel  Millett,  brothers,  who  came  hither 
with  their  families  in  1799.  Andrew  became  insane  it  is  said  from 
brooding  over  the  belief  that  the  world  would  soon  be  without  wood 
and  liung  himself.  Daniel  subsequently  removed  to  Ohio,  where  he 
was  mistaken  for  a  bear  one  evening,  and  shot.  The  other  two  brothers 
lived  in  Walworth  until  their  death.  A  younger  brother,  Alexander, 
came  in  soon  after  his  brothers  and  settled  near  them. 

Stephen  and  Daniel  Douglass  came  from  Connecticut  in  1811  and 
located  at  the  four  corners  at  Walworth,  and  from  them  the  place  was 
known  as  "Douglass  Corners"  until  1825.  Stephen  erected  the  first 
frame  building  in  the  town  in  1805,  on  the  end  of  a  log  dwelling,  and 
opened  it  as  the  pioneer  tavern.  Five  years  later  the  log  part  was  torn 
down  and  the  frame  part  removed,  and  on  the  site  he  built  a  larger 
hotel,  which  he  conducted  until  his  death  in  1812.  The  structure  is 
now  (1894)  used  by  Frederick  C.  Robie  as  a  barn,  its  occupation  as  a 
hotel  terminating  in  1826.  Stephen  Douglass,  in  1807,  also  erected  the 
first  frame  barn  in  town.  He  was  finally  drowned  in  the  canal.  His 
daughter,  Mrs.  James  Finley,  is  a  resident  of  Walworth. 


396  LANDMARKS  OF 

Capt.  Gilbert  Hinckley,  a  Rhode  Islander,  settled  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  town  in  1803,  and  in  1836  removed  to  Ohio.  In  1804  Dea.  Gideon 
Hackett  and  Jonathan  and  James  Hill  became  settlers,  as  did  also  John, 
I  >avid,  and  Jerry  Chamberlain,  from  Connecticut.  The  next  year 
Luther  Fillmore  located  at  Walworth  village  and  subsequently  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly;  he  died  here  in  1838. 

Other  settlers  of  this  period  was  Joseph  Howe,  the  first  shoemaker, 
and  Nathaniel  Holmes  and  Ira  Howard,  the  pioneer  carpenters.  In 
1806  the  settlement  was  increased  by  the  arrival  of  Jonathan  Miller,  his 
wife,  daughter,  and  three  sons,  and  his  aged  father;  and  about  this 
time  Sylvester  and  Harvey  Lee  settled  at  West  Walworth. 

Among  other  early  settlers  were  John,  Nathan,  and  Enos  Palmer, 
brothers,  who  became  wealthy;  Jonathan  Boynton,  from  Berkshire, 
Mass.,  subsequently  a  member  of  the  Legislature;  and  Stephen  Chase, 
Ebenezer  Trask,  Abner  Rawson,  Joseph  Randolph,  Isaac  Dawley, 
Simeon  Stebbins,  Joseph  Day,  and  William  Childs,  all  of  whom  settled 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  town.  Thomas  Carpenter,  Levi  Salisbury, 
David  Upton,  a  Mr.  Hurley,  Moses  Padley,  and  Daniel  Gould  (a 
Canadian)  located  in  the  central  part  of  Walworth;  and  John,  Asa, 
William,  and  James  Scott,  brothers,  and  Peter  Grover,  in  the  western 
part. 

In  February,  1807,  Charles  Finley  came  in  from  Connecticut  with  a 
large  family,  of  whom  a  child  died  on  the  way  and  a  son,  Reuben,  died 
here  some  years  since.  Another  son,  Lewis, resides  in  town.  The  latter 
married  May  E.  Quinby,  and  their  son,  Dr.  Frank  Finley,  born  here  in 
1859,  died  in  Macedon  May  6,  1893,  after  practicing  medicine  there 
about  three  years. 

Samuel  Strickland,  who  died  in  the  town  some  years  ago,  was  born 
in  Connecticut  in  1790.  In  1798  his  father  removed  to  Redfield, 
Oswego  county,  where  he  was  the  first  settler,  and  built  a  saw  and 
grist  mill  on  the  Salmon  River.  Samuel  came  to  Walworth  in  August, 
1807,  with  his  mother,  and  died  here  in  1845.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Free  Will  Baptist  Church  and  served  in  the  war  of  1812  at  Sodus 
and  on  the  Niagara  frontier.  He  settled  near  the  center  of  the  town 
as  did  also  Samuel  and  Jedediah  Smith,  brothers.  Samuel  Smith 
opened  the  first  blacksmith  shop  in  Walworth  on  land  now  owned  by 
Patrick  Crowley's  two  sons,  and  finally  went  to  Ontario,  where  he 
manufactured  iron  from  native  ore. 

Rowland  Sackett,  David  Tiffany,  David  Foskett,  and  James  Arnold 


(z^U. 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  307 

came  into  this  town  in  1808,  and  Joseph  Strickland,  a  brother  of  Samuel, 
became  a  settler  in  1809.     Capt.  N.  F.  Strickland  died  in  April,  1885. 

About  the  year  1809  Thomas  Kempshall  removed  hither  from  Roch- 
ester and  in  1815  erected,  on  the  northeast  corner  at  Walworth,  the 
first  mercantile  establishment  in  the  town  and  village.  Six  years  after- 
ward he  returned  to  Rochester  and  became  a  prominent  miller. 

James  Benton,  an  idle,  worthless  fellow,  presented  himself  to  the 
settlement  about  this  time  and  followed  the  precarious  life  of  a  wander- 
ing hunter.  In  the  fall  of  1809  he  maliciously  set  fire  to  the  wigwams 
of  the  Indian  village  at  Ridge. 

Dr.  Hurlburt  Crittenden  came  here  in  1804  and  was  the  first  physi- 
cian in  town,  Gilmer  Chase  was  a  life-long  resident  of  the  town,  and  con- 
spicuous in  the  Baptist  Church.  He  died  January  10,  1892.  John 
Craggs,  whose  widow  owns  the  grist  mill  south  of  Walworth,  just  over 
the  line  in  Macedon,  came  here  early  in  life  and  became  the  owner  of 
that  mill  about  1862.  He  was  a  mason  and  an  active  member  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  died  here  August  1,  1889.  Jacob  and  Asil  Hossilton 
settled  in  the  western  part  of  Walworth  in  1812,  and  William  Wylie  lo- 
cated at  the  east  village  in  1817.  Jermain  Andrew  and  J.  Jay  White 
each  served  several  years  as  supervisor.  Daniel  M.  Smith,  son  of  George, 
was  born  in  Farmington,  N.  Y.,  in  1803,  married  Elizabeth  Herendeen 
in  1824,  and  settled  in  Walworth  in  1825.  They  were  Quakers,  and  had 
born  to  them  six  children. 

The  first  death  in  the  town  was  that  of  a  man  named  Hopkins  in  180G ; 
soon  afterward  a  Mr.  Green  was  killed  by  a  falling  tree. 

It  is,  of  course,  impracticable  to  note  the  arrival  of  all  the  settlers  of 
this  town,  but  the  foregoing  covers  most  of  those  of  early  years  who 
were  prominently  instrumental  in  subduing  the  wilderness  and  laying 
the  foundations  of  present  prosperity.  Among  the  later  generation, 
many  of  whom  are  descendants  of  the  sturdy  pioneers,  may  be  mentioned 
the  names  of  Hon.  T.  G.  Yeomans  (ex-member  of  Assembly),  Daniel 
Hoyt,  Albert  Yeomans,  Lewis  and  Julian  Finley,  Orvis  Potter  (son  of 
Horace),  Jerome  Lawrence,  C.  P.  Patterson,  John  Baker  (a  long-time 
postmaster  at  Walworth),  James  W.  Benton  and  his  son  (merchants), 
Hon.  Lucien  T.  Yeomans  (member  of  Assembly  in  1873),  Frederick  C. 
Robie  (town  clerk),  Richard  Allison  (the  present  supervisor),  George 
L.  Lee  (merchant),  Frank  Stoddard,  Henry  Dean  (harness  maker), 
John  Bennett  (long  a  justice  of  the  peace),  and  Peter  Arnold.  Nu- 
merous others  who  are  equally  deserving  of  special  mention  are  noticed 
a  little  further  on  and  also  in  Part  II  of  this  work. 


398  LANDMARKS  OF 

In   1858  the  town   of  Walworth  had  15,859  acres  of  land  improved: 

real  estate  valued  at  $578,470;  and  a  population  of  991  males  and  973 
females.  There  were  390  dwellings  and  34-7  freeholders.  In  1890  its 
population  numbered  2,  L95,  a  decrease  since  1880  of  14:5.  In  1893  the 
real  estate  was  assessed  at  $861,239  (equalized  $765,522);  personal 
property  $109,600;  village  and  mill  property  $109,715  (equalized  $121-, 
234).  Total  valuation  $1,080,554  (equalized  $996,356);  rate  per  cent. 
.038646.  The  town  has  two  election  districts  and  in  1893  polled  346 
votes. 

During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  responded  nobly  and 
promptly  to  the  various  calls  for  troops,  and  sent  to  the  front  a  total  of 
134  volunteers  to  fight  the  nation's  battles.  Of  this  number  John  Mur- 
ray Hoagand  Nelson  F.  Strickland,  both  of  whom  enlisted  in  Co.  B,  9th 
Artillery,  were  promoted  captains. 

The  first  school  house  in  town  was  built  near  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent public  school  building  in  Walworth  village  in  1804.  It  was  of  logs 
and  was  replaced  in  1812  by  the  pioneer  frame  school  house,  in  which 
Louis  McLouth  was  the  first  and  only  teacher,  for  it  burned  before  the 
first  term  was  concluded.  The  next  school  house  was  a  brick  struct- 
ure erected  in  1815,  half  a  mile  north  of  the  village,  which  was  soon 
afterward  torn  down  and  a  frame  building  was  put  up  west  of  Wal- 
worth. The  Walworth  Academy  was  legally  incorporated  May  21, 
1841,  and  a  stone  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  The  first 
principal  was  Prof.  E.  B.  Walsworth,  who  opened  the  school  in  the  fall 
of  that  year.  A  new  brick  structure  (the  present  school  house)  was 
built  in  1857  at  an  expense  of  $8,000.  It  is  three  stories  high  and  with 
slight  repairs  is  still  used  for  the  academy.  The  old  building  was  con- 
verted into  a  dwelling  and  later  into  a  hall,  atid  is  now  the  meeting- 
place  of  the  local  grange.  The  academy  employs  two  teachers  and  is 
comparatively  well  patronized.  The  present  trustees  are  Hon.  T.  G. 
Yeomans,  Lucien  T.  Yeomans,  Elon  Yeomans,  Warren  Hall,  Albert 
Ycomans,  Alonzo  Crane,  Lewis  Finley,  Jerome  Lawrence,  and  Orvis 
Potter. 

The  town  now  has  eleven  school  districts,  taught  by  as  many  teach- 
ers, and  attended  during  the  school  year  of  1892-93  by  477  scholars. 
The  value  of  school  buildings  and  sites  is  $6,950;  assessed  valuation  of 
the  districts  $1,1  32,000;  public  money  received  from  the  State  $1,424.  95 ; 
amount  raised  by  local  tax  $1,688. Ml. 

Nathan  Palmer  erected  and  operated  the  first  saw  mill  in  town  about 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  399 

is lo.  It  was  situated  on  the  little  stream  southwest  of  West  Wal- 
worth, and  the  dam  which  supplied  the  power  caused  such  an  overflow 
on  adjacent  lands  that  the  inhabitants,  considering  themselves  wronged, 
assembled  one  night  and  tore  it  down  and  burned  the  mill.  Mr.  Palmer 
began  a  litigation  and  recovered  damages  and  costs. 

As  early  as  1803  the  first  burying  ground  was  laid  out  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  south  of  Walworth  village  on  the  present  Stephen  A.  Tabor  farm. 
A  second  burial  plat  was  selected  in  1816,  near  the  center  of  the  town, 
and  is  known  as  the  Baker  cemetery.  To  this  nearly  all  the  remains 
originally  interred  in  the  pioneer  graveyard  were  ultimately  removed. 
Another  pretty  cemetery  is  located  on  elevated  ground  a  little  south- 
west from  Walworth  village. 

Walworth  Village. — Until  1825  this  place  was  known  as  "Doug- 
lass Corners,"  from  the  Douglass  brothers,  Stephen  and  Andrew,  who 
were  among  its  first  settlers.  The  former  built  here  the  first  hotel  and 
Thomas  Kempshall  the  pioneer  store  in  town,  which  were  the  substan- 
tial beginnings  of  the  present  pretty  village.  Two  other  early  settlers 
here  were  Andrew  Millett  and  Luther  Fillmore,  the  latter  of  whom  be- 
came prominent  in  public  affairs.  The  post-office  was  established  in 
1823,  with  Henry  Moore,  postmaster;  the  present  incumbent  is  Cope- 
land  Morse. 

Among  the  various  merchants  who  have  carried  on  trade  in  the  vil- 
lage were  Theron  and  Veniah  Yeomans,  on  the  site  of  F.  C.  Robie's 
store,  in  an  old  building  recently  burned;  Lewis  Eddy,  where  is  now 
the  Masonic  hall;  and  Tucker  &  Sweeting,  Benjamin  Billings,  Nathan 
Lusk,  Uriah  Hoyt,  a  Mr.  Richmond,  Philip  Lawrence,  John  Sebring, 
and  Edward  Kent.  The  present  hotel  was  erected  by  Hon.  T.  G.  Yeo- 
mans. Among  the  landlords  was  John  Sweeney,  whom  many  will  re- 
call with  interesting  recollections.  The  village  now  contains  three 
general  stores,  a  jewelry  store,  hotel  and  livery,  a  millinery  store,  one 
harness  shop,  a  shoe  store,  a  tin  shop,  two  cooperages,  two  physicians, 
an  academy  and  public  school,  two  churches,  and  a  population  of 
about  450. 

West  Walworth. — The  site  of  this  village  was  originally  settled  and 
improved  by  Joseph  Howe  in  1805,  and  from  a  few  log  houses  and  a 
blacksmith  shop  it  has  steadily  grown  into  a  thriving  rural  hamlet 
The  first  store  was  opened  in  1835  by  William  Freeland  in  a  building 
subsequently  occupied  by  S.  L.  Miller.  The  Johnson  Brothers  began 
the    manufacture  of   grain    threshers  here  in  1838,   but   the    business 


400  LANDMARKS   OF 

proved  unprofitable  and  it  was  soon  abandoned.  The  post-office  was 
established  and  William  D.  Wylie  was  appointed  postmaster  in  1840. 
The  present  occupant  of  the  office  is  Thomas  Payne.  The  village  now 
comprises  two  general  stores,  a  hardware  store,  two  blacksmith  shops, 
wagon  shop,  dry  house  and  evaporator,  a  millinery  store,  two  churches, 
and  about  150  inhabitants.  Lee  and  Harvey  Miller,  brothers,  were 
prominent  and  long-time  merchants,  as  also  was  Nathan  Reed.  West 
Walworth  in  late  years  has  been  an  important  center  for  handling  dried 
fruit,  which  has  proved  a  profitable  business. 

Lincoln. —  Situated  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  town,  the  little  ham- 
let of  Lincoln  affords  the  inhabitants  there  nearly  all  the  advantages 
and  privileges  that  either  of  the  above  described  villages  could  offer. 
In  185:3  N.  F.  Strickland  erected  and  started  a  mill  here  and  in  the  fall 
of  that  year  a  store  building  was  put  up  and  business  opened.  In  1866 
Mr.  Strickland  obtained  a  post-office  for  the  place  and  was  appointed 
the  first  postmaster.  The  hamlet  now  contains  a  store,  a  cheese  factory, 
wagon  and  blacksmith  shops,  two  churches,  and  about  a  dozen  dwell- 
ings. 

Churches. —  From  traditionary  evidence  gathered  from  old  settlers, 
it  appears  that  a  Presbyterian  Society  once  flourished  in  the  village  of 
Walworth,  but  definite  data  concerning  its  organization,  existence,  or 
disappearance  cannot  now  be  obtained.  On  land  now  owned  by  T.  G. 
Yeomans  there  once  stood  a  stone  church  edifice  reputed  to  have  been 
used  by  this  Presbyterian  Society  as  a  place  of  worship,  but  it  was  long 
ago  torn  down  and  its  history  and  the  history  of  the  society  are  veiled 
in  the  misty  past. 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Walworth  was  the  pioneer 
religious  organization  of  the  town,  and  their  first  house  of  worship  was 
a  primitive  structure  built  three-fourths  of  a  mile  west  from  the  village 
prior  to  1809.  With  rude  slab  seats,  with  an  ancient  elevated  pulpit, 
and  with  a  gallery  on  three  sides  that  was  reached  by  a  ladder,  it  housed 
the  little  band  of  worshipers  until  1815,  when  a  union  edifice  with  the 
ownership  vested  in  the  Methodistswas  erected  in  Walworth.  Although 
never  formally  dedicated,  it  was  used  as  a  meeting  place  until  is;-.', 
after  which  it  was  transformed  into  a  dry  house.  February  27,  1826,  the 
society  was  legally  organized  with  I.  R.  Sanford,  Luther  Fillmore, 
Levi  Leach,  Thomas  Brown,  and  A.  H.  Howland,  trustees.  The  pres- 
ent fine  brick  edifice  was  built  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  L.  F.  Cong- 
don  in  L872,-  and  cost  about  $17,000.     The  society  has  150  members, 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  401 

Rev.  John  II.  Stoody  as  pastor.  The  present  frame  parsonage  south 
of  the  church  was  built  on  the  site  of  an  old  one,  removed,  in  1884,  and 
cost  $1,400. 

The  Second  Baptist  Church  of  Walworth  was  organized  by  Rev.  R. 
Powell,  on  July  11,  1832,  with  the  following  constituent  members:  Dea- 
con Bancroft,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  L.  D.  Ward,  Miss  Palmer,  Deacon  and  So- 
phia McLouth,  Benjamin  Mason  and  wife,  Freeman  Wood  and  wife, 
Benjamin  Wood  and  wife,  R.  Wood,  Mrs.  L.  Burr,  Mrs.  Agnes  Cran- 
dall,  Gideon  Hackett  and  wife,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith,  James  Rice  and 
wife,  Asil  and  Rhoda  Hoyt,  Lewis  Potter  and  wife,  and  Barney  Corey. 
The  union  church  was  used  for  worship  until  1834,  when  the  present 
stone  edifice  was  erected  and  dedicated  in  September  of  that  year.  It 
was  repaired  and  re-dedicated  in  December,  1887,  at  a  cost  of  some 
$6,000.  The  society  has  about  seventy  members  and  is  now  supplied 
by  Walter  B.  McNinch,  a  student  at  Rochester.  The  Sunday  school 
was  organized  May  1,  1842,  with  Levi  Hicks,  superintendent. 

The  First  Baptist  church  of  West  Walworth  was  organized  with 
fourteen  members  in  1815  by  that  active  missionary  of  Western  Newr 
York,  Rev.  Jeremiah  Irons.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Daniel  Palmer, 
in  1816,  and  until  1832  meetings  were  held  in  the  school  house.  In 
that  year  their  stone  house  of  worship  was  built  and  dedicated  January 
8,  1833,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Palmer.  It  has  since  been  extensively  repaired. 
The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  R.  P.  Ingersoll.  The  first  Sunday  school 
was  organized  in  1815  and  had  fifteen  members. 

The  Evangelical  Association  (German  Lutheran)  of  West  Walworth 
was  organized  with  thirty  members  by  Rev.  David  Fisher,  in  1857,  and 
until  1866  held  its  meetings  in  private  houses.  In  that  year  a  stone 
building  formerly  used  for  school  purposes  was  purchased,  repaired, 
and  dedicated  in  the  fall.  The  Sunday  school  was  formed  in  1855, 
with  John  Lotze  superintendent.  The  society  has  about  sixty  mem- 
bers, with  Rev.  A.  Schlenk  as  pastor. 

The  Free  Will  Baptist  church  of  Walworth,  located  at  Lincoln,  was 
organized  in  1816  by  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis,  with  these  members :  David 
Salisbury,  Mrs.  Robbins,  Joseph  Strickland  and  wife,  James,  Andrew, 
and  Pamelia  Strickland,  Ephraim  Holbrook,  and  Sarah  Lyon.  Rev. 
Mr.  Lewis  was  installed  the  first  pastor  and  a  stone  edifice  was  erected 
near  the  center  of  the  town  in  1834  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,000.  It  was 
dedicated  by  Rev.  D.  M.  L.  Rollin,  January  18,  1835.  It  was  long 
used  for  worship  and  for  several  years  past  has  been  occupied  as  a 

51 


402  LANDMARKS   OF 

dwelling.  In  L876  a  frame  church  was  built  in  Lincoln;  since  that 
year  the  society  has  worshiped  therein.  Rev.  A.  D.  Loomis  is  pastor. 
The  society's  property  is  now  valued  at  about  $4, Odd. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Lincoln  had  its  inception  at  a 
meeting  held  at  Lincoln  hall  by  Rev.  Charles  Hermans.  An  organiza- 
tion was  perfected  in  1872  by  Rev.  Mr.  Benson,  with  twelve  members, 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Hamlin  became  the  first  pastor.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  John  Irons,  under  whom  in  1874  their  frame  church  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  about  $3,000.  It  was  dedicated  December  2,  1874,  by  Rev. 
B.  I.  Ives.  The  society  now  has  eighty  members,  under  the  pastoral 
charge  of  Rev.  William  C.  C.  Cramer.  The  vSunday  school  was  organ- 
ized in  1872  with  100  scholars,  under  E.  K.  Boughton,  superintendent. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  ROSE. 

The  town  of  Rose  was  formed  from  the  old  town  of  Wolcott  on  the 
5th  of  February,  1826,  and  embraces  an  area  of  21,S4,.t->j  acres.  It  lies 
in  the  interior  and  east  of  the  center  of  Wayne  county,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Huron,  on  the  east  by  Butler,  on  the  south  by  Galen, 
and  on  the  west  by  Lyons  and  Sodus.  The  largest  stream  is  Thomas 
Creek,  which  rises  southeast  of  Rose  Valley  and  flows  northwesterly 
th rough  the  village  into  Great  Sodus  Bay.  The  next  of  importance  is 
old  Dusenbury  Creek,  locally  known  as  Mudge  Creek,  rising  in  the 
same  locality  and  flowing  northward  through  Huron  into  East  Bay. 
Other  streams  are  Marsh  and  Black  Creeks,  both  flowing  south. 

The  surface  is  largely  broken  into  drift  hills,  trending  north  and 
south  and  intervened  with  beautiful  valleys.  The  highest  elevation  in 
town,  lying  near  the  Sherman  farm,  is  140  feet  above  Lake  Ontario. 
South  of  Rose  Valley  the  land  is  very  level.  The  soil  consists  of 
gravelly  loam  occasionally  mingled  with  clay,  with  black  muck  in  the 
swamps.  It  is  exceedingly  fertile,  and  yields  abundant  crops  of  apples, 
grain,  peppermint,  onions,  tobacco,  raspberries,  potatoes,  etc.  The 
principal  industry  is  agriculture.  There  are  extensive  ledges  of  lime- 
stone that  have  been  worked  for  burning  and  building  purposes,   and 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  403 

at  Glenmark  the  outcropping  produces  a  very  pretty  waterfall.  The 
town  was  originally  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  beech,  hemlock, 
maple,  cedar,  ash,  and  tamarack.  Alfred  S.  Roe,  in  his  "  Rose 
Neighborhood  Sketches, "  relates  an  interesting  legend  "of  a  button- 
wood  or  sycamore,  near  Wayne  Center,  so  large  that  a  section  of  it  was 
used  as  a  dwelling  house  after  it  had  fallen  down  and  proven  to  be 
hollow.  In  fact,  one  of  the  stories  of  the  late  Simeon  I.  Barrett  was 
that  of  putting  up  at  the  Button  wood  tavern  early  in  the  century.  The 
late  Hiram  Church,  of  Wolcott,  said  that  in  1808  three  families,  num- 
bering fourteen  persons,  young  and  old,  put  up  at  this  same  inn  for  the 
night  and  were  well  entertained.  Osgood  Church,  his  father,  was  one 
of  the  guests.      He  also  says  this  was  on  one  of  the  Jeffers  farms." 

Clay  is  found  in  several  places  suitable  for  manufacturing  brick  and 
tile.  Most  of  the  marsh  land  has  been  reclaimed  by  judicious  ditching, 
and  the  contrast  between  the  town  of  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago 
and  the  town  of  to-day  is  an  interesting  one.  The  primitive  wilder- 
ness, after  years  of  arduous  labor  and  continuous  hardship,  was  converted 
into  productive  fields,  orchards,  and  gardens.  The  pioneers,  with  very 
few  exceptions,  have  passed  away,  leaving  descendants  and  successors 
to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  efforts.  Rude  log  cabins  long  since  gave 
place  to  the  comfortable  frame  dwellings,  and  the  frontier  school  and 
church  have  been  succeeded  by  larger  and  better  institutions.  The 
high  moral  standard  of  the  earlier  settlers  permeates  the  communities 
of  the  present  generation,  which  ably  maintains  for  their  town  the 
prestige  and  importance  that  have  always  characterized  it  among  simi- 
lar divisions  of  the  State. 

The  whole  of  the  town  of  Rose,  save  the  south  three  tiers  of  lots, 
was  originally  included  within  Williamson's  patent,  as  described  in  the 
chapter  devoted  to  Wolcott.  This  tract  was  surveyed 'into  farm  lots  of 
from  twenty-five  to  200  acres  each.  The  three  tiers  above  noted  are 
known  as  Annin's  gore,  and  were  laid  off  into  eighty  acre  lots.  Very 
early  in  the  century  Hon.  Robert  S.  Roe  and  Judge  John  Nichols, 
natives  of  Virginia  and  brothers-in-law,  purchased  4,000  acres  of  Will- 
iamson's patent,  extending  from  the  gore  to  within  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  of  the  Huron  line  and  lying  on  either  side  of  the  Rose  Valley  road. 
They  were  then  residents  of  Geneva,  and  their  purchase  was  called  the 
"  Nicholas  4, 000-acre  tract. "  Mr.  Nicholas  was  a  congressman  from 
Virginia,  a  member  of  the  New  York  State  Senate,  and  judge  of  the 
Ontario  county  court.     Mr.  Rose  was  an  assemblyman  and  a  congress- 


404  LANDMARKS   OF 

man,  and  when  this  town  was  organized  in  1826  it  was  decided  to  give 
it  his  name;  in  recognition  of  the  compliment  he  sent  a  "little  Merino 
lamb  about  the  size  of  awoodchuck."  The  early  settlers  purchased 
their  lands  of  Osgood  Church,  of  Wolcott,  who  was  the  resident  sub- 
agent  for  the  Williamson  patent  from  1808  to  1813,  after  which  the 
business  was  transacted  with  the  land  office  at  Geneva.  The  sur- 
veys and  allotments  were  made  by  John  Smith  in  1805  and  1806. 

Until  1873  communication  was  carried  on  by  means  of  teams  and 
stages,  but  in  that  year  the  Lake  Ontario  Shore  Railroad  (now  the  R., 
W.  &  O.)  was  completed  and  opened  through  the  north  part  of  the 
town  with  a  station  at  North  Rose.  This  added  a  new  impetus  to  busi- 
ness interests  and  established  more  convenient  markets  for  the  farmers' 
produce.  In  1841  the  famous  Sodus  Canal  was  commenced  through 
the  efforts  of  Gen.  William  H.  Adams;  it  was  to  extend  from  the  Clyde 
River  or  Erie  Canal  via  Rose  Valley  and  near  Glenmark  to  Sodus  Bay. 
All  the  mills  along  its  line  in  this  town  were  demolished  and  never  re- 
built. After  the  renewal  of  the  charter  in  1848  a  large  amount  of 
work  was  done  and  evidences  still  remain.  In  1853  a  railroad  was  pro- 
jected from  a  point  south  of  Clyde  through  that  village  and  Rose  Val- 
ley to  Sodus  Bay;  a  survey  was  made,  but  the  clashing  of  interests 
caused  an  abandonment  of  the  enterprise.  In  1872  the  measure  was 
revived,  but  without  avail.  Eron  N.  Thomas  was  treasurer  of  the 
company  and  Mr.  Thomas,  Chauncey  B.  Collins,  and  Henry  Graham 
were  among  the  directors. 

The  first  regular  roads  were  surveyed  from  May  10,  1810,  to  April  1, 
1814,  by  Osgood  Church.  The  first  highway  laid  out  was  that  leading 
east  from  Stewart's  Corners;  the  second  was  that  from  Rose  Valley  to 
Clyde,  surveyed  June  29,  1810.  The  road  from  the  Valley  to  Port 
Glasgow  was  established  March  20,  1811,  and  the  one  from  Glenmark 
to  North  Rose  on  April  1,  1814.  The  thoroughfare  from  Rose  Valley 
to  Clyde  was  long  a  plank  road  maintained  by  a  company  incorporated 
for  the  purpose;  as  such  it  was  discontinued  soon  after  1877.  In  1847 
the  town  had  forty-four  road  districts;  at  present  the  number  is  fifty- 
one. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Charles  Thomas  in 
Rose  Valley,  in  April,  1826.  Erasmus  Fuller  presided  and  the  follow- 
ing officers  were  chosen:  Supervisor,  Peter  Valentine;  town  clerk, 
David  Smith ;  assessors,  James  Colborn,  Jeremiah  Leland,  Dorman 
Munsell;  collector,   Thaddeus  Collins,  jr.;  overseers  of  the  poor,  John 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  405 

Skidmore  and  Aaron  Shepard;  commissioners  of  highways,  Elizur 
Flint,  Robert  Jeffers,  William  Lovejoy;  commissioners  of  common 
schools,  Jacob  Miller,  James  Colborn,  Milburn  Salisbury;  inspectors  of 
common  schools,  Alpheus  Collins,  Peter  Valentine,  David  Smith;  con- 
stables, Thaddeus  Collins,  jr.,  Lewis  Leland;  and  twenty-two  overseers 
of  highways. 

The  supervisors  have  been  as  follows: 

Peter  Valentine,  1826-29,  Harvey  Closs,  1857-58, 

Philander  Mitchell,  1830-32,  Jackson  Valentine,  1859-69, 

Dorman  Munsell,  1833,  James  M.  Home,  1870-71, 

Thaddeus  Collins,  sr.,  1834,  Charles  S.  Wright,   1872-73, 

Ira  Mirick,  1835,  Jackson  Valentine,  1874-75, 

Peter  Valentine,  1836-39,  Joel  S.  Sheffield,  1876, 

Dorman  Munsell,  1840-41,  William  J.  Glen,  1877, 

Peter  Valentine,  1842,  S.  Wesley  Gage,  1878, 

Eron  N.  Thomas,  1843,  William  J.  Glen,  1879,  (part) 

Philander  Mitchell,  1844-45,  George  Catchpole,  remainder  of 
Elizar  Flint,  1846,  1879, 

Hiram  Mirick,  1847,  William  H.  Griswold,  1880-81, 

Philander  Mitchell,  1848-50,  George  Catchpole,  1882-84, 

Eron  N.  Thomas,  1851,  Samuel  Gardner,  1885,  (part) 

Solomon  Allen,  1852,  E.  Chester  Ellinwood,  remainder 
Eron  N.  Thomas,  1853,  of  1885  and  1886, 

Thaddeus  Collins,  jr.,  1854,  George  Catchpole,  1887-90, 

Jackson  Valentine,  1855,  Merritt  G.  McKoon,  1891-93, 

Philander  Mitchell,  1856,  Frank  H.  Closs,  1894. 

The  town  officers  for  1894  are:  Frank  H.  Closs,  supervisor;  Joel  S. 
Sheffield  town  clerk,  died  Julyv30,  1894,  and  E.  F.  Houghton  appointed; 
T.  B.  Welch,  S.  W.  Lake,  R.  C.  Barless,  F.  E.  Soper,  justices  of  the 
peace;  Valorus  Ellinwood,  F.  E.  Henderson,  Joel  H.  Putnam,  assessors; 
Seth  C.  Woodard,  collector;  Thomas  J.  Bradburn,  highway  commis- 
sioner; Judson  Chaddock  and  John  A.  Hetty,  overseers  of  the  poor. 

March  3,  1885,  an  appropriation  to  not  exceed  $2,000  was  voted  for 
the  erection  of  a  memorial  town  hall,  which  was  built  in  Rose  Valley  in 
1886.  It  is  a  frame  structure,  two  stories  high,  and  contains  also  the 
rooms  of  the  local  G.  A.  R.  Post. 

The  first  settlements  in  Rose  were  made  by  Alpheus  Harmon,  Lott 
Stewart,  and  Caleb  Melvin  in  1805.  The  latter  was  a  brother  of  the 
Jonathan  Melvin,  sr.,  so  intimately  identified  with  the  beginnings  of 
Wolcott.  In  Osgood  Church's  old  book  of  records  relative  to  the  sale 
of  lands  on  Williamson's  patent  are  entries  of   117  contracts,  bearing 


406  LANDMARKS  OF 

dates  from  June  16,  1808,  to  October  15,  1813,  of  which  the  following 
come  within  the  limits  of  this  town : 

Alpheus  Harmon  lot  L69,  113  acres,  and  lot  170,  115  acres,  at  $3.50,  June  21,  1808; 
Pender  Marsh,  lot  205,  HO  acres,  at  84,  January  11,  1811;  Epaphras  Wolcott,  lot  160, 
101   acres,  at  $4,   January  30,    isn  ;  Seta  Shepard,   lot  197,  40  acres,   at  *4,   April  1, 

1811.;  Daniel  Lounsbury,  lot ,   206£  acres  at  $4,  April  3,   1811 ;  Jonathan  Wilson, 

lot  1  in,  50  acres,  at  $4,  April  3,  1*11  ;  John  Wade,  lot  185,  107  acres,  at  $4,  April  lfi, 
isn;  Asa  and  Silas  Town,  lots  212  and  213,  150  acres,  at  84,  November  11,  1811; 
John  Burns,  lot  153,  108|  acres,  at  $4.25,  April  8,  1812;  Abram  Palmer,  lot  140,  102 
acres,  at  $4,  April  22,  1812;  Thomas  Avery,  lot  154,  103  acres,  at  $4.25,  May  4,  1812; 
Demarkus  Holmes,  lot  187,  101  acres,  at  $4.32,  June  25,  1812;  Noahdiah  Gillett,  lot 
L32,  101  acres,  at  $4,  <  >ctober  2,  1812;  Eh  Wheeler,  lot  188,  Oil  1-2  acres,  at  $4,  Novem- 
ber L3,  1812;  Jacob  Ward,  lot  140,  50  acres,  at  $4.25,  November  14,  1812;  Elijah  How, 
lot  llii,  50  acres,  at  XI,  November  18,  1812;  Jonathan  Wilson,  lot  101,  31  acres,  at 
$4.25,  December  29,  1812;  Asahel  Gillett,  lot   155,  50  acres,  at  §4.25,   March  10,  1813. 

Caleb  Melvin  located  about  a  mile  south  of  Rose  Valley  in  1805;  the 
same  year  Alpheus  Harmon  settled  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  town, 
and  Lott  Stewart  at  Stewart's  Corners,  which  took  his  name.  Stewart 
kept  a  tavern  here,  the  first  outside  the  village;  it  stood  where  is  now 
the  home  of  George  Stewart.  Mr.  Stewart  married  for  his  second  wife 
a  daughter  of  Alpheus  Harmon,  by  whom  he  had  one  son  (Allen)  and 
five  daughters;  his  first  wife  bore  him  a  son  (James)  and  two  daugh- 
ters. Mr.  Harmon  sold  out  to  A.  F.  Baird  and  removed  to  Cattarau- 
gus county,  whither  also  Stewart  went  and  died.  Soon  afterward  came 
Joel  Bishop  and  his  sons,  Seth,  Joel,  jr.,  and  Chauncey;  they  located 
on  the  Port  Glasgow  road.  Near  them  Oliver  and  Seth  Whitmore  and 
Simeon  Van  Auken  became  residents,  and  among  others  of  about  this 
period  were  James  and  Jeremiah  Leland,  Milburn  Salisbury,  and 
Asahel,  Hosea,  and  Harvey  Gillett. 

About  L810  Alpheus  and  Thaddeus  Collins,  jr.,  came  in  and  two 
years  later  were  joined  by  their  father,  Thaddeus,  sr.,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  his  family.  They  purchased  400  acres,  including  a  part  of 
the  village  of  Rose  Valley.  Capt.  John  Sherman  located  at  the  Valley 
in  1S1 1  and  built  and  opened  an  inn.  He  had  originally  settled  on  the 
Ganargwa  Creek,  but  soon  removed  to  Galen,  whence  he  came  here, 
being  accompanied  by  his  sons,  Elias  D.,  Charles  B.,  and  John,  jr.  In 
lsP2  Elijah  How  located  two  miles  northwest  of  Rose  Valley  and 
Aaron  Shepard,  a  blacksmith,  the  same  distance  east.  Alfred,  Lyman, 
loci,  and  John  Lee,  brothers,  settled  in  town  about  this  year. 

Robert  Jcffers  made  the  first  settlement  in  the  west  part  of  Rose  in 
is  I  5;  he  was 'accompanied  by   three  sons,  John,  William,  and  Nathan, 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  407 

and  for  many  years  the  place  was  called  the  J'effers  neighborhood. 
Jacob  Clapper  settled  near  them.  Capt.  Chauncey  Bishop  located  on  a 
farm  in  this  town  in  1812  where  he  died  in  August,  1880.  Hollow-ay 
Drury  came  from  Eden,  Vt. ,  in  1815.  George  Seeley,  son  of  Joseph, 
was  born  in  Sherburne,  N.  Y.,  in  180G  and  died  here  in  December,  1  885. 
lie  was  a  colonel  in  the  State  militia,  held  several  town  offices,  and  was 
a  deacon  in  the  Baptist  Church.  Henry  Graham  was  a  noteworthy  fig- 
ure in  town  in  years  gone  by.  Born  in  1802,  he  came  to  Port  Glasgow 
in  1831  and  kept  the  hotel  later  owned  by  Isaac  Gillett.  He  removed  to 
Rose,  but  finally  went  to  Clyde,  where  he  died  in  October,  1878. 

Palmer  Lovejoy  located  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  town  at  an 
early  day  and  gave  to  the  place  where  he  purchased  the  name  of  Love- 
joy  settlement.  He  had  sons  William  C,  Silas  and  Daniel.  Among 
other  early  settlers  were  Dorman  Munsell,  Alverson  Wade,  Paine  and 
William  Phillips,  Julius  Baker,  Benjamin  Way  (father  of  Samuel  and 
Harley),  Robert  Andrews,  John  Basssett,  John  Burns,  Samuel  South- 
wick,  Jonathan  Ellinwood  (father  of  Lucius  and  Chester),  John  Wade, 
Philander  Mitchell,  Joseph  Seeley  (father  of  George  and  Delos),  Isaac 
Crydenwise,  Eli  Andrews,  and  John  Covey.  Philander  Mitchell  was  a 
very  prominent  man;  in  1827  he  was  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace 
along-  with  Elizur  Flint,  Dorman  Munsell,  and  Charles  Richards,  and 
held  the  office  over  thirty  years.  He  was  county  superintendent  of  the 
poor  in  1861-63.  Elizur  Flint  was  president  of  the  first  temperance 
society  organized  in  town  in  1829. 

Hon.  Eron  N.  Thomas  was  postmaster  at  Rose  Valley  several  )^ears, 
supervisor  three  times,  and  member  of  Assembly  in  1862.  He  was  a 
prominent  man  and  the  owner  of  a  stock  farm  near  the  village.  Eli 
Garlick,  a  settler  of  1815,  died  January  7,  1892,  aged  ninety-two.  .  Eli- 
zur Flint  came  here  in  1817  and  died  in  February,  1884.  Simeon  I. 
Barrett  was  born  in  1798  and  died  in  town  in  November,  1887,  after  a 
residence  of  over  sixty  years.  Samuel  Gardner,  born  in  1820,  settled 
early  in  Huron,  where  he  was  supervisor  some  time,  and  moving  to  Rose 
held  the  same  office  at  the  date  of  his  death  in  May,  1885. 

•  Prominent  among  other  early  settlers  are  recalled  the  names  of  James 
Colborn,  Dr.  Peter  Valentine  (the  first  and  for  several  years  supervisor), 
Dr.  Richard  S.  Valentine  (the  doctor's  son),  John  Closs  (the  father  of 
George,  Harvey,  Lorenzo,  and  Caleb  H.),  Elizur  Flint,  Charles 
Thomas  (the  father  of  Eron  N.,  Nathan  W. ,  and  Lorenzo  C,  all  from 
Pompey,    N.    Y.),    Solomon   Allen,    Solomon    Mirick  (father   of   Ira, 


408  LANDMARKS  OF 

George,  Hiram,  and  Thomas),  Orin  Lackey,  William  Watkins,  Amos 
Covey,  Robert  Mason  (father  of  Harvey),  William  Chaddock,  Dudley 
Wade  (father  of  Ensign  D.),  Alonzo,  William,  jr.,  and  Winfield  Chad- 
dock  (sons  of  William,  sr. ),  Peter  and  Edward  Aldrieh,  David  Smith, 
Uriah  Wade,  John  Skidmore,  Gideon  Henderson,  John  Barnes,  Charles 
Richards,  Samuel  Hunn,  Jacob  Miller,  Mr.  Burnham,  Abel  Lyon,  Asa 
Cook  (in  Rose  Valley),  Betts  Chatterson,  Charles  G.  Oaks  (who  died  in 
1883),  Thomas  Cullen,  and  Joel  N.  Lee  (who  died  in  October,  1880). 

John  J.  Dickson,  M.  D.,  born  in  1807,  was  for  forty-five  years  a 
physician  in  Rose  and  for  twenty  years  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  In 
1845  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  became  a  charter  member 
of  Rose  Lodge,  No.  590,  F.  and  A.  M.,  settling  here  in  1829,  he  died 
February  15,  1874;  the  funerals  of  himself  and  his  first  wife  were  con- 
ducted by  the  Masonic  fraternity.  Joel  S.  Sheffield  located  in  this 
town  in  1854.  He  was  supervisor  and  town  clerk,  holding  the  latter 
office  at  the  time  of  his  death  July  30,  1894. 

Isaac  Lamb  was  a  very  early  settler.  He  was  enterprising  and  popu- 
lar and  in  1823  he  built  a  saw  mill  which  ceased  operations  after  a 
period  of  sixty  years.  About  1838  he  erected  a  grist  mill,  one  of  the 
old  stones  of  which  is  now  used  by  Myron  Lamb  at  North  Rose  as  a 
horse  block.  Further  up  the  stream  Ansel  Gardner  once  built  a  card- 
ing mill,  but  it  was  never  utilized. 

The  first  log  house  and  the  first  frame  dwelling  were  built  by  Caleb 
Melvin.  Thaddcus  Collins,  sr.,  is  said  to  have  set  out  the  pioneer 
orchard  at  the  Valley  as  early  as  1813.  The  first  birth  was  that  of 
Milburn  Salisbury  and  the  first  death  was  that  of  a  child  of  Harvey 
Gillett,  both  in  1812.  Hosea  Gillett  and  Hannah  Burnham  were  mar- 
ried in  January,   1813,  which  was  the  first  wedding  in  town. 

A  Dr.  Delano  was  the  pioneer  physician,  about  1813,  but  he  remained 
less  than  a  year.  The  first  settled  physician  in  Rose  was  Dr.  Peter 
Valentine,  and  subsequent  comers  were  Drs.  Henry  Van  Ostrand, 
Beden,  Richard  S.  Valentine,  and  R.  C.  Barless. 

The  first  grist  mill  was  erected  at  Glenmark  Falls  by  Simeon  Van 
Auken  and  Seth  Whitmore  in  1812;  in  IS  13  a  saw  mill  was  built. 
These  mills  were  afterward  rebuilt  by  Hiram  and  Ira  Mirick,  and 
among  the  various  owners  were  J.  Brown,  William  Chaddock,  and 
Henry  Garlick.  About  a  mile  above  these  Elijah  How  put  up  the 
pioneer  saw  mill  in  1811  ;  another  was  built  a  little  below  by  Samuel 
Hunn,  and-  Alfred  Lee  also  erected  one  near  the  Valley.     Other  saw 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  409 

mills  on  Thomas  Creek  were  put  up  by  Uriah  Wade,  Simeon  T.  Barrett, 
and  I  limn  &  Chatterson.  All  were  demolished  when  the  Sodus  Canal 
was  commenced,  and  the  creek  was  widened  and  deepened  for  nearly 
three  miles  to  form  a  portion  of  that  great  ditch.  In  excavating  for 
the  canal  drift  wood  and  animals'  bones  were  discovered  ten  feet  below 
the  surface. 

Willis  G.  Wade  built  at  Rose  Valley  the  first  steam  saw  mill  in  1848, 
which  he  sold  to  Eron  N.  Thomas;  it  was  burned  in  1873  and  rebuilt. 
The  second  was  erected  in  the  west  part  of  the  town  by  Isaac  Wood- 
ruff; in  1859  its  boiler  blew  up  and  killed  a  sawyer  named  Grinnell. 
Conrad  Young  built  the  third  steam  saw  mill  at  Wayne  Center. 

The  first  steam  grist  mill  was  erected  in  1866  by  William  A.  Mix. 
Chaddock  &  Garlick  built  one  at  Rose  Valley  in  1873.  In  1821  Simeon 
Van  Auken  built  a  clothiery  on  Thomas  Creek.  His  successor,  John 
Wan  Auken,  added  wool  carding  machines,  and  the  establishment 
finally  passed  to  Horace  Converse,  who  discontinued  it  about  1850. 

The  only  distillery  ever  operated  in  this  town  was  built  by  Charles 
Richards  at  Rose  Valley  about  1818;  it  ceased  work  after  a  year's  ex- 
istence. The  first  and  only  tannery  was  erected  by  William  Watkins 
and  Charles  Thomas  about  1826;  the  building  was  subsequently  used 
as  a  storehouse  by  Robert  N.  Jeffers. 

Among  other  early  settlers  and  substantial  citizens  of  the  town  may 
be  mentioned  William  and  Jairus  McKoon,  Amaziah  Carrier,  John 
Kellogg,  John  Q.  Deady,  Ira  Lake,  Henry  Robinson  (the  father  of  ex- 
State  Senator  Thomas  Robinson,  of  Clyde,  and  John  W.  Robinson,  of 
Newark),  Samuel  Lyman  (who  raised  the  first  frame  building  in  Rose 
without  the  use  of  liquor),  Asa  and  Silas  Town,  William  Dickinson, 
Addison  and  James  Weeks,  Franklin  Finch,  Riley  Winchell,  John 
Barnes,  William  Hickox,  Thomas  Craft  (brother  of  Benjamin  and 
Abram)  Oliver  Colvin,  Josephus  Collins,  Jackson  Valentine,  John  Coll- 
ier, Pender  Marsh,  Charles  S.  Wright,  Austin  Roe  (a  brother  of  Daniel 
and  the  father  of  Daniel  J.,  John  B.,  and  Rev.  Austin  Roe  and  Mrs. 
Sheldon  R.  Overton),  Daniel  Brewster  and  Egbert  Soper  (brothers), 
John  Halloway,  Moses  Wisner,  Jonathan  Briggs,  the  Vandercocks,  the 
Vanderoefs,  W.  J.  Glen,  and  many  others  noted  a  little  further  on  or 
more  at  length  in  Part  II  of  this  volume. 

In  1835  the  town  had  one  grist  mill,  seven  saw  mills,  a  fulling  works, 
a  carding  mill,  one  foundry,  an  ashery,  a  distillery,  one  tannery,  and 
1,715    inhabitants.      In  1845  there  were  two    taverns,   two    stores,  five 

52 


410  LANDMARKS   OF 

clergymen,  three  physicians,  sixty-three  mechanics,  830  farmers,  and 
2,031  inhabitants.  In  1858  there  were  13,272  acres  improved  land ;  real 
estate  assessed  at  $527,507;  personal  property,  $35,911 ;  1,084  male  and 
L,030  female  inhabitants;  395  dwellings,  419  families,  and  329  freehold- 
ers; 12  school  districts  and  791  children;  754  horses,  1,286  oxen  and 
calves,  871  cows,  3,727  sheep,  and  1,241  swine;  productions:  9,778 
bushels  winter  and  94,200  bushels  spring  wheat,  1,725  tons  hay,  13,246 
bushels  potatoes,  28,535  bushels  apples,  66,330  pounds  butter,  7,075 
pounds  cheese,  and  845  yards  domestic  cloths. 

In  1890  the  population  was  2,107,  or  137  less  than  in  1880.  In  1893 
the  assessed  valuation  of  land  aggregated  $716,450  (equalized  $771,- 
654);  village  and  mill  property,  $109,595  (equalized  $103,308);  rail- 
roads and  telegraphs,  $91,590;  personal  property,  $51,250.  Schedule 
of  taxes  1898:  Contingent  fund,  $1,407.08;  town  poor  fund,  $520;  roads 
and  bridges,  $1,205;  school  tax,  $931.19;  county  tax,  $2,227.98;  State 
tax,  $1,227.74;  State  insane  tax,  $316.73;  dog  tax,  $40.50.  Total  tax 
levy,  $8,621.33;  rate  per  cent.,  .00889819.  The  town  has  two  election 
districts,  and  in  1893  polled  302  votes. 

The  first  regular  school  was  taught  by  Sally  Bishop  in  1813;  she  used 
for  a  school  house  an  old  vacant  log  dwelling  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
north  of  Rose  Valley,  and  was  succeeded  by  Maria  Viele,  and  she  by 
Rev.  David  Smith ;  following  them  came  Abigail  Bunce,  Catharine 
Robinson,  William  H.  Lyon,  Gibson  P.  Center,  John  S.  Roe,  George 
W.  Ellinwood,  George  Seeley,  George  Paddock,  Jackson  Valentine, 
Wallace  St.  John,  and  Isaac  and  John  W.  Robinson.  The  first  school 
house  in  Rose  Valley  was  a  log  building  on  the  site  of  Pimm's  Hotel, 
and  in  it  Rev.  David  Smith  taught  the  opening  term.  This  primitive 
school  building  was  superseded  by  a  frame  structure  in  1824  on  a  site 
donated  for  the  purpose  by  Thaddeus  Collins.  This  in  turn  was  re- 
placed in  1846  by  a  stone  school  house,  which  was  abandoned  in  L861 
and  the  unused  Presbyterian  church  purchased.  In  1867  the  present 
building  was  completed  and  opened,  the  total  cost  being  $4,000.  The 
district  including  North  Rose  was  organized  June  27,  1821.  A  school 
house  had  doubtless  been  erected  prior  to  that  date.  In  1827-8  it  was 
replaced  by  a  new  one,  of  frame.  The  present  fine  graded  school 
building  was  built  a  few  years  since.  School  District  No.  2,  known  as 
Stewart's,  was  the  first  one  organized  in  town,  and  here  Alvin  Clark 
was  a  very  early  teacher.  The  original  school  house  in  District  No.  7, 
after  the  stone  building  was  erected,  was  converted  into  a  dwelling  and 


WAYNE   COUNTY  411 

occupied  by  Jacob  Tipple,  a  shoemaker,  who  died  in  1853,  and  whose 
wife  lived  to  be  over  100  years  old,  dying  July  7,  1888.  The  stone 
school  house,  built  in  1840,  and  in  which  Arvine  Peck  was  the  first 
teacher,  was  succeeded  by  the  present  building  about  187'). 

In  1826  Rose  was  divided  into  nine  school  districts.  The  town  now 
has  twelve  school  districts,  each  having  a  school  house,  which  in 
L892-3  employed  fifteen  teachers  and  were  attended  by  504  scholars. 
The  buildings  and  sites  were  valued  at  $10,090  and  the  districts  are 
assessed  at  $981,340;  public  money  received  from  the  State,  $1,868.08; 
raised  by  local  tax,  $2,427.50. 

The  first  burial  place  in  the  town  was  that  in  the  Stewart  neighbor- 
hood. In  a  similar  plat  in  the  north  part  of  Rose  Valley  many  of  the 
earlier  interments  were  made,  but  encroachments  of  the  village  caused 
it  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  bodies  were  removed  to  a  new  cemetery  one 
mile  north.  The  first  burials  in  the  Ellinwood  burying  ground  were 
those  of  Samuel  Ellis  Ellinwood  and  wife. 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  of  Rose  contributed  a 
large  number  of  her  brave  sons  to  fight  the  nation's  battles.  Each  and 
every  one  did  valiant  service  at  the  front,  and  were  distinguished  by 
heroism -and  fidelity.  To  their  memory  the  grateful  citizens  have 
erected  a  town  hall,  in  which  the  John  E.  Sherman  Post,  No.  401  G.  A.  R. , 
has  a  permanent  home.  This  post  was  organized  September  28,  1883, 
with  eighteen  members. 

Some  fifty-five  years  ago  a  peculiar  event  transpired  in  Rose  in  the 
Stewart  neighborhood,  the  central  scene  being  the  present  farm  of  Silas 
Lovejoy.  The  occurrence  is  best  told,  as  follows,  from  a  former  pub- 
lication. 

A  number  of  people  in  this  part  of  the  county  worked  themselves  into  the  delusion 
that  "money  chests"  of  gold  and  precious  stones  lay  buried  beneath  the  surface  in 
this  town,  to  which  they  were  guided  by  invisible  spirits  through  a  "  medium."  On 
several  farms  northeast  of  Rose  Valley  they  assembled  at  night  and  silently  dug  for 
the  treasure.,  A  single  word  spoken  before  it  was  found  was  fatal ;  the  treasure  would 
disappear  and  the  evil  spirits  would  rise  against  them.  In  this  way  the  delusion  was 
fed  and  kept  ablaze  by  those  interested,  who  were  always  sure  to  break  the  silence, 
when  the  deluded  would  run  frightened  away.  On  one  occasion  a  kettle  was  pre- 
viously buried,  and  when  struck  with  a  spade  an  exclamation  caused  the  treasure  in 
it  to  vanish.  To  these  ignorant  men  this  supplied  the  most  absolute  proof,  and  the 
effects  of  this  foolish  delusion  are  still  visible  in  many  places  by  partially  rilled  exca- 
vations, where  they  labored  with  a  zeal  and  energy  worthy  a  better  cause. 

The  interpreter  of  the  "money  diggers,"  as  they  were  called,  pretended  to  see  the 
"  money  chests,"  or  hidden  treasure,  through  a  large,  peculiar  stone,  which  he  always 


412  LANDMARKS   OF 

retained  with  him.  He  held  it  to  his  eyes,  and  claimed  the  power  to  see  through  it 
into  the  earth.  Several  visionary  citizens  of  this  town,  with  more  strangers  who  came 
here  regularly,  united  in  their  mvstic  meetings  previous  to  all  their  diggings.  As  an 
inducement  to  persons  predisposed  to  the  marvelous,  it  was  related  that  the  son  of  a 
certain  minister,  then  living  in  town,  who  was  eighteen  years  of  age  and  of  good 
habits,  saw,  one  evening,  in  his  father's  granary,  which  was  lighted  up  by  super- 
natural light,  an  image  in  the  form  of  a  "little  child."  Then  again  it  appeared  in 
his  bed-chamber,  and,  when  addressed  by  the  young  man,  replied  that  it  was  from 
the  "  Court  of  Glory,"  and  had  come  to  reveal  to  him  the  hidden  treasures  of  the 
earth,  and  that  if  he  would  pray  for  the  span  of  seven  days  it  would  appear  the  next 
time  in  the  form  of  a  "beautiful  young  lady."  In  due  time  the  "beautiful  young 
lady  "  appeared  and  made  the  promised  revelation,  the  circle  was  formed,  one  of  the 
number  was  made  captain,  and  the  digging  commenced.  Night  after  night  was 
passed  in  hard  labor  under  the  particular  direction  of  this  invisible  spirit.  Circles 
were  carefully  marked  out  around  the  pit  to  keep  the  d<=vil  out.  The  money,  or  a 
portion  of  it,  was  to  be  used  for  charitable  purposes,  and  to  alleviate  the  sufferings 
of  humanity.  But  after  many  fruitless  attempts  and  much  disappointment  the  cap- 
tain, becoming  incredulous,  and  losing  confidence  in  the  invisible  guide,  through 
the  interpreter,  denounced  the  "beautiful  spirit"  as  being  the  devil.  Of  course 
this  rebellious  action  could  not  be  tolerated,  and  must  be  put  down.  Accordingly, 
the  captain  was  notified  in  writing  to  appear  on  a  certain  day  to  a  trial  before  the 
spirits  and  the  circle.  On  the  back  of  the  notice  he  wrote  "protested,"  but  named 
a  day  one  week  later,  when  the  circle  convened  and  the  trial  began.  Innumer- 
able spirits  were  seen  by  the  minister  and  his  son,  and  from  ten  a.  m.  to  four  p. 
M.  the  patriarchs  of  old  were  called  as  witnesses,  and  everything  was  going  against 
the  captain.  The  last  witness  was  the  spirit  of  Samuel,  the  prophet.  The  cap- 
tain with  all  his  power  conjured  Samuel  to  tell  the  truth  and  reveal  the  devil's 
work.  He  was  just  ready  to  give  up  his  case  when,  to  his  astonishment,  and  the 
dismay  of  the  circle,  the  prophet  began  performing  under  his  own  control.  The 
preacher  and  his  son  burst  into  tears  to  see  poor  old  Samuel  hopping  about  the 
room  on  one  foot,  then  down  on  the  floor,  playing  bear  witli  a  great  load  on  his 
back.  The  captain,  having  absolute  control  of  the  spirit,  conjured  him  to  faith- 
fully answer  such  questions  as  he  should  put  to  him.  "  Can  you  at  pleasure  trans- 
form yourself  into  a  'devil,'  'lamb,'  or  'young  lady?'"  Answer,  "I  can."  "Have 
you  been  the  only  witness  here  to-day  in  the  form  of  all  the  old  patriarchs?" 
Answer,  "  I  have."  "  Are  you  the  devil  himself  ?"  Answer,  "I  am."  The  captain 
was  triumphant.  The  deluded  parson,  son,  and  all  the  circle  were  ready  to  give 
up  that  it  was  all  the  work  of  the  devil.  Yet  to  such  an  extent  did  the  cap- 
tain believe  in  the  power  of  the  devil  that  he  related,  as  a  real  occurence,  that  a 
friend  of  his,  while  riding,  was  seized  and  taken  up  by  the  devil,  carried  through 
the  air  seven  miles,  and,  after  a  terrible  struggle  and  fright,  was  released  and 
dropped  in  a  barnyard.  The  captain  was  sent  for,  who,  with  the  aid  of  a  physi- 
cian,  restored  him.  It  is  stated  that  many  a  time  while  the  others  were  in  the 
pit  digging  for  their  "gold"  and  "money  chests"  the  devil  would  appear  to  the 
sentry  on  the  watch  in  the  form  of  a  bellowing  bull  or  by  heavy  sounds  of  groan- 
in-,  or  shrieks,  which  would  put  the  whole  party  t<>  flight. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  413 

Rose  Valley. — This  village  is  located  a  little  southeast  from  the 
center  of  the  town  at  the  intersection  of  the  roads  leading  to  Wolcott 
North  Rose,  and  Clyde,  and  maintains  a  daily  stage  communication 
with  these  points.  The  post-office  was  established  in  1827  as  Valen- 
tine's with  Dr.  Peter  Valentine  as  postmaster.  The  name  was  subse- 
quently changed  to  Albion,  then  to  Rose  Valley,  and  in  1834  to  Rose, 
and  as  such  it  has  ever  since  remained.  June  17, 1829,  Charles  Thomas 
became  postmaster  and  kept  the  office  in  his  tavern;  he  was  succeeded 
by  his  sons,  Nathan  W.  and  Eron  N.  Thomas,  the  latter  serving  from 
1832  to  1841,  from  1845  to  1849,  and  from  1853  to  1861.  Other  post- 
masters have  been  Hiram  Salisbury,  Benjamin  Hendricks,  Charles  S. 
Wright,  Jackson  Valentine,  Daniel  B.  Harmon,  George  W.  Ellinwood 
(from  1869  to  1885),  Joel  S.  Sheffield,  E.  F.  Houghton,  and  George  A. 
Collier,  the  present  incumbent.  The  first  mail  carrier  was  Timothy 
Smith. 

The  village  was  first  settled  by  Capt.  John  Sherman  and  the  Collins 
family  in  1811.  The  former  located  opposite  the  lower  hotel,  where 
he  built  in  1815  a  double  log  house,  half  of  which  he  opened  as  a  tavern. 
This  was  the  first  public  house  in  the  town,  and  finally  passed  in  turn 
to  Charles  W.  Thomas,  Nathan  W.  Thomas,  John  J.  Dickson,  Ira 
Mirick,  and  others.  The  present  lower  hotel  was  erected  by  Lorenzo 
C.  Thomas.  The  upper  tavern,  long  known  as  Pimm's  Hotel,  was 
built  on  the  site  of  the  first  village  school  house,  by  Ira  Mirick,  the 
first  proprietor,  who  was  succeeded  by  Hiram  Mirick.  Their  father, 
Solomon  Mirick,  died  here  in  1839.  Ezra  T.  Pimm,  the  longest  time 
landlord,  was  elected  president  of  the  Wayne  County  Veterans'  Asso- 
tion  in  1889.  The  first  blacksmith  was  John  Barrett,  who  built  a  shop 
on  the  site  of  the  Vanderoef  residence  about  1813.  The  first  shoe  shop 
was  opened  by  Robert  Andrews.  The  first  store  in  the  place  was 
started  in  1831  by  John  Barber,  jr.,  who  moved  to  Clyde  one  year  later. 
His  successor  was  a  former  clerk,  Eron  N.  Thomas,  who  continued 
business  until  1859.  Other  merchants  have  been  Dr.  Peter  Valentine, 
C.  B.  Collins,  I.  &  H.  Mirick,  Charles  S.  Wright,  Jackson  Valentine, 
George  A.  Collier,  George  W.  Ellinwood,  Joel  S.  Sheffield,  and  Charles 
Wright. 

The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Peter  Valentine,  who  was  also  the  first 
supervisor.  He  settled  here  in  1819,  and  among  his  professional  fol- 
lowers have  been  Drs.  John  J.  Dickson,  Henry  Van  Ostrand,  A.  F. 
Sheldon,  George  D.  Whedon,  James  M.  Horn,  Lewis  Koon,  Richard  S. 
Valentine,  and  Romaine  C.  Barless. 


414  LANDMARKS   OF 

The  carriage  and  wagon  shop  of  M.  T.  Collier  was  started  by  Collins 
&  Lakey,  who  sold  to  William  II.  Thomas.  He  conducted  it  until 
1861,  when  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  firm  of  Thomas  &  Collier 
(M.  T.  Collier),  by  whom  it  was  continued  till  the  death  of  Mr, 
Thomas.  Since  then  Mr.  Collier  has  been  sole  proprietor.  The  grist 
mill  of  William  A.  Mix  was  burned  in  July,  1872,  and  was  rebuilt  as  a 
saw  and  cider  mill. 

In  1857  the  Rose  brass  band  was  organized  with  twelve  pieces,  the 
successive  leaders  being  Z.  Deuler,  E.  B.  Wells,  and  D.  B.  Harmon. 
It  then  went  into  the  army  and  remained  in  the  service  as  a  band  until 
the  war  closed,  when  it  disbanded.  In  1 8 ( i 8  it  was  reorganized  and 
continued  many  years.  It  finally  went  down,  and  the  present  Rose 
Cadet  Band  was  formed. 

Rose  Valley  now  contains  four  general  stores,  a  hardware  store,  one 
newspaper  and  two  printing  offices,  three  blacksmith  shops,  a  carriage 
and  wagon  shop,  a  saw  and  cider  mill,  two  hotels,  a  meat  market,  four 
churches,  a  public  school,  a  town  hall,-  three  physicians,  and  about  500 
inhabitants. 

North  Rose  is  a  station  and  post-village  on  the.R.  W.  &  O.  Railroad 
in  the  north  part  of  the  town.  It  owes  its  growth  and  present  propor- 
tions mainly  to  the  railway,  which  gave  it  a  new  impetus  and  awakened 
numerous  business  interests.  It  was  originally  known  as  Lamb's  Cor- 
ners from  the  family  of  that  name  who  settled  the  site  at  an  early  day. 
The  post-office  was  established  about  1860  with  David  Lyman  as  post- 
master; the  present  incumbent  is  Thomas  B.  Welch.  Soon  after  the 
completion  of  the  railroad  John  York  erected  a  large  malt  and  store 
house,  which  was  burned  with  two  stores,  in  May,  1891,  entailing  a 
loss  of  over  $00,000.  It  has  never  been  rebuilt.  While  drilling  an  ar- 
tesian well  on  the  premises  a  pocket  of  natural  gas  was  struck.  In  Oc- 
tober, 1880,  a  cooper  shop,  house,  barn,  and  other  property  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  causing  a  loss  of  $8,000.  The  village  now  consists  of 
three  general  stores,  one  hardware  and  one  drug  store,  an  hotel,  a  lum- 
ber and  coal  yard,  etc.,  a  fine  graded  school,  one  church,  and  about  250 
inhabitants. 

Wayne  Center,  so  named  from  its  close  proximity  to  the  geograph- 
ical center  of   Wayne  county,  is  a  postal  hamlet  in  the  extreme  west 
part  of  Rose;  the  post-office  was  established    in  L863  with  Joel  II.  Put 
nam  as  postmaster.      The  present  incumbent  is  J.  W.  Trimble.      It  lies 
on  the  same  meridian  as  Washington,  D.  C.    The  place  contains  a  store, 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  415 

barrel  factor)'  and  saw  mill,  a  blacksmith  shop,  and  a  small  cluster  of 
houses. 

Gti'.N.MARK,  or  (ilenmark  Falls,  is  a  hamlet  and  mill  site  on  Thomas 
Creek  about  two  miles  west  of  North  Rose.  It  is  named  from  the  beau- 
tiful scenery,  and  in  days  gone  by  was  an  important  milling  point,  the 
stream  affording  excellent  water  power.  It  contains  some  abandoned 
mills,  a  shop  or  two,  and  the  store  of  Albert  Ellis. 

Churches. — The  Baptist  Church  of  Rose  was  organized  at  Rose, 
Valley  as  the  Second  Baptist  Church  of  Wolcott  on  January  3,  1820, 
with  these  members:  Hosea  Gillett,  John  Skidmore,  Peter  Lamb,  Joel 
and  Chauncey  Bishop,  Phebe  Bishop,  Clara  Burns,  Hannah  Miner, 
Sally  Skidmore,  Rachel  and  Martha  Bishop,  Lydia  Fuller,  Simantha 
Leland,  Hannah  Gillett,  and  Nancy  Ticknor.  The  first  meetings  were 
held  at  the  house  of  Joel  Bishop,  where  was  also  convened  the  council 
on  May  3,  to  extend  the  hand  of  recognition.  Chauncey  Bishop  was 
the  first  clerk  and  served  until  July,  1855,  when  George  Seeley  was 
elected  and  held  until  September,  1881  being  succeeded  by  Lucien  H. 
Osgood.  In  1834  the  church  joined  the  Wayne  Baptist  Association,  of 
which  it  has  ever  since  been  a  member.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Da- 
vid Smith,  who  was  installed  January  8,  1821 ;  the  present  pastor  is 
Rev.  Maxwell  H.  Cusick  since  1891.  Their  first  church  edifice  was 
built  in  1836,  the  building  committee  being  Chauncey  Bishop,  Ira  Mi- 
rick  and  Dr.  Peter  Valentine.  The  site  was  purchased  in  Rose  Valley 
of  Hiram  Mirick.  The  building  was  remodeled  in  18G1  and  again  in 
1885-86,  the  expense  of  the  last  renovation  being  $4,400.  The  society 
has  about  125  members  and  owns  a  frame  parsonage.  The  church  was 
incorporated  March  17,  1834,  with  the  following  trustees:  David 
Holmes,  Chauncey  Bishop,  Ira  Mirick,  Dr.  Peter  Valentine  and  Joseph 
Seeley. 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Rose  Valley  was  organized 
September  21,  1827.  Circuit  preaching  and  class  meetings  had  been 
held  for  many  years.  The  first  permanent  Methodist  preacher  in  the 
town  was  doubtless  Alfred  Lee,  who  came  at  an  early  date  from  Ver- 
mont. Caleb  Mills  held  religious  services  in  a  log  school  house  in  the 
Valley  as  early  as  1819.  The  first  class  was  formed  in  1824  with  Mr. 
Lee  as  leader,  and  the  first  members  were  Charles  and  Polly  Thomas^ 
William  Watkins,  Zemira  Slaughter,  and  Abigail  Bunce.  The  society 
was  legally  organized  August  27,  1832,  with  these  trustees:  Abel  Lyon, 
Jacob  Miller,  Samuel  E.   and  Chester  Ellinwood,   George  W.  Mirick, 


416  LANDMARKS   OF 

Robert  Andrews.  Thaddeus  Collins,  Isaac  Lamb,  and  Moses  F.  Collins. 
Eron  N.  Thomas  was  clerk,  and  the  certificate  of  incorporation  was  filed 
September  13,  L833.  February  26,  L836,  the  church  was  reorganized 
with  three  trustees  instead  of  nine,  viz.  :  Ellis  Ellinwood,  Joel  X.  Lee, 
and  George  W.  Mirick.  Thaddeus  and  Chauncey  Collins  donated  the 
site  and  a  cobblestone  church  was  erected  in  1835-6  on  the  site  of  Mrs. 
Augusta  Allen's  house.  It  cost  $1,200,  had  a  high  box  pulpit  and  gal- 
leries on  three  sides,  and  was  burned  April  18,  1850.  In  1860-61  the 
present  edifice  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $7,000;  it  was  dedicated 
March  ;;,  L864.  It  was  repaired  at  a  cost  of  $1,000  and  reopened  Au- 
gust 27,  L889.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  W.  H.  Rogers.  The  society 
owns  a  parsonage  and  has  about  100  members. 

The  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Rose  Valley  was  organized  at  the 
Closs  school  house  February  17,  1825,  by  Revs.  Francis  Pomeroy  and 
Benjamin  Stockton,  with  these  members:  John  and  Eunace  Wade, 
Aaron  and  Polly  Shepard,  Simeon  and  Lydia  Van  Auken,  Rufus 
Wells,  and  Moses  Hickok.  Aaron  Shepard  was  chosen  deacon  and 
John  Wade  and  Moses  Hickok  elders.  In  1833  their  first  house  of 
worship  was  erected  and  dedicated  at  the  Valley  on  a  site  purchased  of 
Hiram  Mirick  a  little  east  of  the  Baptist  church  ;  about  1862  it  was  sold 
to  the  village  for  a  school  house,  finally  became  a  mill,  and  was  burned 
many  years  since.  Another  site  was  bought  of  William  Vanderoef 
and  upon  it  was  built  the  present  handsome  brick  structure  at  a  cost  of 
about  $8,000.  It  was  dedicated  in  1865.  January  5,  1846,  the  society 
adopted  the  Congregational  form  of  government,  but  on  April  18,  1851, 
it  wras  received  back  into  the  Presbytery.  The  first  clerk  was  James 
Van  Auken,  then  Smithfield  Beaden,  and  Elizur  Flint  from  November, 
L 834,  to  October,  1882.  The  society  owns  a  parsonage  and  has  about 
sixty-five  members.     The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  N.  B.  Knapp. 

The  Free  Methodist  church  of  Rose  Valley  was  organized  as  earl)-  as 
L861,  when  the  charge  was  supplied  by  Revs.  Mr.  Burton  and  J.  W. 
Stacey.  In  1862  Rev.  William  Cooley  became  pastor,"  and  during  his 
stay  their  house  of  worship  was  erected  on  the  site  formerly  occupied 
by  the  house  of  Nathan  W.  Thomas.  It  is  a  frame  edifice  and  was 
dedicated  Januarys,  isi;:>.  The  society  owns  a  frame  parsonage  and 
has  about  fifty  members.  The  pastor  is  Rev.  D.  C.  Stanton,  who  also 
lias  charge  of  the  Free  Methodist  church  in  Clyde. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  North  Rose  was  organized  a  few 
years  since  as  a  mission  of  the   M.   E.  church    of  Rose  Valley.      A  neat 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  417 

frame  edifice  was  built   in  1884   at  a  cost  of  about  $2,400.     The  pastor 
is  Rev.  W.  H.  Rogers. 

A  band  of  worshipers  who  called  themselves  "  The  Neversweats  " 
sprang  into  existence  in  the  Jeffers  settlement  a  number  of  years  ago. 
"  They  met  in  the  Spink  school  house  and  talked  in  unknown  tongues." 
They  made  several  conversions  and  evoked  considerable  interest,  but 
discarded  all  organization,  creed,  or  ceremony.  Without  these  they 
soon  dropped  away  as  quietly  as  they  had  come  into  notice. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  HURON. 

Huron  was  organized  as  Port  Bay  from  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
old  town  of  Wolcott  on  the  25th  of  February,  1826.  The  name  first 
chosen  remained  until  March  17,  1834,  when  the  present  designation 
was  formally  adopted.  It  contains  21,826  acres,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Lake  Ontario,  on  the  east  by  Wolcott  and  Butler,  on  the  south 
by  Rose,  and  on  the  west  by  Sodus. 

The  town  was  originally  included  within  the  Williamson's  patent  of 
the  Pultney  estate,  which  has  been  detailed  in  the  chapter  devoted  to 
Wolcott.  It  lies  east  of  the  center  of  the  northern  limits  of  Wayne  county, 
directly  north  from  Clyde,  and  has  more  than  fifteen  miles  of  lake  and 
bay  coast.  Dense  forests  covered  its  primitive  surface,  and  long  fur- 
nished lucrative  employment  to  the  numerous  saw  mills  that  dotted  the 
several  streams.  The  largest  watercourse  is  Dusenbury  or  Mudge 
Creek,  which  flows  from  Rose  through  the  west  part  of  Huron  and  the 
village  of  North  Huron  into  East  Bay.  This  bay  also  receives  the 
waters  of  another  brook  a  little  west.  Other  streams  are  Third  and 
Thomas  Creeks,  which  empty  into  the  head  of  Sodus  Bay,  and  a  branch 
of  Wolcott  Creek,  flowing  into  Port  Bay. 

The  surface  is  undulating  and  inclines  toward  the  lake.  In  the  west, 
northeast,  and  southeast  parts  of  the  town  are  large  tracts  of  lowlands 
originally  of  a  marshy  formation,  but  by  systematic  drainage  these  have 
largely  been  brought  under  cultivation.  The  soil  is  mainly  a  sandy 
and  gravelly  loam  and  unusually  fertile;  in  many  places  it  is  admixed 

53 


418  LANDMARKS   OF 

with  considerable  clay.  East  and  west  through  the  southern  portion 
of  Huron  is  the  famous  ridge,  which  geologists  claim  formed  the  shore 

of  Lake  Ontario  in  past  ages,  and  along  its  summit  runs  the  Wolcott 
and  Port  Glasgow  road. 

The  coast  formation  of  the  town  of  Huron  is  worthy  of  special  men- 
tion, for  its  equal  does  not  exist  in  Wayne  county.  Bold  and  precipi- 
tous, and  interesting  alike  to  the  student  and  tourist,  it  is  in  place 
extremely  picturesque  and  contributes  not  a  little  to  the  popularity  of 
the  Sodus  region  as  a  summer  resort.  The  highest  elevation  is  Chim- 
ney Bluff,  175  feet  above  the  lake.  Bay  Bluff  is  125  feet  high,  and 
several  other  promontories  have  nearly  an  equal  eminence.  In  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  town  lies  the  larger  portion  of  Sodus  Bay, 
which  forms  one  of  the  finest  harbors  along  the  American  shores  of 
Lake  Ontario,  and  which  is  described  in  the  Sodus  chapter.  This 
great  indentation  extends  to  within  one  mile  of  the  southern  boundary  of 
Huron,  and  near  its  head  is  Le  Roy's  or  Long  Island,  which  contains  a 
summer  hotel  and  four  or  five  cottages.  Newark  or  Little  Island,  an- 
other summer  resort,  is  so  named  from  its  proportionate  size,  and  is 
owned  mainly  by  citizens  of  Newark  village.  Eagle  or  Big  Island  re- 
mains chiefly  in  its  primitive  condition.  Charles  Point  is  a  series  of 
islands  and  bars  extending  from  the  mainland  at  the  lake  toward  Sodus 
Point  village,  its  elevations  being  named  Bute,  Isley,  and  Arran.  It 
was  formerly  called  Farr's  Island,  and  contains  a  number  of  handsome 
summer  homes. 

The  first  thoroughfare  in  Huron  was  the  "old  Galen  road  "  from  the 
salt  works  in  Savannah  to  Glasgow7,  or  "  Floating  Bridge,"  as  it  was  then 
sometimes  called.  It  was  opened  by  the  Salt  Company  prior  to  1808. 
The  first  highway  regularly  surveyed  was  that  from  Sloop  Landing 
(Port  Glasgow)  to  Wolcott  village.  The  surveyor  was  Osgood  Church, 
who  laid  out  many  of  the  early  roads  and  was  resident  sub-agent  of 
Williamson's  patent.  He  established  this  road  June  8,  1810,  at  which 
time  Jacob  Shook  and  Peres  Bafdwell  were  commissioners  of  highways. 
June  29  of  that  year  Mr.  Church  surveyed  the  road  from  Port  Bay  to 
Clyde. 

Prior  to  the  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal  the  Huron  side  of  Sodus 
Bay  promised  a  brilliant  future,  but  the  great  waterway  drew  the  prin- 
cipal commerce  southward  and  killed  whatever  prospects  the  promoters 
of  this  region  may  have  entertained.  The  site  of  Port  Glasgow7  was 
intended  for- a  port  under  the  name  of  Sloop  Landing.      Here  Obadiah 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  419 

Adams,  of  Wolcott,  had  a  large  warehouse  and  a  sailing  vessel  to  trans- 
port his  produce  to  Canada.  He  bought  quite  a  tract  of  land,  laid  it 
(Hit  into  village  lots,  and  erected  several  very  good  buildings.  Jar\-is 
Mudge  also  built  a  commodious  hotel.  April  !),  1819,  the  Sodus  Bay 
Bridge  Company  was  incorporated  to  construct  a  bridge  "over  Great 
Sodus  Bay  at  or  near  the  route  of  the  Niagara  ridge  or  State  roads  in 
the  town  of  Wolcott."  Considerable  shipping  was  carried  on,  as  the 
place  formed  the  outlet  for  a  large  extent  of  adjacent  territory.  The 
opening  of  the  Erie  Canal  was  its  death-blow,  but  long  afterward  im- 
mense quantities  of  lumber  were  sent  thither  to  distant  markets. 

April  18,  1837,  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  William  Edwards  and 
Harlow  Hyde  to  establish  and  maintain  a  ferry  over  the  bay  at  this 
point  for  ten  years  at  the  following  prices :  fifty  cents  per  coach,  thirty- 
one  cents  for  two  horses  and  wagon,  eighteen  cents  for  one  horse  and 
wagon,  twelve  and  one- half  cents  for  man  and  horse,  six  cents  each  for 
footmen,  and  ten  cents  per  head  for  neat  cattle. 

About  1822  Joseph  Fellows  and  Andrew  McNab,  agents  for  the 
Pultney  estate,  made  an  effort  to  build  up  the  business  at  Sloop  Land- 
ing, but  without  avail.  They  gave  it  the  name  of  Port  Glasgow  in 
honor  of  the  city  of  Glasgow  in  Scotland,  and  building  a  warehouse, 
schooners,  etc. ,  they  took  measures  to  establish  a  permanent  commerce. 
In  1827  a  preliminary  survey  for  a  canal  from  Clyde  to  Sodus  Bay  was 
made,  and  the  event  momentarily  aroused  declining  interests.  In  1841 
the  project  was  revived  with  Gen.  William  H.  Adams  as  the  chief  pro- 
moter, but  clashing  influence  prevented  its  consummation.  In  1850  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Sodus  Bay  Railroad  was  chartered  with  Port  Glasgow 
as  the  northern  terminus.  Surveys  were  made  and  enthusiasm  contin- 
ued with  more  or  less  ardor  until  1870,  when  the  landable  plan  was  per- 
manently abandoned.  And  now  the  town  is  practically  devoid  of  either 
ports  or  railway,  although  the  R.  W.  &  O.  Railroad  cuts  off  its  southeast 
corner.  The  nearest  stations  are  Wolcott,  North  Rose,  and  Alton,  all 
of  which  have  furnished  excellent  shipping  facilities  since  the  comple- 
tion of  the  line  in  1873. 

The  town  is  principally  an  agricultural  section  and  produces  annually 
large  crops  of  fruit,  grain,  peppermint,  etc.  The  primitive  wilderness 
has  passed  away,  like  nearly  all  of  the  earlier  settlers,  whose  labors, 
however,  are  still  extant  in  the  form  of  broad  cultivated  fields,  attract- 
ive homes,  substantial  schools  and  churches,  and  thriving  hamlets,  em- 
bodying all  the  arts  and  elements  of  our  best  civilization.     Their  de- 


400  LANDMARKS   OF 

seen  dan  t  sand  successors  worthily  maintain  the  wide  prestige  and  sterling 
characteristics  so  ably  implanted  amid  the  privations  and  hardships  of 
pioneer  life. 

The  first  town  meeting  convened  at  the  tavern  of  Josiah  Upson  near 
South  Huron  on  April  4,  1826.  Norman  Sheldon  presided  and  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected  :  Supervisor,  N-orman  Sheldon  ;  town  clerk; 
Elisha  Benjamin;  assessors,  Wareham  Sheldon,  Spencer  Chapin,  Jed- 
ediah Wilder;  collector,  Ira  Smith;  overseers  of  the  poor,  Simeon  Bis- 
sell  and  Josiah  Upson;  commissioners  of  highways,  Alanson  Jones, 
John  C.  Frazier,  Simeon  Bissell;  constables,  Ira  Smith  and  Benjamin 
Parker;  commissioners  of  common  schools,  Arad  Talcott,  Spencer 
Chapin,  Wareham  Sheldon;  inspectors  of  common  schools,  Ebenezer 
Jones,  Elisha  Benjamin,  Lemuel  Colbath  ;  poundmaster,  Stephen  Carey. 
The  supervisors  of  the  town  have  been  : 

Norman  Sheldon,  1826-30,  Samuel  Gardiner,  1868, 

Elisha  Benjamin,  1831-32,  Oscar  Weed,  1869, 

Jedediah  Wilder,  1833,  Samuel  Gardiner,  1870, 

Harlow  Hyde,  1834-35,  Oscar  Weed,  1871-72, 

Philip  Sours,  1836-40,  Reuben  Sours,  1873-74, 

Harlow  Hyde,  1841-42,  I  hvight  B.  Flint,  1875-76, 

Ebenezer  Jones,  1843-44,  William  W.  Gatchell,  1877, 

Jedediah  Wilder,  1S45-47,  Alanson  Church,  1878 

Edward  W.  Bottum,  184s,  William  W.  Gatchell,  1879, 

James  T.  Wisner,  1849,  Elisha  Cady,  1880, 

John  F.  Curtis.  1850,  Robert  A.  Catchpole,  1881-82, 

Ralph  Sheldon,  1851,  Roswell  E.  Reed,  iss:!, 

Reuben  Sours,  18  .2-53,  Oscar  Weed,  1884-85, 

James  T.  Wisner,  1854,  Samuel  Cosad,  1886-88, 

Elisha  Cady,  1855,  William  W.  Gatchell,  1889, 

Roswell  E.  Reed,  1856,  Samuel  Cosad,  1890-93, 

John  F.  Curtis,  1857,  H.  Demmon  Sheldon.  1894. 

Reuben  Sours,  1858,  Samuel  Cosad  was  chairman  of  the  board 

Elisha  Cady,  1859-60,  in  1892  and  1893. 

Rufns  B.  Sours,  1S61-67, 

The  town  officers  for  L894  are:  H.  Demmon  Sheldon,  supervisor;  E. 
B.  Kellogg,  town  clerk  ;  Anson  S.  Wood,  George  C.  Mitchell,  Charles 
B.  Kellicutt,  and  (after  January  1,  1895)  James  W.  Sceber,  justices  of 
the  peace;  Darwin  Dermond,  collector;  William  (Juereau,  highway 
commissioner;  A.  F.  Davenport  and  Walter  W.  Darling,  overseers  of 
the  poor;  Frank  B.  Green,  John  Carroll,  George  E.  Thomas,  Clarence 
F.  Davenport,  constables;  John  Proctor,  Adonijah  Church,  Harvey 
Brundige,  excise  commissioners;  Abram  Davis,  game  constable. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  121 

The  first  settler  in  this  town  was  Capt.  William  Helms,  who  came 
from  Fauquier  county,  Va.,  and  located  on  the  present  site  of  Port 
Glasgow  in  1706.  He  brought  with  him  about  seventy  slaves,  but  soon 
afterward  left  them  and  his  farm  to  the  management  of  his  brother, 
Thomas,  and  removed  to  Bath,  N.  Y.  Thomas  Helms  was  highly 
educated,  possessed  superior  abilities,  and  had  been  a  congressman 
from  Virginia,  but  becoming  dissipated  he  had  lost  nearly  all  of  his 
inheritance.  Infatuated  with  a  poor,  uncultured  young  woman  named 
Lydia  Mohaz  he  lived  with  her  as  his  wife,  and  after  having  two  chil- 
dren they  ran  away  from  Virginia  and  came  to  his  brother's  home  in 
this  town.  This  family  and  their  slaves  were  the  sole  inhabitants  of 
Huron  until  about  1807,  by  which  time  two  more  children  had  been 
born  to  them.  Their  daughter,  Celia,  born  in  1803,  was  the  first  white 
child  born  in  the  town.  Other  settlers  came  in,  and  so  emphatically 
did  they  express  their  dissatisfaction  at  the  mode  of  life  as  it  existed  on 
the  Helms  homestead  that  Helms  and  his  woman  went  through  the 
forms  of  marriage.  He  was  a  brutal  fellow,  and  his  slaves  were  most 
cruelly  treated,  but  the  institution  existed  until  his  death.  He  cleared 
nearly  100  acres  with  them  and  without  the  aid  of  teams,  rolling  the 
timber  together  and  burning  it.  The  negroes  lived  on  the  place  and 
had  their  own  cabins,  and  obtaining  their  freedom  they  scattered  to 
more  congenial  climes. 

In  November,  1807,  Ezra  Knapp  purchased  a  farm  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  east  of  the  Helms  homestead,  upon  which  he  settled  with  his 
family  of  six  children.  He  came  from  New  Marlboro,  Mass.,  with 
three  horses  and  two  wagons.  With  him  came  the  families  of  Jarvis 
Mudge,  Nathaniel  Hale,  John  Hyde,  and  Adonijah  Church,  the  latter 
of  whom  located  in  Wolcott  Mr.  Mudge  settled  on  the  creek  that 
took  his  name  and  built  there  one  of  the  first  saw  mills  in  town. 
Abraham  Knapp,  a  married  son  of  Ezra,  moved  from  Pompey,  N.Y., 
the  same  year  and  located  on  a  farm  adjoining  his  father.  In  April, 
1808,  Mr.  Hale's  wife  died  and  was  buried  on  his  farm ;  this  was  the 
first  white  death  in  Huron,  and  soon  afterward  he  removed  to  Wolcott. 
Prior  to  this  several  negroes  belonging  to  Helms  had  died,  and  in  later 
years  some  of  their  skulls  and  bones  were  found  while  excavating. 

Early  in  1808  and  1809  other  settlers  arrived,  among  them  Josiah 
Upson  from  Connecticut,  Mr.  Chapin,  a  Mr.  Knox,  and  the  Sheldons. 
Roger  Sheldon  and  Elizabeth  Marsh,  his  wife,  came  from  Hartford, 
Conn.,    in  1809,   and  settled  about  two  miles   east    of    Port  Glasgow. 


422  LANDMARKS  OF 

Their  family  consisted  of  six  sons:  Norman,  Wareham,  George,  Grove, 
Ralsamon,  and  Ralph,  and  four  daughters.  George  owned  and  cleared 
what  is  now  the  Jacob  Yiele  farm.  Grove  died  at  sixteen  and 
Ralsamon  lived  to  be  nearly  100,  dying  in  Genoa,  N.Y.  Ralph  cleared 
the  Allen  Robinson  farm  and  died  in  Wolcott  in  1871.  On  their  way 
from  Hartford  the  family  stopped  over  night  with  Judge  Johnson 
in  1  Mitchess  county,  and  Mrs.  Johnson  gave  the  children  some  Virginia 
pears,  the  seeds  of  which  were  saved  and  planted  near  their  wilderness 
home.  From  them  came  the  famous  Sheldon  pear,  and  the  original 
tree  is  still  standing  on  the  homestead.  Norman  Sheldon  was  the  first 
supervisor  and  died  in  Huron,  aged  ninety-eight. 

The  first  white  man  to  die  in  the  town  was  Mr.  Chapin.  About  J  son 
Elihn  Spencer  located  at  North  Huron.  Osgood  Church,  as  previously 
stated,  was  the  sub-agent  for  Williamson's  patent,  which  included  the 
whole  of  Huron,  and  in  his  old  book  of  records  117  contracts  are 
recorded,  from  June  16,  1808,  to  October  15,  1813,  after  which  the 
business  was  transacted  with  the  land  office  at  Geneva.  The  contracts 
falling  within  our  limits  are  as  follows: 

Obadiah  Adams,  lot  19,  106  acres,  at  $3.50 per  acre,  July  1,  1809;  Levi  Wheeler,  lot 
45,11:',  1-2  acres,  August  13,  1809;  Roger  Sheldon,  lot  22,  10G  acres,  September  l.\ 
L809;  Wareham  Sheldon,  lots  24  and  25,  142  1-2  acres,  September  26,  1809;  James 
Alexander,  lot  411,  70  acres,  October  14,  1809;  EHab  Abbott,  lot  43,  81  acres,  at 
$3.50,  July  26,  1810;  Zenas  Wheeler,  lot  44,  100  acres,  June  1,  1811;  Ira  Smith, 
lot  12,  59  3-4  acres,  September  1,  1811  ;  Elihu  Spencer,  lot  71,  15(5  1-2  acres,  August 
«.),  1811;  John  Laraway,  lot  343,  70  acres,  November  22,  1811;  Nathan  Parker,  lot 
9S,  114  3-4  acres,  December  2,  1811;  Sheldon  and  O.  Seymonr,  lot  70,  100  acres, 
December  2,  1811;  Nathaniel  Graves,  lot  88,  188  acres,  August  17,  1811;  Stephen 
Betts,  lot  360,  100  acres,  April  14,  1811;  Lorin  Doolittle,  lot  40,  65  1-2  acres,  June 
12.  L812;  Jarvis  Mudge,  lot  74,  55  acres,  December  30,  1812;  William  Tindall 
(colored),  lot  291,1  66  acres,  May  30,  L813;  Ezra  Knapp,  lot  75,  about  30  acres, 
April  27,  1813;  C.  Avery  and  C.  Andrews,  lots  95  and  97,  207  acres,  June  26,  1813; 
Simeon  Van  Auken,  lot  126,  35  acres,  July  1,  1813;  Robert  Mason,  lots  136  and 
106,   215  aires,   July  6,  1813;  Christopher  Martin,   lot  114,   128  acres,  July  9,   1813. 

The  last  named  lot  was  the  Helms  property  at  Port  Glasgow.  Mar- 
tin became  a  noted  hunter  and  trapper.  Prior  to  1812  Erastus  Wilder, 
Daniel  S.  Butrick,  Noah  Lyman,  Tmther  Wheeler,  John  Wade,  Noah 
Seymour,  Robert  M.  Palmer,  Jason  Mudge,  and  others  became  settlers, 
but  the  war  of  that  period  almost  cheeked  immigration.  On  one  occa- 
sion, when  a  report  gained  credence  that  1,500    hostile    Indians  were 

1  This  is  known  as  Negro  Point  Lot  at  Port  Bay, 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  123 

advancing  on  the  settlements  with  warlike  intentions  the  people  all 
fled  to  the  interior;  Joseph  Watson,  of  Clyde,  and  others  drove  with  a 
wagon  down  to  the  bay  to  bring  away  the  only  remaining  family — a 
widow  and  her  children. 

Among  subsequent  comers  were  Richard  Redfield  (the  first  shoe- 
maker), John  Holloway  (an  early  blacksmith),  Ebenezer  Jones,  Elisha 
Benjamin,  Jedediah  Wilder,  Simeon  Carey,  Spencer  Chapin,  D.  Barker, 
Ira  Smith,  Lemuel  Colbath,  Messrs.  Ellis  and  Westcott,  Daivd  Vought, 
Levi  Wheeler,  James  Alexander  (for  several  ye*ars  highway  commis- 
sioner), and  Rufus  D.  Sours  (who  died  in  February,  1875).  Horace 
Demmon  was  born  in  Vermont  in  1803,  came  with  his  parents  to  this 
town  in  May,  1817,  and  died  April  2,  1891.  His  father  commenced 
making  brick  for  the  "-City  of  Sloop  Landing."  Dr.  Zenas  Hyde,  a 
son-in-law  of  the  Ezra  Knapp  previously  mentioned,  was  the  town's 
first  settled  physician,  but  he  soon  removed  to  Wolcott.  A  child  of  his 
was  the  second  white  person  born  in  Huron.  John  H.  Newberry  came 
here  in  1827,  bought  a  farm  near  East  Bay,  and  died  October  28,  1878. 
Daniel  Lamb,  from  Hartford,  Conn. ,  settled  on  what  is  now  the  David 
Lake  farm  at  South  Huron  prior  to  1820,  and  died  here,  leaving  two 
sons,  William  and  Lewis.  A  son  of  the  former  is  postmaster  at  Lum- 
misville.     Daniel  Whipple  located  where  Aaron  Sours  now  lives  in  1836. 

Prominent  among  other  settlers  may  be  mentioned  Charles  E.  Reed, 
son  of  R.  E.,  elected  sheriff  of  Wayne  county,  and  died  in  office  No- 
vember 17,  1890;  Daniel  Chase,  blind  many  years,  died  at  North  Hu- 
ron in  November,  1872,  aged  nearly  100;  Simon  V.  W.  Stout,  born  in 
Lyons  in  1807,  sheriff  in  1840,  died  at  Port  Glasgow;  Benjamin  Parker, 
who  died  in  1874;  James  M.  Cosad,  who  built  the  first  barn  with  stone 
basement  in  town;  Major  Farr,  who  purchased  and  settled  on  one  of 
the  islands  of  Charles  Point  and  gave  it  his  name;  Benjamin  Catchpole, 
living  on  the  Dr.  William  N.  Lummis  estate;  and  many  others  noticed 
further  on  and  in  Part  II.  of  this  work. 

In  1814  the  first  plat  was  laid  out  and  set  apart  for  burial  purposes 
near  South  Huron,  and  Catherine  Alexander,  who  died  in  1815,  was 
the  first  person  regularly  buried  therein.  Prior  to  this,  however,  sev- 
eral bodies  had  been  removed  to  it  from  various  localities.  The  first 
marriage  in  town  was  that  of  Dr.  Gardner  Wells  to  Paulina  M.  Fuller 
in  1813 ;  the  ceremony  being  performed  at  the  house  of  Ezra  Knapp. 
Dr.  Wells  lived  in  Junius,  Seneca  county,  and  was  a  surgeon  in  the 
War  of  1812;  he  obtained  leave  of  absence   to  consummate  his   mar- 


I -'I  LANDMARKS   OF 

riage,  after  which  he  rejoined  his  regiment.  Jason  Mudge  opened  the 
first  store  a  mile  and  a  half  northeast  from  South  Huron  in  1812.  Giles 
Fiteh  drove  the  first  stages  through  the  town  from  Woleott  to  Roch- 
ester about  1820. 

In  1858  the  town  had  12,221  acres  improved  land,  real  estate  assessed 
at  $575,999,  personal  property  valued  at  $31,444;  985  male  and  896 
female  inhabitants,  386  dwellings,  384  families,  315  freeholders,  712 
horses,  1,091  oxen  and  calves,  675  cows,  3,716  sheep,  and  1,438  swine. 
There  were  produced  then  10,357  bushels  winter  and  113,035  bushels 
spring  wheat,  1,010  tons  hay,  15,895  bushels  potatoes,  20,361  bushels 
apples,  59,850  pounds  butter,  4,844  pounds  cheese,  and  1,310  yards  do- 
mestic cloths. 

In  1890  the  population  numbered  1,793,  or  243  less  than  in  1880.  In 
L893  the  assessed  value  of  land  aggregated  $768,477  (equalized  $716,- 
170);  village  and  mill  property,  $35,560;  railroads  and  telegraphs,  $18,- 
539;  personal  property.  $8,000.  Schedule  of  taxes  1893:  Contingent 
fund,  $1,187;  town  poor,  $250;  roads  and  bridges,  $500;  school  tax, 
$712.03;  county  tax,  $1,703.61;  State  tax,  $938.78;  State  insane  tax, 
$242.19;  dog  tax,  $97.50.  Total  tax  levy,  $5,827.86;  rate  per  cent., 
.00701664.  The  town  has  two  election  districts  and  in  1893  polled  331 
votes. 

The  first  school  was  taught  by  Paulina  M.  Fuller  (afterward  Mrs. 
Gardner  Wells),  a  stepdaughter  of  Ezra  Knapp,  in  1809.  Her  school 
house  was  an  old  log  cabin  on  the  Helms  farm  formerly  occupied  by  a 
family  of  negro  slaves.  The  first  regular  school  building  was  erected 
near  the  Huron  post  office  in  1813,  and  the  first  teacher  therein  was 
Gardiner  Mudge.  Minerva  Flint,  who  married  Ralph  Sheldon,  was  a 
very  early  teacher  in  the  town;  she  died  in  1871.  Huron  now  has 
eleven  school  districts  with  a  school  house  in  each,  which  were  taught 
in  1892-93  by  as  many  teachers  and  attended  by  305  scholars;  value  of 
school  buildings  and  sites,  $5,245 ;  public  money  received  from  the  State, 
$1,296.38;  raised  by  local  tax,  $1,333.81;  assessed  valuation  of  the  dis- 
tricts, $817,240. 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  of  Huron  contributed  a 
large  number  of  its  brave  citizens  to  fill  the  Union  ranks.  The  part  it 
took  in  that  terrible  struggle  is  detailed  in  a  previous  chapter. 

North  Huron  is  a  small  post  village  near  the  head  of  East  Bay  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  town.  Elihu  Spencer  erected  here,  in  1809,  the 
first  grist  mill  and  saw  mill  in  Huron;  the  former  was  a  brick  structure. 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  425 

J.  L.  Barber  built  another  mill  in  1825  which  finally  passed  to  Thomas 
Graham.  Other  mills  have  been  put  up  on  the  same  stream  (Mudge 
Creek).  The  place  now  contains  a  store,  blacksmith  shop,  two  churches 
and  75  inhabitants.  James  Chase  succeeded  Charles  R.  Weed  as  post- 
master and  died  in  office  July  14,  1894. 

South  Huron  (Huron  post-office)  is  a  scattered  settlement  near  the 
center  of  the  town.  Josiah  Upson  settled  here  at  an  early  date  and  in 
1811  established  a  tanning  business,  which  he  continued  till  1818,  when 
he  built  and  kept  the  first  regular  tavern  in  Huron.  In  1849  a  town 
hall  was  erected  just  south  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  few  years 
since  a  Grange  hall  was  erected  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road.  Besides 
these  the  place  contains  a  grocery  and  a  blacksmith  shop.  The  post- 
mistress is  Mrs.  S.  E.  Andrus. 

Lummisville,  about  one  mile  northwest  of  South  Huron,  is  another 
small  postal  settlement  containing  a  store,  repair  shop,  etc.  The  post- 
master is  Wilson  Lamb,  who  succeeded  Lafayette  Legg  in  the  fall  of 
1881.  The  office  was  named  from  Dr.  William  N.  Lummis,  the  first 
postmaster,  who  kept  it  where  David  Green  now  lives. 

Port  Glasgow  (Resort  post-office)  has  been  noticed  in  previous  pages 
of  this  chapter.  It  is  chiefly  noted  as  a  summer  resort  and  contains 
two  hotels.  The  post  office  was  established  June  1,  1894,  with  S.  G. 
Stacey  as  postmaster.  Near  here  Dr.  Zenas  Hyde  is  said  to  have  opened 
in  an  old  log  building,  about  1810,  the  first  tavern  in  town.  Norman 
Sheldon  about  the  same  time  opened  another.  The  place  lies  at  the 
head  of  sloop  navigation  on  Sodus  Bay  and  until  recent  years  was  a 
point  of  some  shipping  importance. 

Bonnicastle  is  a  small  but  attractive  summer  resort  on  Sodus  Bay  a 
little  more  than  a  mile  north  from  Port  Glasgow.  It  contains  a  few 
cottages  and  accommodations  for  tourists. 

Lake  Bluff  is  a  summer  resort  on  the  lake  shore,  west  of  East  Bay 
and  contains  two  hotels,  a  store,  and  a  few  cottages.  The  post-office 
here  is  continued  three  months  in  the  year  with  E.  B.  Fuller  as  post- 
master. 

Rice's  Settlement  on  Mudge  Creek  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  town, 
is  so  named  from  Decatur  Rice,  who  finally  came  into  the  possession  of 
the  mill  built  by  Jarvis  Mudge  in  1811. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Huron  was  organized  as  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Wolcott  by  Revs.  Charles  Mosher  and  Henry  Axtell 
on  July  18,  1813,   with  these  members:  Erastus  Wilder,    Robert  M. 

54 


126  LANDMARKS   OF 

Palmer,  Luther  Wheeler,  Jonathan  Melvin,  sr.,  Martha  Fox,  Lucy 
Wheeler,  Damarius  Wilson,  Ezra  Knapp,  Elisha  Jones,  John  Wade, 
Noah  Seymour,  Roswell  Fox,  Elisha  Plank,  Marian  Seymour,  Johanna 
Bunce,  Elizabeth  Olmstead,  Margaret  Upson,  Elizabeth  Sheldon,  Ruth 
Plank,  Josiah  Upson,  Amy  Hancock,  Noah  Lyman,  and  Eunice  Wade. 
The  first  officers  were  Ezra  Knapp,  Noah  Lyman,  Erastus  Wilder,  and 
Josiah  Upson,  elders;  and  Erastus  Wilder  and  Ezra  Knapp,  deacons. 
The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  A.  M.  Butrick.  (The  first  minister  of  this 
denomination  in  Huron  was  Rev.  Francis  Pomeroy,  who  preached  the 
pioneer  sermon  in  the  town  at  the  house  of  Ezra  Knapp  in  April,  1811. 
Two  other  ministers  prior  to  1813  were  Revs.  Royal  Phelps  and  Daniel 
S.  Butrick).  In  1826  the  name  of  this  church  was  made  to  conform 
with  that  of  the  town  by  formally  adopting  the  title  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Port  Bay,  and  in  183G  it  was  again  changed,  this  time  as  at 
present,  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Huron.  The  first  and  only 
house  of  worship  was  built  of  wood  at  South  Huron  in  1836  and  attained 
its  present  dimensions  by  a  subsequent  addition  of  twelve  feet.  The 
society  has  about  100  members  with  Rev.  R.  A.  Ward  as  pastor. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  North  Huron  was  organized  as  a 
class  at  the  school  house  by  Benson  Smith  in  1817  with  seven  members. 
Mr.  Smith  was  an  exhorter  and  the  first  class  leader.  The  first  preacher 
was  Rev.  Enos  Barnes,  and  services  continued  at  private  dwellings  and 
the  Dutch  street  school  house  until  the  present  edifice,  a  frame  struc- 
ture was  built  at  North  Huron  about  1844,  at  which  time  the  society 
was  legally  organized.  It  cost  $1,200  and  was  dedicated  by  Rev.  Hiram 
Mattison.  It  was  repaired  in  1865  at  an  expense  of  $1,500.  The  first 
minister  in  charge  of  the  new  church  was  Rev.  Almon  Cawkins,  and 
the  first  officers  were:  Trustees,  Simeon  Slaght,  J.  Seeber,  Stephen 
Seaman,  R.  L.  Ostrander,  Stephen  Playford;  stewards,  Horace  Dem- 
mon,  Simeon  Slaght,  William  G.  Brene,  John  McCarthy,  Stephen 
Playford;  class -leaders,  Horace  Demmon,  John  Hyde,  John  McCarthy. 
The  Sunday  school  was  first  organized  in  1832  with  Horace  Demmon 
as  superintendent.  The  society  has  about  fifty  members  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  Rev.  P.  Martin. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  of  North  Huron  was  organized 
about  1840,  and  the  same  year  their  present  edifice  was  erected  and 
dedicated.  The  society  has  twenty-five  members  with  Rev.  R.  K. 
Andrews  as  pastor.     They  also  maintain  a  flourishing  Sunday  school 


WAYNE   COUNTY  457 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  BUTLER. 

Butler  originally  conprised  tho  southeast  part  of  the  old  town  of 
Wolcott  (which  see),  and  was  organized  into  its  present  limits  on  the 
'20th  of  February,  1826.  It  is  nearly  six  miles  square,  and  has  as  area 
of  21,918  acres.  It  forms  the  central  township  of  the  eastern  part  of 
Wayne  county,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Wolcott,  on  the  east  by 
Cayuga  county,  on  the  south  by  Savannah  and  Galen,  and  on  the  west 
by  Rose  and  Huron.  Its  principal  stream  is  Wolcott  Creek,  which 
rises  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  town,  flows  southwest  through  Butler 
Center,  thence  westerly,  northwesterly  and  northerly  through  Wolcott 
village,  and  empties  into  Port  Bay.  Butler  Creek  is  a  small  stream 
that  rises  east  of  Butler  Center  and  flows  southwest  through  South 
Butler  and  south  into  Crusoe  Lake  in  Savannah.  Both  of  these  streams 
formerly  furnished  good  mill  sites. 

The.  surface  is  broken  into  ridges  and  valleys  running  generally  north 
and  south  The  soil  is  generally  loam  admixed  with  more  or  less  clay; 
on  the  lowlands  considerable  muck  exists.  It  is  very  fertile  and  nearly 
all  adapted  to  cultivation.  The  principal  industry  is  agriculture. 
Grain,  hay,  potatoes,  vegetables,  fruit,  etc.,  are  grown  in  abundance. 
During  the  past  decade  or  two  the  production  of  tobacco  has  been  given 
especial  attention,  and  has  placed  the  town  prominently  among  the 
great  tobacco  growing  sections  of  the  State.  Apples,  pears,  plums,  and 
small  fruit  are  raised  in  considerable  quantities.  Originally  the  land 
was  covered  with  heavy  timber,  which  long  gave  employment  to  sev- 
eral saw  mills,  and  which  even  yet  supplies  two  or  three  with  sizable 
logs.  Along  Wolcott  Creek,  and  in  the  northeast  part  of  Butler,  a 
good  quality  of  limestone  exists  and  has  been  extensively  burned  into 
lime  for  building  purposes. 

Devoid  of  railroad  or  canal  the  town  has  always  maintained  com- 
munication with  adjacent  villages  by  stage  and  horses.  The  first 
thoroughfare  was  the  old  Galen  road  opened  about  1804  from  the  salt 
works  in  Savannah  to  Sodus  Bay.      It  entered  this  town  at  South  Butler, 


428  LANDMARKS   OF 

ran  westwardly  to  Wheeler's  Corners,  and  passed  thence  north  and 
northwest  through  West  Butler  to  Port  Glasgow  (then  Sloop  Landing). 
At  South  Butler  it  was  intersected  by  the  Musketo  Point  road  from  the 
east.  From  West  Butler  an  early  road  ran  north  to  Wolcott  village.  The 
first  regular  highway,  leading  south  from  Wolcott  and  now  called  New 
Hartford  street,  was  surveyed  and  established  by  Osgood  Church  on 
November  2,  1810;  Jacob  Shook  and  Peres  Bardwell  were  road  com- 
missioners. Nearly  all  the  roads  in  Butler  were  surveyed  after  the 
organization  of  the  town.  About  1825  a  canal  was  projected  from 
Seneca  River  to  Sodus  Bay.  A  company  capitalized  at  $200,000  was 
formed  and  March  29,  1829,  a  charter  was  obtained.  A  survey  was 
made  running  through  Butler,  but  finally  changed  to  a  point  a  little 
west  of  Clyde. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Jacob  S.  Viele  on 
Tuesday,  April  4,  1826,  at  which  Ebenezer  Fitch  was  moderator,  and 
Thomas  Armstrong  "clerk  for  the  day."  The  first  officers  chosen 
were:  Thomas  Armstrong,  supervisor;  Ebenezer  Fitch,  town  clerk; 
Jesse  Viele,  Israel  J.  Clapp,  and  Orestus  Hubbard,  assessors;  Ezekiel 
Scott  and  Nathan  Cook,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Prentice  Palmer,  col- 
lector; Morris  Craw,  Asaph  Spencer,  and  Welcome  Cole,  highway 
commissioners;  Thomas  Armstrong,  Joseph  A.  Olmsted,  and  John  R, 
Taintor,  commissioners  of  common  schools ;  Prentice  Palmer  and 
William  Wood,  constables;  Benjamin  Tucker,  Austin  Roe,  and  Joseph 
Watson,  school  inspectors;  Simeon  Merrill,  Ezekiel  Scott,  Joseph  A. 
Olmsted,  Welcome  Cole,  Paul  H.  Davis,  Thomas  Newell,  and  Eleazer 
Smith,  fence  viewers;  and  twenty-nine  pathmasters.  The  second 
town  meeting  was  held  on  April  3,  1827,  also  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Viele,  and  the  third  to  the  ninth  at  the  house  of  Lucius 
Hibbard.  November  28,  1827,  the  following  justices  of  the  peace 
were  elected:  Israel  J.  Clapp,  four  years;  Ebenezer  Fitch,  three 
years;  Thomas  Hall,  two  years;  and  Jesse  Viele,  one  year.  In  1827  it 
was  voted  that  pathmasters  be  fence  viewers.  The  expenses  of  the 
town  during  the  first  year  were  $139.41,  and  at  the  annual  meeting  in 
L827  there  was  an  indebtedness  of  $5.10.  In  1827  the  expenses 
amounted  to  $113.23.  Austin  Roe  was  town  clerk  many  years. 
The  supervisors  of  Butler  have  been  as  follows: 

Thomas  Armstrong,  1S26-33,  Thomas  Armstrong,  1838, 

UriahG.  Beach,  1834-36,  Austin  Roe,  1839, 

Austin  Roe,  1837,  John  Dratt,  1840-41, 


WAYNE  COUNTY.  429 

Nathaniel  W.  Tompkins,  1842-43,  Gibson  Center,  1863, 

Thomas  Armstrong,  1844-45,  Benham  S.  Wood,  1864, 

John  Dratt,  1846,  Henry  K.  Graves,  1865, 

Horatio  N.  Wood,  1847,  Anson  S.  Wood,  1866, 

Franklin  Knapp,  1848,  Andrew  Spencer,  1867-69, 

John  Dratt,  1849,  Joel  Laberteaux,  1870-73, 

Thomas  Armstrong,  1850-51,  John  E.  Hough,  1874-78, 

Henry  K.  Graves,  1852-53,  William  Wood,  1879-80, 

John  Dratt,  1854,  Eugene  M.  Walker,  1881-82, 

Charles  Mead,  1855,  Joseph  H.  L.  Roe,  1883-86, 

Henry  K.  Graves,  1856,  Isaac  Lockwood,  1887, 

Horatio  N.  Wood,  1857,  Lyman  H.  Dratt,  1888-89, 

C.  D.  Hadden,  1858,  Gorham  J.  Wilson,  1890-93, 

Abram  Gibbs,  1859,  Cyrus  E.  Fitch,  1894. 
John  E.  Hough,  1860-62, 

The  town  officers  for  1894  are:  Cyras  E.  Fitch,  supervisor;  D.  P. 
Mitchell,  town  clerk;  Frank  W.  Fry,  J.  A.  Craw,  Noah  Wood,  A.  B. 
Newton,  and  D.  Wallace  Holdridge  (after  January  1,  1895),  justices  of 
the  peace;  William  P.  Stiles,  George  E.  Vincent,  and  Aaron  Treat, 
assessors;  William  R.  Burghduff,  collector;  Lucius  Douglass,  highway 
commissioner;  A.  M.  Armstrong,  overseer  of  the  poor. 

Settlement  was  commenced  within  the  present  limits  of  Butler  as 
early  as  1803.  Capt.  Peter  Mills,  who  located  in  the  town  about  that 
year,  is  regarded  as  the  first  actual  settler.  He  was  a  Revolutionary 
soldier  and  drew  a  bounty  here  of  500  acres  of  land  for  military  services. 
A  part  of  this  is  now  the  L.  H.  Viele  farm  north  of  South  Butler. 
His  wife,  Sarah  Mills,  died  November  26,  1809,  aged  sixty-five,  hers 
being  the  first  death  and  burial  in  the  town.  Among  the  very  first 
settlers  were  John  Grandy  on  the  Orestes  Hubbard  farm  and  Henry 
Bummell,  two  miles  northwest  of  South  Butler.  The  latter  sold  to 
Eli  Wheeler  in  1808,  and  moved  to  Cayuga  county.  Abijah  Moore 
located  on  New  Hartford  street  in  1805  and  lived  there  until  1860. 
Many  of  the  earlier  settlers  were  New  Englanders  endowed  with 
sterling  characteristics  and  indomitable  perseverance.  Slowly  but 
steadily  they  converted  the  wilderness  into  productive  fields  and 
pleasant  homes.  By  degrees  they  surrounded  themselves  with  the 
comforts  and  luxuries  of  life,  and  transmitted  to  their  descendants  and 
the  present  generation  their  noble  traits  and  advanced  ideas  of  civiliza- 
tion. Primitive  log  cabins  and  rude  churches  and  schools  in  time  gave 
way  to  commodious  frame  dwellings  and  better  institutions. 

From  1808  to  1813  Osgood  Church,  of  Wolcott,  was  the  resident  sub- 


430  LANDMARKS   OP 

agent  for  Williamson's  patent,  a  part  of  which  was  located  in  Butler. 
He  gave  contracts  for  the  land,  and  those  falling  within  our  limits 
were  as  follows : 

Robert  Van  Tassell,  144  1-2  acres,  lot  54,  June  16,  1808;  Silas  Munsell,  180  3-4 
acres,  lot  65,  June  22,  1808;  Aaron  Hoppin,  165  1-2  acres,  lot  45,  September  30, 
1808;  Glazier  Wheeler,  152  1-2  acres,  lot  52,  November  26,  1808 ;  Thomas  Hancock, 
50  acres,  lot  104,  August  8,  1809;  Elijah  Hancock,  50  acres,  lot  104,  August  8,  1809; 
William  P.  Newell,  85  acres,  lot  144,  August  9,  1809;  Lucius  Hibbard,  47  acres, 
lot  104,  August  12,  1809;  Prentice  Palmer,  156  1-2  acres,  at  $4,  lot  62,  October  21| 
1809;  Thaddeus  Collins,  99  acres,  at  $3.50,  lot  141,  October  23,  1809;  Jacob  and 
Eli  Ward,  100  1-2  acres,  lot  122,  at  §3.50,  February  18,1810;  Milton  Fuller,  98  1-2 
acres,  lot  182,  December  25,  1810;  Eliakim  Tupper,  20  acres,  lot  53,  May  26,  1811; 
Jacob  Watson,  94  acres,  lot  56,  May  28,  1811 ;  James  Phillips,  99  acres,  lot  92, 
October  12,  1812;  Eli  Wheeler,  100  acres,  lot  188,  November  13,  1812;  John  South- 
wick,  96  1-2  acres,  lot  191,  November  14,  1812;  Joseph  B.  Grandy,  101  acres,  lot 
201,  July  1,  1813;  Asa  Whitmore,  101  acres,  lot  208,  August  17,  1813;  Samuel 
Haskell,  102  acres,  lot  163,  September  11,  1813. 

In  1807  Seth  Crane  settled  north  of  Wheeler's  Corners,  but  in  1812 
removed  to  a  farm  two  miles  east  of  South  Butler,  upon  which  he  was 
succeeded  by  Ezekiel  Scott.  Mr.  Crane  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  and 
a  deacon  in  the  Baptist  Church.  He  was  a  Revolutionary  veteran  and 
a  very  kind-hearted  man.  In  1809  Noah  Starr  and  Seth  Winans  became 
settlers.  The  latter  was  also  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  Prentice  Palmer 
located  in  the  town  in  1810,  but  the  next  year  moved  to  Savannah  to 
take  care  of  the  old  Galen  salt  works.  It  is  said  that  in  one  winter,  in 
twenty-hve  days,  he  killed  twenty-six  deer.  Paul  Wellman,  a  soldier 
in  the  Revolution,  came  to  Butler  in  1810,  accompanied  by  his  father, 
Jedediah  Wellman,  who  died  the  next  spring,  aged  eighty-four,  and 
whose  death  was  the  second  in  the  iown. 

Eli  Wheeler  was  a  settler  of  1810.  He  was  a  prominent  citizen  and 
died  in  1847.  His  son,  Highland  Hill  Wheeler,  was  born  in  Cairo,  N. 
Y.,  November  23,  1808,  removed  with  his  parents  to  Butler,  and  died 
here  July  1,  1894.  When  twenty-one  he  went  to  New  York,  studied  and 
practiced  law,  married  and  returned  to  his  farm,  known  as  Highland 
Terrace,  in  1860.  He  followed  his  profession  and  was  a  justice  of  the 
peace  here  many  years.  He  was  a  scholarly  writer  and  a  recognized 
authority  on  local  history,  in  which  he  took  a  deep  interest,  contributing 
many  letters  bearing  on  the  early  settlement  of  the  old  town  of  Wolcott 
to  the  county  papers.      He  left  four  children. 

Daniel  Roe,  when  fifty  years  old,  moved  with  his  wife  and  five  sons 
and  six  daughters  from  Litchfield,   Conn.,   to  this  town,   arriving  May 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  431 

24,  1812.  He  bought  out  one  Hopkins,  who  had  built  a  log  house  and 
cleared  some  six  or  eight  acres  of  land.  He  was  vigorous  and  energetic, 
and  lived  to  see  his  farm  of  170  acres  pretty  well  cleared  up  and  his 
family  all  settled  about  him.  He  was  an  active  Christian  man  and  had 
a  marked  influence  in  the  community,  and  was  instrumental  in  securing 
from  the  old  Genesee  Conference  the  first  Methodist  preachers  for  that 
locality  or  region.  They  held  quarterly  meetings  in  his  barn,  preached 
in  the  school  house  on  a  corner  of  his  farm,  and  he  was  an  earnest  sup- 
porter of  the  church  while  he  lived.  He  was  one  of  the  first  magistrates 
of  the  town  and  served  many  years,  and  was  for  several  years  postmas- 
ter, the  post-office  being  kept  in  his  house.  The  mail  was  brought  from 
Auburn  on  horseback  once  or  twice  a  week.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
eighty-nine  years  and  seven  months.  His  wife  preceded  him  in  March, 
1840,  at  which  time  the  family  cemetery  now  on  the  homestead  was  laid 
out.  His  sons,  who  all  settled  near  him,  were  men  of  influence.  Dan- 
iel was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  present  town  of  Wolcott,  and 
was  prominent  for  many  years  as  supervisor,  justice  of  the  peace,  etc. 
He  died  at  Butler  Center,  September  22,  1884,  aged  ninety-two  years. 
He  was  a  life-long  Democrat.  Austin,  another  son,  was  member  of 
Assembly  one  or  two  terms.  Willis  W.  was  also  prominent  in  town 
and  lived  and  died  upon  the  homestead  where  his  youngest  son,  J.  H. 
L.  Roe  now  resides.  Of  the  old  settlers  on  the  same  street,  now  gone, 
who  have  left  descendants  there,  were  Joseph  Watson,  Nathan  Cook, 
Azur  Raynor  and  Lucius  Hibbard,  and  a  little  to  the  east  lived  Thomas 
Armstrong,  for  several  terms  a  member  of  State  Senate,  and  Paul  H 
Davis,  a  man  of  marked  characteristics  yet  of  sterling  integrity. 
Thomas  Armstrong  settled  in  Butler  in  1813.  He  was  long  the  super- 
visor, served  as  sheriff  of  Seneca  county,  and  was  the  first  sheriff  of 
Wayne  county.  He  was  in  the  Assembly  six  years  and  in  the  Senate 
eight,  and  was  a  popular  public  officer. 

Roger  Olmsted  settled  near  Wotcott  village,  and  with  his  son  built 
some  years  afterward  a  saw  and  grist  mill  on  Wolcott  Creek.  Abijah 
Moore  and  his  son  had  a  distillery  and  grist  mill  on  the  same  stream. 
Other  early  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  were  Simeon  Merrill,  sr. ,  John 
Ward  and  John  Harmon. 

Maj,  William  Moulton,  a  Revolutionary  officer,  settled  in  1810  on 
600  acres  granted  him  for  military  services  near  the  center  of  the  town. 
He  was  a  decorous  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  and  wore  a  powdered 
queue,  cocked  hat,  top  boots,  and  white  headed  cane.      His  estate  in- 


432  LANDMARKS   OF 

eluded  Armstrong  Hill,  the  highest  elevation  in  town.  He  was  a  land 
surveyor,  and  gave  special  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  fruit. 

Horace  and  Noah  Peck  were  early  settlers,  and  in  1815  sold  out  to 
Edward  Bivins  and  his  father-in-law,  Benjamin  Hall,  who  came  in  the 
spring  of  1816.  Abner  Bivins,  the  father  and  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
and  James,  a  brother,  removed  hither  a  few  years  later,  as  did  also 
Joshua,  Elias,  Stephen  and  Peter  Hall,  brothers  of  Benjamin,  and  their 
father,  Thomas.  The  road  from  South  Butler  to  Wolcott  was  first 
called  East  street,  and  probably  the  first  settler  upon  it  was  Capt.  Peter 
Mills,  who  was  the  first  man  to  die  in  the  town,  and  who  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  Daniel  Mills.  John  Foot  lived  near  him,  and  about  two 
miles  north  resided  Aaron  Hopkins. 

( >ther  prominent  settlers  were  David  Sprague,  the  father  of  two  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Charles  W.  was  one;  James  Davis,  a  tailor;  Daniel  Rog- 
ers, a  lineal  descendant  of  John  Rogers  the  martyr;  Welcome  Cole, 
who  died  in  March,  1883;  Abram  Gibbs,  who  died  November  11,  1891, 
aged  eighty-one;  Prentice  Cushman,  who  lived  in  South  Butler  more 
than  forty  years  and  died  in  May,  1801;  James  M.  Jenkins,  a  local  M. 
E.  preacher,  who  died  in  1879;  Horatio  Wood,  for  twenty  years  a  mag- 
istrate and  the  father  of  Noah  Wood,  who  died  in  1860;  Jason  Under- 
bill, sr. ,  who  died  in  May,  1889;  Deacon  Isaac  Miner,  born  in  Connec- 
ticut in  1792,  settled  in  Butler  early,  and  died  in  Rose  in  December, 
1891 ;  Micajah  Aldrich,  father  of  Edward  A.  ;  Chester  Lee,  son  of  Lv- 
man;  Washington  Ellinwood,  son  in-law  of  Lyman  Lee;  Joseph  Brews- 
ter, who  died  in  Clyde;  Samuel  Thompson,  who  had  six  children  and 
died  in  1852;  Benjamin  Kellogg,  the  grandfather  of  William  B. ;  Will- 
iam McKoon,  a  typical  pioneer  and  a  local  M.  E.  preacher,  who  was 
succeeded  on  the  homestead  by  his  son  Jairus;  Milton  Town,  who  died 
in  1882,  son  of  Silas;  Samuel  C.  Pomeroy,  who  died  in  April,  1891; 
Seth  Craw  and  John  Draft. 

Ransom  Loveless,  sr. ,  born  in  Johnstown,  N.  Y.,  in  1791,  came  to 
Butler  in  1816,  and  died  in  August,  1864.  His  son,  Ransom,  jr.,  born 
here  in  1818,  succeeded  to  the  homestead.  Another  son  was  Columbus 
Loveless.  Nathaniel  W.  Tompkins  became  a  merchant  in  Wolcott  in 
1835,  but  in  1841  settled  on  a  farm  in  Butler.  William  H.  Peck  was 
born  in  L821,  located  in  Galen  in  1840,  removed  to  Wolcott  in  1883,  and 
died  there  in  October,  1886.  Joel  B.  Bishop,  the  father  of  Benjamin, 
came  to  Rose  about  1812,  but  later  moved  to  Butler  and  died  in  March, 
1875,  aged  seventy-five.     Abijah  Upham,  born  in  Saratoga  county  in 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  183 

L795,  served  in  the  War  of  L812,  and  removed  hither  from  Victory, 
X.  V.,  in  L825.  He  died  in  February,  1881.  John  Kellogg,  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  came  to  Butler  when  nine  years  old  and  died  on  the 
homestead  May  25,  1876,  aged  seventy-four.  Israel  J.  Clapp  settled 
here  in  1822  and  died  in  December,  1802.  He  was  born  in  Massachu- 
setts in  June,  1796,  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade.  He  was  prominent  in  town  affairs.  About  1829  Ransom  Ward 
opened  a  store  in  a  frame  building  a  half  mile  west  of  West  Butler, 
which  was  the  first  mercantile  establishment  in  town,  but  it  was  soon 
discontinued. 

Hon.  Thomas  Johnson,  born  in  Saratoga  county  in  1814,  came  to 
Butler  from  Mexico,  N.  Y. ,  when  twenty  years  of  age  and  lived  with 
his  uncle,  Thomas  Armstrong.  He  was  a  school  teacher,  farmer,  and 
town  superintendent  of  schools,  and  served  in  the  Assembly  in  1856- 
57.  Two  of  his  sons  enlisted  in  the  9th  Heavy  Artillery.  Mr.  John- 
son died  January  23,  1890. 

Ezekiel  Scott,  previously  mentioned,  served  six  years  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  settled  on  the  Scott  homestead  in  this  town  in  1812. 
Upon  the  formation  of  the  township  he  was  one  of  a  committee  of  three 
to  choose  an  appropriate  name,  and  Butler  was  selected  in  honor  of 
Gen.  William  Butler,  an  officer  of  the  Revolution.  A.  C.  Scott,  a 
grandson  of  Ezekiel,  died  February  28,  1890,  in  the  house  where  he 
was  born. 

Jacob  S.  Viele  purchased  a  farm  of  300  acres  near  the  center  of  the 
town  in  1819  and  erected  at  Butler  Center  a  saw  mill  that  did  a  large 
business  for  more  than  forty  years.  About  the  same  time  Simon  S. 
Viele,  a  brother,  located  on  a  farm  a  mile  or  so  north ;  his  eldest  son, 
Stephen  S.,  a  lawyer,  was  murdered  at  Seneca  Falls  in  1860. 

In  1858  the  town  had  15,316  acres  of  improved  land,  real  estate  as- 
sessed at  $580,494:,  personal  property  at  $21,850,  1,126  male  and  1,099 
female  inhabitants,  414  dwellings,  438  families,  360  freeholders,  twelve- 
school  districts  and  815  school  children,  981  horses,  1,766  oxen  and 
calves,  1,024  cows,  4,898  sheep,  and  1,647  swine.  There  were  produced 
16,462  bushels  winter  and  140,631  bushels  spring  wheat,  2,557  tons  hay, 
i;,li()6  bushels  potatoes,  51,981  bushels  apples,  97,571  pounds  butter, 
15,112  pounds  of  cheese,  and  1,750  yards  domestic  cloth. 

In  1890  the  population  was  1,836,  or  425  less  than  in  1880.  In  1893 
the  assessed  value  of  land  was  $690,620  (equalized  $728,949) ;  village 
and   mill    property,    $72,119    (equalized   $81,609);    personal    property, 


434  LANDMARKS   OF 

$44,820.  Schedule  of  taxes,  L893:  Contingent  fund,  $912.77;  town 
poor,  $150;  roads  and  bridges,  $100;  school  tax,  $782.61;  county  tax, 
$1,872.48;  State  tax,  $1,031.83;  State  insane  tax,  $266.19;  dog  tax, 
$54.50.  Total  tax  levy,  $5,733.69;  rate  per  cent.,  .00710002.  The 
town  has  two  election  districts  and  in  1880  polled  :i"»4  votes. 

The  tirst  school  in  the  town  was  taught  in  the  summer  of  IS  11  by 
Miss  Mary  Woodruff  a  little  north  of  West  Butler.  In  the  winter  fol- 
lowing Wheeler  Wellman,  son  of  Paul,  taught  the  second  school  in  a 
log  school  house  standing  between  his  father's  house  and  that  of  Eli 
Wheeler's.  The  town  now  has  ten  school  districts  with  a  school  house 
in  each,  which  were  taught  in  L892-3  by  twelve  teachers  and  attended 
by  :544  scholars.  The  school  buildings  and  sites  are  valued  at  $5,875; 
assessed  value  of  districts,  $577,290;  public  money  received  from  the 
State,  $1,454.69;  raised  by  local  tax,  $1,674.65.  The  principal  of  the 
South  Butler  Union  school  is  Prof.  H.  A.  Maynard. 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  the  town  of  Butler  sent  135  of  her 
brave  and  loyal  citizens  to  fight  the  nation's  battles.  All  of  them  did 
valiant  service.  The  organizations  to  which  they  belonged  are  detailed 
in  a  preceding  chapter. 

South  Butler  village  lies  near  the  center  of  the  extreme  south  part 
of  the  town  of  Savannah.  Prior  to  1830  it  was  known  as  Harrington's 
Corners.  William  Shedd  opened  a  small  store  just  over  the  line  in 
Savannah  about  1830  and  was  soon  succeeded  by  Oman  King,  who  gave 
the  place  the  name  of  King's  Corners.  Through  his  efforts  a  Sunday 
school  and  a  Presbyterian  Church  were  organized.  Mr.  King  died  in 
L841,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sylvester  Pomeroy,  with  whom  his  kinsman, 
Samuel  C.  Pomeroy,  afterward  United  States  Senator  from  Kansas, 
was  associated.  Sylvester  Pomeroy  died  in  1845  and  was  followed  by 
Henry  K.  Graves,  who  died  January  1,  L879.  Mr.  Graves  was  super- 
visor several  years  and  a  member  of  Assembly.  In  1839  O.  H.Wheeler 
and  Samuel  B.  Tucker  built  a  saw  mill,  which  finally  passed  to  Brad- 
way  &  Crofoot,  who  also  had  a  stave  and  shingle  mill  and  a  cooperage. 
Soon  afterward  a  post-office  was  established  under  the  name  of  South 
Butler  and  the  name  of  the  village  was  made  to  correspond.  Dr. 
Clarendon  Campbell  was  the  first  postmaster.  Another  founder  of  the 
place  was  John  Smith,  who  opened  streets,  laid  out  and  sold  building 
lots,  and  erected  a  store,  etc.  In  the  latter  he  placed  his  son,  who  soon 
died,  and  was  succeeded  by  Zebulon  Ross,  who  was  followed  by  John  E. 
Hough,      About    L850  a  grist  mill  was  removed  hither  from  Pineville  by 


WAYNE   COUNTY.  |:;;. 

John  Seymour,  who  sold  to  J.  Richmond.  It  passed  to  David  R. 
Hamilton  and  son  William,  then  to  Lyman  H.  Dratt,  and  in  ls'l  I  to 
Mr.  Hinds,  in  whose  possession  it  was  burned  February  9,  L875.  The 
present  grist  mill  is  owned  by  C.  A.  Coleman.  Samuel  West  was  an 
early  blacksmith,  having  a  shop  that  was  burned  where  Frank  Maguire's 
shop  afterward  stood.  In  1846  Griffin  Green  started  a  tannery  that 
went  down  several  years  ago.  A  hotel  was  built  and  opened  at  an 
early  day,  of  which  Abram  Dratt  was  proprietor. 

About  1877  Thomas  S.  Law  established  the  bluing  manufactory  now 
conducted  by  his  son  Arthur  E.  Azel  C.  Hough  recently  began  the 
manufacture  of  a  cash  recorder,  of  which  he  is  the  inventor  and  patentee. 
In  1867  Dr.  Jerome  Hibbard  commenced  making  cheese  boxes  here, 
and  established  the  present  extensive  Hibbard  basket  works,  in  which 
at  one  time  more  than  100  hands  were  employed,  the  present  number 
being  from  twenty-five  to  thirty.  He  was  also  the  inventor  of  the 
Hibbard  farm  gate  in  1868.  Dr.  Hibbard  was  born  in  February,  1830, 
and  died  here  April  4,  1888.  He  was  a  graduate  in  1861  of  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  New  York  city  and  an  assistant  surgeon 
in  a  Virginia  hospital  during  the  war. 

South  Butler  village  now  contains,  besides  the  above,  a  hotel,  two 
general  stores,  a  drug  store,  a  post-office  and  confectionery  store,  two 
blacksmith  shops,  a  hardware  store,  three  milliners,  two  wagon  shops, 
one  grist  mill,  a  district  school,  four  churches,  two  or  three  physicians, 
and  about  360  inhabitants.  The  postmaster  is  George  W.  Pangburn, 
who  succeeded  De  Witt  C.  Wheeler. 

Butler  Center,  so  called  from  its  geographical  position,  had  its 
nucleus  in  the  saw  mill  of  Jacob  S.  Viele  in  1819.  Afterward  a  fulling 
and  carding  mill  was  built,  but  was  long  since  discontinued.  The  pres- 
ent saw  and  feed  mill  is  owned  by  Joseph  H.  Potter.  Besides  this  the 
place  contains  two  stores,  a  blacksmith  shop,  school,  one  church,  post- 
office,  and  small  cluster  of  dwellings.  Abel  Wing,  a  long  time  mer- 
chant here,  was  postmaster  for  several  years  and  was  succeeded  recentl}' 
by  A.  M.  Armstrong. 

West  Butler,  in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  was  originally  called 
Murray's  Corners,  and  is  now  frequently  termed  Cider  Hill.  It  formerly 
had  a  post-office,  which  was  discontinued  in  June,  1881.  It  is  merely  a 
small  rural  hamlet. 

Churches. — A  Baptist  church  was  organized  in  Butler  as  earlv  as 
1824.      In  1825  Rev.  Luther  Goodrich  was  installed  as  pastor,  and  about 


436  LANDMARKS  OF 

L830  was   succeeded  by    Rev.  Isaac  D.  Hosford.      June   26,    L834,    the 

Baptist  church  of  Butler  and  Savannah  was  regularly  constituted  at 
South  Butler  by  Rev.  Rowell  Osborne  with  about  fifteen  members. 
Rev.  Mr.  Hosford  was  the  first  pastor  and  Ames  Winnegar  the  first 
clerk.  The  first  and  present  frame  house  of  worship  was  erected  in 
1850  at  a  cost  of  $1,200,  and  in  that  year  a  Sunday  school  was  organized. 
The  society  has  about  eighty  members  under  the  pastoral  charge  of 
Rev.  Levi  R.  Reynolds.  The  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  is 
Mrs.  James  Foster. 

The  Presbyterian  church  of  Butler  was  organized  in  1831  under  the 
Presbytery  of  Geneva.  In  1836  they  built  at  South  Butler  the  first 
church  edifice  in  the  town.  Among  the  earlier  pastors  or  supplies  were 
Revs.  William  Clark,  Gelston,  Samuel  R.  Ward  (colored),  Lewis  C. 
Lockwood,  and  James  Gregg.  In  1853  Rev.  Antoinette  L.  Brown,  the 
first  woman  regularly  ordained  to  theministry  in  the  State,  was  installed 
pastor  "by  a  speech  from  Gerritt  Smith."  Soon  afterward  the  society 
languished  and  finally  ceased  to  exist.  Their  old  church  is  now  used 
as  a  dwelling. 

The  Disciples  Church  of  South  Butler  originally  consisted  of  eleven 
members,  among  whom  were  John  Dratt  and  wife,  Lyman  Hill  and 
sister  (Mrs.  Chapin),  Israel  J.  Clapp  and  wife,  and  a  Mr.  Comstock. 
Mr.  Dratt  was  the  elder.  The  meetings  were  first  held  in  an  old  tan- 
nery, and  for  some  time  in  school  houses.  This  church,  first  designated 
"  Campbellite,"  then  "Disciples,"  and  later  "  Christian,  "  was  instituted 
about  1831.  They  denied  Scriptural  authority  for  ordaining  or  setting 
apart  any  one  as  a  minister  or  preacher,  or  as  specially  authorized  to 
administer  the  rites  of  the  church,  such  as  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
supper;  and  maintained  that  a  hired  ministry  and  the  "paying  for 
preaching"  were  unnecessary.  This  dogma  was  therefore  practiced 
upon.  They  organized  themselves  into  a  congregation  of  baptized  be- 
lievers, and  any  one  of  them  might  perform  the  duties  of  the  church. 
Their  first  meeting  house,  which  cost  about  $800,  was  sold  to  the 
Advents.  In  1861  the  present  edifice  in  South  Butler  was  erected  at 
an  expense  of  $3,000.  The  first  located  minister  was  Josiah  I.  Lowell, 
who  remained  until  his  death  in  L858.  The  first  Sunday  school  was 
organized  by  Dr.  M.  F.  Sweeting  about  is,">.">,  with  fifty  pupils.  The 
present  pastor  is  Rev.  Mr.  Applegate.     The  society  has  L 70  members. 

The   Seeoiid  Advent    church  was    organized  at  South  Butler   in    L861. 
The   old    church  edifice   of    the  Disciples  was    purchased  and    used    as   a 


WAYNE   COUNTY  437 

place  of  worship.  They  still  maintain  regular  services  and  a  Sabbath 
school.     The  local  preacher  is  E.  P.  Stevens. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  church  of  South  Butler  was  erected  in  L879 
with  Rev.  A.  L.  Stinnard  in  charge.  Prior  to  his  appointment  a  class 
was  organized  at  the  house  of  R.  H.  Arnold,  with  twelve  members, 
and  with  Arthur  Skinner  as  leader.  The  first  church  services  were  held 
in  a  hall  over  the  hardware  store,  and  the  first  cpiarterly  meeting  con- 
vened here  June  3  and  4,  1880.  The  Baptist  church  was  leased  and 
later  the  Advent  church  was  used,  and  in  1881  Rev.  W.  H.  Bentley  be- 
came pastor.  Their  frame  edifice  was  erected  that  year  and  dedicated 
in  August  by  Rev.  M.  Prindle.  It  cost  about  $2,500.  The  present  pastor 
is  Rev.  Hale  Gardner.  The  society  owns  a  parsonage  and  has  about 
forty  members. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Butler  Center  was  erected  prior 
to  or  about  183G  and  belonged  to  the  Rose  circuit,  for  on  the  records  is 
the  following  entry:  "The  first  quarterly  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Methodist  chapel.  Butler  Center,  December  3,  1836.  Present — Isaac 
Stone,  presiding  elder;  Burrow  Holmes,  preacher  in  charge;  Joseph 
Byron,  assistant;  John  Roe,  secretary;  Thomas  Roberts  and  Daniel 
Smith,  local  preachers;  Austin  Roe  and  Francis  R.  Nichols,  exhorters. 
Class  leaders:  M.  Smith,  Paul-  H.  Davis,  James  Cosgrove,  William 
Wadsworth,  Thomas  West,  Russell  Rusco,  Thaddeus  Collins,  Benja- 
min Jenkins,  Joel  H.  Lee,  James  Park,  Amos  Aldrich." 

The  society  owns  a  frame  parsonage  and  a  cemetery  plat  adjoining 
the  church  lot.  The  membership  numbers  about  ninety  and  Rev.  C. 
C.  Tucker  is  pastor.      F.  R.  Pierson  is   Sunday  school  superintendent. 

A  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  built  at  a  very  early  day  on  the 
present  site  of  the  Disciples  parsonage  at  South  Butler.  It  was  finallv 
moved  to  Savannah  village,  where  its  frame  forms  that  of  the  M.  E. 
church  building"  there. 


PART  II. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


CHARLES  T.  SAXTON. 

Charles  T.  Saxton,  attorney  in  Clyde,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  and  nominee  in  1894 
of  the  Republican  party  for  lieutenant-governor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  was  born  in 
Clyde  in  1846.  He  is  a  son  of  Daniel  Saxton,  -who  was  for  nearly  fifty  years  a  respected 
citizen  of  Clyde,  and  who  died  in  1891.  His  advantages  for  securing  an  early  education 
were  very  limited.  After  attending  district  school  until  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  he 
worked  about  a  year  as  clerk  in  a  dry  goods  store.  He  was  ambitious  to  go  to  college, 
and  with  that  purpose  in  view  studied  Greek  while  working  as  clerk.  He  hoped  to  be 
able  to  fit  himself  to  enter  college  and  then  work  his  way  through.  But  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  changed  his  plans.  It  required  very  little  consideration  by  him  to  arrive 
at  a  determination  to  enlist,  and  he  did  so,  with  a  few  of  his  young  companions,  joining 
the  90th  New  York  Infantry  soon  after  the  conflict  began  and  went  with  the  regiment 
to  East  New  York,  where  he  remained  until  January  5,  1862.  From  there  the  regiment 
proceeded  to  Key  West,  Fla.  Mr.  Saxton  was  then  only  fifteen  years  old.  In  the 
miserable  Florida  barracks  the  regiment  was  attacked  by  yellow  fever  and  200  of  its 
number  died.  In  the  summer  of  1863  the  regiment  went  to  Port  Hudson  and  in  the 
siege  of  that  place  experienced  its  first  taste  of  real  war.  Then  followed  the  Red  River 
campaign,  in  which  Mr.  Saxton  won  the  rank  of  sergeant-major.  At  Pleasant  Valley, 
Cox's  Plantation,  and  other  engagements  the  90th  Regiment  served  with  credit.  After 
this  the  regiment  was  not  engaged  until  the  summer  of  1864,  when  they  were  ordered 
to  Washington,  where  they  joined  Sheridan  and  shared  in  the  glorious  Shenandoah 
Valley  campaign.  The  extreme  marches  and  field  privations  of  this  campaign  caused 
Mr.  Saxton's  severe  illness,  and  he  was  sent  to  a  Washington  hospital  with  a  fair 
assurance  that  he  would  not  leave  it  alive.  But  he  is  of  sturdy  stuff  and  was  soon 
afterward  sent  home  on  a  furlough,  tipping  the  scales  at  114  pounds;  his  present  weight 
is  225  pounds.  Forty  days  later  he  was  again  ready  for  the  field.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  his  regiment  was  ordered  to  Hawkinsville,  Ga.,  where  they  were  kept  until 
February,  1866.  On  February  19  they  were  ordered  to  Hart's  Island  and  mustered  out, 
four  years  and  three  months  after  Mr.  Saxton's  enlistment. 

Returning  from  the  war,  still  young  and  ambitious  to  enter  a  profession,  Mr.  Saxton 
began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Vandenberg  &  Baker  in  Clyde  and  studied  night 
and  day  until  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1867.     He  was  only  twenty-one  years  old  at 

A 


4  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

this  time,  and  married  soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  with  no  other  expectations  of 
income  other  than  what  he  might  earn  by  hard  labor.  He  went  with  his  wife  to  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  and  opened  an  office.  Partly  on  account  of  his  wife's  desire  to  live 
among  friends  they  returned  to  Clyde  and  he  formed  a  partnership  with  John  L.  Crane, 
which  existed  two  years.  In  1876  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  old  teacher  in  law, 
John  Vandenberg,  of  Clyde,  and  for  the  succeeding  seventeen  years  they  worked  har- 
moniously and  successfully  together  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Vandenberg  in  the  spring  of 
1894.  A  quick  thinker,  a  concise,  eloquent  and  effective  speaker,  Mr.  Saxton  early 
attracted  attention  in  his  profession,  and  he  attained  unusual  success.  A  Republican  in 
politics,  he  identified  himself  with  the  work  of  his  party,  and  his  talents  were  soon 
recognized.  After  holding  the  offices  of  village  clerk  in  Clyde,  trustee  and  president  of 
the  village,  and  justice  of  the  peace,  he  was  elected  in  188G  to  the  State  Assembly,  re- 
ceiving the  largest  majority  the  district  ever  gave  a  candidate  for  that  office.  He  was 
one  of  the  readiest  and  most  conspicuous  debaters  in  the  Legislature  and  served  with 
special  credit  and  ability  on  the  Judiciary  Committee.  He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature 
in  1888  and  1889 ;  was  chairman  in  both  years  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  and  under- 
took to  secure  the  passage  of  his  famous  ballot-reform  measure.  His  well-directed 
efforts,  his  eloquent  speeches,  and  his  untiring  labors  were  finally  crowned  with  success. 
In  the  fall  of  188D  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  and  was  re  elected  without  op- 
position in  1891.  In  that  body,  as  in  the  Assembly,  he  occupied  a  conspicuous  position, 
not  only  in  the  councils  of  his  own  party,  but  in  the  promotion  of  many  important 
measures.  In  1891  he  secured  the  enactment  of  the  ballot-reform  bill,  which  embodied 
the  main  features  of  the  Australian  ballot  system  ;  but  he  was  forced  to  accept  it  in  an 
imperfect  form  by  the  opposition  of  the  other  political  adherents.  In  1888  he  had 
charge  in  the  Assembly  of  the  bill  providing  that  the  death  penalty  should  be  inflicted 
by  electricity,  which  became  a  law  the  same  year.  In  1891  he  framed  and  introduced 
a  corrupt  practices  Act,  which  defined  offenses  against  the  elective  franchise  and  re- 
quired, among  other  things,  the  publication  by  candidates  of  their  election  expenses. 
This  is  the  first  act  of  the  kind  ever  placed  on  the  statute  books  of  any  American  State; 
and  he  has  never  ceased  his  efforts  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of  that  law,  but  thus  far 
without  marked  success.  In  the  fall  of  1893  he  was  again  elected  to  the  Senate  for  the 
third  time  by  a  plurality  of  8,500,  and  by  the  unanimous  expression  of  his  Republican 
colleagues  was  made  temporary  president  and  leader  of  the  majority.  Mr.  Saxton's 
career  in  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature  is  well  known.  It  was  marked  by  the  same 
untiring  activity,  adherence  to  what  he  believed  to  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  State, 
and  his  eloquent  advocacy  of  those  measures  which  made  that  session  conspicuous.  In 
the  fall  of  1894,  and  while  this  volume  is  in  press,  Mr.  Saxton  was  made  a  candidate  of 
his  party  for  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor,  with  Levi  P.  Morton  for  governor,  and 
the  ticket  has  been  unanimously  nominated  at  Saratoga,  and  elected  on  the  6th  day  of 
November.     This  election  forces  Mr.  Saxton  to  resign  his  office  in  the  Senate. 

Senator  Saxton  is  noted  for  his  brilliant  advocacy  in  the  Legislature  of  those  measures 
designed  to  promote  the  moral  and  intellectual  advancement  of  the  people  at  large. 
Among  the  many  bills  of  general  interest  introduced  by  him,  which  are  now  upon  the 
statute  books,,  are  the  university-extension  bill,  the  anti-pool  room  bill,  and  the  bill 


Styju~  W.  Wtiei 


(XA**s& 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  r, 

regulating  gifts  for  charitable  purposes,  which  is  designed  to  prevent  the  failure  of  such 
great  public  charities  as  that  contemplated  by  the  will  of  the  late  Samuel  J.  Tilden.  lie 
is  recognized  throughout  the  State  as  one  of  the  most  popular  and  effective  of  the 
campaign  speakers. 

In  1892  Mr.  Saxton  was  chosen  honorary  chancellor  of  Union  College,  Schenectady, 
and  delivered  the  chancellor's  address  to  the  graduating  class,  receiving  the  degree 
of  LL.D. 

Mr.  Saxton  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  G.  A.  R..  in  which  he  has  been  commander 
of  two  different  Posts,  a  member  of  the  Department  Council  of  Administration,  and  was 
delegate- at-large  from  this  department  to  the  National  Encampment  of  1894. 

Mr.  Saxton's  marriage  took  place  in  1868  to  Helen  M.,  daughter  of  Ambrose  S. 
Field.     They  have  four  children. 


STEPHEN  K.  WILLIAMS. 

Stephen  K.  Williams  was  born  in  Bennington,  Vt.  His  father  was  Richard  P. 
Williams,  a  successful  physician  of  that  place.  His  mother  was  Lucy  Fletcher,  of  Lud- 
low, Vt.  When  he  was  four  years  old  his  family,  consisting  of  his  father,  mother,  and 
older  brother  Fletcher  and  himself,  removed  to  Newark,  N.  Y.,  where  Stephen  K.  has 
since  resided.  His  father,  Richard  P.  Williams,  practiced  his  profession  of  physician  and 
surgeon  several  years,  but  finally  retired  from  practice  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  died 
several  years  ago.  His  mother,  Lucy  F.  Williams,  died  recently  at  the  age  of  ninety-five 
years.  His  brother,  Fletcher  Williams,  is  a  banker  at  Newark,  and  president  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  of  which  he  is  the  founder. 

Mr.  Williams's  ancestors  on  his  father's  side  came  from  Wales.  His  mother's  name 
was  Keyes.  His  mother's  brothers,  Elijah  and  Timothy  Fletcher,  of  Lynchburg,  Va., 
and  Michael,  Calvin  and  Stoughton  A.  Fletcher,  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  were  prominent 
men  in  the  States  where  they  lived. 

Stephen  K.  Williams  was  from  childhood  a  student,  attending  the  common  school  at 
Bennington,  Vt,  when  three  years  of  age.  He  is  indebted  to  his  father,  who  taught 
him  on  winter  evenings  not  only  the  common  branches,  but  also  the  beginning  of  Latin 
and  Greek,  for  the  foundation  of  his  education.  At  ten  years  of  age  his  father  sent  him 
back  to  Bennington  to  attend  the  academy  for  a  year,  during  which  time  he  studied 
Latin  and  other  branches.  On  his  return  the  remainder  of  his  academic  education  was 
obtained  in  the  Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  Academy.  He  entered  Union  College  at  Schenectady 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  one  year  in  advance,  being  the  second  or  sophomore  year 
took  the  classical  course,  and  graduated  at  eighteen.  While  in  college  heustood  among 
the  first  in  a  class  of  about  125  and  at  the  end  of  his  course  there  received  the  honorary 
election  as  member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  and  was  also  one  of  the  members  of 
his  class  selected  to  deliver  an  oration  on  Commencement  day.  He  has  since  received 
from  Union  College  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 

On  his  graduation  from  college  he  spent  part  of  a  year  in  Adrian,  Mich.,  with  his 
father,   buying  wheat.      He  then   returned  to  Newark,  N.  Y.,  and,  as  his  father  had 


6  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY 

selected  the  profession  of  law  for  him,  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Hon.  Lyman  Sher- 
wood, county  judge,  as  a  student;  and  after  remaining  there  about  a  year,  finished  his 
law  studies  in  the  office  of  George  H.  Middleton,  an  able  and  accomplished  attorney,  and 
on  his  admission  to  the  bar  was  offered  and  accepted  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Middleton 
in  the  law  business,  with  whom  he  remained  several  years.  On  Mr.  Middleton  being 
elected  county  judge  the  firm  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Williams  opened  a  law  office  by 
himself  in  Newark,  where  he  has  since  resided. 

M  r.  Williams  has  always  been  a  devoted  student  and  taking  for  his  motto  that  "  Genius 
is  labor,"  has  exemplified  it  by  hard  labor  in  his  office  and  has  risen  to  the  rank  of  one 
of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  in  the  State.  He  has  always  given  close  attention  and 
patient  labor  to  his  law  cases  and  preparing  them  from  his  extensive  law  library,  is  quite 
successful,  and  is  always  listened  to  with  attention  in  the  Circuit. Courts  and  in  the 
General  Term  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  in  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

Mr.  Williams  has  also  during  a  part  of  his  life  been  a  politician  and  interested  him- 
self actively  in  the  advancement  of  his  party.  He  was  district  attorney  for  Wayne 
county  for  three  years.  He  declined  other  political  preferment  for  some  time,  but  at 
length  yielding  to  the  solicitations  of  his  friends,  he  was  elected  State  senator  for  the 
25lh  district  including  the  counties  of  Wayne  and  Cayuga,  in  1864,  and  performed  his 
duties  in  that  body  with  such  acceptance  to  his  constituents  that  he  was  twice  re-elected, 
holding  the  office  six  successive  years.  He  gave  the  same  ardent  and  industrious  effort 
to  the  duties  of  his  political  positions,  as  to  his  private  practice  in  his  profession.  While 
in  the  political  field  Mr.  Williams  was  recognized  as  a  factor  of  influence  in  his  county 
and  throughout  the  State.  He  for  a  long  time  enjoyed  the  intimate  friendship  of  Will- 
iam H.  Seward  (of  Cayuga  county),  one  of  the  counties  represented  by  Mr.  Williams 
in  the  Senate,  especially  while  Mr.* Seward  was  secretary  of  state  in  President  Lincoln's 
and  President  Johnson's  administrations.  Mr.  Williams  was  in  Albany,  as  senator,  at 
the  time  of  President  Lincoln's  assassination  and  took  part  in  the  ceremonies  attending 
the  reception  of  the  president's  body  in  that  city  on  its  wav  to  the  tomb  in  Springfield 
111. 

Mr.  Williams  was  active  in  forwarding  legislation  in  support  of  the  government  and 
in  raising  troops  during  the  war.  He  was  a  member  of  the  County  War  Committee  and 
president  of  the  Town  War  Committee,  and  freely  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  the 
raising  of  and  care  for  the  volunteers  during  the  great  struggle. 

Mr.  Williams  was  president  of  the  Sodus  Point  and  Southern  Railroad  Company  while 
that  road  was  in  process  of  construction  and  until  its  completion,  and  contributed  largely 
to  its  building.  The  completion  of  this  road  was  the  commencement  of  the  permanent 
giowth  of  the  village  of  Newark  and  it  has  ever  since  been  a  principal  factor  in  the  ex. 
ceptional  advancement  and  prosperity  of  that  village. 

In  1882  Mr.  Williams  became  the  editor  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  Reports, 
published  by  the  Lawyers'  Co-operative  Publishing  Company,  of  Rochester,  and  has 
since,  with  the  exception  of  one  year,  acceptably  filled  this  responsible  position.  In 
that  year  he  went  to  Washington  and  inaugurated  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the 
publishing  of  these  reports,  and  while  there  became  acquainted  with  Chief  Justice  Waite 
and  the  other  members  of  that  court.  This  edition  is  now  in  thirty-eight  volumes,  each 
one  containing  four  of  the  official  volumes. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


Mr.  Williams  has  always  kept  up  his  law  practice  at  Newark  and  is  a  partner  with 
his  son,  Byron  C.  Williams,  in  that  business. 

Mr.  Williams  married  Angeline  Crane,  daughter  of  Judge  Zenas  S.  Crane,  of  Mont- 
clair,  N.  J.,  who  is  now  living.  They  have  five  children  :  Byron  C,  above  mentioned, 
Sarah  Elizabeth,  Frances  J.,  Ida,  and  Cora  May,  all  of  whom  except  Ida  A.  are  living. 


JOHN   HENRY  CAMP 

Was  a  native  of  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  and  was  born  in  Ithaca  April  4,  1840. 
His  father  was  Frederick  M.  Camp,  who  removed  soon  after  the  birth  of  his  son  to 
Trumansburg,  where  he  died.  His  mother  was  Sarah  (Piatt)  Camp,  who  was  nearly 
related  to  Hon.  Thomas  C.  Piatt;  she  died  in  Trumansburg  in  January,  1894.  The 
other  children  of  this  family  besides  John  H.  were  Mrs.  Frank  H.  Griswold,  of  Auburn, 
(a  half  sister),  Mrs.  George  M.  Patten,  of  Bath,  Me.,  and  the  late  Mrs.  David  S.  Biggs, 
of  Trumansburg. 

John  H.  Camp  attended  the  academy  in  his  native  county  where  he  won  his  first 
laurels  as  an  orator  and  debater,  and  afterwards  entered  the  Albany  Law  School  from 
which  he  graduated  with  honor.  Following  this  he  spent  a  short  time  in  Mr.  Bishop's 
law  office  in  Rochester,  whence  he  came  to  Lyons  where  the  number  of  attorneys  then 
seemed  less  in  proportion  to  population  than  in  most  localities.  He  opened  an  office 
with  the  late  R.  W.  Ashley,  but  in  1863  was  appointed  by  Judge  George  W.  Cowles  to 
take  charge  of  the  surrogate's  office.  This  position  soon  gave  him  opportunity  to  form 
a  valuable  acquaintanceship  in  all  parts  of  Wayne  county,  which  was  of  great  service  to 
him  in  later  years.  He  remained  in  that  office  under  Judge  L.  M.  Norton  also ;  but  it 
should  not  be  understood  that  he  acted  as  "surrogate's  clerk,"  as  he  preferred  to  feel 
free  to  keep  up  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Clients  sought  him  frequently  and  he 
soon  gained  a  considerable  practice,  in  which  he  met  with  gratifying  success.  He  was 
an  eloquent  speaker,  peculiarly  persuasive  and  courteous  in  his  address,  while  his  legal 
ability  and  conscientious  efforts  for  his  clients  rendered  him  a  formidable  opponent  at 
the  bar.  He  early  entered  the  political  field,  which  had  great  attractions  for  him,  and 
he  became  one  of  the  most  popular  and  effective  campaign  speakers  in  the  State. 

In  1867  Mr.  Camp  was  elected  district  attorney  of  Wayne  county  and  served  most 
acceptably  through  an  important  term,  the  prosecution  of  the  murderer  Graham  falling 
to  him — a  case  that  attracted  attention  throughout  the  country.  In  1872  Mr.  Camp 
was  one  of  the  Republican  Presidential  Electors,  and  secretary  of  the  Electoral  College. 
During  these  years  be  was  rapidly  gaining  political  strength  and  prestige,  and  in  1877 
he  was  elected  to  the  45th  Congress,  where  he  made  a  brilliant  and  successful  record 
for  six  years.  He  exerted  a  large  influence  in  that  legislative  body  and  left  a  record  in 
every  way  worthy  of  his  talent  and  character.  It  was  while  in  Washington  that  the 
persistent  malady  attacked  him  from  which  he  was  thenceforth  to  suffer. 

Returning  from  his  labors  in  Congress  Mr.  Camp  was  nominated  in  1883  for  the  high 
office  of  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.     His  colleague  on  the  judiciary  ticket,  Hon.  W. 


8  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

D.  Stuart,  of  Rochester,  had  inclined  the  enmity  of  many  members  of  the  Monroe 
county  bar,  which  led  to  the  formation  of  an  association  of  lawyers  to  defeat  the  Re- 
publican nominees.  This  action  in  combination  with  the  wave  of  Democratic  success 
growing  out  of  the  Folger-Cleveland  campaign,  and  the  popularity  of  the  Democratic 
candidates,  was  sufficient  to  defeat  the  opposing  nominees  in  a  district  that  is  regularly 
Republican.  There  was  also  treachery  in  his  own  county  that  contributed  to  defeat 
Mr.  Camp,  though  he  was  reluctant  to  believe  it.  It  was  a  disappointment,  undoubtedly, 
to  Mr.  Camp,  but  it  was  not  an  unmixed  misfortune;  for  he  entered  with  renewed 
ardor  into  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  with  most  remarkable  success.  He  worked 
hard  and  his  great  ability,  his  power  as  an  advocate,  his  versatility  and  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  himself,  rendered  him  a  legal  antagonist  to  be  feared.  Admitting  to  partner- 
ship, I.  W.  Dunwell,  a  young  attorney  who  was  destined  to  attain  eminence  in  the 
profession,  the  firm  became  favorably  known  not  only  throughout  Wayne  county,  but 
far  beyond  its  bounds.  His  partnership  with  Mr.  Dunwell  began  in  1877,  continued  till 
Mr.  ("amp's  death,  and  was  one  of  the  strongest  in  this  part  of  the  State.  The  New 
York  Central  Railroad  Company  and  other  large  corporations  sought  the  services  of  the 
firm,  and  their  practice  became  very  large  and  lucrative. 

His  passion  for  politics  again  prompted  Mr.  Camp  to  enter  the  field,  not  as  a  candidate 
for  office,  but  as  a  controlling  factor  through  Wayne  county  and  a  powerful  influence  in 
the  western  part  of  the  State.  His  talents  were  readily  recognized  by  the  State  leaders 
and  in  all  important  councils  his  presence  and  voice  were  sought.  For  years  he  was 
intimately  associated  with  Thomas  C.  Piatt,  by  whom  he  was  implicitly  trusted,  and  in 
1891  when  age  compelled  Hon.  John  N.  Knapp  to  relinquish  the  chairmanship  of  the 
State  Committee,  Mr.  Camp  was  placed  on  the  committee  and  would  have  been  given 
the  chairmanship  had  not  his  increasing  ill  health  interfered. 

Throughout  Mr.  Camp's  political  career  he  exhibited  the  qualities  of  the  born  general 
in  that  field.  He  was  personally  affable,  courteous  to  all,  and  created  a  favorable  im- 
pression upon  every  one  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  Those  who  once  acknowl- 
edged his  leadership,  were  reluctant  to  abandon  it.  He  never  refused  a  favor  that  he 
could  properly  grant,  and  never  forgot  a  promise  however  insignificant.  No  citizen  of 
Wayne  county  ever  equaled  him  in  the  extent  of  his  political  connections  and  influence 
outside  of  his  own  county.  Generous,  honorable,  a  charming  talker,  with  social  quali- 
ties that  endeared  him  to  his  friends,  he  was  a  personality  that  will  not  soon  be  for- 
gotten. 

Mr.  Camp  was  married  in  1864  to  Yictoria  R.  Drummond,  of  Bath,  Me.,  to  whose 
love  and  devotion  he  was  often  heard  to  credit  much  of  his  success  in  life.  They  had 
two  children,  one  of  whom,  Frederick  Mortimer  Camp,  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Camp 
and  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Armour,  survive  him.  Mr.  Camp's  death  occurred  on 
October  12,  1892,  at  his  home  in  Lyons. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bar  Association  of  Wayne  county,  October  14,  1892,  a  committee 
consisting  of  Hon.  Charles  T.  Saxton,  Stephen  K.  Williams,  and  Charles  McLouth,  was 
named  to  prepare  a  suitable  memorial  of  Mr.  Camp.  This  memorial  (prepared  by  Mr. 
McLouth),  was  reported  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  association,  held  November  14, 
1892,  and  from  it  the  following  brief  extracts  are  taken: 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  9 

Coming  to  this  bar  in  the  first  flush  of  professional  life,  his  incisure  at  once  displayed 
itself,  and  every  member  of  the  bar  acknowledged  his  fitness  for  the  place.  So  without 
seeming  to  lead,  he  easily  led,  and  without  crowding  his  way,  it  opened  to  him.  His 
industry  was  great — his  preparation  great — his  advocacy  great — and  his  labor  tireless. 
American  lawyers  are  not  prone  to  yield  to  leadership,  but  th*y  are  not  ungenerous  to 
merit  nor  indifferent  to  success.  No  one  sulked  over  Mr.  Camp's  triumphs.  He  won 
by  hard  work,  or  by  merit  of  his  case,  or  by  strategy,  and  he  combined  them  all.  . 
He  fought  as  fiercely  against  bodily  infirmities,  when  any  other  might  have  succumbed 
to  the  first  assault,  as  for  his  clients.  His  location,  his  standing,  his  power  over  juries 
his  industry,  his  acquaintance,  all  combined  to  place  him  largely  on  the  plaintiff's  side, 
and  the  great  proportion  of  cases  are  with  the  plaintiff  in  all  courts.  And  withal  he 
largely  won.  He  adored  and  adorned  his  profession  ;  and  what  more  can  be  said  of  a 
lawyer?  A  grounded  lawyer,  a  wise  counselor,  a  fierce  but  fair  antagonist,  a  born  ad- 
vocate, a  loyal  friend,  he  laid  down  his  life  in  the  midst  of  years,  in  the  flush  of  profes- 
sional power,  in  the  zenith  of  fame. 

On  this  occasion  feeling  tributes  were  paid  to  Mr.  Camp's  life  and  memory  by  various 
leading  members  of  the  bar. 


EZRA  A.  EDGETT. 

The  parents  of  Ezra  A.  Bdgett  settled  in  Oneida  county  when  he  was  twelve  years 
old,  removing  from  Greene  county  where  he  was  born  November  21,  1828.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  district  and  select  schools  of  Oneida  county,  and  removed 
with  his  family  to  Wayne  county  in  1865.  He  possessed  excellent  business  qualifica- 
tions and  early  engaged  in  the  preserving  business,  founded  the  Wayne  County  Pre- 
serving Company  and  was  in  the  business  more  than  thirty  years.  Conducting  his 
business  upon  principles  of  integrity,  he  was  successful  in  a  material  sense  and  gained 
the  respect  of  the  community.  On  December  16,  1856,  he  married  Harriet  C.  Marvin, 
of  Camden,  Oneida  county,  and  they  have  had  four  children,  as  follows;  James  C,  who 
was  associated  in  the  business  of  his  father;  married  Anna  L.  Wilcox,  of  Port  Gibson, 
N.  Y.,  and  has  one  son,  Oliver.  Edith  M.  married  William  R.  Conover  and  resides  in 
Boston;  has  one  daughter,  Halla.  Mary  L.  resides  with  her  mother  ;  and  George,  who 
died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Edgett  died  January  30,  1889.  Since  his  death  the  preserving 
business  has  been  carried  on  by  his  widow  and  Edwin  K.  Burnham,  at  Newark. 


S.  N.  SAWYER. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  son  of  Samuel  W.  Sawyer  and  Hannah  Nelson  Sawyer. 
Samuel  W.  Sawyer  was  born  in  Camden,  N.  Y.,  in  1821,  and  removed  to  Macedon, 
N.  Y.,  in  childhood.  He  settled  in  Palmyra  about  the  year  1840,  and  has  since  resided 
there.     He  has  served  as  assessor,  as  trustee,  and  as  president  of  the  vilfage. 

S.  N.  Sawyer  was  born  in  Palmyra  October  6,  1853,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
Classical  Union  School  of  his  native  place,  and  at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass., 


in  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

graduating  in  1877.  Having  determined  to  adopt  the  profession  of  law,  he  studied  in 
the  office  of  S.  B.  Mclntyre,  of  Palmyra,  and  attended  the  Albany  Law  School,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1883,  and  at  once  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  David  S. 
Aldrich,  under  the  firm  name  of  Aldrich  &  Sawyer.  This  firm  continued  in  business 
until  January  1,  1889,  after  which  Mr.  Sawyer  practiced  alone  until  July  1,  1893,  when 
he  organized  the  firm  of  Sawyer  &  Tinklepaugh,  which  is  still  in  existence. 

Mr.  Sawyer  is  an  active  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  public  spirited  and  enterprising 
citizen.  He  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  one  term  ;  was  clerk  of  the  village  from 
September,  1884,  to  April,  1893,  when  he  was  elected  president  of  the  village,  and 
re-elected  in  1894.  In  these  positions  he  has  fully  met  the  expectations  and  approbation 
of  his  fellow  citizens. 

In  the  fall  of  1888  he  was  elected  district  attorney  of  the  county,  served  his  term  and 
was  re-elected.  In  this  responsible  position  he  has  succeeded  in  wirining  an  unusual 
proportion  of  the  cases  that  have  come  into  his  charge.  He  was  three  years  secretary 
of  the  New  York  State  League  Building  and  Loan  Association  and  is  now  a  director  in 
the  Wayne  Building  and  Loan  Association  and  its  counsel. 

Mr.  Sawyer  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  order;  is  past  master  of  Palmyra 
Lodge  No.  248;  past  high  priest  of  Palmyra  Eagle  Chapter  No.  79,  R.  A.  M.;  past  master 
of  Palmyra  Council  No.  21,  R.  &  S.  M.;  past  commander  of  Zenobia  Commandery  No. 
41,  K.  T.;  past  district  deputy  grand  master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  this  State ;  and  he 
is  now  (1894)  chief  commissioner  of  appeals  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State. 

On  October  20,  1885,  Mr.  Sawyer  married  Augusta,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  G. 
Webster,  of  Palmyra,  and  they  have  two  daughters. 


OLIVER  HURD  ALLERTON 

Was  born  in  Amenia,  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  on  the  17th  of  April,  1816.  His 
father  was  Samuel  W.  Allerton,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Amenia,  where  he  was  born, 
December  5,  1785.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  in 
the  select  school  of  Rev.  Dr.  Barnett,  a  Presbyterian  minister.  His  father  and  his 
grandfather  were  both  professional  men,  studied  medicine  and  practiced  as  physicians. 

His  father  was  Doctor  Reuben  Allerton,  and  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Saratoga  and  surrender  of  Burgoyne.  From  the 
surgeon  of  the  British  general  he  received  a  portion  of  his  instruments,  which  are  still 
in  the  possession  of  the  family.  The  ancestry  of  this  family  is  clearly  traceable 
through  eight  generations  from  the  Mayflower  and  came  from  England.  Samuel  W. 
Allerton  was  a  farmer  and  married  Hannah  Hurd,  of  Amenia,  and  they  had  nine  chil- 
dren, four  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  living  as  follows:  Cornelia,  Amarillys,  Henry  R., 
now  a  resident  of  Newark,  N.  Y.,  Orville  H.  (the  subject),  Amanda  H.,  Byron  (see 
personal  sketch  in  later  pages  of  this  volume),  Rebecca  II.,  Lois  J.  and  Samuel  W. 
Samuel  W.,  sr.,  settled  in  Benton,  Yates  county,  in  1842.  In  1849  the  family  removed 
into  Wayne  county,   and  carried  on  farming  fifteen  years.     Mr.  Allerton  resided  in 


1'.  I  ((GRAPHICAL.  1! 

Newark  village  after  that  until  his  death  in  August,  1885,  when   he  lacked  only  three 
months  and  twenty-five  days  of  being  100  years  old. 

Cornelia  Allerton  married  Walter  Sherman  of  Dutchess  county  ;  Amarillys  married 
Shadrack  Sherman  of  the  same  county.  Henry  R.  is  a  resident  of  Newark  village, 
where  his  sister,  Mrs.  Taber,  has  charge  of  his  household.  Amanda  H.  married  Will- 
iam Taber.  Byron  married  Helen  Sherman  of  Dutchess  county.  Rebecca  H.  and 
Lois  J.  reside  with  their  brother,  Henry  R.  in  Newark.  Samuel  W.  married  first 
Pamelia  Thompson,  and  second,  Agnes  Thompson,  and  lives  in  Chicago. 

Orville  Hurd  Allerton  attended  district  and  select  schools  of  Dr.  Lenord,  also  the 
Amenia  Seminary  until  he  was  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  when  he  began  business 
life  in  a  store  in  Nassau,  N.  Y.,  with  an  uncle.  He  early  evinced  a  taste  for  mercan- 
tile pursuits  and  served  as  clerk  for  twelve  years,  his  last  engagement  being  in  Elmira 
with  the  well-known  John  Arnot.  During  this  long  period  he  acquired  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  business  principles  and  laid  a  foundation  of  character,  integrity  and  in- 
dustry which  enabled  him  in  later  years  to  reach  a  high  measure  of  success.  Coming 
to  Newark,  N.  Y.,  in  1842  he  began  a  mercantile  career,  which  continued  twenty-five 
years  By  the  exercise  of  the  qualities  just  named,  with  proper  economy,  he  gained  a 
competence. 

At  the  close  of  his  mercantile  career  he  went  to  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  as  superintendent 
of  the  Pennsylvania  stock  yards,  a  position  of  great  responsibility  and  liberal  compen- 
sation. He  remained  there  seventeen  years,  when  he  retired,  after  over  fifty  years  of 
active  business  life,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  entire  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  em- 
ployers.    He  was  succeeded  in  the  position  by  his  son,  Orville  H.,  jr. 

About  the  year  1881  his  family  returned  to  Newark,  where  he  soon  afterward  built 
the  most  imposing  residence  in  the  village,  and  has  since  lived  a  life  of  retirement  from 
active  business. 

On  January  15,  1845,  he  married  Eliza  A.  Dean,  of  Dresden,  Yates  county,  N.  Y., 
and  they  have  had  two  children :  Clarence,  who  died  at  nine  months  of  age,  and  Or- 
ville H.,  jr.  The  latter  was  educated  in  the  Newark  Academy,  and  in  business  schools 
in  Poughkeepsie  and  Elmira;  married  Ida  C.  Leggett,  of  Newark,  and  has  two  children  : 
Ida  May  and  Edith  Marie. 

Mr.  Allerton  is  liberal  minded  and  honorable  in  all  his  dealings  and  intercourse  with 
his  fellow  citizens,  believing  that  "nothing  is  useful  but  what  is  honest,"  hence  has  no 
love  for  demagogism  of  any  kind.  The  man  who  made  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  by 
attending  to  his  own  business,  and  a  thousand  dollars  more  by  letting  other  people 
alone,  he  believes  is  a  good  example  to  follow.  Mr.  Allerton  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
but  his  own  business  interests  have  always  prevented  him  from  assuming  activity  in 
the  political  field,  except  in  local  affairs.  He  is  a  public-spirited  and  respected  citizen 
in  all  the  relations  of  life. 


12  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

NICHOLAS  MESTLER. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bora  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  December  29,  1826,  and 
died  on  his  homestead  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  Wayne  county,  May  26,  1894.  When 
he  was  eight  j^ears  old  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  France,  where  he  worked  in  fac- 
tories and  after  his  father's  death  supported  his  mother  and  the  other  children  of  the 
family.  He  immigrated  to  this  country  in  1852,  located  first  in  Rochester,  later  in 
Lyons,  and  still  later  in  the  town  of  Galen.  On  May  16,  1853,  he  married  Barbara 
Oswald,  of  Lyons,  and  after  leaving  Galen  he  purchased  the  farm  where  he  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  When  he  first  occupied  the  place  it  was  very  much  run  down, 
but  by  his  industry  and  the  aid  of  his  wife  and  children,  he  made  it  one  of  the  best  and 
most  productive  farms  in  the  town.  Mr.  Mestler  was  a  man  of  probity  and  good  busi- 
ness ability.  He  was  the  father  of  sixteen  children,  fourteen  of  whom  lived  to  matu- 
rity, as  follows  :  Caroline,  Mary  M.,  Rosa  B.,  Julia,  Anna  B.,  Henry  J.,  Albert  N., 
George  H.  (married  Etta  Parish  and  is  in  employ  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad 
Company),  Philip  L.  (married  Josephine  Masters  and  has  three  children  :  Mertorr  Roy 
and  George)  ;  Louis  P.  (married  Lottie  Snyder  of  Clyde  and  has  two  children  :  Harris 
and  Meda)  ;  he  is  also  employed  by  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  Company  ;  Cath- 
arine M.  (married  Charles  Thompson  of  Lyons  and  they  have  three  children  :  Edna, 
Clarence  and  David  ) ;  Susanna  P.  (married  William  Dayton  of  Newark,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Lillie  M.);  Sarah  J.  (married  John  C.  Cook  of  Newark,  and  they  have 
two  children  :  Robert  and  William)  ;  and  William  R.  (married  Ada  Smith  of  Rochester 
and  is  a  bookkeeper  of  that  city.) 


EDWIN  K.   BURNHAM 

Is  a  native  of  Vermont,  where  he  was  born  in  Randolph,  September  8,  1839.  He  is  a 
son  of  Ammi  Burnham  and  Lucy  (Young)  Burnham,  and  one  of  thirteen  children,  eleven 
of  whom  were  born  to  the  wife  named,  and  two  to  a  second  wife.  Four  of  these 
children  are  now  living.  Ammi  Burnham  was  a  farmer  and  brickmaker,  a  man  of  more 
than  common  intelligence,  and  was  elected  to  the  Vermont  State  Legislature  in  .1851. 

Edwin  K.  Burnham  attended  district  school  and  afterwards  the  academy  in  Royalton, 
Vt.,  finishing  his  studies  in  the  Orange  County  (Vt.)  Grammar  School.  The  call  to 
arms  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  found  him  ready  to  respond,  and  in  1862  he  enlisted  in 
Company  C  of  the  15th  Vermont  Infantry.  He  participated  in  the  great  Gettysburg 
battle  and  received  an  honorable  discharge  in  1863  with  the  rank  of  sergeant.  In  the 
spring  of  1864  he  graduated  from  the  Albany  Law  School  and  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  courts  of  this  State.  In  June  of  the  same  year  he  settled  in  Newark,  N.  Y., 
where  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  James  E.  Briggs,  who  was  also  a  native  of 
Vermont.  In  September  of  that  year  he  re-enlisted  in  the  army,  and  on  October  10, 
1864,  received  a  captain's  commission  in  Company  D,  111th  Regiment  of  New  York 
Infantry,  and  left  for  the  front.     His  regiment  participated  in  the  operations  around 


C/1/t-c-Av.-ctzd    [//l&d-te&'l 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  i.3 

Petersburg  until  he  was  taken  prisoner,  April  2,  1865.  He  was  returned  to  his  com- 
mand on  the  9th  of  April,  the  day  on  which  Lee  surrendered  to  Grant,  and  received  his 
honorable  discharge  June  4,  1865. 

Returning  to  Newark  Mr.  Burnham  entered  upon  active  practice  of  his  profession. 
In  1872  he  founded  the  Newark  Union  newspaper.  In  the  fall  of  1884  he  was  elected 
to  the  State  Legislature  by  the  Democrats  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  passage 
of  the  bill  establishing  the  custodial  asylum  for  feeble-minded  women,  which  was  located 
at  Newark  and  is  now  a  flourishing  and  useful  institution;  of  this  he  is  secretary  and  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  In  June,  1889,  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
public  buildings,  which  position  he  filled  with  ability  and  honor.  One  of  the  first 
innovations  made  by  him  was  the  rule  that  the  national  flag  should  float  from  the  staff 
on  the  capitol  at  Albany  every  week  day  through  the  year;  this  was  the  origin  of  that 
other  patriotic  movement  for  the  display  of  the  flag  on  public  school  buildings  in  this 
State. 

Mr.  Burnham  at  the  present  time  (1894)  owns  a  one-half  interest  in  the  Wayne 
County  Preserving  Company  at  Newark  and  has  twenty  acres  devoted  to  fruit  and 
vegetable  growing.  He  has  served  as  supervisor  of  the  town  four  terms,  and  as  justice 
of  the  peace  eight  years.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  has  found  various  interests  to  draw 
him  to  some  extent  away  from  his  profession ;  but  he  has  always  retained  his  love  for  it 
and  has  never  relinquished  active  practice,  in  which  he  is  recognized  as  an  efficient  and 
honorable  attorney. 

On  August  31,  1865,  Mr.  Burnham  married  Nancy  A.  Dillingham,  a  niece  of  Governor 
Dillingham,  of  Vermont.  They  have  had  four  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
The  others  are :  George  A.,  Edwin  D.,  and  Helen  E. 

Mr.  Burnham  is  a  member  of  Vosburgh  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  has  been 
commander  four  terms.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M., 
and  of  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows  No.  250 ;  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.  No.  17 ;  and  of  the  local 
Grange. 


LYMAN  BICKFORD. 

Lyman  Bickford  was  born  in  East  Bloomfield,  November  1,  1820,  Azariah  Bickford, 
his  father,  being  a  native  of  Maine.  His  grandfather,  Rev.  James  P.  Bickford,  went  to 
Rochester  in  the  year  1812,  being  one  of  the  first  settlers  at  that  time.  He  afterward 
removed  to  Michigan,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- four  years.  Azariah  Bickford 
was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  started  business  in  East  Bloomfield.  In  1819  he  married 
Philana  Perkins,  of  the  town  of  Victor,  and  their  family  consisted  of  nine  children, 
Lyman  B.  being  the  eldest.  Azariah  Bickford  died  in  1886,  aged  eighty-four  years. 
Lyman  Bickford  is  a  machinist  and  has  carried  on  business  since  1842.  At  present  he 
is  retired.  April  28,  1842,  he  married  Elvira  Perkins,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three 
children :  Alary,  who  married  Col.  Henry  P.  TTnderhill,  dying  in  her  twenty-sixth  year, 
and  two  sons,  deceased.     Mr.  Bickford  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  Macedon 


14  LANDMARKS  OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Lodge  No.  665.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Universalist  church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat 
and  served  as  supervisor  for  five  years.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  Bickford  & 
Huffman  Company,  now  doing  business  in  Macedon  village. 


EDGAR  D.  MILLER. 

Edgar  D.  Miller  was  born  in  Port  Gibson,  Ontario  county,  July  11,  1854,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools  and  Macedon  Academy,  also  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary 
at  Lima,  and  also  at  Fort  Edward  Institute.  He  read  law  with  Comstock  &  Bennett  in 
Canandaigua  nearly  two  years,  then  went  to  the  Albany  Law  School  to  complete  his 
studies,  graduated,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1876.  Since  this  he  has  continued 
to  practice  his  profession,  sometimes  with  a  partner,  and  at  other  times  alone.  Mr. 
Miller  has  twice  served  as  village  clerk  of  the  village  of  Newark,  and  two  terms  as  a 
justice  of  the  peace  of  the  town  of  Arcadia.  He  has  served  as  county  committeeman 
several  years,  and  has  also  been  several  times  a  delegate  to  Democratic  State  conven- 
tions, which  party  he  supports  invariably.  He  was  appointed  superintendent  of  Section 
No.  8,  Erie  Canal,  by  Hon.  Edward  Hannan,  superintendent  of  public  works,  August 
1,  1893.  His  father,  James  N.,  was  born  in  Phelps  November  22,  1819,  and  has  been 
a  merchant,  dealer  in  real  estate,  and  a  farmer.  November  3,  1842,  he  married  Mary 
J.  Turner,  of  the  town  of  Manchester,  and  they  had  five  children:  Alice  0.,  wife  of 
David  Gray;  Frank,  Dewilda,  both  who  died  young;  and  Audessa,  wife  of  Edwin 
Van  Wormer,  by  whom  she  has  one  daughter,  Ollie  I.,  residing  with  her  Grandfather 
Miller.  Mrs.  Miller  died  October  24,  1890.  Mr.  Miller's  father,  Daniel,  was  born  in 
New  Jersey  in  1789  and  came  here  with  his  parents  when  a  boy.  He  married  Jane 
Gunnung,  and  they  had  eight  children  :  Nancy  A.,  Cynthia,  James  N.,  John  J.,  Melissa, 
Mary  J.,  Caroline,  William  H.,  who  died  young;  Edna,  and  Albert  D.,  who  is  a  farmer 
on  the  homestead,  which  has  been  in  the  family  without  a  break  since  the  time  of 
Edgar  D.  Miller's  great-grandfather,  Jacob,  who  bought  it  of  the  government. 
Daniel  Miller  died  August  31,  1852,  and  his  widow  August  30,  1878.  He  was  a 
soldier  of  1812. 


JOHN  STUERWALD. 

Among  the  many  Germans  who  have  in  the  past  left  their  own  country  for  the  freer 
air  and  better  conditions  of  America,  was  the  father  of  John  Stuerwald,  and  his  wife, 
Lena  (Green)  Stuerwald,  with  their  children.  Charles  Stuerwald  was  born  in  1817, 
was  a  graduate  of  a  college  and  a  man  of  considerable  prominence  in  his  native  country, 
held  the  office  of  mayor  of  his  town,  and  was  otherwise  honored.  He  died  in  1891  and 
his  wife  in  1893.  John  Stuerwald  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  March  2,  1848,  and 
was  only  two  jears  old  when  his  parents  emigrated  and  settled  in  Lock  Berlin,  Wayne 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  15 

county,  N.  Y.  He  was  given  good  opportunity  to  secure  an  education,  through  the 
district  schools,  with  two  years  in  the  Union  School  and  the  academy  at  Clyde.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen  years  he  began  teaching  school,  which  he  continued  in  the  winters 
until  1S71,  during  which  period  he  was  also  employed  a  part  of  the  time  as  clerk  in 
Lock  Berlin.  In  1872  he  embarked  in  the  furniture  and  undertaking  business  in  East 
Newark,  which  he  continued  with  success  six  years,  and  then  removed  to  Newark, 
where  he  greatly  extended  his  business.  Locating  first  in  leased  property  he  began  in 
1883  the  erection  of  his  fine  business  and  residence  block  on  Union  street,  which  he  has 
occupied  since.  Mr.  Stuerwald  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  good  judgment  in  public  as 
well  as  private  affairs;  he  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  earnest  in  support  of  his  party. 
He  was  chosen  trustee  of  Newark  village  and  held  the  office  eight  years,  and  was 
president  of  the  village  one  year.  He  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.; 
Newark  Chapter  No.  117,  R.  A.  M.;  and  the  K.  0.  T.  M.  No.  115.  On  February  21,  1874, 
Mr.  Stuerwald  married  Eliza  V.  Gee,  of  Newark,  and  they  have  one  son,  Fred,  who  is 
now  a  student. 


ORLANDO  FRANKLIN  THOMAS. 

Orlando  Franklin  Thomas  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  November  12,  1856,  and  is 
a  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Anna  (Meade)  Thomas.  The  family  is  descended  from 
Scotch  ancestry  through  later  English  branches.  Benjamin  F.  Thomas  was  a  son  of 
Clarence  Erastus  Thomas,  a  respected  farmer  of  this  State,  and  was  himself  a  lumber 
dealer  of  Brooklyn.  He  died  in  1884,  leaving  a  widow,  who  still  survives,  and  five 
children,  all  of  whom  are  living. 

Orlando  Franklin  Thomas  received  his  education  in  the  Brooklyn' Polytechnic  Institute, 
finishing  in  Hines'  Military  Academy  at  Garden  City,  N.  Y.,  which  he  left  when  he  was 
about  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  early  gave  evidence  of  native  business  qualifications, 
and  his  first  employment  after  leaving  school  was  as  office  boy  in  a  large  sugar  refinery. 
From  this  position  he  was  advanced  to  shipping  clerk  in  a  coffee  warehouse.  With  some 
unimportant  exceptions  these  two  engagements  occupied  his  time  until  he  was  twenty- 
four  years  old,  when  he  made  an  engagement  that  was  to  determine  his  occupation  for 
many  years  and  lay  the  foundation  of  a  remarkably  successful  business  career.  He 
accepted  a  position  to  travel  in  the  interest  of  the  Manhattan  Silver  Plate  Company, 
then  a  very  modest  establishment  in  New  York  city,  in  which  James  H.  Young  was  the 
controlling  partner.  Mr.  Thomas  not  only  sold  the  goods  of  the  company  successfully, 
but  he  also  suggested  or  instituted  improvements  that  greatly  advanced  the  business. 
Three  years  later  he  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Young's  partner  and  took  direct 
charge  of  the  factory.  He  largely  increased  the  line  of  goods,  extended  their  sale  with 
enterprise  and  vigor,  and  in  three  years  after  becoming  a  partner  larger  quarters  were 
necessary,  and  the  factory  was  removed  to  Brooklyn  and  established  in  their  own  build- 
ing. The  business  continued  to  increase,  and  in  1885,  in  order  to  better  carry  out  the 
plans  of  Mr.  Thomas  and  his  associate,  the  present  corporation  was  formed  and  Mr. 
Thomas  was  made  secretary  and  Mr.  Young  president.     The  success  of  the  company 


16  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

since  that  time  has  been  remarkable  and  is  very  largely  due  to  the  individual  efforts  of 
Mr.  Thomas.  In  order  to  escape  prevailing  labor  troubles  the  company  resolved  to  re- 
move the  factory  away  from  Brooklyn,  which  was  accomplished  in  1889.  The  citizens 
of  Lyons,  Wayne  county.  N.  Y.,  interested  themselves  in  securing  the  works  for  their 
village,  a  part  of  the  stock  being  taken  by  them,  and  that  place  was  selected  for  the 
location  of  the  factory.  The  large  brick  building  now  occupied  was  fitted  up  and 
adapted  for  the  business,  and  Mr.  Thomas  purchased  the  holding  of  Mr.  Young  at  the 
time  of  removal,  was  made  president  of  the  company  and  the  practical  direction  of  the 
immense  business  has  since  continued  in  his  hands.  Its  development  since  it  was  brought 
to  Lyons  has  been,  perhaps,  more  astonishing  than  its  previous  career,  the  value  of  its 
outfit  having  muliiplied  five  or  six  times.  Stores  have  been  established  for  the  sale  of  the 
company's  goods  in  New  York,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco,  and  Sydney,  Australia. 
These  are  all  managed  directly  from  Lyons  and  have  been  placed  in  successful  operation 
under  the  administration  of  Mr.  Thomas.  About  250  hands  are  now  employed  in  the 
factory. 

In  his  business  intercourse  Mr.  Thomas  is  prompt  in  decision,  clear-headed  and  prac- 
tical in  the  consideration  of  new  measures,  genial  and  courteous  to  his  fellows,  and  in- 
spired by  faith  in  himself  and  the  correct  business  principles  which  have  governed  his 
life.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican,  but  he  has  never  found  time  to  give  more  than  the 
good  citizen's  attention  to  that  interest. 

Mr.  Thomas  was  married  in  1880  to  Emma  Yan  Cleaf,  of  Brooklyn.  They  have  one 
child  thirteen  years  old. 


HON.  WILLIAM  CLARK. 

Hon.  William  Clark  was  born  at  Ovid,  Seneca  county,  N.  Y.;  February  9,  1810. 
His  ancestors  on  both  his  father's  and  mother's  side  served  with  credit  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  on  his  father's  side  in  the  Indian  and  Colonial  wars  also.  He  was 
the  oldest  son  in  a  family  of  eight  children,  four  boys  and  four  girls.  Two  of  his 
younger  brothers  were  the  late  Juds;e  John  T.  Clark  of  Wisconsin,  and  Gen. 
Emmons  Clark  of  New  York  city,  for  twenty-five  years  Colonel  of  the  Seventh  Regiment, 
and  now  and  since  1866  Secretary  of  the  New  York  City  Health  Department.  One  of 
his  sisters  is  Mrs.  Sophronia  C.  Bottume,  of  Lyons,  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  E.  W.  Bottume. 
He  moved  with  his  father,  William  Clark,  a  well  known  Presbyterian  minister,  at  the 
age  of  six  years,  to  Huron,  Wayne  county,  where  he  remained,  except  about  two 
years — which  he  spent  attending  Ovid  Academy — until  he  c:.me  to  Lyons  to  study  law 
at  the  age  of  twenty.  Here  he  entered  the  office  of  Graham  H.  Chapin,  and  afterwards 
that  of  John  M.  Holley.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  as  an  attorney  at  law  in  the 
Supreme  Court  in  January,  1838,  and  practiced  at  Lyons  for  two  years,  when  he 
entered  into  partnership  with  John  M.  Holley,  which  continued  till  Mr.  HolleyVdeath 
while  a  Member  of  Congress.  Mr.  Clark  was  also  admitted  in  due  course,  under  the 
system  which  was  then  in   force  in  this  State,  as  a  counselor  at  law  in   the  Supreme 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  17 

Court  in  January,  1841,  as  a  solicitor  in  chancery  in  January,  1838.  and  as  a  counselor 
in  chancery  in  July,  1843.  He  was  also  admitted  to  practice  in  the  District  and  Circuit 
Courts  of  the  United  States  in  and  for  the  Northern  District  of  New  York  in  March, 
1842.  After  Mr.  Holley's  death  Mr.  Clark  practiced  alone  down  to  the  time  of  his 
leaving  Lyons  for  Denver,  Colorado,  except  for  a  few  years  when  Col.  Anson  S.  Wood, 
now  of  Wolcott,  N.  Y.,  was  associated  with  him  under  the  firm  name  of  Clark  & 
Wood,  and  from  1870  to  1876,  when  his  son,  William  H.  Clark,  who  was  Member  of 
Assembly  from  the  Eastern  District  of  Wayne  county  in  1875,  was  associated  with  him 
under  the  firm  name  of  W.  &  W.  H.  Clark. 

He  always  took  a  deep  interest  in  politics,  first  as  a  Whig  and  afterwards  as  a  Re 
publican,  and  was  State  Senator  in  1854-5,  and  chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee. 

While  a  strong  and  convincing  advocate,  Mr.  Clark  was  particularly  well  known  as  a 
thoroughly  informed  and  safe  legal  adviser — a  reputation  which  was  shown  by  the  term 
almost  invariably  applied  to  him,  and  by  which  he  came  to  be  everywhere  known,  that 
of  "Counselor"  Clark. 

Mr.  Clark  was  married  October  13,  1847,  to  Miss  Amelia  R.  Heermans,  formerly  of 
Nassau,  N.  Y.,  who  died  Oct.  16,  1880.  Of  their  six  children  two  died  while  quite  young. 
The  surviving  ones  are  William  H.  Clark,  of  Cortland,  N.  Y.,  now  editor  of  the  Cort- 
land Standard;  John  H.  Clark,  for  many  years  principal  of  the  Lyons  Union  School, 
afterwards  superintendent  of  schools  at  Flushing,  N.  Y.,  and  now  connected  with 
Gunton's  College  of  Social  Economics  in  New  York  city;  and  Mrs.  James  H.  Brown 
and  Miss  Carrie  Clark,  of  Denver,  Col. 

In  December,  1878,  Mr.  Clark  removed  to  Denver,  Col.,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health, 
he  having  for  many. years  suffered  severely  from  asthma.  It  was  while  on  his  return  to 
that  city  from  a  visit  at  Lyons  that  he  fell  from  a  train  near  Clyde,  0.,  July  9,  1890,  and 
was  instantly  killed.  He  was  a  member,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  of  the  Central  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Denver.    ' 

The  Wayne  Democratic  Press,  speaking  of  him  after  his  death,  said : 

"  In  his  profession  he  was  an  able  counselor  and  an  advanced  thinker.  He  was  a  man 
of  intelligence,  well-read,  mentally  trained.  His  character  nobody  ever  assailed.  He 
was  an  honest,  faithful  man.  He  filled  with  honor  the  office  of  State  Senator,  and  as 
chairman  of  the  Senate  Judiciary  Committee  and  servant  of  the  people  was  clear- 
headed and  firm.  He  left  the  legislative  hall  with  a  clean  record,  and  during  his  life  he 
was  held  up  to  the  young  men  of  his  time  as  an  example  to  follow.'" 

The  Lyons  Republican  spoke  of  him  as  follows: 

"  Few  men  in  Wayne  county  were  better  known  at  the  time  of  his  removal  to  Denver 
than  Mr.  Clark,  and  few  commanded  a  larger  measure  of  genuine  respect  and  esteem. 
He  was  a  man  of  decided  opinions  and  fearless  in  their  expression ;  but  beneath  a 
positive  manner  he  carried  a  warm  heart  and  kindly  disposition  that  attached  his  friends 
to  him  as  with  hooks  of  steel.  He  was  a  keen  observer  of  events,  and  his  extensive 
and  varied  information  made  him  an  instructive  and  delightful  companion.  None  who 
met  him  during  his  recent  visit  to  his  old  home  in  Lyons  will  forget  how  happy  he 
seemed  to  be  in  greeting  his  old  time  friends  again,  or  the  interest  he  displayed  in  the 
growth  and  improvement  of  the  village  that  was  for  so  many  years  his  home.     Though 


18  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

past  his  four  score  years,  his  step  was  firm,  his  voice  sonorous,  and  his  bodily  health 
apparently  unimpaired." 

The  following  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  bar  of  Wayne  county  following  Mr. 
Clark's  death  : 

Whereas,  Hon.  William  Clark  was  for  many  years  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Wayne 
county,  an  eminent  member  of  the  bar  and  filled  with  distinction  while  among  us  high 
public  office,  and 

Whereas,  His  choice  of  a  home  always  remained  in  Wayne  county,  and  he  resided 
away  only  because  afflicted  with  a  physical  malady  from  which  he  could  only  find  relief 
by  absence.    Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  as  citizens  and  members  of  the  bar  of  Wayne  county,  we  mourn  his 
lamentable  death  and  honor  and  cherish  his  memory.  That  we  remember  him  as  a 
citizen  of  great  ability,  pure  life  and  ever  interested  in  the  public  welfare ;  as  a 
lawyer  eminent  in  counsel,  able  in  argument,  and  true  and  honorable  in  his  dealings  with 
clients  and  with  the  members  of  his  profession  ;  and  as  a  statesman  enlightened,  incor- 
ruptible, without  reproach. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  filed  with  the  records  of  the  county  and  copies 
sent  to  the  friends  of  our  deceased  brother  and  also  to  the  press  for  publication." 

The  portrait  of  Mr.  Clark  which  appears  in  this  volume  is  from  a  photograph  taken 
not  long  before  his  death. 


PLINY  SEXTON. 

It  is  a  pleasant  as  well  as  an  imperative  duty  to  place  in  this  historical  work  on  Wayne 
county,  a  brief  account  of  the  life  and  character  of  the  man  whose  name  stands  above. 
In  general  terms  it  is  wholly  proper  to  state  that  no  one  has  exerted  a  wider  influence 
for  good  in  this  community. 

Pliny  Sexton  was  born  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  on  -January  31,  1796,  and  was 
brought  into  what  was  then  Ontario  county  (now  Wayne)  by  his  parents  in  1799.  The 
family  settled  temporarily  near  the  present  village  of  Marion,  but  soon  removed  to 
what  is  now  the  village  of  Palmyra.  In  December,  1801,  the  boy  made  a  journey  with 
his  mother  to  visit  her  mother  in  Suffield,  Conn.  This  long  and  trying  journey,  made 
in  a  sleigh,  was  always  remembered  as  replete  with  incident.  They  remained  east 
until  1803,  when  they  again  made  the  journey  westward  and  lived  for  a  period  at  what 
has  locally  been  called  "  the  Huddle  "  on  the  road  to  Walworth.  In  1805,  when  the 
boy  was  only  nine  years  old,  he  went  to  work  for  Sylvanus  Conant  in  a  brick  yard  on 
the  creek  flats  about  two  miles  west  of  Palmyra.  In  those  early  years  of  arduous  toil 
were  laid  the  foundations  of  character,  energy,  perseverance,  and  fidelity  which  marked 
his  personality  through  life.  And  the  conditions  of  life  and  the  physical  surroundings 
of  the  people  in  this  part  of  the  country  at  that  time,  were  far  different  from  those  of 
this  day.  In  every  direction  extended  an  almost  unbroken  forest,  through  which 
roamed   at  will,  wild  animals.     Speaking  of  his   boyhood   experiences,   he  mentioned 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  19 

being  sent,  when  about  eleven  years  old,  alone  to  drive  a  cow  from  Walworth  to  Lake 
Ontario,  all  of  the  way  through  the  woods,  and  of  his  fear  of  meeting  bears,  which  then 
abounded.  Even  when,  after  his  apprenticeship,  he  returned  to  Palmyra,  in  1819,  as  a 
young  business  man,  the  country  was  still  in  quite  a  primeval  state.  The  Brie  Canal 
was  not  dug  until  several  years  afterward ;  railroads  were  unthought  of,  and  the  only 
mode  of  travel  was  upon  the  rude  highways  by  private  conveyance  or  in  the  public 
stage  coach.  His  journeys  to  New  York  for  goods,  and  the  return,  easily  consumed  a 
month  of  time,  by  stage  to  Albany  and  from  there  by  sail  vessel  down  the  Hudson 
Eiver,  a  voyage  which  baffling  winds  often  extended  to  a  week.  The  surplus  products 
of  this  country  were  hauled  to  Albany  by  teamsters,  who  brought  back  loads  of  mer- 
chandise.    . 

In  the  year  1808  the  family  removed  to  Mayfield,  in  what  is  now  Fulton  county, 
N.  Y.,  and  in  1809,  when  he  was  thirteen  years  old,  the  boy  was  apprenticed  to  Caleb 
Johnson,  in  Johnstown,  in  the  same  county,  to  learn  the  silversmith's  and  watch  making 
trade.  He  served  there  faithfully  for  eight  years  as  an  apprentice,  until  he  was  twenty- 
one  years  old,  receiving  for  his  labor  his  board  and  clothing  and  nine  months  schooling 
— a  period  of  devoted  service  to  acquire  properly  the  means  of  earning  a  future  liveli- 
hood that  is  unheard  of  at  the  present  day.  In  the  fall  of  1818  he  worked  in  Auburn 
at  his  trade  and  in  the  manufacture  of  mathematical  instruments,  principally  surveyor's 
compasses.  One  of  these  compasses  bearing  his  name  as  maker,  is  now  owned  by  the 
town  of  Palmyra.  In  the  following  year  (1819)  he  returned  to  Palmyra  and  made  that 
place  his  home  until  death.  It  was  only  a  mere  hamlet  at  that  time  and  finding  no 
suitable  building  for  a  shop,  the  young  man  proceeded  to  erect  one.  He  was  cheerfully 
aided  by  his  brethren  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  kindness  that  he  never  forgot  or  failed 
to  recognize  on  all  proper  occasions.  He  had  his  tools  and  very  little  money;  but  he 
was  given  credit  for  lumber,  while  others  aided  him  in  his  work  on  the  shop,  Asa 
Stoddard  building  it  and  taking  a  brass  watch  for  his  pay.  It  stood  about  on  the  site  of 
the  present  Episcopal  church.  There  he  began  work,  making  almost  anything  he  was 
called  upon  for,  including  sleigh  bells,  silver  spoons,  compasses,  repairing  watches,  and 
gradually  increasing  his  stock  of  goods. 

In  1822  he  married,  but  heiiad  already  begun  building  a  house,  which  is  still  standing 
on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Washington  streets,  which  he  occupied  before  it  was  finished, 
his  previous  housekeeping  having  been  in  the  chambers  of  Orrin  White's  dwelling,  on 
the  site  of  the  Episcopal  church  lot.  In  1823  he  brought  into  the  town  and  sold  the 
first  cooking  stoves.  In  1825  he  joined  with  others  in  erecting  the  Jenner  Block,  the 
middle  section  of  which  he  occupied  with  his  rapidly  growing  business.  In  1828  he 
built  and  removed  to  the  "  corner  hardware  store,"  which  stood  until  1878  on  the  corner 
of  Main  and  Market  streets.  There  he  remained  in  the  hardware  business  many  years. 
His  business  was  conducted  as  almost  all  really  successful  business  is — upon  principles  of 
integrity,  fairness,  and  proper  regard  for  the  rights  of  all ;  and  of  course  he  was  success- 
ful ;  successful  not  alone  in  acquiring  money,  but  in  making  for  himself  a  most  enviable 
place  in  the  hearts  of  his  fellow  citizens.  When,  therefore,  in  1844  he  determined  upon 
organizing  the  Palmyra  Bank,  under  the  then  new  free  banking  law,  he  found  no 
trouble  in  doing  so,  for  there  was  no  lack  of  confidence  in  the  enterprise  under  his 
o 


20  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

management.  He  soon  afterward  entered  into  partnership  with  the  late  George  W. 
Cuyler  in  the  banking  business,  which  was  conducted  under  the  name  of  ''  Cuyler's 
Bank,"  until  1864,  when  they  organized  the  present  First  National  Bank  of  Palmyra, 
of  which  Mr.  Sexton  remained  vice-president  until  his  death. 

Mr.  Sexton  had  other  objects  and  views  besides  the  mere  gaining  of  wealth.  Always 
public  spirited,  he  was  active  and  influential  in  promoting  the  foundation  of  the  excellent 
Union  School  at  Palmyra,  and  in  aiding  other  movements  that  benefited  the  place.  In 
later  years,  when  he  could  free  himself  in  a  measure  from  exacting  business  duties,  he 
occupied  himself  in  building  up  and  improving  a  neglected  portion  of  the  village.  He 
bought  and  drained  the  ''old  mill  pond  property,"  and  converted  it  into  a  habitable 
region,  at  the  same  time  removing  a  dreaded  source  of  disease  and  discomfort.  Of  his 
long  business  career  in  Palmyra  it  was  written  at  the  time  of  his  death  as  follows : 

"  Viewed  simply  as  a  business  life  it  affords  a  worthy  and  encouraging  example  to 
young  men.  He  began  with  nothing,  and  following  a  life  of  industry  and  economy, 
coupled  with  strict  integrity,  gained  for  himself,  long  before  life's  close,  if  not  so  great 
wealth  as  some  have  supposed,  all  thereof  that  man  need  want.  And  of  all  his  gains 
nothing  ever  came  to  him  from  another's  injury.  In  all  his  business  plans  he  studied  to 
be  helpful  to  others  as  well  as  himself.  And  the  one  thing  to  be  noted  above  all  else, 
is  that  the  most  potent  factor  in  his  material  successrwas  the  perfect  trust  and  confi- 
dence which  his  fellow  men  early  came  to  repose  in  him,  and  which  he  never  failed  to 
justify.  That  confidence  was  typified  in  the  financial  panic  of  1857.  when  standing  in 
the  entrance  of  the  bank  of  which  he  was  part  owner,  he  found  the  frightened  deposit- 
ors, who  were  unwilling  to  longer  trust  their  money  to  the  keeping  of  the  bank,  not 
only  willing  but  anxious  to  take  his  individual  note,  without  security,  and  go  home  con- 
tent leaving  their  treasure  in  his  hands." 

This  is  all  high  praise,  but  his  character  eminently  deserved  it.  For  it  was  not  alone 
in  business  that  he  was  accounted  successful.  He  left  behind  a  name  and  reputation 
of  stainless  purity.  During  his  mature  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
and  imbued  with  their  high  ideal  of  manhood  in  all  of  life's  relations.  Deprived  of 
early  opportunity  for  obtaining  an  education,  he  began  a  course  of  self- teaching  and 
reading  which  ultimately  gave  him  a  cultured  and  refined  mind  and  a  large  fund  of 
general  information.  All  movements  for  the  betterment  of  his  fellows,  all  ins'ances 
deserving  aid  and  sympathy,  found  in  him  a  ready  and  generous  benefactor ;  and  par- 
ticularly was  this  true  of  efforts  to  uplift  the  moral  tone  of  a  community,  or  the  undoing 
of  a  wrong.  He  was,  therefore,  an  ardent  and  active  participator  in  the  anti-slavery 
movement,  believing  slavery  not  only  a  curse,  but  a  crime.  His  house  became  a  well- 
known  station  on  the  famous  "underground  railroad,"  and  many  a  poor  fugitive  from 
bondage  was  aided  and  protected  by  Pliny  Sexton. 

Mr.  Sexton  died  at  his  home  in  Palmyra  March  26,  1881,  in  his  86th  year.  He  left 
surviving  the  wife  of  his  later  years ;  a  daughter,  Mrs.  David  S.  Aldrich,  and  his  son, 
Pliny  T.  Sexton. 

"  He  left  behind  him  no  one  who  could  owe  him  an  unkind  thought,  and  carried  with 
him  to  the  better  land  the  respect  and  affection  of  all  who  knew  him." 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  21 

PLINY  T.  SEXTON. 

Pliny  T.  Sexton,  of  Palmyra,  son  of  the  foregoing,  was  born  in  Palmyra,  June  12, 
1840.  His  mother  was  Hannah  Sexton,  a  highly  cultivated  and 'gifted  woman,  who, 
like  her  husband,  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  among  whom  she  is  still  well 
remembered  as  a  preacher  of  unusual  power. 

The  son's  early  circumstances  were  vastly  different  from  those  under  which  his  father 
began  life,  and  were  such  as  would  be  expected  for  one  blessed  with  such  a  father  and 
mother.  The  doors  to  educational  opportunity  were  early  opened  wide  for  him.  In 
the  Palmyra  Classical  Union  School  and  in  private  institutions  he  acquired  a  broad 
general  education,  which  was  succeeded  by  a  course  at  the  noted  Rensselaer  Polytechnic 
Institute  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  whose  range  of  studies  extends  over  a  more  practically  useful 
field  than  the  usual  college  course.  It  was  desired  that  he  should  also  have  a  business 
knowledge  of  the  law,  and  to  that  end  he  entered  the  New  York  State  and  National 
Law  School,  from  which  he  graduated  with  the  degree  of  LL.B.  in  1859.  He  was  a 
hard  student,  mastering  whatever  he  read.  On  attaining  to  his  majority  in  1861,  he  was 
admitted  fo  the  bar  of  this  State,  and  since  has  been  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Sexton  was  not  destined  to  closely  follow  his  pro- 
fession. Other  interests  connected  with  the  business  of  his  father  and  that  later 
developed  by  himself  have  occupied  his  attention  and  time.  It  should  not  be  inferred, 
however,  that  he  has  altogether  neglected  the  law,  which  has  never  lost  its  attract- 
iveness to  him.  His  interest  in  the  development  of  legal  science  has  remained  deep  and 
abiding,  and  possessing  a  judicial  quality  of  mind  he  has  thoroughly  grounded  himself 
in  the  principles  of  his  profession  by  continued  and  careful  study  in  his  law  library, 
which  is  one  of  the  best  in  his  vicinity. 

Mr.  Sexton  succeeded  his  father  in  an  important  banking  house,  and  under  his  liberal 
and  progressive  management  it  has  become  one  of  the  leading  financial  institutions  of 
the  State  outside  of  large  cities.  It  was  in  1864  that  the  First  National  Bank  of  Palmyra 
was  organized,  in  the  dark  days  of  the  Rebellion,  when  a  loan  of  money  to  the  govern- 
ment was  an  exhibition  of  patriotism.  He  was  made  its  first  cashier  and  since  1876  has 
been  its  president.  His  practical  financial  knowledge  and  judgment  have  been  manifest 
in  the  entire  history  of  the  institution  of  which  he  is  the  head. 

A  lifelong  Republican  in  politics,  Mr.  Sexton  might  have  been  highly  honored  in  that 
field  had  he  so  desired.  The  strife  of  party  politics  for  personal  ends  has  had  little 
attraction  for  him,  but  he  has  never  been  reluctant  to  give  expression  to  his  enlightened 
views  on  public  questions  or  active  aid  to  local  movements  which  he  believed  were  for 
the  good  of  the  community.  Without  solicitation  on  his  part  he  was  for  four  successive 
terms  elected  president  of  his  native  village  and  retired  from  the  office  at  his  own 
request.  For  six  years  he  was  president  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Palmyra 
Classical  Union  School,  an  office  the  duties  of  which  were  in  entire  harmony  with  his 
natural  and  acquired  tastes  and  in  which  his  influence  was  most  salutary.  In  1883  he 
received  without  his  own  seeking  or  attendance  at  the  convention  the  nomination  for 
the  honorable  and  responsible  office  of  State  treasurer.     This  was  in  the  year  following 


22  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

the  Cleveland  tidal  wave  of  200,000  majority  for  governor,  and  of  course  no  Republican 
could  be  elected. 

In  1890  the  Legislature  of  the  State  chose  Mr.  Sexton  one  of  the  Regents  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  State  of  New  York.  This  honorable  position  gave  him  opportunity  for 
the  public  development  and  advancement  of  theories  of  education  which  he  had  long 
entertained ;  and  his  reputation  for  scholarship  and  rare  mental  vigor  and  acquirements 
was  still  further  recognized  in  1893,  when  he  was  elected  honorary  chancellor  of  Un:on 
University,  Schenectady,  and  as  such  delivered  the  annual  address  June  28,  of  that  year. 
At  that  time  he  received  from  that  institution  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He 
chose  as  his  theme  on  the  occasion  alluded  to,  ''  Educational  Extension,''  his  treatment 
of  which  was  in  direct  line  with  his  previous  efforts  for  that  cause. 

This  subject  of  "  Educational  Extension  "  has  occupied  Mr.  Sexton's  thoughts  for 
some  years.  It  is  founded  upon  his  belief  that  educational  facilities  should  not  stop  at 
the  time  in  young  people's  lives  when  they  usually  leave  our  schools  and  colleges,  but 
should  continue  through  life,  even  if  they  have  to  be  supplied  through  State  aid.  He 
was  chiefly  instrumental  in  securing  the  passage  by  the  Legislature  in  1891  of  the 
so-called  University  Extension  Law,  which  is  only  the  established  name  for  the  objects 
sought  by  him.  Abandoning  his  private  business  he  spent  most  of  the  session  in 
Albany.  Equipped  with  facts  and  ample  argument,  gifted  with  rare  powers  of  persua- 
sion, and  armed  with  the  conviction  of  the  importance  of  his  mission,  he  worked  as 
lobbyists  have  seldom  worked.  He  had  aid,  but  he  is  generally  recognized  as  the  parent 
of  the  measure,  which  finally  became  a  law.  The  system  has  been  put  into  operation  to 
some  extent  and  promises  great  usefulnes,  as  the  projectors  anticipated.  University 
Extension  centers  have  been  established  at  various  points  and  educators  with  progressive 
ideas  have  entered  into  the  work  with  enthusiasm.  While  the  system  had  its  beginning, 
in  name,  in  England,  Mr.  Sexton,  as  well  as  others,  have  originated  and  incorporated  in 
it  and  contemplate  for  it  new  ideas  which  will  undoubtedly  develop  into  useful  practical 
features.  This  educational  movement  was  the  inspiration  of  Mr.  Sexton's  address  at 
Union  before  referred  to,  which  was  a  clear  and  unanswerable  argument  in  favor 
of  educational  extension. 

Mr.  Sexton  has  been  thoughtfully  interested  also  in  electoral  reform,  and  has  recently 
(1894)  published  a  pamphlet  suggesting  a  plan  for  practicable  "  Independent  voting 
within  political  party  lines,"  which  seeks  to  bring  the  election  of  public  officers  more 
fully  under  actual  popular  control. 

The  tastes  of  Mr.  Sexton  are  domestic  and  his  life  and  manner  unpretentious  and 
modest.  He  was  married  in  September,  1860,  to  Harriot  Hyde,  daughter  of  the  late 
Stephen  Hyde,  of  Palmyra,  and  granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  Alvan  Hyde,  D.  D.,  formerly 
a  noted  Presbyterian  divine,  of  Lee,  Mass.  Their  Palmyra  home  is  hospitable  and 
pleasant.  They  have  also  a  summer  home  on  Lake  George,  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  in 
the  country.  Both  Mrs.  and  Mr.  Sexton  are  fond  of  outdoor  life,  and  several  years  ago 
made  a  winter  horseback  tour  of  the  Southern  States,  traveling  in  that  manner  from 
Palmyra  to  Savannah,  G-a.     They  have  no  children. 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  23 

CARL  BOTCHER. 

Carl  Botciier  was  born  in  Mechlenberg,  Germany,  February  28, 1842.  His  parents, 
Carl  and  Henrietta  (Miller)  Botcher,  farmers,  left  their  fatherland  with  their  family  of 
four  sons — two  of  whom  were  by  Mrs.  Botcher's  first  husband,  Christopher  Swartz — 
on  the  31st  of  October,  1853,  and  arrived  in  New  York  city  January  18,  1854.  They 
came  direct  to  Rochester,  where  they  remained  two  months,  and  then  settled  perma- 
nently in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  Wayne  county.  Their  first  home  was  three  miles  north 
of  Newark  village,  where  Frank  Swartz,  the  eldest  of  Mrs.  Botcher's  first  children  now 
lives.  Four  years  later  they  removed  to  the  present  farm  of  Carl  Botcher,  where  the 
parents  died — the  mother  in  October,  1882,  and  the  father  in  September,  1884.  They 
both  possessed  the  sterling  characteristics  of  native  Germans,  and  were  ever  first  and 
foremost  in  all  matters  affecting  their  countrymen.  For  many  years  they  were  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  Lutheran  church  of  Newark,  sustaining  it  with  continued 
liberality  and  encouraging  it  by  personal  attendance  and  labor.  Mr.  Botcher  was  a 
Republican,  but  never  sought  political  preferment,  yet  he  always  gave  his  influence  to 
the  betterment  of  his  adopted  country. 

Carl  Botcher,  the  third  child  in  the  family  and  the  eldest  of  the  two  children  of  Carl 
sr.,  obtained  his  education  before  leaving  his  native  land,  and  acquired  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  all  the  branches  taught  in  the  public  schools  of  Germany.  His  father  had  been 
accustomed  from  early  youth  to  the  methods  of  agriculture  as  carried  on  under  the 
German  nobility,  and  after  coming  to  the  United  States  could  never  wholly  eradicate 
the  principles  thus  formed  from  his  mind.  The  son.  therefore,  at  the  early  age  of  fif- 
teen, was  compelled  to  take  active  charge  of  the  farm  and  ever  afterward  had  the  gen- 
eral management  of  affairs.  He  readily  adopted  the  most  modern  methods,  applying 
them  with  unusual  success,  and  in  many  instances  instituted  new  ideas.  His  present 
fine  farm  of  136  acres,  adcrned  with  spacious  and  substant;al  buildings,  all  of  which 
have  been  practically  erected  under  his  personal  supervision,  attests  the  degree  of  suc- 
cess which  has  attended  his  efforts. 

November  16,  1865,  Mr.  Botcher  married  Miss  Kate  Bloom,  born  March  7,  1846,  a 
native  of  Germany,  and  the  daughter  of  Conrad  Bloom.     They  have  had  two  children 
a  daughter  and  a  son.     The  latter.  Clarence  G.  Botcher,  was  born  October  18   1871 
was  educated  at  the  Newark  Union  Free  School  and  Academy,  and  assists  his  father 
on  the  homestead. 

Conrad  Bloom,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Carl  Botcher,  came  to  America  with  his  family  in 
1853  and  settled  in  what  is  now  East  Newark.  They  removed  to  Missouri  in  May, 
1867,  where  he  died  in  February,  1892.  and  where  his  widow  still  resides.  They  had 
six  children,  of  whom  five  are  living. 


THERON  G.  YEOMANS. 

Theron  G.  Teomans  was  born  in  Greene  county.  New  York,  January  31,  1815.    His 
father,  Gilbert  Yeomans,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  November  30,  1775. 


24  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE  COUNTY. 

His  grandfather,  Eliab  Yeomans,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1735.  The 
two  latter  moved  to  Greene  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1778.  Eliab  Yeomans,  the  grandfather, 
was  a  noted  land  surveyor  of  that  early  period,  and  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-three 
years. 

The  mother  of  our  subject  was  Sarah  Bullock,  daughter  of  Asa  Bullock.  His  parent's 
were  married  October  14,  1802,  and  Lad  born  to  them  ten  children,  Theron  G  being 
the  only  survivor,  aged  eighty  years.  He  was  accustomed  to  farm  life  till  fifteen  yeai 
of  age,  when  he  came  to  Walworth  to  assist  an  older  brother  in  mercantile  business  for 
six  years.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  he  succeeded  his  brother  in  the  same  busi- 
ness, from  1836  to  1845. 

He  was  married  to  Lydia  A.  Stearns,  daughter  of  Royal  Stearns  of  Ontario  county, 
N.  Y.,  September  27,  1837!  They  have  three  children  living:  Lucien  T.,  Elon  L.  and 
Francis  C.  ;  the  two  former  of  the  firm  of  T.  C.  Yeomans  &  Sons,  and  the  latter,  Francis 
C  ,  a  resident  of  the  State  of  Washington.  They  lost  one  son,  Vaniah  G.,  aged  fifteen 
months,  and  one  daughter,  Ellen  L.,  aged  seven  years. 

Mr.  Yeomans  engaged  in  the  nursery  business  in  1840,  and  continued  it  on  an  exten- 
sive scale  individually  about  thiity  years  ;  and  thereafter  in  the  name  of  T.  G.  Yeomans 
&  Sons  about  twenty  yeais.  Their  fine  farm  is  noted  for  its  large  orchards,  well  cared 
for,  and  for  many  years  celebrated  for  its  large  production  of  choice  fruit.  A  very 
important  feature  of  this  farm  is  the  thorough  system  of  drainage  adopted  many  years 
ago,  and  carried  on  to  the  extent  of  having  laid  over  sixty  miles  of  tile  drains;  their 
noted  drawf  pear  orchard  having  a  tile  drain  passing  within  five  feet  of  every  tree. 
The  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  in  1852,  awarded  Mr.  Yeomans  a  silver  cup 
valued  at  twenty-five  dollars  as  a  prize  for  his  successful  experiments  in  draining. 

From  about  1850  to  about  1870  he  planted  out  orchards  to  the  extent  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres,  most  of  which  are  now  in  bearing  and  producing  a  fair  reve- 
nue to  the  firm.  In  1851  he  imported  from  France  about  three  thousand  dwarf  pear 
trees  for  an  orchard,  which  at  that  time  was  a  new  departure  in  the  fruit  business, 
of  which  most  people  predicted  failure,  though  it  proved  a  gratifying  success,  and 
was  the  most  decisive  innovation  of  the  period  in  pear  culture,  and  is  at  the  present 
time,  1894,  vigorous  and  productive.  L.  H.  Bailey,  professor  of  horticulture  of  Cornell 
University,  while  visiting  it  in  its  season  of  fruiting  in  1894,  said;  "It  is  an  inspi- 
ration to  me,  and  is  an  historical  orchard."  Many  of  the  trees  are  from  nine  to  twelve 
inches  in  diameter  and  only  about  eight  to  ten  feet  high. 

In  1879  Mr.  Yeomans  visited  Holland,  and  brought  thence  that  fine  strain  of  Hol- 
stein-Friesian  cattle  (thirty-three  animals),  the  nucleus  of  the  herd  of  T.  G.  Yeomans 
&  Sons,  which  has  become  famous  throughout  the  country,  and  the  progeny  of  whicn 
have  enriched  the  stock  of  countless  farms.  One  of  the  largest  breeders  and  best  judges 
of  this  breed  of  cattle  pronounces  this  the  most  remarkable  importation  ever  made.  It 
was  this  firm,  with  this  herd,  who  first  brought  out  conspicuously,  by  actual  tests,  the 
surprising  qualities  of  this  breed  for  butter  production  ;  which  have  since  been  abund- 
antly confirmed  and  demonstrated  by  their  winning  the  chief  prizes  at  most  of  the  great 
public  contests  of  the  breeds  in  this  country  ;  and  by  the  production  of  more  butter  from 
one  cow  in  a  single  year  than  was  ever  produced  by  any  other  cow  of  any  breed,  viz. : 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  25 

eleven  hundred  and  fifty-three  pounds  and  fifteen  ounces.  On  the  organization  of  "  The 
Holstein-Friesian  Association  of  America,"  Mr.  Yeomans  was  chosen  its  first  president, 
and  some  member  of  their  firm  has  at  all  times  been  a  member  of  its  official  board.  Mr. 
Yeomans  has  not  only  visited  several  European  countries,  but  has  seen  much  of  Ameri- 
ca, having  twice  with  Mrs.  Yeomans  visited  the  Pacific  coast,  spending  three  months 
in  California,  and  later  visited  Oregon,  Washington  and  British  Columbia.  His  several 
other  excursions  include  New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  and  all  of  the  States  of  the 
American  Union  except  Texas.  Between  1836  and  1845  he  held,  part  of  the  time,  the 
office  of  town  clerk  and  postmaster;  and  subsequently  justice  of  the  peace  for  about 
sixteen  years.  Previous  to  holding  the  latter  office  litigation  was  quite  common,  though 
by  h;s  method  of  administration  it  was  so  checked  that  only  five  or  six  suits  were  con- 
tested in  his  part  of  the  town  during  the  whole  period  of  his  official  service.  He  was 
supervisor  of  Walworth  in  1849  and  1850,  and  is  understood  to  be  the  only  person  liv- 
ing who  was  supervisor  either  of  those  years. 

The  following  year,  1851,  he  was  elected  member  of  assembly,  serving  two  years  in 
succession  ;  he  can  learn  of  but  two  others  now  living  who  were  members  of  that  hon- 
orable body  in  1851,  viz.:  Hon.  William  H.  Feller,  then  of  Dutchess  county,  and  now  of 
Minnesota,  and  Hon.  Hamilton  Harris,  of  Albany. 

He  has  voted  at  fifty-nine  consecutive  annual  elections,  and  in  the  good  old  times 
from  1836  to  1846,  when  elections  were  held  three  days  at  different  places  in  each  town, 
he  was  in  the  habit  orattending  all  three  days  at  the  polls.  His  first  vote  was  cast  for 
Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison  in  1836,  and  he  had  the  pleasure  of  helping  to  elect  him 
in  1840 ;  it  is  needless  to  say  that  he  was  among  the  enthusiastic  supporters  of  the  old 
General's  grandson  in  1888.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  National  Convention 
in  1884  which  nominated  James  G.  Blaine  for  president. 

Mr.  Yeomans'  eldest  son,  L.  T.  Yeomans,  was  member  of  assembly  from  Wayne 
county  in  1872  and  1873 ;  his  youngest  son,  Francis  O,  was  two  years  member  of 
assembly  in  the  State  of  Washington. 

When  the  rebellion  broke  out  in  1861,  and  President  Lincoln  called  for  75,000  volun- 
teer soldiers,  Mr.  Yeomans  offered  to  pay  each  man  who  enlisted  from  Walworth  three 
dollars  per  month  extra  pay,  and  paid  them  through  their  colonel,  Joseph  W.  Corning, 
of  the  33d  Regiment,  U.  S.  Vol. 

Under  a  subsequent  call  for  "  300,000  more  "  he  went  to  New  York  city  and  procured 
enlisted  men  to  fill  the  quota  for  Walworth  (seventeen  or  eighteen  men). 

About  1840  Mr.  Yeomans  offered  a  liberal  prize  for  planting  shade  trees  on  the  streets 
and  public  grounds  of  the  village,  and  an  extra  prize  of  twenty-five  dollars  to  the  person 
who  would  plant  the  greatest  number  within  three-fourths  of  a  mile  of  the  village. 
The  result  was  the  planting  of  many  hundreds,  which  have  become  in  later  years  the 
ornament  and  pride  of  the  place. 

The  village  of  Walworth  has  abundance  of  nice  flag  stone  and  cement  walks,  a  large 
portion  of  which  were  provided  by  Mr.  Yeomans,  including  those  about  the  hotel  and 
churches.  He  took  an  active  part  in  organizing  Walworth  Academy  more  than  fifty 
years  ago,  and  has  been  one  of  its  trustees  from  the  first,  and  the  largest  contributor  to 
its  finances. 


26  LANDMARKS  OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

The  town  of  Walworth  is  noted  for  its  general  neatness  and  orderly  character,  which 
may  be  attributed  in  some  degree  to  the  fact  that  no  license  to  sell  intoxicating  drinks 
has  been  granted  there  for  about  sixty  years ;  and  it  was  the  first  town  in  the  State  to 
refuse  such  license. 

The  public  are  accommodated  with  a  beautiful  and  commodious  hotel,  "  The  Pacific," 
built  and  owned  by  Mr.  Yeomans;  and  since  its  construction  in  1877  has  been  nicely 
kept  on  strictly  temperance  principles,  an  honor  to  the  town.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say 
that  Mr.  Yeomans  has  been  a  prime  actor  in  securing  and  maintaining  the  public  senti- 
ment which  favors  this  desirable  condition  of  things,  so  beneficial  to  the  community. 

It  is  only  natural  that  a  man  of  his  ability,  experience  and  usefulness,  should  be  a 
great  power  politically  and  otherwise  in  the  town  and  county  where  he  has  resided  for 
so  many  years,  and  where  the  whole  of  a  busy  manhood  has  been  passed.  Neverthe- 
less it  is  rarely  the  case  that  for  so  many  years  in  succession  the  people  of  any  commu- 
nity trust  their  affairs  to  so  large  an  extent  to  one  man.  Mr.  Yeomans  may  well  feel 
proud  of  the  fact  that  for  so  many  years  his  voice  and  influence  have  been  so  decisive 
in  the  selection  of  candidates  for  office,  and  the  choice  of  delegates  to  the  various  gath- 
erings of  the  Republican  party,  as  well  as  to  the  many  public  interests  of  the  commu- 
nity. 

It  shows  the  confidence  with  which  he  has  been  able  to  inspire  two,  or  even  three 
generations  of  his  fellow  townsmen  ;  and  is  a  most  fitting  testimonial  of  the  worth  and 
sterling  integrity  of  the  man. 

The  portrait  of  Mr.  Yeomans  published  herein  is  copied  from  a  photograph  taken 
when  he  was  eighty  years  of  age. 


GEORGE  W.  COWLES. 

Hon.  George  W.  Cowles  was  born  in  December,  1824,  in  the  town  of  Otisco,  Onon- 
daga county,  N.  Y.  He  entered  Hamilton  College,  and  was  graduated  in  1845.  For 
six  years  after  completing  his  college  course  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  then  studied 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1854,  and  began  practice  in  Clyde,  Wayne  county, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  In  1863  he  was  elected  county  judge  of  Wajme  county, 
and  again  in  1867.  In  1868  he  was  chosen  member  of  congress  and  earned  an  enviable 
record  in  that  body.  In  1873  he  was  again  chosen  county  judge,  and  was  re-elected  to 
the  same  position  in  1885.     He  is  now  practicing  his  profession  at  Clyde. 


NEWELL  E.   LANDON,  M.   D 

Newell  E.  Landon,  M.  D.,  eldest  son  of  Zera  N.  and  Sarah  A.  (Adams)  Landon,  was 
born  in  Newark,  this  county,  March  3,  1852.  Zera  N.  Landon,  son  of  James,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Washington  county,  N.  Y.  He  was  a  teamster  and  subsequently  a  farmer,  and 
about  1850  settled   in  thetown  of  Arcadia,  where*  he  died  November,9,  1893,  aged 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  27 

nearly  seventy-four.  His  wife's  death  occurred  May  18,  1894,  in  her  sixty-second  year. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  William  Adams,  who  died  in  Palmyra  in  1863,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven,  after  a  residence  in  the  town  of  about  forty  years.  Their  children 
were  Dr.  Newell  E. ;  William  A.,  of  Newark ;  Charles  S.,  who  died  in  1892 ;  and  Eudora 
A.,  of  Newark. 

Dr.  Newell  E.  Landon  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  acquired  his  literary  education  in 
the  common  schools  and  in  the  Newark  Union  Free  School  and  Academy.  At  the  age 
of  three  years  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  the  town  of  Palmyra,  where  the  family 
remained  until  1864,  when  they  purchased  a  farm  about  two  miles  from  Newark  vil- 
lage. Here  the  remainder  of  his  boyhood  days  were  passed.  Having  determined  to 
adopt  medicine  as  his  life  work  young  Landon  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  Charles  G-. 
Pomeroy  in  Newark  in  October,  1872,  where  he  thoroughly  prepared  himself  for  his 
chosen  profession.  He  became  a  student  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in 
New  York  city  (the  Medical  Department  of  Columbia  College)  and  was,  graduated  from 
that  institution  with  the  class  of  1876,  receiving  a  hospital  appointment.  By  the  advice  of 
Dr.  Pomeroy,  however,  he  declined  the  post,  returned  to  Newark,  and  accepted  a  part- 
nership with  his  preceptor,  which  continued  four  years.  In  January,  1880,  Dr.  Landon 
married  Miss  Mary  Easton  and  soon  afterward  located  in  Rochester,  where  he  remained 
a  year  and  a  half.  Owing  to  the  ill  health  of  his  wife  he  returned  to  Newark,  where 
he  has  ever  since  resided.  Mrs.  Landon  died  in  December,  1882,  and  in  October,  1886, 
he  married  Miss  Alice  Russell,  daughter  of  L.  C.  Russell,1  of  Port  Grtbson,  Ontario 
county. 

Dr.  Landon  for  several  years  was  connected  with  the  State  Custodial  Asylum  for 
Feeble  Minded  Women  of  Newark,  first  as  attending  physician  and  afterward  as  con- 
sulting physician  and  surgeon.  He  is  now  Division  Surgeon  for  the  West  Shore  and 
Northern  Central  railroads,  a  member  of  the  Wayne  County  Medical  Society,  New  York 
State  Medical  Association,  Central  New  York  Medical_  Society,  American  Medical  As- 
sociation, and  National  Association  of  Railway  Surgeons,  and  medical  examiner  for  the 
New  York  Life,  New  York  Mutual  Life,  Massachusetts  Mutual  Life,  Northwestern 
Mutual  Life,  and  John  Hancock  Life  Insurance  Companies.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
Newark  Lodge,  No.  83,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  Chapter  117  R/A.  M.,  and  a  member  and 
examining  surgeon  of  the  K.  0.  T.  M.  and  E.  K.  0.  R.  Besides  these  he  has  served  as 
president  of  the  village  one  term  and  health  officer  of  the  town  several  years. 

Thoroughly  devoted  to  his  chosen  calling  Dr.  Landon  is  a  close  student,  critical  and 
quick  in  comprehension,  unusually  accurate  and  keen  in  diagonsis,  and  clear  yet  scien- 
tific in  treatment.  He  has  established  a  large  and  successful  practice,  and  is  justly 
conceded  a  prominent  place  among  the  leading  physicians  of  Western  New  York.  As 
a  surgeon  he  is  skillful  and  unerring,  and  has  performed  nearly  all  of  the  more  difficult 
operations  in  his  locality  during  the  past  dozen  years.     He  also  takes  an  active  interest 

1  Capt.  Russell  was  for  many  years  a  very  prominent  citizen  of  that  locality.  He  carried  on  an 
extensive  grain  and  produce  trade,  was  a  large  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  ran  a  packet  on  the 
canal  before  the  days  of  railroad  travel,  and  served  some  time  as  postmaster.  For  nearly  half 
of  a  century  he  was  the  principal  business  man  of  Port  Gibson.  He  died  in  September,  1876,  aged 
seventy  years. 
D 


28  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

in  local  affairs,  particularly  in  educational  and  social  matters,  lending  his  aid  and  influ- 
ence in  promoting  every  good  cause.  In  all  of  these  he  is  ably  seconded  and  assisted 
by  his  estimable  wife,  who  is  actively  identified  with  many  local  organizations. 


JACOB  FISHER. 

Jacob  Fisher  was  born  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Baden,  Germany,  October  29,  1831. 
His  father,  Sebastian  Fischer,  was  a  mechanic  and  died  in  his  native  land.  The  mother, 
Margaret  Fischer  (Americanized  Fisher),  came  with  her  son  Jacob  to  America  in  the 
spring  of  1853.  She  settled  in  Rochester  and  subsequently  came  to  Lyons,  where  her 
death  occurred  in  1885  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

Jacob  Fisher  inherited  in  full  measure  the  unswerving  honesty  of  purpose,  the  native 
ability,  and  the  simplicity  of  earnestness  which  characterized  his  parents,  and  before 
leaving  his  fatherland  had  acquired  a  good  practical  education  in  the  public  schools.  He 
early  became  inured  to  hard  labor  and  acquired  habits  of  thrift  and  frugality  which 
guided  the  whole  of  his  after  career.  His  first  work  in  this  country  was  on  a  farm  near 
Rochester  ;  later  he  was  employed  in  a  furnace  in  that  city.  Neither  of  these  occupations 
suited  his  tastes  and  he  therefore  directed  his  efforts  into  other  channels.  In  1857  he  began 
to  learn  his  trade  in  the  Rochester  pottery,  where  he  remained  until  December,  1872, 
when  he  came  to  Lyons  village,  which  has  since  been  his  home.  Upon  his  arrival  he 
leased  of  Thompson  Harrington  the  Lyons  pottery  (established  in  1825),  which  he  con- 
ducted until  about  1880,  when  he  purchased  the  establishment  and  has  since  been  prac- 
tically its  sole  owner.  Excepting  a  partnership  with  George  Lang,  covering  about  two 
years,  he  has  carried  on  the  business  alone. 

When  Mr.  Fisher  first  leased  the  Lyons  pottery  it  was  a  very  small  concern  with  a 
single  kiln.  In  1885  he  put  in  another  kiln  of  more  than  double  the  capacity  of  the 
original  one,  and  about  two  years  later  built  a  brick  addition  known  as  the  "  blue  room." 
Subsequently  a  second  kiln  replaced  the  first  one,  making  two  now  in  operation ;  a  large 
brick  building  28  by  80  feet  was  erected,  and  steam  power  with  all  the  latest  improve- 
ments and  conveniences  was  added,  increasing  the  original  capacity  more  than  six-fold. 
About  thirty-five  persons  are  employed  and  the  weekly  pay  roll  amounts  to  some  $300. 
Stoneware  of  all  kinds  is  manufactured  and  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
The  capacity  of  the  plant  is  about  seventy-five  kilns  of  9,000  to  10,000  gallons  per 
annum. 

Mr.  Fisher  is  well  known  in  every  village  in  Western  New  York.  His  business  has 
brought  him  into  wide  prominence  and  has  earned  for  him  an  enviable  reputation  for 
honesty  and  fair  dealing.  Observing  with  a  keen  discernment  the  needs  of  his  exten- 
sive trade  he  has  constantly  increased  it  by  legitimate  innovations  and  modern  improve- 
ments, adding  to  the  capacity  of  his  plant  as  necessity  demanded  and  pushing  his  wares 
into  new  territory  whenever  an  opportunity  was  presented.  His  long  connection  with 
the  pottery  trade  has  made  his  name  a  synonym  for  excellence,  reliance,  and  substantial 
worth.     In  politics  not  only  himself  but  his  family  are  staunch  Republicans,  but  all 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  29 

have  eschewed  political  preferment.  During  one  term,  however,  Mr.  Fisher  served  as 
village  trustee.  In  religion  the  family  are  German  Methodists,  to  which  denomination 
all  have  contributed  liberally  of  both  time  and  means. 

In  July,  1858,  Mr.  Fisher  married  Miss  Theresa  Burger,  of  Rochester,  by  whom  he 
has  had  four  children,  all  living.  Edmund  Fisher,  the  eldest,  is  the  principal  traveling 
salesman  for  his  father,  being  assisted  on  the  road  by  Eben  Bourne.  William  F.  is  cap- 
tain of  the  boat  Louisa  (named  from  his  youngest  daughter),  which  is  used  in  shipping 
goods  to  all  points  along  the  Erie  Canal.  The  daughters  are  Amelia  and  Louisa,  the 
latter  being  the  bookkeeper  and  cashier  of  the  works. 


HIRAM  GILBERT  HOTCHKISS. 

Hiram  G.  Hotchkiss,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  son  of  Leman  and  Theodosia  (Gil- 
bert) Hotchkiss,  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  June  19,  1810.  Leman  Hotchkiss 
was  a  merchant,  and  in  1811  removed  with  his  family  to  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  where, 
with  David  McNeil  as  a  partner,  he  opened  a  general  store,  the  first  in  the~town.  The 
firm  of  Hotchkiss  &  McNeil  became  one  of  the  best  known  mercantile  establishments 
in  Western  New  York,  doing  a  business  of  over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  per 
annum.  In  1816  Leman  Hotchkiss  started  a  store  in  Lyons,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Leach  &  Demmon,  which  continued  business  many  years.  In  1822  Hotchkiss  & 
McNeil  started  the  fir.<t  general  store  in  what  is  now  Newark  village,  then  called  Mil- 
ler's Basin,  in  which  they  placed  Hiram  G.,  then  twelve  years  old,  as  clerk,  he  being  the 
first  clerk  employed  in  a  store  in  that  place. 

Although  the  educational  facilities  of  Western  New  York  at  this  early  day  were  limited 
Mr.  Hotchkiss's  education  was  not  neglected,  and  he  grasped  every  opportunity  which 
was  presented  to  educate  and  fit  himself  for  the  life  that  was  to  follow  (i.  e.  a  successful 
merchant.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he,  with  his  brother  Leman  B.,  and  a  cousin,  William 
T.  Hotchkiss,  opened  a  general  store  in  Phelps  and  successfully  operated  two  mills  in 
Phelps  and  one  in  Seneca  Falls,  the  combined  capacity  being  over  500  barrels  daily. 

In  1837  while  engaged  in  this  business,  Mr.  Hotchkiss  began  buying  oil  of  pepper- 
mint of  farmers  along  with  their  wheat,  which  was  then  produced  in  very  small  quan- 
tities ;  and  having  accumulated  a  quantity  of  this  essential  oil  he  sent  it  to  the  New 
York  markets,  but  without  success.  The  business  at  that  time  was  wholly  in  the  hands 
of  adulterators  and  his  oil  being  pure  he  was  obliged  to  recall  it.  But  nothing  daunted, 
Mr.  Hotchkiss  bottled  his  oil  and  consigned  it  to  London  and  Rotterdam,  where  it  al- 
most immediately  sprung  into  general  favor.  His  label  soon  gained  a  wide  reputation 
and  became  a  substantial  guarantee  for  purity  and  strength.  In  1837  he  [disposed  of 
his  store  and  began  the  manufacture  of  American  essential  oils  in  Phelps,  and  so  rapidly 
did  his  business  increase  that  it  required  his  entire  attention  and  has  since  become  his 
life  work.  In  April,  1844,  Mr.  Hotchkiss  disposed  of  his  milling  interest  and  with  his 
family  removed  to  Lyons,  purchasing  a  large  tract  of  land  and  beginning  the  cultivation 
of  American  essential  oils  on  a  large  scale.     Here  he  has  ever  since  resided. 


30  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Mr.  Hotchkiss  may  be  truthfully  regarded  as  the  father  of  the  essential  oil  business 
in  America.  He  began  in  a  very  small  way,  selling  less  than  1,000  pounds  the  first 
year.  He  boldly  and  unswervingly  adhered  to  a  high  standard  of  beauty  and  purity, 
and  by  strict  honesty  and  fair  dealing  rapidly  built  up  a  trade  covering  not  only  all 
portions  of  the  United  States  but  commanding  the  markets  of  the  civilized  world,  un- 
til now  the  output  of  American  essential  oils  under  the  H.  G.  Hotchkiss  brand  is  over 
100,000  pounds  per  annum,  and  which  has  largely  increased  the  value  of  the  essential 
oil  lands  of  this  county. 

The  manufacture  includes  oils  of  peppermint,  spearmint,  wintergreen,  wormwood, 
sassafras,  pennyroyal,  and  tansy,  the  first  two,  however,  being  of  paramount  importance. 
These  oils  lead  the  world,  control  the  largest  markets  of  the  globe,  and  bring  to  Lyons 
thousands  of  dollars  annually.  It  is  the  only  brand  that  maintains  any  credit  on  the 
London  and  Continential  European  exchanges.  In  1878  Mr.  Hotchkiss  visited  Europe 
and  was  everywhere  received  and  entertained  in  the  most  complimentary  manner  by 
the  leading  merchants  of  the  old  world.  In  London  he  was  escorted.to  the  floor  of  the 
world-renowned  London  Exchange,  and  then  and  there  complimented  on  the  standing  of 
his  brand  of  essential  oils,  an  honor,  to  say  the  least,  that  has  been  extended  to  but  few 
Americans.  Since  1851  Mr.  Hotchkiss  has  taken  the  first  prize  medals  and  diplomas  on 
his  brand  of  oils  at  the  following  World's  fairs,  viz.:  At  London  in  1851  and  1862;  at 
New  York  in  1853 ;  at  Paris  in  1856,  1867,  and  1878 ;  at  Hamburg  in  1863 ;  at  Vienna, 
Austria,  in  1873;  at  Philadelphia  in  1876;  at  Chicago  in  1893;  and  others  besides  of 
a  local  nature,  and  it  is  through  this  business  that  Mr.  Hotchkiss  has  become  the  most 
widely  known  man  in  Wayne  county.  In  fact  there  is  not  a  town  in  all  the  civilized 
world  large  enough  to  support  a  drug  store  or  confectioner's  shop  but  what  the  name 
of  H.  G.  Hotchkiss,  the  Peppermint  King,  is  a  household  word. 

On  January  3,  1833,  Mr.  Hotchkiss  married  Mary  Williams  Ashley,  daughter  of  Doctor 
Robert  Ashley,  of  Lyons.  To  them  were  born  three  sons  and  nine  daughters:  Ellen  O, 
widow  of  the  late  Col.  Alexander  D.  Adams;  Mary,  deceased,  wife  of  Thomas  P.  Attix, 
of  Brooklyn;  Emma  T.,  widow  of  the  late  Rev.  Charles  H.  Piatt,  of  Binghamton,  N.  Y. ; 
Theodosia,  died  in  infancy ;  Lisette,  widow  of  the  late  Henry  C.  Parshall,  of  Lyons ; 
Annie,  deceased,  wife  of  Charles  H.  Dickerson,  of  Detroit,  Mich.;  Leman,  deceased, 
the  first  Democrat  elected  member  of  Assembly  in  the  2d  district  of  Wayne  county  ; 
Adrianna  D.,  wife  of  Rev.  William  H.  Williams,  of  Lyons;  Clara,  died  in  Albany  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years ;  Calvin  and  Hiram  G.,  jr.,  now  associated  with  their  father  in 
the  essential  oil  business ;  and  Alice  M.  A.,  wife  of  William  G.  David,  of  New  York 
city.     Mrs.  Hotchkiss  died  in  1886. 

Mr.  Hotchkiss,  through  an  honorable  connection  with  the  essential  oil  trade,  is  best 
known.  He  has  made  his  own  name  and  that  of  his  town  familiar  to  all  countries  and 
climes.  For  many  years  he  has  led  an  active  life,  and  now,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five, 
we  find  him  hale  and  hearty  with  his  mind  and  body  unimpaired,  and  with  prospects  of 
of  a  useful  life  before  him.  As  a  business  man  he  has  been  eminently  successful,  and 
in  local  matters  affecting  the  welfare  of  his  town  he  has  always  taken  an  abiding  in- 
terest. In  religion  he  is  an  Episcopalian  and  in  politics  a  Democrat,  but  in  no  sense  has 
he  ever  been  an  office  seeker.  Public  spirited,  liberal,  and  kind  hearted,  he  is  emphatic- 
ally a  local  benefactor. 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  31 

FREPERICK  WINTER  GRIFFITH. 

Every  person  born  into  the  world  fills  a  peculiar  niche  in  the  great  sea  of  human 
activity,  and  when  a  single  individual,  through  his  own  exertions,  attains  the  distinction 
of  a  successful  man  his  career,  even  though  it  be  incomplete,  becomes  a  matter  worthy 
of  permanent  record.  Genealogical  data,  when  traced  back  into  centuries  gone  by, 
often  presents  gaps  almost  unconnectable,  yet  it  is  none  the  less  interesting,  for  cer- 
tainly some  light  will  be  thrown  upon  facts  rapidly  passing  out  the  cotemporary  biogra- 
pher's reach. 

The  Griffith  family  is  of  Welch  origin  and  the  branch  under  consideration  dates  its 
lineage  from  one  Joseph,  whose  father  settled  in  Virginia  early  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. Joseph  Griffith,  after  having  served  in  the  Eevolutionary  war,  became  a  resident 
of  Luzerne  county,  Pa.,  whence  he  removed  to  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1803 
being  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  now  rich  and  fertile  locality.  There  his  son  John  was 
born,  and  there  he  lived  and  died.  There  John  W.,  son  of  John,  was  born  March  25,  1830. 
All  were  quiet,  substantial  farmers  and  good  business  men.  Joseph  and  John  (his  son) 
were  early  and  active  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Oaks  Corners,  about  two 
miles  east  of  Phelps,  which  was  the  first  religious  organization  in  that  town.  John  W. 
Griffith,  however,  united  with  the  Methodists  as  soon  as  an  M..E.  church  was  established 
in  the  village,  and  lived  and  died  in  that  belief.  He  possessed  unusual  natural  ability,  was 
a  remarkably  keen  observer  of  human  nature,  was  well  read  and  posted  on  all  current 
topics,  and  without  advantages  obtained  a  knowledge  at  once  broad,  thorough,  and  com- 
prehensive. He  was  an  ardent  and  staunch  Republican,  but  eschewed  all  political  prefer- 
ment. He  married  Charlotte  E.  Malette '  and  died  at  Clifton  Springs,  N.  Y.,  Novem- 
ber 21,  1891.  They  had  seven  children,  of  whom  six  are  living,  viz.:  Frederick  W. ; 
John  C,  a  lawyer  in  Buffalo;  James  M.,  of  Geneva;  Mary  E.,  of  Palmyra;  Frank  A. 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Phelps ;  and  Helena  M.,  of  Palmyra. 

Frederick  W.  Griffith,  the  eldest  of  these  children,  was  born  on  the  family  homestead 
in  Phelps  on  December  17,  1858,  and  spent  his  early  life  on  the  farm  and  in  the  district 
schools,  supplementing  his  preliminary  education  with  a  brief  attendance  at  the  Phelps 
Union  Classical  School.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  the  trade  of  a  printer  with 
his  uncle,  James  Malette,  on  the  Geneva  Courier,  where  he  remained  until  1881,  being 
associate  editor  during  the  last  year  of  his  residence  there.  Returning  to  Phelps  he 
prepared  himself  for  college  at  the  Union  and  Classical  School,  and  in  the  fall  of  1882  en-' 
tered  Hamilton  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  as  a  bachelor  of  arts  and  as  a 
high  honor  man  with  the  class  of  1886.     His  entire  education  was  obtained  wholly 

1  The  lineage  of  the  Malette  family  is  traced  back  to  Pierre  Malet,  who  was  born  in  France  in 
1695.  Following  the  edict  of  Louis  XV,  which  deprived  all  Protestants  of  legal  rights  in  the  courts 
and  made  their  property  subject  10  confiscation  by  the  crown,  he  sailed  to  America  in  1724  or  1725 
with  his  wife  and  son  Pierre,  and  other  Huguenots.  He  located  in  Baltimore  as  a  shipbuilder,  but 
soon  removed  to  Reading,  Conn.,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  distinguished  for  his 
piety,  and  his  wife  possessed  decided  energy  of  spirit.  His  posterity  were  (2)  Pierre,  or  Peter, 
born  in  1720 ;  (3)  Philip,  born  in  1751 ;  (4)  Levi,  born  in  1786  ;  (5)  Isaac  ;  (6)  Charlotte  E.  (Mrs.  John 
W.  Griffith)  ;  (7)  Frederick  W.  Griffith,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  orthography  of  the  name 
Malet  was  long  since  Americanized  into  the  modern  Malette. 


32  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

through  his  own  exertions.  His  father's  limited  means  afforded  him  only  small  assistance 
in  a  pecuniary  way,  and  the  struggle  was  all  the  more  severe  because  of  the  apparent  afflu- 
ence of  classmates.  He  is,  in  consequence,  a  self-made  man  in  every  sense  of  the  term, 
and  exemplifies  the  courage,  perseverance,  and  single-mindedness  of  true  American 
youth  and  manhood.  With  an  ambition  born  of  purpose  and  constancy  he  schooled 
himself  not  only  in  the  vast  field  of  literary  and  mathematical  research  but  in  all  the 
requirements  of  life  and  advantages  derived  from  a  diversified  knowledge.  Leaving 
college  he  was  for  one  year  an  instructor  in  Greek  and  Latin  in  Kirkland  Hall,  a  boys' 
preparatory  school  at  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1889  his  alma  mater  conferred  upon  him 
the  honorary  degree  of  A.  M. 

In  the  autumn  of  1887  Mr.  Griffith  came  to  Palmyra  and  associated  himself  in  busi- 
ness with  0.  J.  Garlock  and  Eugene  Nichols,  both  men  of  exceptional  ability  and  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  the  work  which  has  since  proved  so  successful.  The  firm,  which  was 
organized  by  these  three  gentlemen  in  September  of  that  year,  adopted  the  name  of 
The  Garlock  Packing  Company,  which  it  still  bears,  manufacturing  packings  for  steam, 
water,  and  ammonia.  The  business  started  with  little  cspital  and  with  an  output  of 
$1,500  monthly.  It  has  steadily  increased  in  volume  and  now  produces  about  $350,000 
worth  of  goods  per  annum.  The  firm  has  offices  under  their  own  name  in  all  the  piinci- 
pal  cities  of  the  United  States  and  also  a  branch  factory  in  Rome.  Ga.  It  is  one  of  the 
leading  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  county. 

October  1,  1889,  Mr.  Griffith  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Adams,  daughter  of  M.  C.  Adams, 
a  native  of  Oneida  county  and  a  farmer  of  Phelps,  N.  Y.  They  have  one  child,  Fred- 
erick Adams  Griffith,  born  September  7,  1894.  Mr.  Griffith  is  an  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  thoroughly  identified  with  every  movement  of  public  importance. 


CHARLES  H.  FORD. 

Charles  H.  Ford,  son  of  Harvey  W.  and  Nancy  (Little)  Ford,  now  residents  of 
Oneida  county,  was  born  in  Utica,  N.  Y.,  October  19,  1861.  He  is  the  eldest  of  three 
children  ajid  spent  his  boyhood  in  the  place  of  his  birth.  His  education  was  acquired 
in  the  public  schools,  in  Boonville  Academy,  in  Whitestown  Seminary,  and  in  the 
Utica  Business  College,  institutions  which  thoroughly  equipped  him  with  a  practical 
knowledge  of  all  the  English  branches  and  many  of  the  classics.  His  first  employment 
was  as  a  clerk  in  a  store.  In  1877  he  went  to  Auburn  to  fill  a  responsible  position  in  a 
large  wholesale  tobacco  house,  where  he  remained  four  years.  In  1881  he  came  to 
Clyde,  Wayne  county,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided,  and  where  he  engaged  in  busi- 
ness for  himself  under  the  firm  name  of  Smith  &  Ford,  wholesale  tobacco  dealers,  a 
partnership  that  continued  untilSeptember,  1893.  Since  then  Mr.  Ford  has  conducted 
the  business  alone. 

During  the  period  of  fourteen  years  which  Mr.  Ford  has  spent  as  a  citizen  of  this 
county  he  has  become  thoroughly  identified  with  both  public  and  business  affairs.  His 
private  commercial  operations  have  placed  him  among  the  leaders  in  finance  and  execu- 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  33 

tive  management,  while  his  active  connection  with  other  enterprises  distinguishes  him 
for  rare  ability  and  unerring  judgment.  He  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Clyde 
Electric  Light  and  Power  Company,  of  which  he  has  been  president  and  is  now  a  direc- 
tor and  a  large  stockholder.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  has  always  taken  a  fore- 
most part  in  all  political  movements.  He  has  served  as  trustee  of  the  village  of  Clyde 
one  term  and  as  supervisor  of  the  town  of  Galen  two  years.  In  the  latter  capacity  he 
was  instrumental  in  changing  the  sheriff's  office  to  its  present  status,  drafting  the  bill 
and  fathering  it  to  a  passage  and  a  law,  thus  fixing  the  extremely  low  salary  now  paid. 
He  was  influential  also  in  changing  the  county  clerk's  office  as  it  now  exists.  Both 
these  changes  have  proven  inestimably  beneficial  to  taxpayers.  He  was  appointed 
canal  superintendent  by  Governor  Hill  and  re  appointed  by  Governor  Flower,  serving 
in  all  nearly  three  years,  and  in  this  capacity  attained  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances 
and  great  political  power.  He  resigned  this  office  in  May,  1893,  and  in  March,  1894, 
was  appointed  sheriff  of  the  county  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  (to  January  1,  1895)  of 
Walter  Thornton,  deceased.  He  has  frequently  been  a  delegate  to  county  and  district 
conventions  and  represented  his  constituents  in  this  capacity  at  the  Democratic  State 
conventions  of  1S91  and  1894,  In  all  these  positions  Mr.  Ford  served  with  rare  ability, 
with  strict  fidelity,  and  with  shrewd  political  tact.  He  is  in  every  sense  of  the  term  a 
public  spirited  citizen. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Wheeler  Rifles  (Auburn)  N.  G.  S.  N.  Y.  and  of  Wayne  En- 
campment, I.  0.  0.  F.,  Newark.  He  is  past  grand  of  Clyde  Lodge,  No.  300, 1.  0.  0.  F., 
captain  of  Canton  Galen,  No.  49,  Clyde,  and  for  six  years  was  foreman  of  Protective 
Hook  and  Ladder  Company,  Clyde. 

November  30,  1886,  Mr.  Ford  married  Miss  Emily  W.  Gilbert,  daughter  of  the  late 
Horace  Gilbert,  who  was  connected  with  the  post-office  at  Auburn  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century.     They  have  had  one  son,  Vivian  C,  born  November  20,  1890. 


MARVIN  I.  GREENWOOD. 

Marvin  I.  Greenwood  is  a  son  of  Ira  and  Clarissa  M.  (Moseley)  Greenwood,  natives 
of  Madison  county,  near  Hamilton,  and  was  born  January  31,  1840,  near  _Chittenango, 
N.  Y,  The  father  was  of  Scotch  origin  while  the  mother  sprung  from  English  ancestry  ; 
they  were  farmers  by  occupation,  the  former  being,  however,  a  carpenter  by  trade. 
They  moved  with  their  family  to  the  town  of  Marion,  Wayne  county,  in  April,  1840, 
but  five  years  later  settled  in  Palmyra.  In  the  spring  of  1855  they  removed  to  Arcadia, 
where  both  died — the  mother  in  December,  1863,  and  the  father  in  December,  1884, 
December  being  also  the  month  of  their  marriage. 

M.  I.  Greenwood  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Wayne  county,  in  the 
Walworth  Academy,  and  in  the  Newark  Union  Free  School  and  Academy.  Leaving 
the  farm,  on  which  he  had  been  reared,  he  commenced  reading  law  in  the  office  of  Hon. 
L.  M.  Norton  in  Newark,  and  in  December,  1868,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Rochester, 
General  Term.     Mr.  Norton   was  elected  county  judge  and  surrogate  in  November, 


84  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE  COUNTY. 

1869,  and  Mr.  Greenwood  remained  in  his  office  during  his  term  of  four  years,  or  until 
1875,  when  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  alone,  in  which  capacity  he  has  since 
continued.  Born  in  the  Harrison  year  of  1840  he  has  always  been  a  steadfast  Republi- 
can, and  in  various  capacities  has  served  his  party  with  distinction  and  ability.  He  has 
been  a  justice  of  the  peace  several  terms,  and  from  1877  to  1879  inclusive  was  district 
attorney  of  Wayne  county. 

In  the  Masonic  fraternity  perhaps  no  man  in  Western  New  York  is  better  known  or 
more  properly  distinguished  than  is  Mr.  Greenwood.  His  connection  with  the  order 
dates  from  February,  1865,  when  he  joined  Newark  Lodge,  No.  83,  F.  ard  A.  M., 
which  he  served  as  master  during  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  He  has  risen  to  Knight 
Templar  and  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason,  being  a  member  of  Zenobia  Commandery, 
No.  41,  K.  T.,  and  of  Rochester  Consistory  thirty-second  degree.  Besides  holding  all 
the  minor  offices  he  has  been  high  priest  of  Newark  Royal  Arch  Chapter  twelve  years, 
member  of  the  commission  of  appeals  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  three  years, 
grand  scribe  and  grand  king  of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  State  of  New 
York  each  three  years,  and  prelate  of  Zenobia  Commandery,  K.  T.,  four  years  He  is 
now  deputy  high  priest  of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  State  and  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  West  Virginia  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York. 

November  16,  1862,  Mr.  Greenwood  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Laura  F.  Wads- 
worth,  a  native  of  Phelps.  N.  Y.,  and  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Wadsworth  of  that  place. 
They  had  two  sons,  Frank  M.  and  Will  W.  Frank  M.  Greenwood  was  born  May  4, 
1864,  graduated  from  the  Newark  Union  Free  School  and  Academy,  and  was  accident- 
ally killed  on  the  West  Shore  Railroad  in  Newark  early  on  the  foggy  morning  of  Novem- 
ber 3,  1883,  while  performing  his  duties  as  timekeeper  and  clerk  for  Ryan  &  McDonald 
contractors.  He  was  a  very  promising  young  man  and  a  general  favorite  every- 
where. Will  W.  Greenwood  was  born  April  14,  1870,  and  is  now  the  manager  for 
the  firm  of  George  A.  Horn  &  C,  manufacturers  of  garment  fitting  machines  in 
Newark.  He  served  a  term  of  three  years  in  the  Seventh  Cavalry  U.  S.  Regular 
Army  and  was  orderly  sergeant  at  the  time  of  his  discharge  at  Fort  Hancock,  Texas,  in 
September,  1893.  He  participated  in  the  fight  at  Pine  Ridge  Agency  and  two  or  three 
days  later  was  wounded  in  the  leg  at  the  battle  of  Wounded  Knee,  South  Dakota. 


JAMES  W.   DUNWELL. 

The  ancestors  of  this  sketch  have  been  Americans  for  five  generations. 

The  first  of  his  father's  family  to  come  to  this  country  was  an  English  soldier,  who 
served  under  General  Wolfe  in  the  campaign  that  terminated  with  the  fall  of  Quebec. 
The  advent  of  his  mother's  ancestors  in  this  country,  who  came  from  Holland,  antedates 
the  Revolution,  during  which  members  of  the  family  bore  arms  in  the  army  of  General 
Schuyler.  Subsequently  they  settled  in  Connecticut  and  in  the  eastern  counties  of 
New  York,  some  of  whom  migrated  later  to  Western  New  York.  His  father's  family 
settled  in  Wayne  and  his  mother's  family  in  Cayuga  county. 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  35 

Almerin  Dunwell,  the  father  of  James  W.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  Wayne  county,  in 
1815,  and  died  at  Lyons  in  1866.  He  was  a  mechanic  and  at  different  periods  of  his 
life  pursued  the  occupations  of  farmer,  manufacturer  and  contractor.  He  married 
Elizabeth  H.  Storms  of  Mentz,  Cayuga  county,  whose  death  took  place  at  Lyons  in 
1884.  They  had  two  children,  Charles  T.  Dunwell  of  New  York  city,  a  lawyer  by 
profession,  and  James  W.  Dunwell,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

James  W.  Dunwell  was  born  at  East  Newark,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y,  December  19, 
1850.  He  acquired  a  good  education,  beginning  in  the  district  schools,  later  attending 
the  Lyons  Union  School,  and  finishing  with  parts  of  three  years  (1869-71)  in  Cornell 
University.  He  left  the  university  in  June,  1871,  to  finish  his  law  studies  in  the  office 
of  Col.  Joseph  Welling  of  Lyons.  But  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  this  was  the  be- 
ginning of  his  law  studies.  He  began  when  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age  in  the  office 
of  John  T.  Mackenzie  of  Lyons,  and  followed  him  to  New  York  city  when  he  went 
thither  to  become  a  partner  with  the  late  General  James  W.  Husted. 

After  two  years  of  study  with  Colonel  Welling,  succeeding  his  course  in  the  univer- 
sity, Mr.  Dunwell  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  General  Term  in  Buffalo  in  June, 
1873.  During  his  studies  he  had  begun  to  engage  in  the  trial  of  cases  in  Justice's  Court 
and  to  conduct  appeals  arising  in  his  cases  in  County  Court,  his  talents  as  a  trial  lawyer 
being  thus  early  developed. 

As  soon  as  he  was  admitted  to  practice  Mr.  Dunwell  formed  a  partnership  with 
Colonel  Welling,  which  continued  about  two  years,  and  with  gratifying  success.  Fol- 
lowing this  period  he  practiced  alone  about  two  years  and  down  to  the  time  in  1877 
when  he  became  associated  with  the  late  Hon.  John  H.  Camp  in  that  harmonious  and 
most  successful  partnership  which  closed  only  with  Mr.  Camp's  death  in  1892. 

Mr.  Dunwell  is  a  trial  lawyer.  It  is  in  active,  spirited  litigation,  where  the  stakes 
are  large  and  the  interests  great,  that  he  feels  most  happily  situated.  For  routine  office 
work  he  has  little  taste  except  as  it  is  connected  with  his  litigated  cases.  With  his 
partner  he  acted  as  attorney  for  the  New  York  Central  and  West  Shore  Railroads,  and 
since  Mr.  Camp's  death  the  legal  interests  of  the  R.  W.  &  0.  road  have  been  placed  in 
his  hands.  He  has  recently  acted  as  attorney  for  the  county  of  Wayne  and  village  of 
Lyons  in  highly  important  litigation,  and  is  regularly  retained  by  other  corporate  and 
individual  interests  in  the  territory  over  which  his  practice  extends.  He  possesses  in  a 
high  degree  the  intuitive  faculty  for  anticipating  the  course  of  his  opponent  in  a  case 
and  the  best  plan  with  which  to  meet  it — a  qualification  which,  when  coupled  with  his 
large  general  knowledge  of  law,  acquired  by  years  of  experience  in  litigation,  his 
thorough  preparation,  his  quick  and  alert  perception  of  every  weak  point  in  his  adver- 
sary's case,  and  his  power  in  impressing  court  and  jury,  render  Mr.  Dunwell  a  foeman 
at  the  bar  by  whom  it  is  honorable  even  to  be  defeated. 

Mr.  Dunwell  has  never  held  a  public  office.  Not  for  the  reason  that  he  might  not  if 
he  had  so  aspired,  for  he  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  and  practical  workers  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Republican  party ;  but  his  aim  to  achieve  a  high  standing  in  his  profession  has 
precluded  all  thoughts  of  political  preferment.  He  serves  on  committees  of  his  party 
and  at  conventions  with  the  most  delightful  facility  and  with  that  broad  influence  that 
always  follows  the  efforts  of  those  whose  single  purpose  is  to  promote  their  party's 

E 


36  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

cause.  Political  jealousy  is  an  unknown  sentiment  to  him,  for  his  party  service  has 
always  inured  incidentally  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  political  fortunes  of  others,  without 
reward  to  himself  except  the  delight  he  shares  in  his  friends'  prosperity. 

He  was  working  in  caucuses  and  speaking  at  conventions  by  the  time  he  reached  his 
majority,  and  he  has  been  at  it  ever  since.  As  a  delegate  to  county,  district,  assembly, 
senatorial  and  congressional  conventions  he  has  served  constantly.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  National  Republican  Convention  at  Minneapolis  in  1892,  and  at  the  State  Con- 
vention at  Saratoga  in  1894.  These 'valuable  services  his  fellow  citizens  stand  ready  to 
reward  substantially  whenever  he  will  accept  public  preferment. 

Socially,  Mr.  Dunwell  is  the  courteous  gentleman  always.  Peculiarly  outspoken  and 
open  in  his  personal  communications  with  his  fellows;  fluent  and  easy  in  conversation, 
his  words  always  bear  weight  and  render  him  an  agreeable  companion,  whether  for  an 
hour  or  a  day. 

Mr.  Dunwell  married  on  May  22,  1873,  Mary  Ella  Groat,  daughter  of  Hon.  Richard  P. 
Groat,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Newark.  They  have  one  daughter,  born  in  February, 
187C 


THE  GAYLORD  FAMILY. 

This  family  traces  its  ancestry  back  to  the  Huguenots  who  emigrated  from  France 
and  settled  in  England.  Dr.  Levi  Gaylord,  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in 
Wayne  county,  was  a  son  of  Chauncey,  who  came  from  Bristol,  Conn.,  and  settled  at 
Otisco,  N.  Y.  He  was  a  member  of  Washington's  staff  in  the  Revolution.  Dr.  Gay- 
lord  was  a  graduate  of  Yale,  came  to  Sodus  in  1823,  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
medicine.  He  was  known  throughout  the  State  as  one  of  the  leading  Abolitionists 
and  temperance  workers  of  the  day.  He  married  firs^,  Dotia  Merriman,  by  whom  he 
had  one  son,  Levi  M.,  who  studied  medicine  and  located  in  Sodus.  where  he  died  in  1890. 
Dr.  Gaylord  married  second,  Artimesia  Squires.  She  studied  medicine,  and  for  many 
years  enjoyed  an  extensive  practice.  Dr.  Gaylord  died  in  1852  and  his  wife  in  1893, 
aged  nearly  ninety-five.  Their  children  were  Willis  T.,  Charles  D.,  Orrin  F.,  and  Dotia 
C,  Artimesia  G.,  Cornelia  M.  and  Sarah  S.  Dotia  married  S.  P.  Hulett;  Artimesia 
married  Dr.  Alfred  P.  Crafts  and  settled  in  Wolcott;  Cornelia  married  Prof.  S.  D. 
Hillman,  of  Carlisle,  Pa. ;  Sarah  married  a  Mr.  West  of  this  town  ;  Willis  T.  on  arriv- 
ing at  manhood  became  a  clerk,  and  in  1851  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  trade  in  Sodus, 
and  throughout  his  long  and  successful  business  career  has  maintained  a  reputation  for 
the  utmost  integrity.  He  is  a  prominent  member  and  officer  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
with  which  he  has  been  identified  over  forty  years.  He  married  first  Elizabeth  Landon, 
and  had  two  children  :  Carlton  D.  and  Elizabeth  H.  In  1864  he  married  second  Mary 
Preston,  by  whom  he  had  three  children,  only  Willis  T.  surviving.  Charles  D.  Gaylord 
moved  to  Lyons  on  arriving  at  manhood,  where  he  held  a  clerkship.  In  1855  he  went 
to  Milwaukee,  where  until  1861  he  conducted  a  hardware  business.  Returning  to 
Sodus  he  engaged  in  the  same  line  until  1881,  when  he  retired  and  was  succeeded  by 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  87 

his  son,  Frank  D.  In  that  year,  with  S.  P.  Hulett,  he  established  the  banking  house  of 
Hulett  &  Gaylord,  which  partnership  was  severed  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Hulett  in  1884, 
and  Mr.  Gaylord  has  since  continued  the  business  alone.  He  was  supervisor  in  1876, 
is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  Wayne  Chapter,  and  also 
belongs  to  the  R.  T.  of  T.,  and  has  been  a  prominent  member  and  officer  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  for  over  twenty  years.  In  1857  he  married  Jennie  R.  Gaylord  of  Lima, 
and  their  children  are :  Frank  D.,  Charles  W.  and  Dora  T.  Orrin  T.  Gaylord  settled  in 
Oswego  and  was  a  partner  for  several  years  with  Irwin  Sloane  &  Co.,  and  later  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Gaylord,  Downey  &  Co.,  extensive  grain  dealers  of  that  city. 


LAMOTT  M.  BLAKELY. 

Lamott  M.  Blakely,  mayor  of  the  village  of  Lyons,  was  born  in  Perry,  Wyoming 
county,  N.  Y.,  November  19,  1828.  His  father,  Jason^  Blakely,  a  native  of  Vermont, 
settled  on  a  farm  in  that  county  about  1816,  and  died  there.  tEzra  Blakely,  the  father  of 
Jason,  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier  and  lived  and  died  in  Manchester,  Vt.  Jason  married 
Mary  Ward,  the  daughter  of  a  veteran  of  the  Revolution;  her  mother,  a  Miss  Butler 
was  a  cousin  of  the  late  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  of  Massachusetts.  Mrs.  Blakely  died 
in  Lyons  April  22,  1879. 

Lamott  M.  Blakely  obtained  Jiis  education  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  county 
and  in  Honeoye  and  Richmond  Mills  in  Ontario  county,  finishing  in  the  academy  at  East 
Bloomfield  under  that  celebrated  instructor,  Professor  Clark,  author  of  Clark's  Gram- 
mar, etc.  He  inherited  the  Scotch  characteristics  of  his  father  andthe  English  stability 
of  his  mother,  which,  combined,  make  one  of  the  strongest  individualities  known  in 
human  nature.  In  1848  Mr.  Blakely  came  to  Lyons,  but  soon  afterward  went  to  Iowa 
and  Illinois,  where  he  engaged  extensively  in  the  lumber  trade,  becoming  a  heavy  shipper 
from  various  places  on  the  Mississippi  River  in  Iowa  to  all  points  below  St.  Joseph  on 
the  Missouri.  He  continued  the  northwestern  lumber  enterprises  until  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Rebellion,  which  closed  all  traffic  for  the  time  on  the  Missouri  River.  The  business 
brought  him  into  wide  prominence  and  into  contact  with  representatives  of  immense 
interests  everywhere.  In  1862  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  Iowa  Republican  State 
Convention  at  Des  Moines.  In  1864  he  settled  in  Lyons,]where  he  has  ever  since  main- 
tained a  legal  residence. 

His  great  activity  craved  broader  fields  of  operation,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  war 
he  engaged  in  the  cotton  business  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  where  he  handled  large  quantities  of 
that  product.  From  1866  to  1870  he  also  carried  on  the  trade  at  Washington,  N.  C,  and 
at  other  places,  including  Newbern  and  Greenville.  At  one  time  he  handled  a  large 
portion  of  all  the  cotton  received  at  those  points.  In  the  meantime  he  resumed  the 
lumber  business  and  soon  became  one  of  the  largest  operators  in  the  South,  the  principal 
varieties  handled  being  pine,  juniper,  and  cypress.  These  operations  extended  over  a 
period  of  nearly  twenty  years,  and  brought  him  into  personal  contact  with  all  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  time.     Georgetown,  S.  C,  and  Washington  and  Newbern,  N.  C,  were 


38  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

the  principal  seats  of  these  enterprises,  which  extended  many  miles  inland.  No  man 
sustained  a  better  or  a  wider  reputation  throughout  the  States  of  North  and  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia.  His  name  became  almost  a  household  word,  and  his  integrity 
and  responsibility  were  never  questioned.  He  won  the  good  will  and  profound  respect  of 
every  southern  family  and  still  counts  many  of  their  members  on  his  long  list  of  warmest 
friends.  He  disbursed  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  among  the  inhabitants,  and 
generously  performed  and  received  many  acts  of  kindness.  Scarcely  a  southerner  passes 
through  Lyons  without  halting  for  a  visit  to  their  old-time  friend  and  co-laborer.  His 
great  business  ability,  his  universal  popularity,  his  steadfastness  and  unswerving 
integrity,  his  irreproachable  character,  his  uniform  kindness  and  liberality,  his  genial 
temperament  and  rare  social  qualities  are  both  recognized  and  remembered,  and  are 
cherished  in  the  hearts  of  thousands  of  people  in  every  station  in  life. 

In  1888  Mr.  Blakely  rebuilt  his  house  in  Lyons  into  the  present  handsome  residence, 
and  since  then  has  made  that  village  his  permanent  home.  He  has  during  these  few 
years  taken  a  deep  and  active  interest  in  public  affairs  and  always  lends  his  influence  in 
promoting  ever}'  good  movement.  His  southern  life  compelled  him,  in  a  measure, 
to  avoid  political  preferment,  yet  he  staunchly  maintained  principles  of  right  and  ever 
possessed  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  In  the  village  of  his  residence,  however, 
he  has  freely  mingled  in  politics,  and  being  a  Republican  has  served  his  townsmen  in 
various  positions  of  responsibility.  In  1892  he  was  an  alternate  delegate  to  the  National 
Republican  Convention  at  Minneapolis,  and  has  served  two  years  as  village  trustee.  In 
March,  1894,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Lyons,  an  office  he  now  holds.  His  administra- 
tion has  been  characterized  by  many  public  improvements  and  the  economical  expendi- 
ture of  money.  Mr.  Blakely  is  a  vestryman  in  Grace  Church,  and  in  the  broadest 
sense  of  the  word  a  highly  respected,  progressive  and  public-spirited  citizen. 


DE  WITT  W.   PARSHALL. 

Hon.  De  Witt  W.  Parhsall  was  born  at  Palmyra,  March  23,  1812.  His  father, 
Nathan  Parshall,  of  French  origin,  and  a  descendant  of  the  Huguenots,  was  a  native  of 
Orange  county,  from  whence  he  removed  to  Palmyra  in  1790.  In  1806  he  married 
Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  James  Galloway,  a  native  of  New  York  city,  who  had  also  re- 
moved to  Palmyra  with  his  family  about  1790.  Of  this  marriage  were  born  four  chil- 
dren, who  lived  to  mature  age,  Elizabeth,  the  late  Mrs.  Cullen  Foster,  of  Lyons ; 
De  Witt ;  Hendee,  who  still  resides  on  the  old  family  homestead  at  Palmyra ;  and 
Schuyler,  now  a  resident  of  Alabama.  De  Witt  after  a  few  terms  at  the  Canandaigua 
Academy,  where  for  a  time  he  was  a  class  and  roommate  of  Stephen  A.  Douglass,  chose 
the  law  as  a  profession,  and  entered  at  Lyons  the  law  office  of  the  late  General  William 
H.  Adams.  Young  Parshall  industriously  pursued  his  law  studies,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1838,  having,  since  leaving  his  father's  house  and  including  his  attendance  at 
the  academy,  entirely  supported  himself  tby  his  own  exertions.  Teaching,  surveying, 
writing  at  odd  spells  in  the  county  clerk's  office,  etc.,  were  the  means  by  which  he  met 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  39 

his  living  expenses.  He  first  started  a  law  office  on  his  own  account  at  Lyons ;  but  in 
1839  formed  a  law  partnership  with  the  late  Judge  Theron  R.  Strong,  of  Palmyra  and 
removed  to  that  village,  In  1840,  feeling  that  he  could  make  for  himself  a  better  field 
at  the  county  seat,  at  his  own  request  the  partnership  with  Judge  Strong  was  dissolved, 
and  he  returned  to  Lyons,  where  he  has  since  remained.  In  addition  to  his  law  prac- 
tice he  soon  became  extensively  engaged  in  real  estate,  and  down  to  the  present  time 
has  continued  to  be  the  most  extensive  dealer  in  and  owner  of  real  estate  in  his  county, 
the  village  of  Lyons  owing  much  of  its  prosperity  to  his  enterprise  and  public  spirit. 
In  1852  he  started  "  The  Palmyra  Bank  of  Lyons,"  in  1854  changed  its  name  to  ''  The 
Lyons  Bank  ;  "  and  again  in  1865,  converted  it  into  "The  Lyons  National  Bank,"  under 
which  name  it  is  now  enjoying  a  large  and  successful  business.  In  April,  1838,  Mr. 
Parshall  married  Susan  Hecox,  a  lady  of  rare  intellectual  and  moral  excellence.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Parshall  have  had  three  children :  Henry,  who  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-five, 
leaving  a  wife  and  three  children ;  De  Witt,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-five ;  and 
Catherine,  now  Mrs.  D.  S.  Chamberlin.  Mr.  Parshall  has  served  as  supervisor  of  the 
town,  president  of  the  village,  and  in  1868  represented  the  first  Assembly  district  of 
Wayne  county  in  the  Assembly.     He  died  in  May,  1880. 


BYRAM  GREEN, 

Hon.  Byram  Green  was  born  iu  Windsor,  Vt.,  April  15,  1786.  This  family  of 
Greens  emigrated  to  America  in  1638.  Byram  being  a  descendant  of  the  early  Plym- 
outh colonists  of,  that  name,  one  of  whom  was  Samuel  Green,  who  in  the  seventeenth 
century  was  a  successor  of  Steven  Day  in  the  first  printing  establishment  introduced 
into  the  colony.  His  father  emigrated  from  Plymouth  county  to  Windsor  on  the  Green 
Mountains,  became  a  farmer  and  held  the  office  of  selectman  for  many  years.  In  1800 
he  moved  to  Williamstown  to  educate  his  children.  He  was  captain  of  a  company  in 
the  Revolution,  in  which  war  he  served  until  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  He  was 
offered  a  pension,  but  declined  it.  Hon.  Byram  Green  entered  Williams  College  in  his 
eighteenth  year  and  graduated  in  1808.  After  leaving  college  he  studied  for  the  minis- 
try at  Andover,  preached  for  a  time,  but  owing  to  his  ill  health  was  compelled  to  give 
up  the  ministry,  and  accompanied  by  his  brother,  Dr.  Joseph  Green,  he  went  to  the 
island  of  Beaufort,  S.  C,  in  1810,  where  he  taught  in  the  Beaufort  College  for  one  term, 
when  he  resigned  (declining  a  brilliant  offer  to  stay),  and  with  his  brother  embarked  for 
Western  New  York.  The  brothers  finally  decided  to  settle  in  Sodus  and  while  their 
log  house  was  building,  made  their  home  in  a  buttonwood  log  that  measured  seven  feet 
at  the  base.  In  these  days  they  endured  the  hardships  incident  to  those  early  times, 
but  were  energetic  and  prospered.  In  1827  Judge  Green  helped  to  draw  the  timber  for 
the  first  Presbyterian  church  in  that  region,  and  he  and  family  were  faithful  attendants 
thereafter.  In  1812,  during  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  he  engaged  in  a  skirmish  at 
Sodus  Point  at  the  time  it  was  burned  but  escaped  uninjured.  He  was  supervisor  of 
Sodus  in  1827-40-42,  assessor  in  1813,  juetice  of  the  peace  in  1827,  school  commissioner 


40  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

in  1813-17-21-28-39-40,  Softool  inspector  in  1814-15-16-17-20-26,  State  senator  in 
1823-24,  member  of  the  Legislature  several  years,  member  of  Congress  in  1845-46,  and 
was  deputy  United  States  collector  in  1835,  under  General  G-ould,  of  Rochester,  mak- 
ing his  headquarters  at  Pultneyville.  He  held  this  position  several  years.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  Erie  Canal  while  in  the  State  Senate,  and  rode  on  the 
first  canal  boat  that  went  through  from  Albany  to  Buffalo.  Dewitt  Clinton  and  other 
distinguished  persons  were  also  on  board.  Judge  Green  was  a  warm  personal  and  politi- 
cal friend  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  who,  while  president,  offered  Judge  Green  the  position 
of  minister  to  Naples.  This,  however,  was  declined  for  several  reasons.  Byram  Green 
was  one  of  the  originators  of  foreign  missions.  While  attending  Williams  College,  at 
Williamstown,  Mass.,  he  with  four  other  young  men  of  his  class  became  much  inter- 
ested in  this  cause,  and  one  day  in  1806  they  went  into  a  field  near  the  college  for  a 
season  of  prayer.  While  so  engaged  a  heavy  thunder  storm  came  on,  and  they  moved 
for  shelter  to  a  haystack  near  by  and  continued  their  devotions.  In  after  years  Byram 
Green,  then  the  only  surviving  member  of  his  group,  passed  through  Williamstown  and 
identified  the  spot  where  the  haystack  had  stood.  A  monument  was  afterwards 
erected  to  commemorate  this  haystack  prayer  meeting,  and  his  name  with  names  of  the 
other  four  students  was  engraved  upon  the  monument  as  the  originators  of  foreign 
missions. 


CHARLES  B.  SHERMAN. 

Charles  B.  Sherman,  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  December  21,  1804,  was  a  son 
of  John  and  Chloe  (Dickinson)  Sherman,  natives  of  Massachusetts,  who  were  early  set- 
tlers of  Phelps,  and  came  to  Rose  Valley  in  1811  where  they  died.  Mr.  Sherman 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Father  of  subject  was  a  child  when  he  came  to  Rose. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  at  his  death  owned  111  acres,  where  the  family  now  reside,  and 
the  farm  is  now  carried  on  by  Ezra  A.  Sherman.  His  first  wife  was  Lucinda  Allen,  by 
whom  he  had  five  sons  and  one  daughter.  His  second  wife  was  Charlotte  J.  Tyler,  a 
native  of  Oneida  county  and  a  daughter  of  Chester  and  Harriet  Strong,  he  a  native  of 
Bridgeport,  Conn.  They  came  to  Oneida  in  an  early  day  where  Mr.  Tyler  died  August 
20,  1831,  and  his  wife  died  in  Hannibalville.  Mr.  Sherman  and  second  wife  had  three 
children,  Chester  T.,  who  married  Harriett  C.  Kimberly  of  Auburn,  by  whom  he  has  one 
daughter,  Marion  C.  He  was  educated  in  Rose  Union  School,  Auburn  Academy  and  Roch- 
ester Business  University,  from  which  he  graduated  May  27,  1885.  He  is  now  clerk  of 
the  Board  of  Revision,  Pension  Bureau,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  resigning  the  offices  of 
assessor  and  excise  commissioner  of  Rose  when  he  received  the  appointment;  Ezra  A., 
born  in  Rose  January  27,  1866,  and  educated  at  the  Rose  Union  School.  He  is  a 
fanner  and  makes  a  specialty  of  breeding  Hambletonian  horses,  and  at  present  owns 
Ezra  A.,  which  has  a  record  of  2.27  1-2.  Mr.  Sherman  has  been  town  clerk  one  term  ; 
and  Harriet  E.,  wife  of  Mauley  G.  Fowler  of  Rochester,  and  who  lias  a  son  born  on 
September  10,  1894. 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  41 

M.    HOPKINS. 

M.  Hopkins,  attorney,  was  born  in  Ontario,  September  13,  1835.  He  was  reared  on 
a  farm  and  attended  the  common  schools,  later  studying  law  with  H.  K.  Jerome,  and 
D.  B.  Mclntyre  of  Palmyra,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  December,  1860.  After  the 
war  Mr.  Hopkins  began  practice  in  Palmyra.  In  1892  he  took  into  partnership  F.  E. 
Converse,  a  native  of  Palmyra,  who  had  studied  law  with  him  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1890.  In  addition  to  his  practice,  Mr.  Hopkins  also  has  large  farming  interests, 
raising  trotting  horses,  short  horn  cattle,  and  Shropshire  sheep  as  specialties.  His 
father,  Joseph,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1800,  came  to  this  town  about  1824,  and 
died  December  25,  1889.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  district  attorney  three  years.  In  1873  he 
he  married  Rebecca  S.,  daughter  of  Martin  Butterfield,  formerly  a  member  of  Congress, 
from  this  district,  and  of  their  two  daughters,  one  survives. 


PART  III. 

FAMILY  SKETCHES 


FAMILY  SKETCHES. 


Terry,  George  H.,  was  born  in  Elba,  Genesee  county,  November  11,  1865,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  and  finished  at  the  select  school  of  E.  G.  Thrall,  of  Ba- 
tavia,  after  which  he  established  a  manufacturing  business  in  Toronto.  Selling  out  in 
1886,  he  traveled  six  years  and  January  1,  1893,  bought  the  wallpaper,  window  shades, 
room  and  picture  moldings  business  of  Jacob  Sees  in  Lyons,  to  which  he  has  added 
largely,  and  is  now  carrying  the  finest  line  of  his  goods  in  Wayne  county.  He  also 
does  a  large  wholesale  trade,  shipping  goods  to  all  parts  of  New  York  State  and  Can- 
ada. At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  married  Myrtle  V.,  daughter  of  Calvin  S.  Loomis,  of 
Batavia,  N.  Y.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  active  business  men  in  his  town,  iden- 
tified in  advancing  its  best  interests,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity 
and  worth. 

Taylor,  E.  P.,  was  born  in  Lyons  February  27,  1833.  His  father,  Elijah,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Northampton,  Mass.,  and  came  to  Lyons  in  1822  and  followed  the  manufactur- 
ing of  leather  for  fifty-three  years.  The  same  business  is  now  continued  by  the  son 
William  in  Lyons.  E.  P.  Taylor  was  educated  at  the  Lyons  Union  School  and  then  en- 
tered the  tanning  business.  In  1869  he  bought  the  A.  F.  Redfield  tannery  at  Clyde  in 
connection  with  his  brother  Lathrop,  continuing  up  to  1884,  when  he  disposed  of  his 
interest  to  his  brother  George  J.  In  the  same  year  he  bought  the  Oliver  Penoyer 
farm  four  miles  north  of  Lyous  of  125  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Juliette  Paton,  daughter  of  James  and  Mehitable  Dunn, 
of  Lyons,  and  who  are  the  parents  of  two  children :  Elijah  D.  and  Mrs.  Lettie  M. 
Langdon.  Our  subject  has  been  prominently  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests 
of  the  town  of  Galen,  having  been  trustee  of  School  District  No.  4  in  1875  and  1876, 
building  the  south  side  school  house  during  his  term  of  office.  He  was  supervisor  in 
1877-1878  and  was  appointed  county  treasurer  by  the  Board  of  Supervisors  for  the 
year  1879,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  having  been  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  thirty-five  years,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling 
integrity  and  worth,  whose  life  has  proven  his  word  to  be  as  good  as  his  bond. 

Townsend,  Jonathan,  was  born  in  Hebron,  Conn.,  December  13,  1787,  and  died  at 
Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  September  15,  1853.  He  was  the  eldest  of  six  children.  Early  in  life 
he  removed  with  his  father  to  Brattleboro,  Vermont.  They  were  merchants  in  that 
place  for  several  years.  From  Vermont  they  removed  to  Marcy,  Oneida  county.  N.  Y., 
and  purchased  a  large  dairy  farm.  It  was  on  this  farm  his  father  was  killed  by  a  bull 
October  8,  1820,  aged  fifty-eight  years.  He  married  Ruth  Hubbard,  of  Trenton, 
Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  March  13,  1827,  who  was  born  in  Middletown,  Conn.,  April  15, 
1791,  and  died  at  Palmyra,  N  Y.,  May  27,  1860.  From  Marcy  he  removed  to  Ashta- 
bula, Ohio,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  for  a  short  time.  From 
that  place  he  came  to  reside  in  Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  in  1836,  and  bought  a  farm  of  one 
hundred  acres.  They  had  two  children  :  Mary  Elizabeth  Townsend,  born  in  Marcy, 
Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  October  21,  1830,  and  died   at   Palmyra,    N.  Y.,  September  7, 


4  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

1872.  She  was  married  to  John  Pitkin,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  November  29,  1855; 
George  Hubbard  Townsend,  born  at  Marcy,  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  November  3,  1833, 
died  at  Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  January  5,  1892.  November  22,  1862,  he  married  Isabella 
J.  Johnson  who  was  born  at  Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  October  20,  1839,  daughter  of  David 
Johnson  by  his  second  wife,  Juliana  Case  (maiden  name  Kelsey),  who  was  born  in 
Portland,  Conn.,  March  1,  1804,  died  at  Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  July  7,"  1877.  They  had  two 
children:  Jonathan,  who  died  August  25,  1864,  aged  three  months,  and  George  John- 
son Townsend,  born  at  Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  August  26,  1868,  and  is  now  living  with  his 
mother  on  the  farm  near  Palmyra. 

Talcott,  Benjamin  Arad,  was  born  in  Huron  on  the  farm  he  now  owns  September 
10,  1862,  the  son  of  Joseph  Talcott,  born  on  the  same  place  in  1821.  He  was  the  son 
of  Arad  Talcott,  a  native  of  Coventry,  Conn.,  who  came  to  Huron  with  an  ox  team  in 
1817,  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  our  subject,  where  he  and  wife  spent  the 
rest  of  their  days.  Joseph  is  now  a  retired  farmer,  living  in  the  town  of  Wolcott. 
His  wife  is  Celestia  Chapin,  and  their  children  are:  Cornelia,  widow  of  Jacob  Gurnee, 
of  Huron  ;  Mary  Ella,  wife  of  William  Baker,  of  Wolcott,  and  Benjamin  A.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-one  our  subject  began  for  himself  on  the  homestead  farm,  making  a 
specialty  of  fruit  growing.  In  January,  1891,  he  married  Nellie,  daughter  of  Judson 
and  Electa  Boynton,  of  Wolcott,  who  was  born  in  1S66,  and  they  have  one  child,  Lois 
E.,  born  April  11,  1894.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Wolcott  Grange,  and  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

Thacker,  William  H.,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Thacker  Bros.  &  Co.,  of  Wolcott, 
was  born  June  26,  1833,  at  Owasco,  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.  He  came  to  Wolcott  in 
1840,  and  until  forty  years  of  age  his  principal  occupation  was  farming.  He  moved  to 
Wolcott  village  in  1873.  In  1875  the  present  business  was  established  in  copartnership 
with  his  brother,  Albert  B.,  and  has  grown  to  be  the  most  important  retail  business  of 
Wolcott,  with  dry  goods,  boots  and  shoes  and  groceries  as  specialties.  September  5, 
1855,  he  married  Augusta  M.  Rice,  of  Wolcott.  In  1868  they  united  with  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Wolcott.  Mr.  Thacker  has  held  many  positions  of  trust  in  Wolcott, 
attesting  the  esteem  and  confidence  in  which  he  is  justly  held.  Among  them  might  be 
mentioned  twenty-five  years  of  service  in  the  Board  of  Education  of  Leavenworth 
Institute,  and  Wolcott  Union  School. 

Traver,  Asa,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  January  16,  1837.  His  father,  Daniel, 
came  to  Wayne  county  in  1830.  He  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  his  town  and  died 
July  5,  1870,  aged  eighty-five  years,  Asa  Traver  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  After  leaving 
school  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  married  Lovina, 
daughter  of  Heman  Shepard,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Heman  D.  Traver. 
In  1869  he  came  to  Clyde  and  purchased  the  Myers  property;  in  1872  purchased  the 
Melzer  Whittlesey  farm,  having  112  acres,  raising  fruit,  grain  and  stock. 

Thomas.  Andrew  A.,  was  born  in  Huron  November  16,  1856,  son  of  William  Henry 
Thomas,  of  Huron,  a  native  of  Cayuga  county,  born  April  25,  1823.  The  grandparents 
were  Alexander  and  Ruth  (Hart)  Thomas,  of  Amsterdam.  The  father  of  our  subject 
was  bound  out  at  the  age  of  seven  years  to  learn  the  weaver's  trade.  When  eighteen  he 
came  to  Huron  and  engaged  in  the  business  for  himself.  His  wife  was  Emeline 
Graham,  of  Rochester,  and  their  children  were:  Andrew  and  Eliza  Jane,  deceased 
wife  of  Henry  Kline,  of  Huron.  Our  subject  has  devoted  his  life  to  farming.  In  1883 
he  married  Matie  A.,  daughter  of  Lewis  and  Rebecca  Kline,  of  Huron.  He  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Huron  Grange. 

Terry,  Fred  H.,  was  born  in  Clyde,  August  3,  1854.  His  father,  Alfred  F.  Terry, 
was  a  native  of  Long  Island  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  the  village  of  Clyde. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  5 

Fred  H.  Terry,  after  leaving  school,  entered  a  drug  store  in  Clyde,  where  he  remained 
a  short  time  and  then,  in  1872,  went  to  Sioux  City.  Here,  in  connection  with  his 
father,  he  ran  a  steamboat  in  the  U.  S.  government  employ,  carrying  Indian  supplies 
from  Sioux  City  to  Fort  Benton,  Montana,  and  freighted  the  first  cargo  of  lumber  and 
building  materials  that  reached  the  city  of  Bismarck  on  the  Missouri  river.  He  re- 
turned to  Clyde  in  1S73  and  entered  the  employ  of  Dr.  -J.  E.  Smith.  In  1876  he 
bought  out  J.  P.  Pardee  and  succeeded  him  in  the  drug  business.  Mr.  Terry  is  now  one 
of  the  leading  druggists  in  the  town.  He  married  Miss  Katie  Wood,  daughter  of  Henry 
Wood,  and  to  them  one  child,  Viva,  has  been  born. 

Turner,  Dr.  Jennie,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Manchester,  a  daughter  of  John  Turner, 
who  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  that  town.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  she  entered  the 
Academy  at  Newark,  obtaining  a  teacher's  certificate  at  sixteen,  teaching  in  that  school 
for  two  years.  In  1872  she  entered  the  Cortland  Normal  and  graduated  in  1874,  and 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  took  charge  of  the  school  at  Dryden,  Tompkins  county,  as 
one  of  the  principals,  resigning  in  1877.  The  same  year  she  entered  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Michigan,  graduating  in  1879.  Afterwards  a  year  was 
spent  in  the  New  England  Hospital  for  Women  and  Children  at  Boston.  Willi  this 
ripe  experience  she  came  to  Lyons  in  1881  and  at  once  took  a  prominent  part  in  prac- 
tice. During  the  past  five  years  she  has  been  secretary  of  the  Wayne  County  Medical 
Society,  and  she  is  frequently  called  in  consultation  by  leading  physicians  of  the  county. 
She  was  a  partner  during  the  first  three  years  of  her  practice  at  Lyons  with  Dr.  C.  C. 
Hall.  Dr.  Turner  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  an  active  worker  in  all 
movements  for  the  uplifting  of  society.  While  at  college  and  at  school  she  distin- 
guished herself  as  a  fine  student  and  her  career  as  a  physician  has  been  marked  by 
severe  study  and  laborious  practice. 

Thayer,  Aldrich,  was  born  in  Macedon,  May  16,  1800,  the  fifth  often  children  of 
William  and  Chloe  (Preston)  Thayer,  natives  of  Massachusetts,  who  came  to  New 
York  in  1800,  and  settled  in  Palmyra  (now  Macedon),  being  pioneers  of  Wayne  county. 
The  grandfather,  William,  also  of  Massachusetts,  came  to  Macedon  and  spent  his  last 
days  with  his  son,  William.  He  died  at  about  eighty  years  of  age.  William  Thayer,  jr., 
came  to  Ontario  about  1820,  and  bought  land  on  the  Lake  road.  He  died  in  1822, 
and  his  wife  in  1838.  Aldrich  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  has  always  been  engaged  in 
farming.  He  now  has  about  seventy-six  acres,  and  has  given  his  sons  about  140  acres. 
His  son,  William,  now  carries  on  the  business  on  both  farms.  Mr.  Thayer  has  been 
twice  married,  first  to  Hulda  Olcott,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children,  two  sons,  one  liv- 
ing, and  two  daughters  living.  She  died  in  1837,  and  he  married  second,  Mary  Ann. 
daughter  of  Josiah  and  Electa  (Rogers)  McKee,  by  whom  he  has  had  five  children,  three 
sons,  two  living,  and  two  daughters,  now  living.  In  politics  Mr.  Thayer  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  Mrs.  Thayer  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church. 

Taylor,  Emcgene,  daughter  of  the  late  Arthur  Bowen,  of  Fulton,  was  born  there  in 
1845,  and  came  to  Red  Creek  with  her  parents  when  five  years  of  age.  January  1, 
1860,  she  married  Bennet  Taylor,  who  entered  the  Union  army  in  1864,  and  lost  his 
life  at  Newbern,  N.  C,  at  the  age  of  thirty.  He  left  two  daughters  :  Minnie,  now  Mrs. 
Robert  Worden ;  and  Libbie,  the  wife  of  Fred  Owen.  In  1874  Mrs.  Taylor  built  the 
commodious  hotel,  known  as  the  Taylor  House,  conducting  it  in  person,  and  with  much 
satisfaction  to  her  patrons. 

Tyrrell,  J.  S.,  was  born  in  1838  at  Plainfield,  Mass.,  and  is  the  son  of  Ezra  Tyrrell,  a 
manufacturer  of  wooden  ware  at  that  place.  The  Tyrrells  are  conspicuous  for  lon- 
gevity, Ezra  being  now  ninety-five  years  of  age.  His  wife,  Lucy  (Lowden),  died  in 
1864,  leaving  six  children,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the  sole  representative  in  Wayne 
county.     J.  S.  Tyrrell  is  a  man  of  original  thought  and  indomitable  will,  and  has  hewed 


6  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

his  own  way  to  success  in  life,  having  been  dependent  upon  the  public  schools  of  New- 
England  for  his  educational  advantages  in  youth.  His  various  business  enterprises  in 
real  estate,  crockery,  and  evaporated  fruits,  do  not  wholly  engross  his  energies,  as  he 
also  operates  three  farms,  one  of  which  is  conducted  by  his  youngest  son.  George  F. 
His  wife  was  Cynthia  E.  Leonard,  of  Northampton,  Mass.,  and  they  were  married 
September  26,  1859,  and  had  five  children  :  Mary  A.,  Walter  V.,  George  F.,  Mabel  L., 
and  Leila  B.  Mr.  Tyrrell  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  has  been  honored  with  various 
positions  of  trust.  He  and  his  wife  and  children  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

Thomas,  Byron,  was  born  in  Berlin,  Rensselaer  county,  December  12,  1843.  The 
family  came  to  Newark  in  1857,  where  our  subject  received  his  education  in  the  Union 
school  and  the  academy.  He  first  taught  school,  and  later  was  a  clerk  in  the  post- 
office.  He  then  entered  the  First  National  Bank  of  Newark  as  a  clerk,  was  promoted 
through  the  several  grades  to  the  position  of  cashier,  which  he  held  for  a  number  of 
years.  In  1884  he  was  elected  county  clerk,  and  removing  to  Lyons,  took  possession 
of  the  office  January  1,  1885,  serving  three  years.  He  Avas  also  trustee  of  the  village  of 
Lyons  two  years,  clerk  of  the  village  of  Newark,  and  trustee  also  of  the  railway  com- 
missioners of  the  town.  May  23,  1871,  he  married  Ellen  C.  Smith,  of  Newark,  and 
they  have  one  daughter,  Martha  A.,  a  student  in  Utica.  Rowland,  father  of  Byron, 
was  also  born  in  Berlin,  February  23,  1807.  He  went  to  Hancock,  Mass.,  where  he 
read  medicine  with  his  cousin,  Dr.  P.  H.  Thomas,  then  took  a  course  in  Berkshire  Med- 
ical Institute  at  Pittsfield,  the  medical  department  of  Williams  College,  graduating  in 
1831.  He  then  attended  lectures  in  Albany  for  three  years,  and  began  practice  at 
Petersburg,  N.  Y.,  with  Dr.  Hiram  Moses,  remaining  nine  years.  Returning  to  Berlin, 
he  practiced  with  distinguished  success  until  1857,  when  he  removed  to  Newark  for  the 
purpose  of  educating  his  son.  He  was  always  interested  in  educational  matters,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  a  period  of  twelve  years.  He  was  a  Re- 
publican in  politics.  His  wife  was  Adeha  M.  Hinsdill,  of  Bennington,  Vt,,  and  their 
children  were:  Byron,  and  a  daughter,  who  died  in  infancy.  He  died  June  13,  1892, 
and  his  wife,  June  7,  1893.  A  sister,  Martha,  now  85  years  of  age,  survives  him  and 
resides  with  Byron  at  the  old  homestead  in  Newark. 

Van  Buskirk,  Jacob  Tremper,  was  born  at  Buskirk's  Bridge,  N.  Y.,  May  5,  1823.  at 
which  place  he  passed  the  earlier  years  of  his  life.  In  1842  he  came  to  Clyde,  and  re- 
sided here  from  that  date  until  his  death,  June  2,  1891.  He  was  postmaster  at  Clyde 
during  President  Taylor's  administration  from  1849  to  1853,  and  served  as  deputy- 
postmaster  for  more  than  twenty  years.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral Railroad,  in  1854,  he  was  appointed  the  first  ticket  agent  in  Clyde.  He  was 
amongst  the  first  to  volunteer  his  services  in  the  Rebellion,  enlisting  as  first  lieutenant 
of  Company  B,  111th  N.  Y.  Volunteers,  and  on  his  departure  to  the  front  he  was  pre- 
sented with  a  handsome  and  valuable  sword  by  the  citizens  of  Clyde.  This  sword  is 
now  the  property  of  his  eldest  son,  a  cherished  emblem  and  revered  heirloom.  At  the 
surrender  of  Harper's  Ferry,  in  1862,  Lieutenant  Van  Buskirk  was  taken  prisoner, 
parolled,  and  afterward  honorably  discharged.  In  1869  he  was  elected  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  held  the  position  continuously  by  re-election  until  his  death,  covering  a 
period  of  nearly  twenty- four  years.  He  also  served  one  term  as  justice  of  sessions. 
Mr.  Van  Buskirk  was  an  active  member  of  Snedaker  Post,  No.  173,  G.  A.  R.,  serving 
as  its  commander  and  adjutant.  He  was  prominently  connected  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  being  an  elder  therein  from  1868  to  1880,  and  superintendent  of  its  Sunday 
school  from  1859  to  1872.  In  all  positions  in  life  he  conscientiously  discharged  his 
duties  with  characteristic  fidelity;  he  was  honored  with  many  offices  of  trust,  which 
he  ably  filled  to  the  lasting  benefit  of  his  constituents.  April  5,  1849,  he  married  Phoebe 
S.  Lyron,  who  died  February  14,  1886.  Five  children  survive  them,  viz. :  Albert  M., 
of  Clyde;   Amelia  L.,  and  Barton  W.,  of  Rochester;  George  A.,   of  Massilon,   0.,  and 


FAMILY  SKETCHES:  7 

Henry  J.,  of  Toledo,  0.  Albert  M.  Van  Buskirk  was  the  first  superintendent  and 
local  manager  of  the  Clyde  Water  Works,  and  held  the  position  until  his  resignation  in 
1891,  when  he  removed  to  Greencastle.  Ind.,  and  took  charge  of  the  water  works  at 
that  city.  He  subsequently  returned  to  his  native  town,  and  resumed  newspaper  work 
on  the  Clyde  Times,  with  which  journal  he  has  been  connected  for  twenty  years,  suc- 
cessively serving  as  apprentice,  journeyman  and  local  editor.  In  the  spring  of  1894  he 
was  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  town  of  Galen. 

Taber,  Henry  R.,  born  in  Lewis  county,  January  21,  1829,  is  the  youngest  of  four 
children  of  Silas  and  Susanna  (Bristol)  Taber,  he  a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  born 
October  9,  1789,  and  she  a  native  of  Sand  Lake,  Rensselaer,  born  August  25,  1788.  He 
died  in  Palmyra,  June  5,  1875,  and  his  wife  April  30,  1876.  Our  subject  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  Marion  Academy,  and  Palmyra  Classical  Union  School,  and 
studied  law  with  Charles  McLouth,  of  Palmyra.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1865, 
since  which  he  has  followed  his  profession.  He  was  elected  justice  in  1858,  and  except 
one  and  one-half  years  has  since  filled  the  office.  He  has  been  justice  of  sessions  sev- 
eral times,  and  is  now  serving  his  eleventh  term  as  supervisor.  Mr.  Taber  married, 
May  14,  1850,  Thankful  M.,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (Srope)  Bilby,  of  Marion. 
Her  parents  died,  October  30,  1861,  and  December  1.  1864,  respectively.  Mr.  Taber 
and  wife  have  had  one  child,  Elida  J.,  who  resides  with  them. 

"Van  Duyne,  EzraM.,  living  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of  the  village,  is  the  son  of 
Abraham  W.  and  Sarah  Van  Duyne,  of  Phelps,  N.  Y.,  was  born  in  Palmyra,  Wayne 
county,  1ST.  Y.,  September  19,  1849,  he  being  one  of  eight  children,  two  living  in  Wayne 
county,  Ezra  and  Smith  Van  Duyne,  the  latter  living  at  Butler.  Ezra  was  educated  at 
the  Phelps  Union  School,  attending  winters  and  working  on  the  farm  during  the  sum- 
mer months;  was  married,  February  11,  1874,  to  Hattie  A.,  oldest  daughter  of  Daniel 
Harrington,  of  Savannah.  The  years  intervening  1874  and  1883  were  passed  in  But- 
ler. Mrs.  Ezra  Van  Duyne  now  occupies  the  home  in  which  she  was  born,  rebuilt,  bow- 
ever,  in  1864,  where  her  parents  settled  in  the  year  of  1847,  it  being  at  that  time  a 
wilderness.  Her  great-grandfather,  William  Harrington,  was  the  first  white  settler  in 
Butler.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Duyne,  are:  George  H.,  born  November  12, 
1874,  Delia  A.,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Bertha,  born  August  17,  1882.  Mr.  Van 
Duyne  is  a  Republican,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  church  of  the 
disciples  at  Butler.  The  parents  of  Mr.  Van  Duyne.  are  both  dead,  his  mother  dying 
March  26,  1881,  his  father  coming  to  Savannah  at  the  death  of  his  wife  to  reside.  In 
May,  1887,  he  was  severely  injured  in  a  railway  accident,  from  which  he  never  fully 
recovered,  his  death  occurring  September  2,  1887. 

Vanostrand,  Fred  L.,  a  native  of  Marion,  born  August  29, 1834,  is  the  second  of  nine 
children  of  Charles  and  Sally  (Sanford)  Vanostrand.  Her  father,  Stephen  Sanford,  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Marion,  came  from  Tiverton,  R.  I.,  and  settled  in  Marion  when 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  The  grandfather  was  Charles,  who  spent  most  of  his  life  in 
Saratoga  county  and  died  aged  ninety-four  years.  The  father  was  bound  to  millwright 
trade  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  went  to  Canada.  He  built 
the  first  saw  mill  in  Mexico,  and  put  up  the  first  thrasher  in  Western  New  York.  He 
died  in  Marion  in  1874,  aged  seventy-seven.  The  mother  still  survives.  Subject  was 
reared  on  the  farm  and  educated  at  the  Marion  Institute.  He  married  in  1858  Lydia, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Hannah  Dean,  of  Marion,  and  they  have  one  son  and  one  daugh- 
ter :  Byron  D.  and  Mary  H.  Byron  married  Eva  Brown,  and  is  county  superintendent 
of  public  schools  in  Marion,  Kan.;  is  a  graduate  of  Cornell  University,  and  is  also  a 
practicing  lawyer.  He  is  superintendent  of  city  schools  of  Marion,  Kan.  Mr.  Van- 
ostrand has  always  followed  farming,  his  home  being  in  Marion,  but  has  spent  some 
time  in  Kansas.  He  carries  on  general  farming  and  fruit  growing,  also  dairying.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Grange,  also  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  TJ.  W.,  and  of  Marion  Lodge 
No.  296.  * 


8  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

Ure,  Hosea,  of  Savannah,  was  born  in  1825,  at  Pompey,  Onondaga  county,  a  son 
of  William  and  and  Susan  (Drake)  Ure,  of  Pompey.  In  1826  they  moved  to  Volney 
(now  Palermo),  Oswego  county,  where  the  subject's  boyhood  was  spent.  His  parents 
being  poor,  and  being  left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  received  only  a  com- 
mon school  education.  He  became  a  Christian  in  1843,  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  ap- 
pointed to  the  Truxton  Circuit  in  1848,  joined  the  Onondaga  Conference  of  the  Metho- 
dist Protestant  church  in  1849,  was  ordained  in  1852,  and  was  in  the  active  work  of  the 
ministry  the  most  of  the  time  until  1890,  Wolcott  being  his  last  change.  He  has 
preached  as  pastor  in  Cortland,  Oswego,  Jefferson,  Lewis,  Herkimer,  Otsego,  Cayuga, 
and  Wayne  counties,  represented  our  conference  as  delegate  to  the  General  Conference 
in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  in  1870.  He  married  in  1847  Rhoda  A.  Howard,  of  Mexico,  N.  Y. 
The  mother  of  Darius  D.  Ure,  boni  in  1858,  is  now  in  Nebraska.  Rhoda  died  in  1849, 
and  in  1851  Mr.  Ure  married  Ruth  Blanchard,  of  Wayne  county,  and  their  children 
were  :  Charles  S.,  born  in  1852  ;  Rhoda,  born  in  1855  ;  Lineus,  born  in  1856  ;  Frank 
S.,  born  in  1858;  Mary  E.,  born  in  1862  ;  Nellie,  born  in  1868  ;  and  Hosea,  jr.,  born  in 
1870.  In  1882  Mr.  Ure  was  again  bereaved  of  his  wife,  and  in  1883  married  Charity 
Dean,  widow  of  Alonzo  L.  Dean,  and  now  lives  quietly  on  Clyde  street  in  Savannah. 

Van  Duser,  Sylvester  B.,  was  born  at  Fairville,  October  1,  1846.  His  early  life  was 
spent  in  his  father's  mill  and  on  the  farm,  and  received  his  education  from  the  public 
schools.  In  1863  he  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Second  Mounted  Rifles,  N.  Y.  Volunteers, 
and  was  mustered  into  service  February  4,  1864.  He  participated  in  all  the  engage- 
ments from  Spottsylvania  Court  House  to  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  and  was  honorably 
discharged  at  Buffalo,  August  10,  1865.  He  is  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99,  G. 
A.  R.,  department  of  New  York,  and  has  held  the  position  of  commander  three  years, 
and  was  re-elected  to  the  office  of  chaplain  last  December.  Upon  his  return  from  the 
army  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1865-66  he  attended  Marion  Academy,  and  then  occu- 
pied the  position  of  clerk  for  E.  P.  Soverhill  and  for  Soverhill  &  Nicholoy.  February 
22,  1872,  Mr.  Van  Duser  purchased  E.  P.  Soverhill's  interest  and  a  copartnership  was 
formed  with  W.  H.  Nicholoy,  under  the  firm  name  of  Nicholoy  &  Van  Duser.  This 
continued  twenty  years,  when  Mr.  Van  Duser  purchased  Mr.  Nicholoy's  interest  and  is 
conducting  the  general  dry  goods  business  on  his  own  account  with  success.  January 
2,  1872,  he  married  Ellen  A.  Eddy,  of  Taunton;  Mass.,  and  ihey  had  six  children:  S. 
Eddy,  died  in  infancy,  Sylvester  B.,  jr.,  Orville  B.,  Elizabeth  E.,  Douglas  H.,  and  G. 
Rhodes.  Mr.  Van  Duser's  father,  Robert  Van  Duser,  was  born  February  9,  1821.  For 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  was  a  miller,  but  later  took  up  farming.  September  22, 
1840,  he  married  Phebe  Rose  of  the  town  of  Arcadia,  and  to  them  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born:  Elizabeth,  Frances  A.,  Sylvester  B.  (as  noted  above),  Charles  E., 
Emma  O,  Robert  A.,  and  Hiram  A.  Mr.  Van  Duser  died  March  16,  1882,  but  his  wife 
is  still  living.  Mr.  Saul  Eddy  was  born  in  Taunton,  Mass.,  February  16, 1819.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  his  town  and  then  learned  the  mechanics'  trade. 
His  wife  was  Abby  Clark,  of  Taunton,  and  the  following  children  were  born  to  them: 
Emma  C,  Abby  A.,  Ellen  A.  (above  noted),  and  Alice  E.  Mrs.  Eddy  died  in  1857; 
her  husband  survives  and  resides  at  the  old  home.  Mr.  Sylvester  Van  Duser  is  an  of- 
ficial member  of  the  M.  E.  church  an  J  one  of  its  trustees.  Mrs.  Van  Dnser  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  church. 

Van  Valkenburg,  C.  F.,  was  born  at  Victory,  Cayuga  county,  November  6,  1848. 
When  eighteen  years  of  age  he  learned  the  jeweler's  trade  at  Port  Byron,  and  in  1869 
established  himself  at  Red  Creek,  where  he  remained  five  years.  In  1874  he  came  to 
Wolcott  as  a  partner  for  six  years  with  W.  D.  Campbell,  and  in  1880  established  an  in- 
dependent business,  now  conducted  by  his  son  Lee.  September  1,  1874,  he  married 
Alida  Williams,  of  Red  Creek,  and  they  have  two  children  :  Lee,  born  July  14,  1875, 
and  Genevieve,  born  July  4,  1878.  Mr.  Van  Valkenburg  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
Wolcott,  April  1,  1894. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  9 

Veeder,  Major  A.,  A.M.,  M.D.,  was  born  at  Ashtabula,  0.,  November  2,  1848,  lived  at 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  from  1850  to  1871,  graduating  from  the  classical  department  of  the 
Union  School  in  that  city  in  1866,  and  from  Union  College  in  1870,  was  principal  of 
Ives  Seminary  at  Antwerp,  N.  Y.  several  years.  Studied  in  Leipzig  University,  Ger- 
many, and  graduated  in  medicine  from  the  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of 
Buffalo  in  1883,  then  entered  upon  general  practice  at  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  for  three  years  in 
association  with  Dr.  E.  W.  Bottum  and  subsequently  alone.  Dr.  Veeder  is  a  member  in 
good  standing  of  the  Wayne  County  and  Central  New  York  Societies  and  has  read  and 
published  many  papers  upon  medical  topics.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  American  So- 
ciety of  Microscopists  and  has  been  employed  as  an  expert  to  give  evidence  of  this  class 
in  medico-legal  and  other  cases.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  investigators  to  adduce 
positive  evidence  that  freezing  does  not  purify  water  from  the  presence  of  living  mi- 
croscopic organisms,  a  point  whose  importa  nee  has  since  come  to  be  very  generally 
recognized.  His  contributions  to  Sanitary  Science  have  won  for  him  recognition,  and 
he  has  recently  been  honored  by  a  request  to  prepare  a  paper  to  be  read  at  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Hygiene  and  Demography  to  beheld  at  Buda  Pesth,  Austria.  Since 
1887  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science 
and  has  presented  to  that  body  the  results  of  his  own  original  researches  respecting 
certain  phases  of  meteorological  science,  which  are  beginning  to  attract  wide  spread  at- 
tention. These  results  have  been  set  forth  somewhat  in  detail  in  a  series  of  papers  which 
he  read  before  the  Rochester  (N.  Y.)  Academy  of  Science  and  which  have  been  publish- 
ed by  that  institution,  entitled  "The  Forces  Concerned  in  the  Development  of  Storms," 
"Thunderstorms,"  "The  Aurora"  and  "The  Zodiacal  Light."  As  the  result  of 
the  interest  aroused  by  these  and  other  articles,  he  was  invited  to  prepare 
papers  which  were  presented  at  the  International  Congress  of  Meteorology 
held  at  Chicago  in  1893  on  the  following  topics,  "Periodic  and  Non-periodic 
Fluctuation  in  the  Latitude  of  Storm  Tracks"  and  "An  International 
Cypher  Code  for  Correspondence  respecting  the  Aurora  and  Related  Conditions."  These 
researches  have  led  to  the  organization  of  a  system  of  concerted  observatories  of  the 
aurora  in  which  the  Arctic  explorers,Lieut.  Perry  and  Dr.  Nansen,  are  co-operating  with 
observers  scattered  throughout  every  part  of  the  earth  where  this  phenomenon  is  en- 
countered at  all.  The  results  of  these  organized  efforts  have  been  to  establish  an  anpar- 
ect  relation  of  the  aurora,  not  only  to  the  disturbances  of  the  earth's  magnetismwith 
which  it  has  long  been  known  to  be  associated,  but  also  to  thunderstorms,  and  to  certain 
very  definite  solar  conditions  in  a  manner  not  heretofore  suspected.  If  these  results, 
which  now  seem  highly  probable,  are  verified  completely  by  the  earnest  efforts  being 
made  to  that  end,  it  will  revolutionize  meteorology  absolutely.  In  connection  with  the 
studies  above  indicated  Dr.  Veeder  has  become  a  contributor  to  many  journals  both  in 
this  and  other  countries  and  has  entered  into  active  correspondence  with  investigators 
connected  with  various  societies  and  institutions  in  all  parts  of  the  earth.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Holland  Society  of  New  York,  whose  members  are  required  to  be  de- 
scendants in  the  direct  line  of  Hollanders  who  came  to  this  country  previous  to  1675,  he 
being  a  descendant  at  the  eighth  generation  of  Simon  Volkertse  Veeder,  who  was 
purser  of  the  ship  Prince  Maurice  of  the  Dutch  navy,  and  who  settled  in  New  Amster- 
dam (now  New  York)  in  1644,  and  who  was  a  member  of  the  pioneer  party  who  went 
from  Beaverwyck  (now  Albany)  in  1662,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  what  subsequent- 
ly became  the  city  of  Schenectady.  Dr.  Veeder  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  married  Mary 
E.,  daughter  of  Peleg  Wood  of  Schenectady,  and  they  have  four  children,  Albert  F., 
Willard  H.,  Sarah  E.,  and  Martha  A.  Veeder. 

Vrooman,  W.  R.,  D.D.S.,  was  born  in  Dixon,  111.,  December  5,  1858,  where  his  father, 
S.  A.  Vrooman,  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  He  is  a  direct  descendant  of 
the  old  Knickerbocker  stock,  amongst  whom  were  the  several  Vrooman  brothers  who 
came  from  Holland  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  the  Mohawk  Vailer  about  1760. 
At  an  early  age   he  removed   to    Canada  where   he  was  educated    at   St.  Catharine's 

h 


10  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Collegiate  Institute  and  Toronto  University;  and,  graduating  from  Toronto  Normal 
School,  taught  for  a  number  of  years  in  Ontario  successfully,  also  a  graduate  of  the 
Dental  Department  of  Toronto  University,  member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Dental 
Surgeons  and  honor  graduate  of  the  Pennsylvania  College  Dental  Surgery,  receiving 
the  honors  of  his  class  of  300  members.  In  188She  carne  to  Clyde  and  established  him- 
self in  his  profession  in  which  he  is  actively  engaged.  At  the  age  of  thirty-two  he 
married  Jessie  B.,  daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  J.  S.  L'Amoreaux,  of  Clyde.  They  are  the 
parents  of  one  daughter,  Marjorie  Roselle.  Thoroughly  scientific  in  his  attainments,  he 
employs  nothing  but  the  latest  and  most  scientific  methods  in  his  profession.  A  close 
student  and  lover  of  science,  he  is  now  pursuing  a  course  of  medical  studies  in  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  from  which  institution  he  expects  to  graduate  at  an  early 
date.  He  is  prominently  identified  with  the  Masonic  order,  being  a  member  of  Clyde 
Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Gnswold  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Zenobia  Commandery  Knights 
Templar  of  Palmyra,  N.  Y. 

Yan  Etten,  J.  W.,  was  born  in  Lyons,  March  11,  1833.  His  father,  Cornelius  W., 
was  a  native  of  Sussex,  N.  J.,  and  removed  to  the  town  of  Wolcott  in  1835.  He  died 
in  the  prime  of  manhood  at  the  age  of  thirty-five.  His  wife  Esther,  daughter  of  Jacob 
Westbrook,  of  Sussex  county,  N.  J.,  and  four  children  were  left :  Margaret,  Henry, 
John  W.,  and  Mary  J.,  of  whom  John  W.  is  the  sole  survivor.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  the  Lyons  Union  School,  and  took  business  course  at  the  Brvant  & 
Stratton  College  at  Buffalo,  graduating  in  1856,  after  which  he  read  law  with  William 
Clark  of  Lyons,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1862,  and  subsequently  admitted  to  the 
United  States  District  Court  as  attorney  and  counsellor  thereof.  At  the  age  of  thirty- 
seven  he  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  George  S.  Zeilley,  of  Fort  Plain.  Subject  is  and 
always  has  been  a  Republican,  and  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  in 
August,  1869,  holding  the  office  to  February,  1879,  also  takes  an  active  interest  in  edu- 
cational and  religious  matters.  He  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his 
town,  and  is  of  conservative  character  and  recognized  worth. 

Yanalstine,  H.  O.  is  the  son  of  John  J.,  who  was  a  very  prominent  man  in  this 
vicinity,  holding  for  a  period  of  thirty- five  years  the  position  of  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  died  in  1891,  leaving  a  family  of  seven  children,  of  whom  only  Henry  and  Jesse  are 
now  in  Wayne  county.  Henry  was  well  known  as  a  builHerfor  twenty-five  years,  and 
more  recently  as  the  proprietor  of  the  Red  Creek  Hotel,  purchased  and  converted  from 
the  Hotel  Wood  in  1883.  Mrs.  Yanalstine  was  before  her  marriage  Cordelia  Bogert, 
a  daughter  of  Samuel  Mason,  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  and  has  one 
daughter,  Mary  C.  Bogert,  now  the  wife  of  George  Cairns,  of  Colorado  Springs. 
Cordelia  Bogert  was  widowed  May  19,  1874,  and  five  years  later  became  the  wife  of 
Henry  Vanalstine.  Their  hotel  is  headquarters  for  traveling  men  in  Red  Creek,  and  is 
justly  renowned  for  the  excellence  of  its  cuisine,  which  is  under  the  personal  super- 
vision of  Mrs.  Yanalstine. 

Van  Der  Yeer,  H.  E. — The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  of  Holland  descent  and  traces  the 
genealogy  of  his  family  for  seven  generations  to  Cornelius  Jans  Van  Der  Veer,  who 
emigrated  in  the  ship  Otter  in  the  spring  of  1659  from  the  province  of  Alkmeer,  Hol- 
land, and  settled  in  Flatbush,  Kings  county,  N.  Y.,  and  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Van 
Der  Veer  family  of  New  Jersey  and  Long  Island.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was 
Garrett  Van  Der  Veer,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born  in  1765,  who  married  Rachael 
Covenhoven,  a  native  of  Monmouth  county,  N.  J.,  on  whose  father's  farm  the  battle  of 
Monmouth,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  was  fought,  when  she,  with  others  of  the  family, 
offered  their  help  by  furnishing  water,  and  other  offers  of  kindness  during  the  battle 
and  after  it  was  over.  Garrett  Van  Der  Veer,  the  father,  was  born  in  Montgomery 
county,  May  9,  1813.  married  Mary  Allen,  who  was  born  June  4,  1814,  removed  to 
Wayne  county  in  1847,  and  settled  ai  Marion.  She  died  December  1,  1890.  Mr.  Van 
Der  Veer  has  devoted  much  of  his  time  in  later  years  to  the  manufacture  of  machines  of 


FAMILV   SKETCHES.  11 

his  own  invention,  for  packing  evaporated  apples.  He  also  kept  a  temperance  hotel  at 
Marion  for  several  years.  Henry  E.  Van  Der  Veer,  the  only  child,  was  born  in  .Mont  - 
gomery  county,  April  27,  1843,  was  reared  in  the  village  of  Marion,  where  he  received 
his  education  at  the  Marion  Collegiate  Institute.  At  an  early  age  he  commenced  busi- 
ness as  clerk  for  F.  &  J.  B.  Reeves,  which  he  followed  in  that  place  and  Palmyra.  He 
was  also  clerk  daring  the  war  in  the  commissary  department  at  Fort  Gibson,  Indian 
Territory,  and  also  traded  and  acted  as  clerk  for  Indian  traders  in  Southern  Kansas  and 
Indian  Territory.  In  1866  he  returned  to  Marion  and  engaged  in  the  drug  business  for 
himself.  In  1873  he  removed  to  Ontario,  where  he  has  since  conducted  a  successful 
business.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  was  appointed  postmaster  in  1803.  He  is  a  member 
of  Wayne  Lodge  No.  416,  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  of  Cyrene  Tent  No.  203,  K.  0.  T.  M.,  in  both 
of  which  he  holds  positions  of  honor.  February  22,  1870,  he  married  Annette  L., 
daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Clarissa  (Jennings)  Pratt,  who  were  among  the  first  settlers 
of  the  town  of  Williamson.  Mr.  Pratt  settled  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town  of 
Williamson  in  1811,  where  he  became  one  of  the  largest  land  owners  in  the  town.  They 
reared  a  large  family,  and  the  oldest  son,  Aaron  W.,  was  the  second  male  white  child 
born  in  Williamson.  In  1841  he  sailed  on  a  whaling  ship  under  Captain  Roise,  and  was 
on  board  the  ship  that  first  discovered  the  northwest  whaling  grounds.  Another  son. 
William  W.,  was  a  whaler  and  merchant  man  for  forty  years.  Of  a  large  family  that 
grew  to  maturity,  none  remained  on  the  land  for  which  their  ancestors  endured  the 
vicissitudes  of  pioneer  life. 

Willoughby,  S.  E.,  was  born  in  the  city  of  St.  Albans,  near  London,  England,  April 
18,  1826,  came  to  Clyde  from  London  in  1848,  and  having  learned  the  painter's  trade, 
established  the  same  business  in  Clyde,  the  firm  in  London  keeping  the  position  open 
for  him  if  he  should  determine  to  return  to  England.  For  forty  years  the  house  has 
been  the  leading  decorators  in  Wayne  county,  and  is  now  carrying  a  large  and  fine  stock 
of  wall  paper  and  house  furnishing  goods.  At  the  age  of  twenty -four,  subject  married 
Mapelet,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Finck.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest  merchants  in  the  town, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Wells,  Hon.  E.  B.,  was  born  in  Prattsburg,  Steuben  county,  April  22,  1834.  His 
fathe,  Ira  Wells,  was  a  manufacturer  of  fanning  mills,  and  was  one  of  the  best  known 
residents  of  Steuben  and  Wayne  counties.  He  married  Miss  Pamelia  Taylor,  daughter 
of  Elijah  Taylor,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  who  lived  to  mature  age. 
Mr.  Ira  Wells  died  in  1882  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven.  E.  B.  Wells,  after  leaving 
school,  learned  the  marble  cutter's  trade,  and  in  1855  went  into  business  in  Cherry 
Valley,  N.  T.  He  afterward  sold  out  his  business  there,  went  to  Fort  Plain,  N.  Y., 
and  in  1860  came  to  Clyde  and  established  his  present  business  as  dealer  in  granite  and 
marble  cemetery  work.  He  handles  both  imported  and  domestic  stock  and  has 
acquired  a  well- deserved  repuatation  for  fine  work.  At  the  age  of  thirty-two  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Alice  C.  Gregory,  daughter  of  Aaron  Gregory,  formerly  of  Mexico,  Oswego 
county,  N.  Y.  Mr.  Wells  has  been  very  prominent  in  public  affairs,  having  been  post- 
master for  two  terms,  supervisor  for  three  years,  and  member  of  assembly  two  terms, 
1872-1873. 

Williams,  Samuel,  is  a  citizen  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  prominence.  He  . 
was  born  July  10,  1833,  at  Copake,  Columbia  county,  and  his  parents  were  Thomas 
and  Polly  Williams,  both  deceased.  He  lived  at  his  birthplace  until  twenty- three 
years  of  years  of  age,  received  a  good  common  school  education,  and  after  engaging  in 
the  grocery  business  at  South  Butler  for  several  years,  located  in  1861  on  a  farm  of  200 
acres,  five  miles  northwest  of  Savannah,  and  upon  which  he  has  erected  an  elegant 
residence.  February  23,  1859,  he  married  Henrietta,  daughter  of  John  and  Polly  Gor- 
ham,  of  South  Butler,  N.  Y.,  and  they  had  these  children  :  Anna,  born  December  12, 
1859,  and  wife  of  Millard   Miller  of  South  Butler;  John  G.,  born  February  20,  1862, 


12  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

now  operating  the  homestead  farm.  He  married,  August  20,  1893,  Minnie  Shoecraft 
of  Butler  ;  George  R.,  born  August  19,  1864,  now  engaged  in  hardware  business  at 
Butler;  Mary  E.,  born  April  16,  1867;  and   Hattie,  born   February  6,  1874,  died  June 

19,  1884. 

Whitman,  Irving  A.,  was  born  in  Lyons  July  20,  1865.  His  father,  William,  also  of 
Lyons,  with  H.  S.  Moor,  now  deceased,  established  a  drug  business  in  1863,  and  was 
one  of  the  prominent  business  men  of  his  town.  Irvin  A.  was  educated  in  the  Lyons 
Union  School.  Taking  up  the  study  of  stenography  and  typewriting,  he  served  under 
Hon.  George  W.  Cowles  when  surrogate,  and  afterwards  entered  the  law  office  of 
Camp  &  Dunwell,  and  was  private  secretary  to  Hon.  J.  H.  Camp  for  four  years.  While 
there  he  made  the  study  of  pension  and  war  claims  a  specialty,  and  the  first  claim  prose- 
cuted was  granted  by  the  Bureau  of  Pensions,  and  which  commenced  payment  July 

20,  1865,  the  day,  month  and  vear  of  his  birth.  He  has  achieved  a  success  that  is  recog- 
nized throughout  the  United  States,  practicing  in  the  bureau  of  pensions,  the  patent 
department  and  the  treasury  department.  He  also  has  been  notary  public  for  the  past 
six  years.  In  1884  he  invented  an  automatic  freight  car  coupling  device,  which  was 
patented  July  21,  1885,  and  was  submitted  to  a  severe  test  by  the  Master  Car  Builders 
Association  in  September,  1885,  at  Buffalo,  which  was  successful  in  meeting  all  re- 
quirements. In  June,  1886,  it  was  tested  before  the  railroad  commissioners  at  Albany 
and  was  again  successful.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Mary  Ellen,  daugh- 
ter of  Garrett  Flavahan,  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  three  sons  ;  Stewart  C,  Irvin  Y., 
and  Burnard  C. 

Wood,  Charles,  was  born  in  Butler,  June  25,  1838.  His  father,  Horatio  N.  Wood,  a 
native  of  Oran<re  county,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1821  and  died  in  1861,  aged  fifty  - 
eight  years.  He  was  a  prominent  farmer  in  his  town,  which  he  represented  several 
years  on  the  Board  of  Supervisors.  Charles  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and 
finished  at  Red  Creek  Academy  and  Falley  Seminary  at  Fulton,  N.  Y.,  afterwards 
coming  to  Savannah,  where  he  established  his  present  business  of  lumber,  coal  and 
grain,  potatoes,  apples,  etc.,  of  which  he  handles  large  quantities.  He  is  a  Democrat, 
and  was  elected  supervisor  from  1872  to  1875.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married 
Louise  C.  Bell,  daughter  of  Charles  Bell,  of  Jordan,  Onondaga  county,  by  whom  he  has 
three  children :  Charles  II.,  of  Syracuse;  Helen  Mabel,  a  graduate  of  Syracuse  Uni- 
versity, and  at  present  a  teacher  in  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  Pa.;  and  Marielle 
Ruth,  a  student  at  the  same  institution. 

Whitlock,  Levi  J.,  was  born  in  Lyons  December  3,  1855.  His  father,  Benjamin,  was 
also  a  native  of  Lyons.  The  family  came  from  Orange  county  in  1814,  and  bought  the 
Peter  Yan  Etten  property.  Benjamin  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  Jane,  daugh- 
ter of  Philip  Swartwout  of  Orange  county.  Levi  J.  was  educated  at  the  Lyons  Union 
School,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  married 
Grace,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Cuddeback,  of  Phelps,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four 
children,  Cornelius  A.,  Neva  C,  Hope  and  Grace.  Our  subject  is  now  occupying  the 
old  Whitlock  homestead,  which  has  been  in  the  family  eighty  years,  raising  hay,  grain 
and  stock  and  making  a  specialty  of  pure  Jersey  butter,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to 
introduce  the  custom  of  dehorning  cattle  (in  Wayne  county).  The  subject  is  an  active 
energetic  man,  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  the  town. 

Willits,  E.  D.,  born  in  Ontario,  August  11,  1843,  is  a  son  of  Jonathan  and  Hannah 
(Knowles)  Willits,  he  is  a  native  of  Farmington,  Ontario  county,  and  she  of  Albany 
county,  N.  Y.  The  grandparents  came  from  New  Jersey  to  New  York  and  settled  in 
Ontario  county,  where  the  grandfather  died.  The  grandmother  then  came  and  lived 
with  her  son,  Jonathan,  in  Ontario.  Jonathan  came  to  Ontario  when  a  young  man  and 
purchased  a  farm,  part  of  which  subject  now  owns.  Mr.  Willits  resided  on  this  farm 
over  fifty  years.     He  was  a  Republican   in  politics,  and  in  religion   was  a  Friend.     He 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  i:i 

died  1880,  and  his  wife,  1878,  E.  D.  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  educated  at  the  com- 
mon and  select  schools.  He  has  for  twenty-six  years  followed  teaching  winters  and 
worked  his  farm  summers.  He  is  engaged  in  fruit  growing,  having  a  general  variety  of 
fruits.  His  wife  is  Sarah  (Allen)  Willits,  whom  he  married  February  18,  1869.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Freeman  and  Betsey  Allen,  of  Ontario.  In  politics  Mr.  Willits  is  a 
Republican,  has  been  justice  sixteen  years,  justice  of  sessions  sixteen  years,  and  is  now 
notary  public.  At  present  he  is  supervisor  of  Ontario.  He  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A. 
R.,  M.  M.  Fish  Post,  No.  406.     In  religion  Mr,  Willits  is  a  liberal  Christian. 

Woodhams,  R.  A.,  was  a  native  of  England,  born  December  11,  1835,  and  came  with 
his  parents  to  America  in  1850,  and  settled  in  Ontario, Wayne  county,  near  Furnaceville. 
When  they  came  to  America  the  family  consisted  of  Mr.  Walter  Woodhams,  his  wife 
Francis  (Walters)  Woodhams,  and  three  sons  and  four  daughters.  They  removed  from 
Furnaceville  to  the  Ridge  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Mr.  Howk,  where  they  resided 
till  his  death,  December  27,  1878.  His  first  wife  died  in  June,  1873,  and  he  married  in 
1875,  Hannah  Hutson,  who  now  resides  with  our  subject.  He  and  wife  were  Wesleyan 
Methodists,  and  a  son,  Roland,  is  a  presiding  elder  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  resides  at  Bay  City,  Mich.  Walter  Woodhams  was  a  member  of  the  8th 
New  York  Cavalry,  and  was  killed  near  Harper's  Ferry  in  1864.  Subject  commenced 
as  a  farm  hand  when  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  has  been  very  successful.  He 
now  owns  three  hundred  acres  in  Ontario,  where  he  lives  retired.  He  married  in  1862 
Dorcas  C.  Sabin,  born  April  13,  1837.  She  is  a  daughter  of  H.  M.  Sabin,  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  who  came  with  his  parents  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Gleason)  Sabin,  settled 
in  Macedon  and  then  in  Ontario,  where  he  died  December  19,  1832,  and  his  wife  in 
1846.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woodhams  have  no  children,  but  reared  an  adopted  son  and 
daughter,  George  and  Lizzie,  who  is  the  wife  of  C.  E.  Pound.  Mr.  Woodhams  in 
early  life  was  engaged  in  teaching.  Her  mother  was  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Hodges,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Ontario.  In  politics  Mr.  Woodhams  is  a  Republican, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  South  Shore  Grange,  No.  513. 

Winspear,  Charles  W.,  was  born  in  Elma.  Erie  county,  July  6,  1856,  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  and  reared  on  a  farm.  January  1,  1877,  he  was  appointed  clerk  in 
the  Erie  County  Alms  House  and  Insane  Asylum,  and  at  the  expiration  of  a  year  was 
promoted  to  the  position  of  deputy  keeper,  which  office  he  held  sixteen  years,  during 
ten  of  which  he  was  a  special  agent  for  the  State  Board  of  Charities.  In  1893  he  re- 
signed these  positions  to  accept  the  superintendency  of  the  New  York  State  Custodial 
Asylum  for  Feeble  Minded  Women,  at  Newark.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  is 
a  member  of  Washington  Lodge,  No.  240,  of  Buffalo,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Acacia  Club  (Masonic),  and  the  Audubon  Shooting  Club,  of  Buffalo.  His 
wife,  Gertrude  E  ,  is  a  native  of  Lancaster,  Erie  county,  where  she  had  a  large  expe- 
rience in  teaching.  She  has  the  distinction  of  having  passed  with  the  highest  percent- 
age over  all  contestants  in  the  examination  in  the  higher  grammar  grades  in  the  public 
schools  of  Buffalo. 

Weed,  Luther,  born  in  Galen,  on  the  homestead,  in  1835,  son  of  Selleck  Weed,  a  na- 
tive of  Connecticut,  whose  father  was  Abram,  a  lumber  manufacturer  in  Washington 
county,  who  was  accidentally  killed  in  his  mill  by  a  cake  of  ice  falling  on  him.  Selleck 
came  to  Galena  in  1812,  and  married  Temperance  Owens.  Their  children  were :  Lu- 
cinda,  Selleck,  Lydia,  Ann,  Rhoda,  Harry,  Benjamin,  Lewis  and  Luther.  In  1853  our 
subject  purchased  a  farm  in  Oneida  county,  and  two  years  later  returned  to  Galen, 
where  he  conducted  the  homestead  farm  until  1865,  when  he  came  to  Huron,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  In  1853  he  married  Catharine,  daughter  of  John  and  Catharine  Wit- 
beck,  born  in  Columbia  county,  in  1835.  Their  children  are :  Charles  R,,  Ella  (de- 
ceased), Stella,  wife  of  Mortimer  Cox,  of  Wolcott;  and  Cora,  wife  of  Charles  H.  Wood- 
ruff, of  Huron.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weed  have  two  grandchildren,  Bertha  E.  Weed  and 
Harry  (Weed)  Woodruff.     Subject  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  and  has 


14  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

served   as  commissioner  of    highways,   and  he  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Huron 
Grange,  which  was  organized  in  their  house  in  1873. 

Wheeler,  Justus  J.,  was  born  upon  the  site  of  his  present  home,  October  24,  1834. 
He  is  one  of  a  family  of  five  children,  of  whom  only  himself  and  one  sister  now  sur- 
vive. His  mother,  Clara,  died  in  1857.  and  his  father,  Willaid,  two  yeais  later.  Justus, 
until  about  forty  years  of  age,  was  a  carpenter  and  joiner,  but  has  for  twenty-one 
years  devoted  himself  to  the  culture  of  the  old  homestead  purchased  in  1872.  July  11, 
1864,  he  married  Alice,  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Icy  Woodruff,  of  Frankfort,  Herkimer 
county,  N.  Y.  Alice  was  born  March  4,  1848.  They  have  two  children,  Jennie,  born 
September  21,  1865,  and  Claude  J.,  born  May  30,  1872.  Jennie  was  engaged  for  sev- 
eral years  in  teaching  school,  until  July  2,  1893,  when  she  married  Andy  W.  Whitbeck, 
of  Savannah,  N.  Y.  Claude,  also  a  school  teacher,  is  now  at  home  engaged  in  farming 
and  the  evaporation  of  fruits.  Having  developed  considerable  mechanical  genius,  in 
1893,  he  secured  a  patent  upon  a  fruit  bleacher  of  his  own  invention  and  construction, 
which  has  proved  to  be  of  peculiar  merit. 

Wadsworth,  Philip,  whose  birthplace  is  still  his  domicile,  is  the  son  of  Danford  and 
Eliza  A.  Wadsworth,  who  took  up  residence  in  Butler,  in  those  days  when  "Amid  the 
forest  solitude  his  echoing  axe  the  settler  swings,"  and  none  bore  a  stouter  heart  than 
the  young  pioneer  from  Vermont,  hewing  out  a  home  from  the  provincial  wilderness. 
Danford  Wadsworth  died  June  19,  1861,  when  but  fifty-one  years  of  age,  and  Philip 
is  his  only  son.  November  4,  1863,  Philip  married  Mary  T.  Rice,  of  Butler,  and  their 
children  are  :  Velona  J.,  the  wife  of  Lincoln  Doty ;  Henry  D.  Harvey  R.,  Lemuel  G., 
and  one  daughter,  Sarah  M.,  who  October  19,  1887,  aged  twenty-two  years. 

Willard,  William  G.,  was  born  in  Ontario,  December  23,  1855,  the  eldest  son  of  nine 
children  of  George  and  Adelaide  (Gibbs)  Willard.  George  Willard,  son  of  William  and 
Sarah  Willard,  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Salehurst,  Sussex  county,  England,  Septem- 
ber 4,  1829,  and  emigrated  to  the  United  States  of  America  March  13,  1849.  Adelaide 
Gibbs,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Amy  Gibbs,  born  in  Whichford  , Warwickshire,  England, 
July  6,  1831,  and  emigrated  to  the  United  States  of  America  April  3.  1850.  In  1852 
they  were  untited  in  marriage  and  came  to  Ontario,  and  in  1856  settled  on  the  farm 
where  Mrs.  Willard  now  resides.  George  Willard  died  December  16,  1890,  The  chil- 
dren of  Mr.  Willard  and  wife  were  as  follows:  Harriet  A.,  born  October  13,  1853  ;  Wil- 
liam G.,  born  December  23.  1855  ;  Frank  E.,  born  September  26,  1857;  Avise  M.,  born 
August  28,  1860;  Lorenzo  P.,  born  November  26,  1862;  Annie  E.,  born  May  31,  1867; 
Peter  J.,  born  May  21,  1869;  May  S.,  born  June  11,  1871;  Carrie  A.,  born  December 
17,  1876.  Harriet  died  September  21,  1854.  They  are  all  married  except  Carrie  and 
May  S.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  Chili  Seminary.  He  followed  farming  until 
1883  when  he  came  to  Lakeside  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  where  he  has 
been  very  successful.  He  carries  a  full  line  of  boots  and  shoes,  hardware,  crockery, 
paints,  oils,  dye  stuffs,  glass,  drugs,  medicines  and  fane)'  goods,  also  hats  and  caps.  He 
married,  March  29,  1883,  Emma  A.  Ray,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  (Fowler)  Ray.     He  and  family  attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Lakeside. 

Williams,  Henry,  a  native  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  born  December  25, 
1830,  was  the  youngest  of  two  sons  of  John  Williams  and  Nancy  Williams,  he  a  native 
of  New  Jersey,  and  she  of  New  Jersey.  Henry  learned  the  blacksmith  trade  when  a 
young  man,  but  farming  has  been  his  chief  occupation.  He  married  Jane,  daughter  of 
James  and  Honor  Barker,  he  a  native  of  England,  and  she  of  England.  Mr.  Barker 
came  to  America  in  1829.  He  bought  the  farm  now  owned  by  the  Williams  family, 
when  it  was  a  wilderness,  and  cleared  it  and  made  many  improvements.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Williams  have  had  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  one  son  and  two  daughters 
are  deceased:  Honor,  wife  of  Rufns  Schemmerhorn,  of  Ontario;  Cora,  wife  of  James 
V.Allen,  Rochester;   Roy,  at  home;   B.   II.,    and   Wallace,   are  now   carrying  on   the 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  15 

farm,  engaged  in  general  farming  and  fruit  raising,  also  evaporating  fruit.  Wallace 
married,  January  18,  1888,  Eliza  Bean,  daughter  of  Albert  and  Emma  Jane  (Hurley) 
Bean,  of  Ontario,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Susie,  born  March  30,  1893.  Mr.  Will- 
iams commenced  farming  in  Ontario  about  1858  on  the  Barker  farm,  then  bought  a 
small  place,  where  he  lived  seventeen  years.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Barker  he  bought 
the  farm  where  he  resided  until  his  death,  December  20,  1890.  Mrs.  Williams  still  "re- 
sides on  the  homestead,  aged  fifty-nine  years.  Her  father,  James  Barker,  died  1864, 
and  her  mother  1876.  The  family  are  of  very  strong  temperance  sentiments,  and  in 
religion  are  Methodists. 

Wilder,  F.  S.,  was  born  in  Russell.,  St.  Lawrence  county,  N.  Y.,  June  19,  1850,  the 
son  of  Brutus  and  Lucy  Townsend  Wilder,  he  born  in  Orwell,  Oswego  county,  October 
13,  1828,  and  she  in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Wilder  came  to  Philadelphia  in  1844,  and 
engaged  as  clerk  in  a  drug  store  until  1849,  when  he  came  to  Russell  and  began  farm- 
ing. He  came  to  Williamson  in  1865,  and  engaged  in  farming,  and  now  owns  a  small 
farm.  He  was  assessor  in  Russell  for  five  years.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
and  educated  in  Marion  Academy.  He  learned  the  tinsmith  trade,  and  bought  out  a 
tin  shop  in  Marion,  then  went  to  Newark,  and  was  in  partnership  there  with  his 
brother,  John  P.,  in  the  hardware  business.  In  1879  Mr.  Wilder  came  to  Williamson 
and  engaged  in  the  hardware  business,  and  has  been  very  successful.  Mr.  Wilder  has 
been  town  clerk  since  1887.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pultneyville  Lodge,  No.  159,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  the  K.  O.  T.  M.,  and  the  Protective  Life  Association  of  Rochester.  In  1879  he 
married  Eliza  Howell,  a  native  of  Marion,  and  daughter  of  Israel  Howell,  and  they 
have  had  two  children,  Lula  M.,  Elmer  B. 

Waldurff,  Peter,  was  born  in  Taghkanick,  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  February  5,  1810. 
His  father,  John  Waldurff,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Rhinebeck,  Dutchess  county, 
and  the  family  was  of  German  extraction.  Peter  Waldurff  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Nichols,  and  of  this  union  ten  children  were  born,  eight  of  whom  are  now  living,  five 
sons,  Martin  V.  B.,  who  owns  a  farm  adjoining  his  father's,  Reuben,  who  owns  a  farm 
in  Wolcott,  Stanton  E.,  who  owns  a  farm  in  Rose,  Eugene  C,  who  is  a  physician  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  Frank  L.,  who  lives  on  the  homestead  farm,  and  three  daughters, 
Hannah,  who  married  Harrison  Malley,  of  Homer,  N.  Y.,  Nettie,  who  married  Rev. 
R.  E.  Burton,  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  and  Helen,  who  married  John  M.  Mackie,  of  Galen, 
N.  Y.  In  1848  he  bought  the  William  Garlic  property  of  144  acres,  and  in  1855  he 
bought  the  adjoining  farm,  known  as  the  "  Riverdale  farm."  He  has  217  acres  of  some 
of  the  best  farm  lands  in  Wayne  county,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  In  1883 
his  wife  died,  since  which  time  he  has  been  living  with  his  youngest  son,  Frank  L. 

Weed,  Hon.  Oscar,  was  born  in  Galen  in  1822,  a  son  of  Henry,  a  native  of  Washing- 
ton county,  born  in  1797,  who  was  the  son  of  Abram  Weed  a  native  of  Canaan,  Conn., 
and  an  early  settler  in  Washington  county,  where  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business. 
He  was  killed  in  his  saw- mill  by  a  cake  of  ice  falling  on  him.  His  wife  was  Sarah  Sel- 
leck,  and  their  children  were:  Selleck,  Abram,  Henry,  Hester,  Sallie,  Hannah,  Betsey, 
and  Nancy.  Henry,  father  of  our  subject,  moved  to  Wayne  county  in  1813,  with  his 
mother  ar_d  sisters.  His  older  brother,  Selleck,  had  moved  to  Wayne  county  the 
previous  year.  He  was  a  Republican  and  served  as  assessor  and  commissioner.  He 
married  Mahala  King,  of  Galen,  and  their  children  were :  Samuel,  who  was  a  prominent 
physician  in  Clyde,  Oscar.  Abram,  William,  and  Sarah  Ann,  wife  of  Oliver  Stratton.  of 
Galen.  Mr.  Weed  died  in  1862,  and  his  wife  in  1881.  Our  subject  was  educated  at 
Clyde  High  School,  and  remained  on  the  farm,  teaching  school  winters  for  about  nine 
years.  In  1848  he  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Joseph  O,  and  Ruth  Watson,  of 
Galen,  and  they  had  these  children:  Watson,  Oscar  D.,  Mary  E.  a  teacher  in  Drew 
Ladies'  Seminary,  Carmel,  N.  Y.,  Garhardus  and  Ruth  (both  deceased).  Mr.  Weed 
moved  in  1850  to  Huron,  and  purchased  the  farm  of  300  acres,  where  he  has  since  re- 


16  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE  COUNTY. 

aided,  engaged  in  farming  and  fruitgrowing.  In  the  latter  he  enjoys  the  reputation  of 
being  the  most  extensive  and  successful  in  the  town,  the  proceeds  for  the  year  1893 
being  about  $6,500.  He  has  served  as  assessor  and  supervisor  several  terms,  and  in 
1881-82  was  elected  by  the  Republicans  to  the  Assembly,  has  also  been  delegate  to 
many  county  and  State  conventions.  His  living  children  are  all  graduates  of  Cornell 
University.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weed  are  members  of  the  Clyde  Grange.  His  son,  Wat- 
son, is  a  Unitarian  minister  in  Scituate,  Mass.  Addison  is  in  New  Hartford,  engaged 
in  gardening,  fruit  growing  and  civil  engineering.  Oscar  D.,  practicing  law  in  New 
York  city. 

Wood,  Anson  Sprague,  was  born  in  Camillus,  Onondaga  countv,  October  2,  1834. 
His  father,  Alvin,  was  of  English  ancestry,  and  his  mother,  Fanny  Woodworth,  of  New 
England  descent.  Early  in  the  forties  Alvin  Wood  removed  with  his  family  to  Butler, 
Wayne  county,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death  in  1874.  Anson  S.  was 
the  youngest  of  a  large  family  of  children,  three  others  of  whom  are  still  living  and  resi- 
dents of  Wayne  county  :  Mary,  wife  of  William  Fowler;  Frances,  wife  of  Christopher 
C.  Cay  wood,  of  Butler  ;  and  Benham  S.  Wood,  of  Wolcott.  Anson  S.  Wood  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools,  and  also  attended  the  Red  Creek  Union  Seminary.  In  1853 
he  began  the  study  of  law  in  Syracuse,  which  he  continued  later  in  Clyde  in  the  office 
of  C.  D.  Lawton,  and  afterwards  of  Judge  L.  S.  Ketchum.  In  the  winter  of  1854  he 
engaged  in  teaching.  In  the  fall  of  1855  he  attended  the  Albany  Law  School,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  December  of  that  year.  During  the  early  part  of  1856  he  re- 
sided at  South  Butler,  and  was  elected  town  superintendent  of  common  schools.  In 
July,  1856,  he  removed  to  Lyons,  where  he  formed  a  copartnership  with  Hon.  William 
Clark.  He  continued  to  practice  law  in  company  with  Mr.  Clark  and  Hon.  Dewitt 
Parshall  until  September,  1862,  in  the  meantime  (1858-1859)  serving  two  years  as  town 
clerk  of  the  town  of  Lyons  In  the  fall  of  1862  he  responded  to  the  call  for  volunteers 
to  defend  the  Union,  and  was  commissioned  as  first  lieutenant  in  the  138th  N.  Y.  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  afterwards  known  as  the  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery.  After  the  regi- 
ment reached  Washington  Lieutenant  Wood  was  assigned  to  duty  as  adjutant.    In  June, 

1863,  he  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  and  detailed  to  duty  at  the  draft  rendezvous  at 
Elmira,  N.  Y.,  and  was  for  some  time  assistant  adjutant- general  at  that  post.     In  May, 

1864,  at  his  own  request,  he  was  returned  to  his  regiment  and  to  the  command  of  his 
company.  He  was  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg,  Monocacy,  Win- 
chester, and  Fisher's  Hill.  In  October,  1864,  he  was  placed  on  the  staff  of  General  J. 
B.  Ricketts,  who  commanded  the  third  division  of  the  famous  Sixth  Corps.  General 
Ricketts  was  severely  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  and  was  succeeded  in  com- 
mand by  Gen.  Truman  Seymour,  with  whom  Captain  Wood  continued  as  judge  advo- 
cate of  the  division.  In  February,  1865,  he  was  promoted  to  major  of  his  regiment,  and 
as  such  participated  in  the  taking  of  Petersburg  and  the  capture  of  Lee's  army.  For 
meritorious  service  before  Petersburg  he  was  brevetted  lieutenant  colonel.  The  regi- 
ment was  mustered  out  in  May.  1865,  when  Colonel  Wcod  returned  to  Wayne  county, 
purchasing  a  farm  in  Butler.  In  1866  he  was  elected  supervisor  of  that  town.  In  1867 
he  became  assistant  assessor  of  the  United  States  Internal  Revenue,  a  position  which 
he  resigned  in  the  fall  of  1869  to  accept  the  Republican  nomination  for  member  of  as- 
sembly from  the  first  district  of  Wayne  county.  In  the  meantime  he  had  removed  to 
Wolcott  and  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  Colonel  Wood  was  elected  to  the  Assembly 
that  fall,  and  reelected  the  following  year.  Janu:  ry  1,  1872,  he  was  appointed  deputy 
secretary  of  state  under  G.  Hilton  Scribner,  holding  the  oflice  two  years,  when  he  again 
returned  to  his  home  at  Wolcott  and  his  law  practice.  In  1879  Gen.  Joseph  B.  Can- 
was  elected  secretary  of  state,  and  he  called  Colonel  Wood  back  to  Albany  to  his  former 
desk  as  deputy  secretary,  where  he  continued  six  years.  In  1883  he  was  one  of  the 
secretaries  of  the  Republican  State  Committee.  In  1885  Colonel  Word  was  the  unan- 
imous nominee  of  the  Republican  State  Convention  for  secretary  of  state,  but  was  de- 
feated with  the  rest  of  the  Republican  ticket.     lie  remained  in  Albany  for  over  a  year 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  17 

engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  when  he  again  returned  to  Wayne  county,  taking  up  his 
residence  at  Wood's  Island,  Port  Bay,  in  the  town  of  Huron,  and  resuming  his  law  prac- 
tice at  Wolcott,  which  he  has  continued  since.  At  present  he  is  associated  with  Hon. 
George  S.  Horton.  Colonel  Wood,  in  addition  to  the  other  public  positions,  has  filled 
the  office  of  president  of  the  village  of  Wolcott,  trustee  of  the  Wolcott  Union  Free 
School,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  supervisor  of  the  town  of  Huro:  .  He  was  the  moving 
spirit  in  the  organization  of  William  Button  Post  No  55,  G-.  A.  R.,  at  Wolcott  (subse- 
quently changed  to  Keesler  Post  No.  55),  of  which  he  has  been  commander  several 
terms.  He  has  also  served  as  assistant  quartermaster-general  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  depart- 
ment of  New  York,  and  has  been  a  member  for  many  years  of  Wolcott  Lodge  No.  560, 
F.  &  A.  M.  Colonel  Wood  has  been  repeatedly  a  delegate  to  Republican  State  Conven- 
tions, and  his  services  as  a  speaker  have  long  been  in  great  demand  in  political  cam- 
paigns. He  has  spoken  in  every  county  in  this  State,  and  has  been  called  upon  by  the 
National  and  State  Committees  to  make  speaking  tours  of  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Ver- 
mont, Indiana,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa.  In  1858  Colonel  Wood 
married  Martha  Louise  Vickey,  of  Youngstown,  Niagara  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood 
have  two  children  living,  William  Clark  Wood,  M.B.,  and  Robert  Alvin.  Br.  Wood  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Albany  Medical  College  (1880),  and  is  a  successful  practitioner  at 
Gloversville,  N.  Y.  Robert  A.  is  a  graduate  of  Union  College  (1881),  a  lawyer  and 
newspaper  contributor,  and  resides  at  Albany. 

Wall,  William,  was  born  in  Webster,  September  2,  1824.  He  was  the  oldest  of  four 
children  of  Elisha  M.  and  Lois  (Savage)  Wall,  he  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  in  1800. 
He  settled  in  Webster  and  afterward  came  to  Ontario  in  1840,  where  he  died  in  1891. 
Subject  came  to  Ontario  when  a  mere  boy.  He  married  in  1854  Hannah  A.  Wray,  a 
native  of  Ontario  and  daughter  of  George  Wray.  The  latter  was  born  in  Fort  Ann, 
Washington  county,  January  8,  1792,  and  married  Almira  Brown  of  Granville,  Wash- 
ington county,  April  11,  1821,  by  Rev.  Andrews.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  He 
came  to  Wayne  county  in  1827,  and  bought  the  place  known  then  as  the  Shingled 
House  (shingles  being  used  instead  of  clapboards).  He  built  the  first  blacksmith  shop 
in  town,  and  two  years  after  bought  thirty-six  acres  two  miles  east  of  that,  cleared  a 
spot  of  ground  and  built  another  shop  and  moved  into  that.  The  same  year  (1829)  he 
built  a  frame  house,  in  which  he  lived  until  his  death.  His  wife  died  in  June,  1872. 
and  he  in  October,  1872.  They  had  three  children,  Almira  Jane,  Hannah  Ann,  and 
George  Leonard.  Mr.  Wall  and  wife  have  had  two  children,  Ida,  wife  of  William 
Eddy,  and  has  three  children,  Raymond,  Leland  and  Vera ;  Emma  C,  wife  of  William 
Patten,  who  has  one  child,  Ruby.  Her  first  husband  was  Irvin  Cudderback,  by  whom 
she  had  one  child,  Myrta  G.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wall  moved  to  Michigan  in  1856,  and  re- 
turned to  the  Wray  homestead  in  1866,  where  they  still  remain.  William  R.  Patten 
was  born  in  Ontario  on  the  farm  his  father  settled,  in  1850.  He  is  the  youngest  of 
nine  children  of  John  and  Eliza  (Bancroft)  Patten,  he  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born  in 
1799,  and  she  of  Walworth,  born  in  1810.  They  came  to  Ontario  in  1830,  where  he 
died  in  1865,  and  his  wife  in  1889.  Mr.  Patten  was  a  shoemaker  and  tanner  by  trade, 
but  after  coming  to  Ontario  followed  farming.  He  owned  100  acres,  which  he  cleared. 
Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  Macedon 
Academy.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer,  has  fifty  acres  of  land,  and  follows  general 
farming  and  fruit  raising.  He  married  in  1890  Emma  Wall,  a  native  of  Michigan.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  William  Wall.  Mr.  Patten  and  wife  have  had  one  daughter,  Ruby  E., 
born  Becember  15,  1893. 

Waters,  George  F.,  was  born  in  Williamson  August  30,  1849.  His  parents  were 
Zeniri  and  Alice  (Brewer)  Waters.  The  family  consisted  of  two  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters, who  grew  to  maturity,  the  daughters  being  now  deceased.  W.  H.  Waters,  brother 
of  the  subject,  is  in  the  town  of  Miller,  South  Bakota,  in  the  banking  business.  Z. 
Waters  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  always  followed  farming.     He  was  an  anti-slavery 


18  LANDMARKS   OF    WAYNE    COUNTY. 

advocate,  and  died  September  4,  1870.  The  grandparents  of  our  subject  were  William 
Waters,  born  in  England  in  September,  1779,  and  Mary  (Sampson)  Waters,  born  in 
June,  1783.  They  had  three  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  deceased  but  two  daughters, 
who  are  in  Michigan.  William  Waters  emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  William- 
son, being  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  town.  He  engaged  somewhat  in  land  speculat- 
ing, buying  and  selling  several  farms,  but  his  principal  occupation  was  farming.  Mrs. 
Waters  died  January  14,  1856,  and  he  died  March  18,  1864.  George  Waters  was  edu- 
cated at  Pultneyville  under  Prof.  Clark.  His  first  business  enterprise  was  as  pay- 
master's clerk  in  the  United  States  navy,  but  his  principal  occupation  has  been  farm- 
ing. He  has  130  acres  of  land  and  makes  a  specialty  of  dairying,  having  special  city 
customers  for  his  dairy  products.  He  also  has  fine  fruit  orchards.  He  married,  Janu- 
ary 10,  1883,  Helen  May,  daughter  of  Evelin  and  Mary  (Palister)  Cornwall,  of  Will- 
iamson. They  have  one  daughter,  Alice  E.,  born  June  8,  1884.  Mr.  Waters  has  been 
eleven  years  deputy  collector  of  customs. 

Warner,  R.  K.,  was  born  in  Cortland  county  July  19,  1825,  son  of  Ira  and  Asenath 
Warner,  natives  of  Massachusetts  and  early  settlers  of  Cortland  county,  where  they 
lived  and  died.  Subject  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  followed  farming  in 
Cortland  county  until  1858,  when  he  came  to  Palmyra  and  in  1865  to  Marion,  and  con- 
tinued farming  until  1884,  since  which  time  he  has  lived  in  Marion.  He  married  in 
1848  Ramonia  Vail,  a  native  of  Cortland  county,  born  October  25,  1829.  daughter  of 
Henry  Vail,  a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  who  died  in  Madison  county,  N.  Y.  Subject 
and  wife  had  five  children  :  Erotus,  who  married  Ella  Wake,  and  has  three  children, 
Melvin  E.,  F.  May,  Oscar  Z.,  Lewis  W.,  who  married  Amelia  E.  Allen,  daughter  of 
Abram  and  Emma  Allen,  natives  of  England,  who  came  to  Richfield  Springs  in  1844, 
and  there  Mrs.  Allen  died  and  Mr.  Allen  now  resides.  Lewis  and  wife  have  had  three 
children:  Lillian,  died  aged  two  years;  Jessie  and  Carl;  Mary  E.,  wife  of  George  El- 
bridge,  of  Homer,  Cortland  county,  N.  Y.,  and  has  one  child,  Marion  Ramonia;  Horace 
A.,  who  married  Minnie  Potter,  died  January  25,  1891,  and  had  two  children,  Ross  and 
Myrtle. 

Wood,  Noah,  was  born  April  23,  1832,  the  son  of  Horatio  Wood,  a  farmer  of  Butler 
who  was  also  a  man  of  local  prominence,  being  a  justice  for  twenty  years,  and  who 
died  in  1860.  His  wife,  Angeline,  the  mother  of  seven  children,  died  in  1886.  Noah's 
education  was  received  at  Lima,  N.  Y.,  and  the  M.  G.  B.  Institute  at  Concord,  N.  H. 
He  graduated  in  1860.  His  principal  occupation  has  been  farming.  September  10, 
1861,  he  married  Addie  B.,  daughter  of  John  Hall,  of  Cicero,  N.  Y.,  and  both  are 
prominent  in  the  M.  E.  church  of  Wolcott.  Mr.  Wood  is  a  man  of  much  character  and 
has  filled  many  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  such  as  president  of  the  village, 
trustee  of  the  Leavenworth  Institute,  and  justice  of  the  peace,  holding  the  latter  posi- 
tion twelve  years. 

Wood,  Major  William,  was  born  near  his  present  home  August  1,  1830,  son  of 
Horatio  N.  Wood.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Union  College,  of  Albany  Law  School,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1857,  and  practiced  that  profession  two  years  with  Hon.  J.  B. 
Decker.  As  captain  of  Company  G  of  the  9th  Heavy  Artillery  he  achieved  distinction 
on  many  a  bloody  field,  promotion  to  the  rank  of  major  and  for  personnl  bravery  be- 
fore Petersburg,  was  breveted  lieutenant  colonel  by  President  Johnson.  A  bullet 
wound  in  the  face,  received  at  Sailor  Creek,  necessitated  his  retirement  from  the 
service  for  some  months,  after  which  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant  colonel,  and  his 
battalion  detailed  for  the  protection  of  the  city  of  Washington.  Equally  distinguished 
as  a  statesman  in  the  county  and  State  Legislature,  having  been  a  member  of  assembly 
in  1886,  Major  Wood  finds  in  the  retirement  of  his  country  home  and  the  management 
of  his  farming  and  business  interests,  congenial  occupation.  In  1866  he  married  Mary 
Green,  of  Mt.  Morris,  N.  Y.,  and  their  children  are:  George  C,  Horatio  N.  Angeline, 
Julia  D.,  and  Walter  W. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  19 

White,  Charles  S.,  was  born  in  Eensselaer  count}^  September  5,  1833,  educated  in  the 
district  schools,  and  finished  at  private  boarding  school.  He  followed  farming  until 
1862.  September  9,  1856,  he  married  Frances  S.  Tifft,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  Fred. 
C.  Mr.  White  came  to  this  town  in  1S74,  having  been  in  the  mercantile  trade  at  nis 
old  home  for  twelve  years,  and  this  business  he  has  successfully  followed  since  1875,  in 
this  town.  Fred.  C.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  with  a  year  in  Troy,  and  in 
the  Union  School  and  Academy.  In  1880  he  became  a  partner  in  the  business,  under 
the  firm  name  of  C.  S.  White  &  Son.  He  married  Minnie  M.  Horton,  of  East 
Newark,  and  they  have  a  son,  Elmer  F.  H.  Mr.  White's  father,  Jacob  White,  was 
born  in  Medway,  Mass.,  in  1788,  and  was  a  manufacturer.  In  1814  he  married  Prisa 
Lewis,  of  Walpole,  Mass.,  and  they  had  eleven  children :  Lewis,  Sally,  Prisa,  Miranda, 
Philip,  Jacob,  David.  William,  Charles  S.,  Martha,  and  Mary  J.  He  came  with  his 
family  to  this  State  in  18 16,  where  he  died  in  1870  and  his  wife  in  1888,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-four.  Mrs.  White's  father,  Sprague  Tifft,  was  born  in  New  York  State  in  1800, 
and  married  first  a  Miss  Culver,  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter,  Lydia  M.  He  married 
second  Sophia  B.  Watson,  and  had  twelve  children  :  George  W.,  James  E.,  W.  Dewitt, 
Frances  S.,  H.  Cordelia,  Melinda  V.,  Amelia  C,  I.  Nelson,  Watson,  Lucerne,  Emerson, 
and  Martha  A  Both  parents  are  now  living.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of  Newark 
Lodge  No.  82,  F.  and  A.  M. 

Yo'mgs,  L.  S.,  was  born  in  Coxsackie,  Greene  county,  May  4,  1832.  His  father, 
William,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1840,  settled  on  the  John  Austin  farm  in  the  town 
of  Arcadia,  and  was  a  large  fruit  producer.  He  died  on  the  old  homestead  in  1884  at 
the  age  of  seventy-six.  L.  S.  Youngs  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which 
he  had  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  he  married  Emeline,  daughter  of  Jacob  Vanderbilt,  who  was  called  out  to  defend 
Sodus  Point  in  1812,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Mrs.  Stella  E.  Bradley 
and  L.  Armeda.  In  1868  he  bought  part  of  the  old  Jacob  Vanderbilt  estate,  which  has 
been  in  the  family  for  ninety  years.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  substantial  men  of  his 
town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Zeluff,  Charles  E..  was  born  in  Wolcott  September  16,  1841.  His  father,  Benjamin, 
was  a  native  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  settled  in  Red  Creek  in  1838,  and  died  in  1885,  aged 
seventy-three  years.  Charles  E.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  after  which  he 
followed  boating  several  years.  In  1875  he  established  his  present  business,  and  is  one 
of  the  largest  dealers  in  fresh  and  salt  meats  in  Wayne  county.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
nine  he  married  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Jonas  Van  Slyck,  of  Clyde,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Czar  E.     Our  subject  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town. 

Young,  Henry,  was  born  near  Menby  on  the  Rhine,  July  6,  1820.  His  father,  Con- 
rad, came  to  the  United  States  in  1831  and  settled  in  Wayne  county.  He  died  in 
1861,  aged  seventy-five  years.  Henry  Young  was  educated  in  Germany  and  the 
United  States,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  married  Ann  Eliza,  daughter  of  John 
Foist,  by  whom  he  has  five  children :  George  H.,  Darwin  C,  Charles  F.,  Lydia  A. 
(Mrs.  Rooke),  and  Mary  E.  Rodenbach.  In  1842  he  bought  the  homestead  of  sixty- 
four  acres,  in  1850  bought  the  John  Desmond  property  of  sixty  acres,  and  in  1855 
bought  the  J.  Longee  property  of  fifty  acres,  their  joint  property  being  210  acres. 
They  raise  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  largest  farmers  in  his 
town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  having  been  trustee 
and  class  leader  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school  and  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church  for  fifty-two  years. 

Smith,  Ensign,  was  born  March  10,  1830,  Rensselaer  county.  His  father,  John  D. 
Smith,  died  here  in  1887,  his  wife,  Priscilla,  having  died  in  1865.  They  left  three 
children,  Ensign,  Jesse  (died  in  1854)  and  Lydia  (died  in  1878).  Ensign  married  Febru- 
ary 20,  1861,  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Edwin  and  Lucy  M.  Powers  of  Galen,   the  former 


20  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

of  whom  died  in  1844  and  the  latter  in  1879.  The  children  of  Ensign  and  Charlotte 
Smith  are:  Jesse,  bom  January  17,  1862,  was  murdered  January  15,  1887,  at  Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn.,  by  a  fellow  boarder,  to  whom  he  had  loaned  money,  and  upon  demanding 
it,  was  stabbed  to  death;  John  E.,  born  January  7,  1864,  now  operating  the  homestead 
farm;  Jennie,  born  October  14,  1865,  the  wife  of  Charles  Vanderpool  of  Savannah; 
Luther  and  Lucy,  born  January  14,  1869.  Luther  married  Bessie  Marriott  of  Galen  and 
they  live  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Lucy  is  the  wife  of  Ethan  Calkins  of  Lyons;  Everett, 
born  April  13,  1871  ;  Herbert  S.,  born  April  30,  1872,  now  in  Cleveland,  0.,  and  Lester 
R.,  born  March  14,  1877. 

Anderson,  E.  B.,  a  native  of  Palmyra,  was  born  in  1852,  was  educated  at  the  Palmyra 
Union  School,  and  went  to  Chicago  in  1869.  Here  he  remained  three  years  in  con- 
nection with  the  chief  grain  inspector's  office  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  for  seven 
years  was  cashier  in  a  wholesale  house  there.  Returning  to  Palmyra  in  1879,  he  married 
in  1884,  Elizabeth  H.,  daughter  of  Willis  T.  Gaylord,  of  Sodus,  N.  Y.,  and  they  have 
had  two  children  :  Gaylord  W.  and  Edwin  W.  Mr.  Anderson  has  served  one  year  as 
village  president,  and  three  years  in  the  Board  of  Education,  and  has  been  connected 
with  the  coal  trade  for  fifteen  years. 

Albright,  John  H.,  was  born  in  Ontario,  March  26,  1845,  the  son  Abraham  Albright, 
born  in  1816,  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  while  his  parents  were  on  their  way  from  Holland 
to  America.  Abraham  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  was  a  farmer  all  his  life.  The  subject 
of  our  sketch  was  also  brought  up  on  the  farm,  and  was  educated  at  Sodus  and  Wal- 
worth  Academies.  He  worked  for  his  father  until  of  age  when  he  purchased  a  farm  of 
seventy- five  acres.  He  also  has  an  interest  in  and  charge  of  the  homestead  farm  of  200 
acres.  He  has  a  twenty  four  acre  vineyard  of  Niagara  grapes  and  raises  other  small 
fruits.  In  1874  he  was  married  to  Miss  Joanna  H.  Johnson  of  Williamson,  daughter  of 
the  late  James  Johnson,  and  they  have  one  son,  J.  Stanley,  born  Octobsr  24,  1878.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Albright  are  members  of  South  Shore  Grange,  No.  552,  and  they  attend  the 
Presbyterian  church  at  Ontario  Centre. 

Austin,  Orlando,  was  born  in  Williamson,  April  3,  1826,  a  son  of  Pasqua  and  Mar- 
garet (Davis)  Austin,  natives  of  Washington  county.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject 
was  Pasqua  Austin,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island  born  in  1765,  who  came  to  Williamson 
about  1771,  and  died  in  1834.  The  father  of  our  subject  came  to  Williamson  in  1824, 
and  bought  part  of  the  farm  now  owned  by  Orlando,  to  which  he  added  later,  retiring 
from  active  life  at  the  age  of  sixty- five.  He  died  in  1886  and  his  wife  in  1876.  Orlando 
was  reared  on  the  farm  and  lived  at  home  until  the  age  of  thirty.  He  then  went  to 
Iowa  and  superintended  railroad  work  for  a  time,  and  then  went  to  Wisconsin  for  a 
short  time;  thence  to  Chicago  in  1856,  where  he  invested  in  real  estate.  In  1858  he  re- 
turned to  this  town,  and  three  years  later  engaged  as  traveling  salesman  for  nursery 
stock.  Six  years  later  he  went  west  and  engaged  in  the  nursery  business  with  Frank 
Norris,  of  Brighton,  selling  out  to  him  after  one  year,  and  going  to  Iowa,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  forest  tree  nursery  business  for  four  years.  In  1876  he  came  to  Williamson 
and  married  (1877)  Clarissa  M.  Barker  of  Pittsford.  They  resided  in  Pittsford  five 
years.  He  then  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in  Rochester  two  years,  afterwards 
traveling  in  the  interest  of  a  soda  and  baking  powder  house  for  a  year.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Williamson  and  bought  the  homestead,  where  he  has  since  lived.  The  place 
consists  of  100  acres  of  fine  land,  on  which  he  has  made  many  improvements.  He  is 
member  of  Pultneyville  Lodge,  No.  159,  F.  &  A.  M.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Austin  have  one 
daughter,  Lula  C. 

Anderson,  George,  son  of  Peter  and  Pamelia  Anderson,  was  born  in  Wayne  county, 
April  21,  1859.  Beside  himself,  there  were  Jennie  and  Lillie,  who  both  died  in  1884; 
John,  now  also  resides  in  Savannah,  and  Kate,  the  wife  of  Charles  Reade,  jr..  of  this 
place.   Peter  Anderson  came  from  Seneca  into  Wayne  county  when  a  young  man,  and 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  21 

cleared  a  farm  four  miles  northwest  of  Savannah.  At  this  time  he  is  seventy- five  years 
of  age,  and  lives  a  retired  life  at  South  Sodus.  His  wife,  Pamelia,  was  a  daughter  of  John 
W.  Haddon,  and  died  September  15,  1884.  The  boyhood  of  our  subject  was  spent  in 
Savannah,  where  he  acquired  an  excellent  education,  and  he  married  December  4, 
1878,  Lottie,  daughter  of  Charles  Eeed  of  Savannah.  They  have  three  children  :  Cora, 
born  September  15,  1880;  Minnie,  born  May  9,  1882;  Ross  P.,  born  February  22,  1887. 
Mr.  Anderson  is  a  man  of  so  retiring  nature  that  only  intimate  friends  recognize  his  real 
worth  and  ability.     He  built  in  1884  a  very  handsome  modern  residence. 

Allen,  Joseph,  a  native  of  Mansfield,  Conn.,  born  June  19,  1820,  came  with  his  pa- 
rents to  Oneida  county  the  same  year,  and  to  Newark,  Wayne  county  in  1839.  Two 
years  later  he  removed  to  Palmyra,  and  entered  the  machine  shop  of  Eldridge  Williams. 
In  1842  he  began  the  manufacture  of  scales  here,  and  in  1844  manufactured  the  Fair- 
banks scales  comprising  all  the  different  styles.  In  1855  he  commenced  selling  dry 
goods  and  groceries,  at  the  same  time  continuing  the  manufacture  of  scales  and  agri- 
cultural implements,  having  a  general  store,  and  this  he  has  followed  for  the  past  thirty 
years.  He  has  a  large  store,  fifty-six  feet  front  and  110  feet  deep,  comprising  two  and 
a  half  stories. 

Alborn,  Edward  F.,  was  born  in  Waddington,  Eng.,  January  22,  1846,  the  fifth  child 
of  ten  children  born  to  Edward  and  Elizabeth  (Green)  Alborn,  natives  of  England. 
Edward  came  to  Ontario  in  1854,  but  soon  moved  to  Walworth,  and  there  the  father 
died  in  July,  1892.  His  wife  survives  him  and  resides  in  that  town.  Edward  was  nine 
years  of  age  when  his  parents  came  to  Ontario.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  has  been  a  contractor  and  a  miner  of  iron  ore  in  Ontario  for 
ten  years.  At  present  he  is  a  farmer,  and  owns  115  acres  of  land.  In  addition  to  farm- 
ing he  is  interested  in  stock  and  fruit  raising.  Mr.  Alborn  is  a  Prohibitionist,  and  is  a 
member  of  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Ontario  Centre.  On  February  18,  1874  he 
married  Eliza  Lolley,  a  native  of  Ontario,  and  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Lolley, 
natives  of  England,  he  from  Yorkshire  and  she  from  Kent.  Seven  children  were  born  to 
Mr.  Alborn  and  wife  :  Edward  T  ,  Joseph  A.,  Cora  B.,  Charles  W.,  Floyd  A.,  Lewis  P., 
and  Clarence  L.  Indian  relics  have  been  plowed  up  on  the  farm  Mr.  Alborn  now 
owns. 

Alden,  Hiram,  was  born  in  Kenosha,  Wis.,  January  25,  1847.  His  father  was  a 
native  of  Wayne  county,  moved  to  Wisconsin  and  died  there  in  1847.  Hiram  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  the  Sodus  Academy,  after  which  he  re- 
turned to  his  grandfather,  Ede  Alden,  At  the  age  of  thirty- two  he  married  Mattie  E., 
daughter  of  George  W.  Peterson  of  Sheboygan  county,  Wis.,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  one  son,  E.  Leroy  and  one  daughter,  Myrtie  I.  In  1875  he  bought  the  Alvah  Brun- 
dage  estate  of  seventy-six  acres,  raising  hay,  grain  and  stock  and  small  fruits,  taking  an 
intelligent  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Allen,  Charles  E.,  was  bern  in  Ontario,  May  1,  1861,  the  son  of  Jeremiah  and  Maria 
Grant  Allen,  natives  of  Ontario.  Jeremiah  Allen  was  a  farmer.  He  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  He  died  in  September,  1882.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a 
farm,  and  educated  in  the  Rochester  Union  Schools.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer  and 
owns  seventy-five  acres  of  land.  January  22,  1883,  he  married  Ada  Coyer  of  Oswego, 
and  they  have  two  children,  Bertha  M.  and  Clifford  F.  Mrs.  Allen  is  a  daughter  of 
Benjamin  and  Eliza  Coyer,  who  resided  in  Oswego  many  years,  where  both  died  when 
Mrs.  Allen  was  a  child. 

Allen,  F.  S.,  was  born  June  22,  1857,  the  son  of  Jeremiah  and  Maria  Grant  Allen, 
mentioned  in  this  work.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  and  he  now  owns  twenty-five  acres  of  land  and  raises  small 
fruits.  He  married  Addie  Cone,  of  Ontario,  daughter  of  George  B.  Cone,  who  died  in 
1882.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen  have  one  son,  Jay  M.,  bora  July  17,  1881. 


22  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Allen,  Henry  C,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Root,  Montgomery  county,  February  8, 
1837,  and  is  the  oldest  of  five  children  of  Abram  P.  and  Emeline  (Yorhees)  Allen.  The 
grandfather  was  Prince  Allen,  and  the  grandmother,  Ruth  (Pratt)  Allen,  were  both  born 
in  Washington  county,  N.  Y.,  and  in  an  early  day  settled  in  Montgomery  county,  where 
they  lived  and  died.  The  father  of  our  subject  came  to  Marion  in  1856.  where  he 
resided  until  his  death,  January  4,  1859,  and  his  wife  in  October,  1868.  Of  the  family 
there  are  three  sons  and  one  daughter  now  living.  Elisha  P.  was  in  the  Rebellion,  and 
was  wounded  at  Gettysburg,  where  he  died  from  his  wounds  and  was  buried  in  the 
national  cemetery.  Our  subject  was  reared  upon  the  farm  and  has  always  followed 
farming  and  carpentry.  He  also  buys  and  sells  apples  and  is  quite  largely  engaged  in 
fruit  growing.  He  married,  in  1862,  Louisa  M.,  daughter  of  J.  H.  Bilby.  They  have 
one  son,  Elmer  J.  Allen,  who  resides  with  them  and  works  the  farm.  His  wife  is 
Carrie  N.  Pulver,  of  Marion,  and  they  have  one  son,  Wayne.  Mr.  Allen  has  been 
supervisor  of  the  town,  and  is  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.  of  Marion. 

Austin,  William  C,  born  in  Williamson,  May  21,  1822,  is  the  son  of  Nathan  L.  and 
Dorcas  (Congdon)  Austin,  natives  of  Washington  county,  who  came  to  Williamson  in 
1819.  He  died  February  19,  1872,  and  his  wife  June  7,  1879.  The  grandfather  was 
Pasqua  Austin,  born  June  3,  1765,  and  died  August  5,  1834.  His  wife  was  Penelope 
Lee,  born  in  1777,  and  died  November  22,  1830.  Subject  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  the  Marion  Academy,  and  followed  farming  until  twenty  years  of  age, 
when  he  engaged  in  speculating  in  stock,  which  he  followed  sixteen  years.  He  then 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Marion,  and  built  the  store  now  occupied  by  Mr. 
Peer.  He  was  appointed  postmaster,  and  held  the  office  six  years.  He  engaged  in  the 
undertaking  business  and  continued  until  April  1,  1894,  when  he  sold  to  Scott  B. 
Curtis.  He  was  deputy  sheriff  a  short  time,  but  resigned  and  was  justice  of  peace  for 
four  years.  He  married,  in  1850,  Armina  Boyce,  a  native  of  Washington  county,  and 
daughter  of  Peter  and  Eunice  (Davis)  Boyce,  who  came  from  Washington  county  to 
Marion  and  went  West,  and  Mr.  Boyce  died  in  Morley,  Mo.,  and  his  wife  in  Chicago, 
111.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  subject  was  John  Congdon,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island 
who  came  to  Washington  county  in  an  early  day,  where  he  died. 

Aikin,  John  B.,  represents  one  of  the  pioneer  families  of  the  locality.  His  parents, 
John  and  Margaret  (Young)  Aiken,  came  into  Butler  county  sixty  years  ago,  and  their 
original  domicile  was  a  log  house,  a  residence  which,  however,  seemed  conducive  to 
longevity,  as  they  reached  and  adorned  age.  John  B.  acquired  a  good  education  during 
the  palmy  days  of  the  old  academy  at  Red  Creek,  and  upon  the  attainment  of  his  major- 
ity became  a  tiller  of  the  soil.  As  commissioner  of  roads,  and  of  excise,  he  has  demon- 
strated public  office  to  be  a  personal  trust.  In  1864  he  married  Josephine  Wadsworth, 
of  Butler,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  a  son  and  daughter, 
who  remain  :   William  J.  and  Nellie  M. 

Barker,  David  E.,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  May  23,  1853,  a  son  of 
William  G.,  who  was  born  in  Canada  June  24,  1809,  and  came  to  the  United  States  at 
an  early  age.  He  settled  in  Dutchess  county  and  engaged  in  farming,  which  he  followed 
all  his  life.  William  G.  married  Caroline  Cornell,  daughter  of  William  Cornell,  and 
they  had  eight  children,  four  now  living.  She  was  of  the  family  of  Friends.  David  E. 
was  the  youngest  child.  He  was  educated  at  the  Macedon  Academy,  and  married 
Fannie  Baker.  He,  like  his  father,  has  always  followed  agriculture.  He  married 
second,  Alice  Green,  of  Michigan,  November  1,  1883,  by  whom  he  has  two  children  : 
Adda  and  William.     Mr.  Barker  is  a  Granger,  and  a  Republican  in  politics. 

Bradley,  William,  was  born  in  Lyons,  April  7,  1819.  His  father,  Thomas,  was  a 
native  of  Londonderry.  Ireland,  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Alloway 
(a.  small  hamlet  in  South  Lyons),  and  entered  the  employ  of  Captain  H.  Towar.  In 
1818  he  married  Miss  Louanna  Bradley,  who   came  from   Litchfield,  Conn.,  and  soon 


FAMILY    SKETCHES.  23 

after  bought  what  has  been  known  since  that  time  as  the  Bradley  Farm  on  the  old 
Pre-emption  road  in  South  Lyons.  William  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to 
which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  thirty- 
six  he  married  Catherine  J.,  daughter  of  William  A.  Teller,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
five  children,  three  of  whom,  H.  Seymour,  Charles  W.,  and  Mrs.  Rosie  Horn,  are  now 
living.  Mrs.  Maggie  A.  Ternouth  died  at  Albany  in  1884.  Rev.  David  L.  Bradley  was 
a  very  highly  educated  man,  had  served  as  pastor  two  years  at  Cape  Vmcent,  had  com- 
menced his  third  year  when  at  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  he  received  a  summons  from 
the  master  he  served  and  loved  so  well,  to  lay  down  his  burdens,  to  receive  his  reward. 
Our  subject  is  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  in  his  town.  In  1857  he  bought  the 
William  Ennis  property  of  sixty-eight  acres  in  South  Lyons,  to  which  he  has  added, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Blaker,  Benjamin  C,  of  Macedon  Center,  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  July  24,  1830, 
a  son  of  Petrocles  Blaker,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  boin  in  1800,  who  came  to  New 
York  State  at  an  early  day  and  settled  in  Henrietta,  Monroe  county,  where  he  took  up 
farming.  He  never  came  to  Wayne  county  to  reside.  He  was  a  mason  in  early  life, 
but  in  his  later  years  devoted  his  attention  to  farming.  He  married  Matiah  tarter,  of 
New  Jersey,  by  whom  he  had  these  children  :  Mary  J.,  Benjamin  C,  Thomas,  Elizabeth, 
Beulah,  Martha,  and  Ruth  A.,  the  latter  and  Elizabeth  being  deceased.  In  1858  our 
subject  married  Mary  Fritts,  of  Monroe  county,  and  they  have  four  children:  Minnie, 
who  died,  aged  nineteen  years;  Clarence,  who  is  married  and  resides  on  the  homestead; 
Nellie,  a  graduate  of  Macedon  Academy ;  and  Dora,  also  a  graduate  of  the  Chautauqua 
Literary  and  Scientific  Circle. 

Brown,  Elisha,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  was  born  in  1807,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  came  to  Williamson,  where  he  lived  some  time.  He  then  bought  a  farm  in 
Marion,  and  resided  there  several  years,  and  then  located  in  Palmyra  in  1846,  and  there 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  dying  in  December,  1893.  His  first  wife  was  Cyntha 
Hoag,  by  whom  he  had  three  children:  Alfred,  now  of  Illinois;  William,  who  died 
young ;  and  Frances,  now  Mrs.  J.  W.  Guerney,  of  Palmyra.  Mrs.  Brown  died,  and  he 
married  second.  Mary,  daughter  of  Stephen  Durfee,  by  whom  he  had  four  children  : 
Garrison,  now  of  Illinois;  Emily,  wife  of  William  H.  Nichols,  of  Iowa;  Joseph  S., 
who  resides  in  Nebraska ;  and  Edwin  D.,  who  lives  on  part  of  the  home  farm.  The 
latter  was  born  in  1858,  and  was  educated  in  Palmyra,  where  he  has  always  lived.  In 
1891  he  married  Alida  L.  Harrington,  daughter  of  Hiram  Harrington,  a  native  of  Wash- 
ington county,  and  they  have  one  child,  Raymond  H.,  born  August  31,  1892.  The  mother 
of  our  subject  died  in  1881.  His  father's  farm  consists  of  162  acres,  purchased  of 
Stephen  Durfee,  and  of  this  Edwin  D.  owns  fifty  acres. 

Bryant,  Lewis  J.,  was  born  in  Newark,  February  1,  1835,  educated  in  the  Union 
school  and  academy,  and  his  early  life  was  spent  on  the  homestead  farm,  and  later  in  the 
nursery  business  and  market  gardening  on  the  farm,  near  the  village.  The  homestead 
comprises  fifty-five  acres.  February  23,  1859,  he  married  Jane  C.  Church,  formerly  of 
Madison  county,  and  they  had  two  sons :  L.  Rae,  who  married  Elizabeth  Hoeltzel,  of 
Newark,  and  has  one  son  :  L.  Henry  (the  fifth  generation  on  the  home  farm) ;  and 
Lynn  T.,  who  assists  his  father  in  the  business.  James  Y.,  father  of  our  subject,  was 
born  in  Essex  county,  N.  J.,  September  6,  1801,  and  his  parents  removed  to  Cayuga 
county  in  1804,  and  to  Newark  in  1806.  October  29,  1828,  he  married  Betsey  Darland, 
of  Newark,  and  they  had  three  children  :  Lydia  A.,  Lewis  J.,  and  Francis  Y.  He  died 
in  January,  1871,  and  his  widow  survives  at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  Simeon,  grand- 
father of  Lewis  J.,  came  here  in  1806.  and  bought  the  home  farm  from  Phelps  &  Gor- 
ham's  land  office  in  Geneva.  Mrs.  Bryant's  father,  Benjamin  Church,  was  born  in 
Madison  county,  September  2,  1816,  and  married  Sarah  Osborne,  a  native  of  England, 
and  they  had  four  children  :  Charles,  Jane  O,  George  W.,  and  Adeiia  S.  He  died, 
December  9,  1880,  and  his  widow  resides  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Bryant. 


24  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Bartle,  Andrew  C,  was  born  in  Wayne  county  December  2,  1828,  and  received  his 
higher  education  at  the  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary  at  Lima,  and  at  Clinton  Libera] 
Institute.  In  early  life  he  served  as  clerk  in  a  wholesale  hardware  store  in  New  York 
city.  In  1853  he  came  to  Newark,  and  engaged  in  lumbering  with  B.  F.  Wright, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Bartle  &  Wright,  which  continued  two  years.  From  1855  to 
1868  he  carried  on  the  business  alone  in  Newark  with  a  branch  in  Clyde,  then  took  as 
partner  Mr.  Eames,  this  firm  still  continuing  in  Newark.  May  10,  1854,  he  married 
Mary  A.  Mulford,  of  Hulberton,  Orleans  county,  they  have  one  daughter,  Charlotte. 
Mr.  Bartle's  father,  James  P.,  was  born  in  Freehold,  Greene  county,  July  3,  1791, 
and  was  a  colonel  in  the  war  of  1812.  While  a  young  man  he  came  to  Newark,  and 
married  Louisa  B.  McNeil,  of  Deerfield,  Oneida  county,  by  whom  he  had  five  children  : 
Antoinette  A.,  Andrew  O,  Louisa  T.,  Adelaide  O,  and  Alice  S.  James  P.  Bartle  was 
the  first  supervisor  of  Arcadia,  and  represented  the  district  in  the  Legislature,  and  was 
also  the  first  postmaster  in  Newark,  continuing  until  1840.  He  was  the  first  worship- 
ful master  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  the  first  high  priest  of  Newark 
Chapter  No.  117,  R.A.  M.  He  died  January  24,  1863,  and  his  wife  January  6,  1873. 
Andrew  C.  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  of  Chapter  117,  of 
Newark,  R.  A.  M.,  also  of  Monroe  Commandery,  Rochester,  No.  12,  K.  T.,  and  also  a 
member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  No.  116.  First  two  stores  for  general  merchandise,  dis- 
tillery, boat-yard,  produce  business  and  various  other  branches  of  business,  and  identi- 
fied with  village  improvements,  erecting  churches,  hotels,  printing  offices  and  building 
roads  and  bridges. 

Burnham,  Hon.  Edwin  K.,  was  born  in  Randolph,  Vt.,  September  8,  1839,  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  the  Royalton  Academy  and  completing  his  studies  at  the 
Orange  County  (Yt.)  Grammar  School.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  15th  Ver- 
mont Infantry,  and  was  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  being  honorably  discharged  as 
sergeant  in  1863.  In  the  spring  of  1864  he  graduated  at  the  Albany  Law  School,  and 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  the  State.  In  June  of  the  same  year  he  came 
to  Newark  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  as  a  partner  of  James  E. 
Briggs,  a  native  of  his  own  State.  In  September  of  the  same  year  he  re-enlisted  into 
the  army,  and  October  TO,  1864,  was  commissioned  captain  of  Company  D,  111th 
Regiment,  N.  Y.  Infantry,  and  went  with  his  regiment,  participating  in  the  engage- 
ments in  and  around  Petersburg  until  taken  prisoner  April  2,  1865.  He  was  returned 
to  his  regiment  April  9,  the  day  of  Lee's  surrender,  and  honorably  discharged  June  4, 
1865.  Returning  to  Newark  he  began  the  practice  of  law,  and  in  1872  he  founded  the 
Newark  Union.  In  the  fall  of  1884  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  was  largely 
instrumental  in  the  passage  of  a  bill  establishing  the  Custodial  Asylum  for  Feeble-Minded 
Women  at  Newark,  which  is  now  a  nourishing  State  institution,  and  of  which  he  is 
secretary  aud  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  In  June,  1889,  he  was  appointed 
superintendent  of  public  buildings,  which  position  he  filled  with  credit  and  honor.  One 
of  the  first  innovations  made  by  him  was  the  rule  that  the  national  flag  should  lloat 
from  the  staff  on  the  capitol  every  week  day  through  the  year,  which  was  the  origin  of 
the  movement  to  display  the  Hag  on  public  school  buildings.  Mr.  Burnham  owns  a  half 
interest  in  the  Wayne  County  Preserving  Company  at  Newark,  and  has  twenty  acres 
devoted  to  fruit  and  vegetable  growing.  He  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  eight 
years  and  as  super  isor  four  terms.  August  31,  1865,  he  married  Nancy  A.  Dillingham, 
a  niece  of  Governor  Dillingham,  ami  of  their  four  children  one  daughter  died  in  infancy, 
the  others  are  George  A.,  Edwin  D,  and  Helen  E.  Mr.  Burnham  is  a  member  of  Vos- 
burgh  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  has  been  commander  four  terms.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  also  of  the  I.  O.  0.  F.  No.  250,  of 
the  A.  O.  U.  W.  No.  17,  and  of  the  Grange. 

Brink,  A.  C,  born  May  20,  1863,  at  North  Wolcott,  is  the  son  of  Emmons  Brink,  who 
is  a  producer  and  shipper  of  small  fruits  at  that  place.     He  received  his  education  at 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  25 

Red  Creek  Seminary,  prosecuted  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Anson  S.  Wood,  and 
was  for  four  years  in  the  office  of  Freeman  &  Green,  of  New  York.  In  1882  he  se- 
cured admission  to  the  Wayne  county  bar,  and  began  practice  in  Wolcott.  Mr.  Brink 
is  a  Republican  and  a  successful  lawyer.  He  has  traveled  extensively  through  the  west, 
being  engaged  for  several  years  in  the  negotiation  of  real  estate  upon  the  Pacific  coast, 
and  also  in  Chicago,  111. 

Barnes,  R.  R.,  was  born  in  Van  Buren,  Onondaga  county,  November  21,  1849.  His 
father,  Asa  Barnes,  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  that  town.  He  died  in  1870,  aged 
eighty- two  years.  R.  R.  Barnes  was  educated  at  the  Baldwinsville  Academy  and  Caze- 
novia  Seminary,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm.  March  1,  1872,  he  came 
to  Clyde  and  purchased  the  business  of  R.  R.  Mattison,  being  associated  with  Eugene  P. 
Reed.  In  1874  he  purchased  Mr.  Reed's  interest,  and  is  now  carrying  one  of  the  largest 
and  best  selected  stocks  of  clothing  and  men's  furnishing  goods  in  Wayne  county.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Edna  A.,  daughter  of  Henry  W.  Le  Vanway,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  three  children:  Bertram  W.,  Le  Van  R.,  and  Curtis  B.  Our  sub- 
ject is  one  of  the  longest  established  merchants  in  his  town. 

Bastian,  George  B.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  Wayne  county  May  29,  1852. 
His  father,  Michael,  a  native  of  Alsace,  Germany,  came  to  the  United  States  in  1835, 
and  settled  in  Oneida  county,  removing  to  Galen  in  1837.  George  B.  received  a  com- 
mon school  education.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  married  Carrie,  daughter  of  George 
Ehresman,  of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  children  :  George  H.,  Ella  B.,  Eva 
L.,  and  Meda  Belle.  In  1881  he  and  his  brother  purchased  320  acres  of  land  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  south  of  the  village,  afterwards  dividing  the  property,  each  taking  one- 
half.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  locality,  and  is  engaged  in  raising  hay, 
grain,  fruit,  stock,  etc.,  also  runs  a  milk  dairy,  averaging  200  quarts  daily.  Our  subject 
takes  an  active  interest  in  politics,  being  a  Democrat.  He  was  elected  town  assessor  in 
1886  and  served  three  years. 

Bennett,  Charles,  was  born  in  Williamson,  January  20,  1822,  and  is  a  son  of  Josiah 
and  Ruth  Bennett,  mentioned  in  this  work.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  Palmyra 
and  Marion  Academies.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer  and  owns  eighty- five  acres  of 
land,  on  which  his  father  settled.  Mr.  Bennet  was  a  Whig,  and  assisted  in  organizing 
the  Republican  party,  of  which  he  has  since  been  a  member.  He  has  been  collector  one 
year  and  assessor  nine  years,  and  also  trustee  of  the  school  for  several  years.  He  was  a 
member  of  I.  O.  0.  F.  Mr.  Bennett  married  twice  ;  first,  Delia  Warner,  of  Sodus,  they 
had  six  children,  of  whom  five  are  living  :  J.  Warner,  who  has  been  a  postal  clerk  for 
fifteen  years  and  is  now  a  druggist  in  Williamson,  he  married  Lelia  Brown,  of  Richville; 
Josiah,  died  in  infancy  ;  Ellen  W.  ;  C.  Fred  ;  Edward  A. ;  Mamie  C.  Mrs.  Bennett 
died  in  1871,  and  Mr.  Bennett  married  for  a  second  wife  Mrs.  Phebe  I.  Bishop,  of  Rich- 
ville, N.  Y.  She  had  two  children  by  a  former  husband,  Mattie  I.  and  Errie  R.  Bishop. 
There  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett  one  daughter,  Jennie  D.,  now  married  to  Mr. 
I.  Brasser,  of  Buffalo, 

Bishop,  John  Calvin,  was  born  February  7,  1829,  a  son  of  Captain  Chauncey  Bishop, 
of  Rose,  being  the  eighth  generation  in  America,  from  John  Bishop,  who  emigrated  to 
Guilford,  Conn.,  in  1639.  Necessity  compelled  an  early  departure  from  home  of  some 
of  the  children  to  earn  their  own  support,  and  John  C.  began  teaching  in  the  town  of 
Lyons,  November  2,  1845,  before  he  was  seventeen.  He  was  successful  and  continued 
teaching  and  attending  school  for  the  next  ten  years.  He  graduated  at  Normal  school 
at  Albany,  April  4,  1850.  At  Albany  he  was  attacked  by  cholera  and  just  escaped 
death.  He  studied  surveying  and  engineering  under  Prof.  George  R.  Perkins,  and 
though  he  has  lived  on  a  farm  his  chief  occupation  is  engineering.  His  wife  was  Mary 
Skilton  Avery,  a  descendant  in  the  seventh  generation  from  Christopher  Avery,  who 
emigrated  from  England  in  1630.  She  is  of  the  family  known  as  "  The  Averys,  of 
d 


26  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

Groton."  The  most  distinguished  member  of  the  family  from  Wayne  county  was  the 
late  Hon.  John  H.  Camp,  of  Lyons,  a  descendant  of  Christopher  Avery.  The  Skiltons 
were  an  old  Connecticut  family.  The  children  of  John  C.  and  Mary  Bishop  were  all 
born  at  Pilgrimport,  their  present  residence.  The  first  born,  Anna,  died  in  1870,  aged 
fifteen.  Charles  Avery,  the  oldest  son,  is  a  farmer  in  Tyre,  Seneca  county.  His  wife 
was  Jane  E.,  daughter  of  William  Smart,  who  came  from  England  to  Lyons  about 
1854.  Their  home  is  five  miles  south  of  Savannah  village.  They  have  five  children. 
He  is  a  representative  man  of  the  best  type  of  young  American  farmers.  Lincoln,  the 
next  son,  also  a  farmer,  resides  at  Pilgrimport.  His  wife  was  Francis  Louise,  daughter 
of  William  Barrett,  who  is  a  grandson  of  Elder  Barrett,  the  Rose  Baptist  preacher  of 
seventy  years  ago.  John  C.  and  Lincoln  live  as  one  family,  Lincoln  doing  considerable 
surveying  every  year,  being  a  competent  and  skillful  engineer.  The  youngest  daughter, 
Sarah,  is  at  home  unmarried.  The  youngest  son,  John  Skilton,  born  September,  1861, 
was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School,  Union  University  and  the  Albany  Law 
School.  He  had  seven  diplomas  of  graduation,  and  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Albany  on  a  Supreme  Court  examination  before  he  finished  his  course  in  the  law 
school.  He  went  to  Lincoln,  Neb.,  in  1887.  The  Western  Banker,  a  commercial  pub- 
lication of  Chicago,  issue  of  May  15,  1894,  contains  a  portrait  and  sketch  of  his  life  and 
character.  June  20,  1894,  he  married  Cora  L.  Knapp,  of  Rose  Valley,  N.  Y.  She  is 
the  eldest  daughter  of  E.  H.  Knapp,  esq.,  who  belongs  to  the  family  of  Knapps  residing 
in  Butler.     They  are  of  Connecticut  stock,  and  date  back  to  colonial  times. 

Benjamin,  William,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Westmoreland,  Oneida  county,  in  1800, 
a  son  of  Benjamin  Benjamin,  who  was  a  blacksmith,  with  limited  means  and  a  large 
family.  William,  together  with  two  older  brothers,  worked  and  paid  for  eighty  acres 
of  land  for  their  father.  At  the  age  of  thirty-two  years  William  married  Nancy  Shaver, 
and  moved  to  Butler,  Wayne  county,  on  the  farm  he  had  previously  bought.  At  this 
time  the  town  was  nearly  an  unbroken  wilderness,  only  a  small  clearing  around  each  log 
house.  Selling  this  he  moved  to  Rose,  this  county,  where  he  continued  to  prosper,  and 
at  his  death  in  his  sixty-fourth  year,  had  accumulated  a  large  property.  Both  he  and 
wife  were  devoted  to  charity  and  Christianity.  Their  son,  Manley  F.,  was  born  in 
Rose,  this  county,  in  1837,  and  served  his  parents  faithfully  until  his  majority,  when 
his  father  placed  him  in  the  position  of  financial  manager  of  his  business,  which  post  he 
held  until  the  latter's  death.  Soon  afterwards  he  bought  the  entire  estate,  carrying  it 
on  up  to  1875,  when  he  sold  the  farm,  and  married  Jennie  Stewart,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam Stewart,  of  Clyde.  They  had  two  children :  Roscoe,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eight 
years ;  and  Carlisle.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benjamin  are  interested  in  all  religious  and  educa- 
tional matters. 

Bradley,  Judd  B..  was  born  in  Lyons,  August  8,  1852.  His  father,  B.  J.,  came  to 
Wayne  county  with  his  parents  in  1805  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  Judd 
B.,  who  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  the  Lyons  Union  School. 
Afterward  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm,  which  he  bought  in  1881,  and  which  has 
been  in  the  family  since  1803,  having  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres,  raising  hay, 
grain  and  stock,  making  a  specialty  of  Jersey  stock.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he 
married  Elda  A.,  daughter  of  H.  W.  Palmer,  of  Port  Gibson.  Our  subject  is  one  of 
the  largest  farmers  in  the  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests.  He  is  in  pos- 
session of  deeds  transferring  some  of  the  land  from  the  English  government  to  his 
grandfather,  Judd  B.  Bradley. 

Burnett,  William,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  January  20,  1824.  His  father, 
James,  was  a  native  of  Little  Britain,  N.  Y.  The  family  originally  came  from  Scotland 
and  celebrated  their  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  in  1890,  on  the  old  farm. 
James  Burnett  and  his  father  came  to  Phelps  about  1800  and  was  a  well  known  man  and 
prominent  farmer  in  that  town.  William  was  educated  at  Marion,  Lyons  and  Clinton, 
and  in  1848  entered  in  sophsmore  class   at  Union  College,  Schenectady,  and  graduated 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  27 

in  the  classical  course  in  1851 ;  after  which  he  taught  school  nine  years.  In  186G  he 
came  to  Clyde,  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  continued  five  years,  and  since  then 
has  been  engaged  in  surveying  and  civil  engineering.  At  the  age  of  thirty- eight  he 
married  Loretta,  daughter  of  Henry  Van  Tassel,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Kath- 
erine  D.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  St.  Lawrence  University  and  of  New  York  Medical  Col- 
lege and  Hospital  for  Women.  Dr.  Burnett  is  a  practicing  physician  in  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y.     Our  subject  takes  an  active  interest  in  educational  matters. 

Barrett,  George  D.,  was  born  in  Hooksett,  New  Hampshire,  January  9,  1846.  His 
father,  William  H.  Barrett,  was  a  prominent  contractor  and  builder  of  that  town,  pay- 
ing particular  attention  to  railroad  work.  He  was  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Eighth 
New  Hampshire  Regiment,  entering  the  service  as  captain,  was  promoted  for  bravery 
and  meritorious  conduct.  He  died  in  1871,  aged  fifty-seven  years.  G.  D.  Barrett  was 
educated  in  the  high  schools  of  Nashua,  New  Hampshire,  entering  Dartmouth  Medical 
College  in  1875,  graduating  in  the  class  of  1828,  and  first  opened  an  office  in  Boston.  He 
then  removed  to  North  Abington,  remaining  until  1884,  and  the  same  year  came  to 
Marengo,  remaining  until  1893.  He  located  in  Clyde  in  November,  1894,  and  estab- 
lished a  general  practice.  At  the  age  of  thirty-two  he  married  Mary  H.,  daughter  of 
Alfred  Randall,  of  Boston,  and  they  have  had  two  children  :  Grace  M.  and  George  C; 
the  latter  died  in  childhood.  Our  subject  was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
Medical  Society,  is  now  a  member  of  the  Wayne  County  Medical  Society  and  health 
officer  of  the  town  of  Galen.  Dr.  Barrett  early  developed  a  desire  for  travel.  At  six- 
teen years  of  age  he  took  a  three  months'  trip  to  the  Bahama  Islands  and  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico;  in  1867  visited  Canada,  stopping  among  the  Canadians  over  six  months;  in  1869, 
a  trip  to  Mexico  by  way  of  Isthmus  of  Panama ;  to  Mazatlan,  on  west  coast,  nearly 
a  year  was  devoted  to  that  country,  and  five  years  to  California  and  Nevada. 

Blackburn,  John  A.,  was  born  in  Iredell  county,  North  Carolina,  October  14,  1828, 
and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  by  reading  and  close 
observation.  Afterward  he  established  the  hardware  business  in  Hillville,  Carroll 
county,  Va ,  continuing  four  years.  In  1855  he  came  to  Lyons  and  purchased  the  fan- 
ning mill  factory  of  S.  D.  Van  Wickle,  continuing  the  manufacture  until  1863,  when  he 
established  the  agricultural  implement  business,  which  he  continues  up  to  the  present 
time.  At  the  age  of  thirty-two  he  married  Margaret  M.,  daughter  of  Jesse  Smith,  of 
Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  daughters:  Mrs.  Jesse  Van  Camp,  Isabel  and 
Grace.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  men  in  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in 
educational  and  religious  matters, 

Bockoven,  H.  S.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  in  1834.  His  father,  Samuel,  was 
one  of  the  prominent  farmers  of  the  town  of  Galen.  H.  S.  Bockoven  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  married  Ada,  daughter  of  Israel 
Roy,  by  whom  he  has  two  daughters :  Edna  R.,  and  Gertrude  A.  He  has  ninety-eight 
acres  of  some  of  the  best  land  in  Wayne  county,  and  raises  mint,  fruit,  hay,  grain  and 
stock.  Our  subject  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  representative  men  of  his  town,  taking 
an  active  interest  in  school  and  church  matters. 

Bean,  Amos,  was  born  in  England,  in  1843.  He  was  the  youngest  child  of  a  family 
of  six  children  born  to  Samuel  and  Mary  Bean,  natives  of  England.  May  28,  1856,  he 
came  to  Ontario  and  settled  on  the  farm,  where  he  died  in  1877,  aged  seventy-seven 
years.  His  wife  died  in  1894,  aged  eighty-nine  years.  Amos  was  thirteen  years  old 
when  he  came  to  Ontario,  where  he  has  since  lived,  and  is  engaged  in  general  farming. 
Mr.  Bean  is  an  independent  in  politics.  In  1870  he  was  married  to  Sarah  Bean,  widow  of 
a  brother,  George  Bean.  By  her  first  marriage  she  had  two  children,  Mary  and  Willie 
(deceased).  Of  the  second"  marriage  five  children  children  were  born :  Hattie,  Clara 
Martha,  Minnie  and  Eva. 


28  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Bradley,  Benjamin,  was  born  April  1,  1828,  in  Lyons.  His  father.  Thomas,  was  a 
successful  farmer  and  prominent  man  in  his  town,  and  in  business  strictly  honest,  leav- 
ing at  his  death  eight  children,  six  boys  and  two  girls,  the  oldest  being  seventeen,  the 
mother  having  died  several  years  before.  The  fact  most  worthy  of  mention  was  this : 
The  six  brothers  grew  up  without  contracting  the  habit  of  strong  drink,  tobacco  or 
cards.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools,  at- 
tending the  Lima  Academy  for  a  short  time.  After  spending  a  year  in  Wisconsin  he 
returned  to  Lyons  in  1853  and  bought  a  small  farm  of  forty-two  acres  from  the  Samuel 
D.  Westfall  estate.  Afterwards,  another  part  of  the  same  estate,  also  three  other  ad- 
ditions from  adjoining  neighbors,  possessing  some  of  the  best  land  in  Wayne  county, 
making  a  specialty  of  fruit  and  grain.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  married  Sarah. 
M.,  daughter  of  William  A.  Teller,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  two  of 
whom  are  living,  Matie  A.  Eck,  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  Clayton  T.,  of  Phelps.  Our  sub- 
ject is  one  of  the  self-made  men  of  his  town,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educa- 
tional and  religious  matters,  of  sterling  integrity  and  recognized  worth. 

Barber,  William,  carriagemaker,  and  dealer  in  wagons,  sleighs,  etc.,  at  Red  Creek,  was 
a  soldier  of  the  late  war,  having  served  for  two  years  without  material  injury.  He 
enlisted  in  August,  1862,  in  the  138th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  which  was  transferred  to  the  9th  N. 
Y.  Heavy  Artillery.  He  was  born  at  Victory,  Cayuga  county,  May  23,  1839.  He 
established  his  present  business  in  18G5  and  still  occupies  the  same  location.  In  1871 
he  married  Jean  Barber,  of  Syracuse,  and  they  have  two  sons,  Edwin  W.,  born  1872,  a 
druggist  in  Syracuse,  and  Gay  P.,  born  1873,  who  is  engaged  at  wagon  work  with  his 
father. 

Barton,  Archibald,  was  born  in  Haverstraw,  Orange  county,  June  4,  1833.  His 
father,  William,  was  a  native  of  Connecticut.  Archibald  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  In  1855  he  came  to  Lyons  and  engaged  in  farming  six  years,  and  in  1861 
came  to  Galen.  In  1866  he  married  Abbie  N.,  daughter  of  Joseph  C.  Watson,  and 
they  have  had  five  children  :  Dillwyn,  Joseph  W.,  Lynn,  Olive  V.,  and  Nellie.  In  1871 
he  bought  a  part  of  the  James  Angell  and  the  Skinner  property  of  eighty-seven  acres, 
and  in  1890  bought  what  is  known  as  the  Philip  Haugh  farm  of  fifty-five  acres,  having 
195  acres  of  some  of  the  best  land  in  Wayne  county,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock. 
Our  subject  was  highway  commissioner  three  terms,  re-elected  in  1894,  and  takes  an 
active  interest  in  education. 

Bates,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Lucinda  Clark,  of  Red  Creek,  is  the  widow 
of  William  Bates,  late  of  Westbury.  Her  father  came  here  from  Columbia  county  in 
1853,  and  is  still  located  upon  the  farm  then  purchased,  and  is  a  much  respected  citizen. 
The  maternal  grandfather  of  our  subject,  Ezra  Park,  of  Canaan,  N.  Y.,  was  in  many 
ways  a  man  of  note.  He  was  ten  years  of  age  when  Fulton's  steamboat  first  plowed 
the  waters  of  the  Hudson,  and  was  a  witness  of  that  scene.  At  his  birth  George 
Washington  was  still  living,  and  the  Burr-Hamilton  duel  was  fought  while  he  was  a 
small  boy.  His  Republicanism  dated  from  the  formation  of  the  party,  and  he  never 
missed  an  election  from  his  majority  until  his  death  in  1892,  reaching  the  unusual  age  of 
ninety-five  years.  Mrs.  Bates  is  a  lady  of  culture  and  refinement,  widowed  in  early 
womanhood,  has  two  children,  Edna  L.  and  George  C.  William  Bates  enlisted  as  a 
soldier  of  his  country  in  Company  F,  3d  Regiment  New  York  Light  Artillery.  He  re- 
ceived an  honorable  discharge,  but  while  in  the  service  contracted  disease  which  re- 
sulted in  his  death  May  4,  1891. 

Button,  William  W.,  was  born  in  Wayne  county  in  1856,  and  in  1882  married  Minnie 
Penoyar,  daughter  of  William  H.  Penoyar,  of  Lyons.  Their  children  are  :  George 
Henry,  William  Edwin,  Stanley  Leroy,  Clara  Louisa,  ami  Howard.  The  latter  moved 
from  Lyons  in  1888  to  Palmyra.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Button  are  natives  of  New  York 
city,  who  came  to  this  county  in  1869  and  located  in  the  town  of  Sodus,  moving  to 
Peekskill,  Westchester  county,  in  1889. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  29 

Brandt,  J.  S.,  M.D,.  was  born  in  Ontario,  February  15,  1856.  He  is  the  youngest 
child  born  to  J.  W.  and  Sarah  J.  (Eddy)  Brandt,  he  a  native  of  Schoharie  county,  born 
in  1823,  and  she  a  native  of  Williamson,  born  in  1818.  The  grandfather  of  J.  S.  Brandt 
was  Joshua  Brandt,  a  native  of  Maine,  and  among  the  early  settlers  of  Ontario,  where 
he  lived  and  died.  The  maternal  grandfather  was  Joseph  Eddy,  a  settler  of  William- 
son, and  justice  of  peace  many  years.  He  died  at  the  age  of  forty -six.  The  father  of 
J.  S.  Brandt  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools;  was  graduated 
from  the  Buffalo  Medical  College,  and  practiced  four  years  in  Michigan.  He  afterward 
came  to  Ontario,  and  practiced  his  profession  until  he  retired,  about  four  years  ago. 
Mrs.  Brandt  died  in  1889.  Dr.  Brandt  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  was  a  surgeon  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion.  J.  S.  Brandt  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  common  school.  In  1873  he  was  graduated  from  the  Rochester  Collegiate 
Institute,  and  from  the  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College  of  New  York  in  1878. 
Since  that  he  has  successfully  practiced  his  profession  in  his  native  town,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  western  division  of  the  New  York  State  Medical  Society.  Dr.  Brandt  is  a 
Democrat.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Walworth  Lodge,  No.  154,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Pal- 
myra Eagle  Chapter,  No.  79,  R.  A.  M.  Dr.  Brandt  was  married  in  1883  to  Kittie  G. 
Maher,  a  native  of  Macedon,  and  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Mary  Maher,  both  natives 
of  Canada.  Four  children  were  born  to  Dr.  Brandt  and  wife  :  Eldred  S.,  Arthur  W., 
Willard  J.,  and  Harold  L.  Dr.  Brandt  is  one  of  the  pension  examining  surgeons  of 
Wayne  county,  appointed  in  1893. 

Brown,  Charles,  was  born  in  Galen,  May  30,  1840.  His  father,  Silas  Brown,  was  a 
native  of  Vermont  and  came  to  Wayne  county.  He  died  in  1885,  aged  seventy-six 
years.  Charles  Brown  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added 
through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty- one  he  married 
Alvira,  daughter  of  Abram  De  Golia,  and  they  have  one  child,  Mrs.  Emma  Corrigan. 
In  1875  he  purchased  of  his  father  fifty  acres,  where  he  now  resides,  and  what  was 
known  as  the  Brush  farm,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  a  liberal 
supporter  of  schools,  and  the  M  E.  Church  of  Clyde. 

Bennett,  John  P.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  July  10,  1824,  and  is  the  son  of  Josiah 
and  Ruth  Reeves  Bennett,  who  came  to  America  from  England  with  his  parents  and 
settled  in  Hudson.  Josiah  Bennett  was  educated  at  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  Medical  College, 
and  came  to  Williamson  in  1815,  and  practiced  his  profession  until  his  death  in  1850. 
Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  Marion 
Academy  and  Rochester  Collegiate  Institute.  He  engaged  in  farming,  and  in  1872  he 
began  buying  and  selling  grain,  and  at  present  is  engaged  in  the  lumber  business.  He 
has  a  large  lumber  yard  and  does  a  large  business  in  making  boxes  for  packing  evapo- 
rated apples  and  other  fruit  Mr.  Bennett  has  been  justice  nine  years,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Assembly  in  1854-55,  and  in  1890.  He  was  elected  supervisor  1879,  and  is 
now  serving  his  sixteenth  year.  He  was  sheriff  1862-63-64  and  1868-69  and  '70. 
Mr.  Bennett  is  a  member  of  the  Pultenyville  Lodge,  No.  154,  F  &  A.  M.,  and  he  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  In  1861  Mr.  Bennett  married 
Sarah  M..  daughter  of  William  and  Deliah  Eddie  Bradley,  early  settlers  of  Williamson, 
N.  Y.,  and  they  have  five  children  :  William  J.,  who  married  Mary  Freeman,  and  has 
one  daughter,  Sarah  P.;  Albert  B.;  John  D.,  died  in  infancy,  R.  May,  and  Samuel  S. 

Baker,  George  0.,  was  born  in  West  Monroe,  which  was  then  a  part  of  Constantia. 
Oswego  county,  June  30,  1835.  His  father,  Samuel  P.  Baker,  was  a  native  of  Mar- 
cellus.  Onondaga  county,  and  removed  to  Oswego  county  at  the  age  of  twenty-one, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  tanner  and  currier,  and  in  the  manufacture  of 
boots  and  shoes.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Mr.  Baker  devoted  himself  to  farm- 
ing. He  married  Miss  Mary  H.  Atherton,  daughter  of  Samuel  Atherton,  and  to  them 
were  born  eight  children.  Samuel  Baker  died  in  1888.  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight 
years.     George  O.  Baker,  the  fourth  son,  studied   law  and  was  admitted  to  practice  at 


30  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Syracuse  in  1S59,  and  came  to  Clyde  in  August  of  the  same  year,  where  he  engaged 
in  general  practice.  He  married  Miss  Ellen  Gregory,  daughter  of  Aaron  Gregory,  of 
Mexico,  Oswego  county,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  two  of  whom  are 
now  living,  William  G.  Baker,  of  Poughkeepsie,  and  Alice  J.  Baker. 

Booth,  B.  S..  son  of  Norman  and  Paulina  Booth,  of  Huron,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y., 
was  born  in  1829.  He  acquired  a  business  education  at  Lyons  High  School  and  in  1852 
engaged  as  merchant  in  Wolcott.  He  is  now  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Booth 
&  Merrill,  grocers  and  stationers,  established  in  1874.  Mr.  Booth  was  constable  in 
1857  and  1858,  the  first  Republican  postmaster  of  Wolcott  under  the  administration  of 
President  Lincoln  in  1861,  deputy  sheriff  from  1871  to  1877,  under  sheriff  from  1877  to 
1880  and  is  now  a  notary.  October  9,  1851,  he  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  James 
T.  Wisner,  and  she  died  in  1857,  and  in  1858  Mr.  Booth  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Hiram  Church,  of  Wolcott,  and  they  have  four  children,  of  whom  one  son,  William,  is 
an  engineer  on  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R. 

Brownell,  M.  Alice,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Shelby,  Orleans  county.  She  was  first 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  then  in  the  Select  School  at  Medina,  at  the  Howland 
Institute  in  Union  Springs,  at  the  Normal  School  of  Brockport,  and  the  Granger  Place 
School  at  Canandaigua.  For  nine  years  she  was  a  successful  teacher,  during  which  she 
studied  medicine  and  later  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  Michigan  University 
of  Ann  Arbor,  from  which  she  graduated  in  1885,  and  practiced  in  Rochester  five  years 
with  success.  August  1,  1891,  she  was  appointed  resident  and  attending  physician  of 
the  State  Custodial  Asylum  for  Feeble  Minded  Women,  at  Newark,  by  the  Board 
of   Managers  of  that  institution,  which  position  she  now  retains  and  has  creditably  filled 

for  the  past  three  years. 

v 

Bickford,  Lyman,  was  born  in  East  Bloomfield,  November  1,  1820.  Azariah  Bickford, 
his  father,  was  a  native  of  Maine.  His  grandfather,  Rev.  James  P.  Bickford,  went  to 
Rochester  in  the  year  1812,  being  one  of  the  first  settlers  at  that  time.  He  afterward 
removed  to  Michigan,  where  he  died,  at  the  age  of  84.  Azariah  Bickford  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade  and  started  business  in  East  Bloomfield.  In  1819  he  married  Philana 
Perkins,  of  the  town  of  Victor,  and  their  family  consisted  of  nine  children,  Lyman  B. 
being  the  eldest.  Azariah  Bickford  died  in  1886,  aged  84.  Lyman  Bickford  is  a 
machinist  and  has  carried  on  business  since  1842.  At  present  he  is  retired.  April  28, 
1842,  he  married  Elvira  Perkins  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children :  Mary, 
who  married  Colonel  Henry  Underbill,  dying  in  her  26th  year,  and  two  sons,  deceased. 
Mr.  Bickford  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  Macedon  Lodge  665.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Universalist  Church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  served  as  super- 
visor for  five  years.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  Bickford  &  Huffman  Company  now 
doing  business  in  Macedon  village. 

Beardsley,  David  S.,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Trumbull,  Fairfield  county,  Conn.,  April  8, 
1810.  He  is  the  youngest  of  the  five  children  of  James  and  Ruth  (Summers)  Beardsley, 
natives  of  Trumbull,  he  born  in  1758  and  she  in  February,  1767.  He  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier.  The  family  is  of  English  descent,  Mr.  Beardsley  having  come  to 
America  from  Stratford-on-Avon,  England,  in  1635,  at  the  age  of  thirty.  He  named  the 
town  of  Stratford  in  Fairfield  county,  Conn.,  and  one  of  his  descendants  came  to  Western 
New  York  and  named  the  town  of  Avon.  Dr.  Beardsley  is  the  seventh  generation  in 
America.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  school  and  Cherry  Valley  Academy,  studied 
medicine  with  Alonzo  White,  M.  D,  of  Cherry  Valley,  Otsego  county,  and  graduated 
from  the  Albany  Medical  College  in  1840.  He  practiced  his  profession  at  Middlefield 
Center  from  1842  to  1849,  and  in  November  of  the  latter  year  he  came  to  Williamson, 
and  to  Puitneyville  in  1854,  on  April  1,  where  he  has  since  had  a  successful  practice. 
He  at  present  leads  a  retired  life.  November  24,  1841,  he  married  Laura  F.  Carr,  a 
native  of  ITartwick,  born  July  23,  1820,  and  a  daughter  of  Ephraim  and  Sarah  (Todd) 


FAMILY    SKETCHES.  31 

Carr,  natives  of  Connecticut,  Avho  died  in  Otsego  county,  where  the  grandfather  of 
Mrs.  Beardsley  settled  in  1790.  Dr.  Beardsley  has  been  a  life-long  Democrat,  and 
voted  for  Andrew  Jackson  in  1832.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pultneyville  Lodge,  No. 
159,  and  was  a  member  of  I.  0.  0.  F.  for  many  years.  He  and  his  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  father  of  our  subject.  James  Beardsley,  was  a 
member  of  the  assembly  for  eight  terms,  and  a  relative  of  Dr.  Beardsley,  who  named 
the  town  of  Avon,  N.  Y. 

Brockman,  Lewis,  a  native  of  G-ermany,  born  June  8,  1853,  is  a  son  of  Fred  and 
Eliza  Brockman,  who  came  from  Germany  to  America  in  1881  with  two  daughters  and 
settled  in  Rochester.  They  had  a  family  of  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom 
came  to  America  and  all  still  survive.  Mr.  Brockman  was  a  farmer,  and  in  religion 
they  are  German  Lutherans.  Mrs.  Brockman  died  in  1882,  but  he  still  lives  in  Roches- 
ter with  a  daughter,  Sopha,  wife  of  William  Coward.  Lewis  Brockman  came  to 
America  in  1874,  having  been  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Germany.  He  went 
to  work  as  a  farm  hand,  and  was  seven  years  employed  by  William  Gould.  In  1881 
he  purchased  the  farm  of  eighty  acres  where  he  has  since  resided,  carrving  on  general 
farming  and  fruit  growing,  also  evaporating  fruit.  In  1877  he  married  Hattie  Kier,  of 
Ontario,  by  whom  he  has  had  these  children :  Bertha,  William,  Fred,  Charlie,  George 
and  Nora. 

Breisch,  F.  L.,  was  born  in  Hailbron,  Wurtenberg,  Germany,  August  2,  1853.  His 
father,  Frederick,  came  to  the  United  States  in  1856  direct  to  Lyons,  and  settled  on  a 
farm  at  Alloway.  He  brought  up  a  large  family  of  ten  sons  and  two  daughters.  F. 
L.  Breisch  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by 
reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  cf  eight  he  was  bound  out  to  a  farmer,  re- 
maining six  years.  At  seventeen  he  learned  the  millers  trade  at  Alloway,  and  in  1874 
came  to  the  village  of  Lyons  and  entered  the  employ  of  Capt.  C.  Englehardt  in  the 
grocery  business.  In  1878  was  associated  with  G.  M.  Hattler  in  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness, and  in  1879  went  with  I.  B  Schuyler  &  Co.  and  established  the  original  New 
York  store  in  Lyons.  In  1886  he  entered  into  partnership  with  R.  A.  Hubbard  in  a 
general  dry  goods  store,  which  connection  terminated  in  1889.  Then  in  connection 
with  P.  T.  Hartman  re-established  the  business  carried  on  by  I.  B.  Schuyler  &  Co., 
known  as  the  New  York  Dry  Goods  Store.  At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  married 
Helen  W.,  daughter  of  Henry  Smith,  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  one  son,  Earle  F.  Our 
subject  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  was  elected  town  clerk  for  two  terms,  and  while 
leading  an  active  business  life  has  found  time  to  take  an  interest  in  school  and  church 
matters,  being  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  also  a  member  of  Humanity  F.  & 
A.  M.  Lodge  No.  406.  Our  subject  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  conservative  character, 
whose  life  has  found  his  word  to  be  as  good  as  his  bond. 

Barnes,  Harvey  D.,  was  born  in  Galen  October  8,  1836,  and  was  the  son  of  Edward 
Barnes.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Tindall  and  their  children  were:  Charles  H,  Caroline 
E.,  wife  of  Peter  Fisher,  of  Michigan ;  Horatio  V.,  and  Mary  Ella.  Our  subject  left 
home  when  eleven  years  of  age  and  has  always  followed  farming.  In  1861  he  enlisted 
in  the  44th  N.  Y.  Vol.  Ellsworth  Regiment,  Company  K,  and  served  three  years.  The 
principal  engagements  in  which  he  participated  were  siege  of  Yorktown,  evacuation  of 
Centerville,  Fredericksburg,  Antietam,  South  Mountain  and  Gettysburg.  He  was  dis- 
abled March  11,  1862,  and  discharged  at  Johnson's  Island,  where  he  had  been  detailed 
to  guard  prisoners.  Since  the  war  he  has  been  engaged  in  farming,  and  owns  ninety- 
six  acres.  In  1864  he  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Robert  Catchpole,  of  Huron. 
Mr.  Barnes  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R.  John  E.  Sherman  Post  No.  410,  of  Rose  Val- 
ley, and  he  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Clyde  Grange,  No.  33. 

Burnett,  A.  C,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen  October  7,  1848.  His  father,  W.  H. 
Burnett,  was  a  native  of  Junius,  Seneca  county,  and  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  the 


32  LANDMARKS    OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

town  of  Galen.  He  married  Jane  A.  Collamer,  of  Ballston,  Saratoga  county,  and  died 
September  12,  188.'!,  aged  sixty-five  years.  A.  C.  Burnett  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  He  re- 
turned to  his  father's  farm  in  1X73,  purchased  one-half  the  homestead  farm,  and  inher- 
ited the  other  portion  in  1883,  having  200  acres,  raising  fruit,  grain  and  stock.  His 
grandfather,  Arch  Burnett,  was  the  first  man  to  cultivate  and  distill  mint  in  Wayne 
county,  securing  the  first  roots  from  the  wild  mint  on  the  banks  of  the  streams.  A.  C. 
Burnett  married  Alice,  daughter  of  Spencer  Yandemark,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
one  daughter,  Jane  A.  He  is  a  member  of  Clyde  Lodge  No.  300,  of  Wayne  Encamp- 
ment, Newark,  Galen  Canton  No.  49,  and  major  on  General  Shafer's  staff  of  Patriarchs 
Militant. 

Benton,  William,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  August  11,  1827,  and  is  the  seventh 
of  the  eleven  children  of  Jonathan  and  Kate  Mclntyre  Benton,  he  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, and  she  of  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.  Both  died  in  1837.  Our  subject  was  reared 
a  fanner,  and  came  to  Williamson  in  1853,  and  now  owns  eighty  acres  of  land  and 
follows  general  farming.  He  is  a  Democrat.  March  11,  1854,  he  married  Angeline 
Clark,  a  native  of  Columbia  county,  and  a  daughter  of  John  I.  and  Margaret  Clark, 
now  residing  at  Sodus  Point.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benton  have  had  eleven  children:  Arthur, 
Helena,  Justina,  Estella,  Willie  and  Annie,  deceased  ;  Charles,  John,  Margaret,  de- 
ceased ;  Ada  and  Fred. 

Brown,  George  A.,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  Brown,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ros- 
coemanor,  Berks  county.  Pa.,  January  3,  1848.  There  he  learned  the  trade  of  harness- 
maker,  and  for  a  few  years  followed  it  as  a  journeyman,  but  in  1872  he  came  to  Clyde, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  The  year  of  his  arrival  here,  Mr.  Brown  opened  a  small 
harness  shop — the  nucleus  of  his  present  extensive  manufactory,  and  which  has  de- 
veloped into  one  of  the  largest  industries  of  the  kind  between  Syracuse  and  Rochester. 
April  30,  1874,  he  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Abraham  Knight,  of  Clyde.  They 
have  two  children  living,  Ralph  Robert  and  Aden  George,  and  two  deceased,  Ella 
Pauline  and  Laura  Hannah. 

Bevier,  Fred,  was  born  at  Niles,  Cayuga  county,  May  18,  1863.  His  father,  Simon 
Bevier,  was  a  man  of  prominence  at  that  place,  and  died  in  1877,  at  the  age  of  fifty. 
Fred  received  a  good  academic  education  at  Munroe  Collegiate  Institute  at  Elbridge, 
N.  Y.  He  adopted  undertaking  as  his  chosen  profession,  and  began  his  business  life 
by  association  with  N.  G.  Anderson  of  Syracuse.  In  1892  he  came  to  Wolcott,  and 
established  the  business  at  No.  30  Main  street,  making  a  specialty  of  arterial  embalm- 
ing, beside  carrying  a  large  stock  of  furniture.  November  14,  1888,  he  married  Cora, 
daughter  of  William  Tanner,  of  Niles.  Mrs.  Bevier  graduated  from  the  State  Normal 
School  at  Cortland,  N.  Y.,  in  1883,  after  which  she  spent  several  years  in  teaching. 

Benton,  John  W.,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead,  upon  which  he  now  resides,  Janu- 
ary 21,  1823.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Newark  and  at  the  Genesee 
Wesley  an  Seminary  at  Lima,  N.  Y.  November  21,  1850,  he  married  Harriet,  second 
daughter  of  Austin  and  Sarah  Roe,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  Frances  Roe  and 
Harriet.  Frances  R.  married  Arthur  N.  Hull  of  Greenfield,  Mass.,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Lillian  Preston  and  Roger  Benton.  Harriet  married  Rev.  Francis  Bellamy, 
now  of  Boston,  and  they  have  two  sons,  John  Benton  and  David.  Mr.  Benton's 
father,  Rev.  Roger  Benton,  was  born  in  Litchfield  county,  Conn.,  in  1770.  He  was  a 
clergyman  and  belonged  to  the  Baltimore  conference,  and  traveled  in  Central  New 
York  as  one  of  the  pioneer  Methodist  ministers.  He  preached  and  travelled  over  large 
circuits  until  his  voice  failed  him  entirely,  when  to  occupy  his  time  he  taught  school  in 
Canandaigua,  hoping  to  regain  his  voice,  but  not  recovering  it,  he  decided  to  locate 
and  found  his  way  through  the  wilderness  from  Canandaigua  to  this  locality  by  blazed 
trees  with  the  aid  of  a  pocket  compass.      He  contracted  for  his  farm   in  1805,  and  built 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  33 

himself  a  log  house  on  the  spot  where  the  subject  of  this  notice  now  resides,  making 
one  of  the  rooms  in  it  especially  large  to  accommodate  religious  meetings,  where  the 
early  settlers  congregated  regularly  for  seven  years  for  public  preaching  and  social 
meetings.  After  which  he  built  a  church  on  his  own  farm,  where  the  cemetery  now  is, 
"  the  neighboring  settlers  aiding  as  they  could  by  bees  and  labor."  There  was  no  vil- 
lage where  Newark  now  is,  nor  any  central  point.  There  was  a  saw  mill  at  Marble- 
town,  and  Geneva  was  the  place  where  most  of  the  business  was  done.  Roger  Benton 
married  twice ;  first  Sally  Jenks,  of  Seneca,  on  Geneva  Lake,  and  they  had  one  son, 
Lewis  J.  His  second  marriage  was  to  Mrs.  Frances  (Beal)  Oaks,  formerly  of  Oaks 
Corners,  Ontario  county.  They  had  one  son,  the  above  John  W.  Roger  Benton  died 
in  1846,  and  his  wife  in  1854.  The  ancestry  of  the  Ben  tons  were  English  and  Scotch. 
Mrs.  Benton's  father,  Hon.  Austin  Roe,  was  born  in  Litchfield  county.  Conn.,  in  1802, 
and  came  to  Wayne  county  with  his  parents  when  eighteen  years  old.  He  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation  and  married  Sarah  Wisner,  formerly  of  Orange  county,  and  they  had 
eight  children :  Deborah  A.,  Charles,  Harriet,  Charlotte  M.,  Austin  L,  Rebecca,  Sarah 
and  Albert  H.  He  died  in  1866,  aged  sixty-four  years.  His  wife  still  survives  him, 
aged  ninety-two.  The  Roes  are  of  English  descent.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benton  are  mem- 
bers of  the  M.  E.  church.  He  is  one  of  the  trustees,  and  has  held  many  of  the  offices 
of  the  church.     He  was  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  school  for  thirty  years. 

Burghdorf,  Joseph,  whose  great-grandfather  came  when  a  lad  from  Germany,  is  the 
oldest  son  of  Jacob  J.  and  Miranda  Burgdorf,  who  were  life-long  residents  of  Wayne 
county.  They  reared  a  family  of  nine  children,  of  whom  six  are  now  living.  Joseph 
was  born  at  Auburn,  October  28,  1836,  and  has  been  engaged  in  farming-  the  most  of 
his  life.  October  27,  1859,  he  married  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  George  Doolittle,  of  But- 
ler, who  died  October  19,  1874,  leaving  a  family  of  four  children  :  Harriet,  wife  of  San- 
ger Case,  a  merchant  at  Sodus  Point;  Addie,  wife  of  E.  D.  Ebray,  of  Sodus;  Spencer, 
who  married  Sarah  Stothard,  and  is  a  farmer  of  Victory,  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y. ;  and 
Allan,  who  died  when  eight  years  of  age.  In  1875  he  married  Laura  A.,  daughter  of 
William  H.  Nichols,  of  Huron.  Two  children  have  been  born  to  them :  Paul  M.,  who 
is  now  at  home,  and  Otto,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Britton,  John,  son  of  Richard  and  Ann  Britton,  was  born  in  Williamson,  August  18 
1831.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has 
always  followed  farming  and  now  owns  eighty  acres  of  land,  which  he  settled  on  when 
twenty- six  years  of  age.  He  resided  there  thirty -six  years,  and  then  sold  and  came  to 
Williamson  in  1891,  where  he  now  leads  a  retired  life.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  was  excise  commissioner  for  three  years.  Mr.  Britton  and  wife  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  January  18,  1857,  he  married  Sarah  D.  Thomas,  a  native  of 
Marion,  born  in  1831.  Mr.  Britton  has  one  adopted  daughter,  Daisy,  the  wife  of  George 
Wamesfelder,  of  Ontario,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Ruth.  Mrs.  Britton's  mother 
lived  with  her  daughter  until  her  death,  ten  years  before  she  died,  January  13,  1888, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-one. 

Brant,  Hamilton,  the  third  of  seven  children  of  Joshua  and  Susannah  Brant,  was  born 
in  Schoharie  county,  August  3,  1809.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  He  taught  school  and  took  great  interest  in  public  questions,  and  was 
a  good  debater.  He  came  to  Wayne  county  about  1840  and  bought  the  farm  now 
owned  by  the  family,  where  he  died  in  1868.  Formerly  a  Democrat  he  became  a  Re- 
publican about  1856.  He  married  in  1844  Frances  B.  White,  a  native  of  Saratoga 
county,  who  was  born  March  24,  1824,  and  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Sarah  White,  and 
they  had  ten  children.  Mr.  White  and  wife  came  to  Penfield,  Monroe  county,  in  1831, 
and  emigrated  to  Michigan,  where  he  died  in  1872,  and  his  wife  in  1869.  Mr.  Brant 
and  wife  have  had  four  children :  Mason,  Amasa,  Jennie,  and  William.  Mason  mar- 
ried Jane  Church,  of  Ontario,  by  whom  he  has  seven  children  :  Sarah  J.,  Hattie  R., 


34  LANDMARKS   OF    WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Amasa,  Amelia  J.,  George,  William  H.,  and  Edith.  Amasa  married  Florence  Sweed,  of 
Penfield,  and  has  two  children  :  J.  Hamilton  and  Leon.  William  married  Carrie  Ott, 
of  Walworth,  and  has  one  child,  Homer  Hamilton.  Jennie,  William,  and  their  mother 
reside  on  the  homestead  of  108  acres,  and  follow  general  farming,  and  are  members  of 
Ontario  Center  Grange  122. 

Barnard,  Walter,  was  born  in  Schenectady  county,  February  26,  1847,  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  at  Ballston  Spa  Academy.  In  1871  he  engaged  in  railway 
work,  entering  the  employ  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Company  as  freight  brakeman, 
and  later  as  passenger  conductor.  In  1886  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  West  Shore 
Railroad  Company  as  yard  master  at  Newark,  which  position  he  has  filled  with  ability 
since.  October  19,  1876,  he  married  Rosamond  Griswold,  of  Castleman,  Vt.,  and  they 
have  had  two  children :  Nellie,  who  died  young,  and  Lillian.  Mr.  Barnard's  father, 
Morgan  L.,  was  born  at  Lowville,  Lewis  county,  in  1812,  and  was  a  hotel  keeper  all  his 
life.  He  married  Catharine  E.  Hermanse,  of  Rensselaer  county,  and  of  their  ten  chil- 
dren five  survive  :  Walter,  Anna,  Helen,  Emily,  and  Bella.  He  died  in  1888,  and  his 
widow  survives  him.     Mr.  Barnard  is  a  Mason  of  Lebanon  Unity  No.  9. 

Clark,  James  0.,  son  of  Dennis  Clark  and  Amanda  Reeves  Clark,  was  born  in  Pal- 
myra, January  19,  1832.  He  married  in  1856  Alinda,  a  daughter  of  Jamps  T.  Wisner, 
who  died  in  1859.  In  1862  he  married  Anna  M.  Reeves,  daughter  of  Austin  Reeves, 
and  their  children  are:  Emerson  D.,  who  died  aged  thirteen  years,  and  Hattie  A. 
James  0.  Clark's  farm  consists  of  150  acres,  and  was  purchased  in  1860  of  Newton 
Foster,  a  son  of  one  the  pioneers  of  the  town.  It  was  formerly  a  noted  wheat  farm, 
but  dairying  is  now  its  leading  interest.  Mr.  Clark  taught  school  a  few  terms  in  his 
younger  days,  has  been  highway  commissioner  three  years,  and  supervisor  of  Palmyra 
four  years.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

Corrin,  E.  Q.,  was  born  on  the  Isle  of  Man,  Janury  21,  1857,  came  to  the  United 
States,  and  located  in  Clyde  in  1870,  being  then  thirteen  years  of  age.  He  lived  with 
his  uncle,  Philip  Grimsha,  who  was  a  farmer  in  the  town  of  Galen.  E.  Q.  Corrin  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and 
close  observation.  He  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Gas  Company  in  1880  ;  in 
1885  went  into  the  grocery  business  with  E.  Sands,  continuing  that  connection  two 
years;  in  1889  associated  with  E.  N.  Hughson  and  established  his  present  business;  in 
1892  purchased  his  partner's  interest,  and  is  now  carrying  a  large  stock  of  stoves, 
ranges,  hardware  and  cutlery.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Laura,  daughter 
of  Edwin  Sands,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children:  John  G,,  Louise,  and 
Robena  S.  Subject  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  County  Committee  four  years,  a 
trustee  of  the  school  district  four  years,  a  leader  of  the  Presbyterian  church  choir,  and 
one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Saxton  Band. 

Carver,  P.  K.,  came  into  the  town  of  Savannah  in  1836,  the  house  was  then  on  lot 
99.  The  Monteznma  turnpike  road  had  cut  off  about  two  acres  of  land,  which  had 
been  sold  to  some  former  owner  of  lot  12  in  Tyre.  The  house  was  moved  over  the 
line  in  the  fall  of  1836,  near  the  east  bounds  of  lot  99,  was  an  old  Indian  camping 
ground,  numerous  relics  were  found  there  in  1837.  Some  of  the  first  settlers  were 
buried  on  the  lot,  the  ground  being  now  used  for  farming  purposes.  The  north  line  of 
Seneca  county  was  surveyed  by  Joseph  Annin  in  1791,  marked  a  tree  near  the  marsh: 
Township  No.  26,  Lot  12.  Annin  surveyed  Wayne  county  in  1798.  making  long  and 
narrow  lots  on  the  south  line  of  the  county,  lot  99  being  426',  chains  on  the  east  line 
4412,  chains  on  the  west.  The  southwest  corner  of  the  town  of  Savannah  is  near  the 
center  of  the  road,  about  44  chains  36  links  south  of  the  southwest  corner  of  lot  89. 
The  first  settlers  of  the  (now)  town  of  Savannah  came  by  the  way  of  May's  Point,  and 
had  to  go  that  way  to  get  to  mills  in  Cayuga  and  Seneca  counties.  After  the  turnpike 
was  made  across  Crusoe  Island  from  Montezuma  to  Armitage,  most  of  the  farmers 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  35 

went  to  Port  Byron  and  Troopsville  to  mill.  There  was  a  tollgate  at  the  east  end  of 
the  Seneca  River  bridge,  farmers  commuting  and  paying  the  toll  by  working  on  the 
road.  P.  K.  Carver  was  married  in  1855  to  Sophia  J.  Burnett,  of  Lyons.  Their  family 
consisted  of  four  children :  Helen,  Mary,  Gardner  (now  deceased),  and  Elmer,  who 
resides  with  his  parents  on  their  farm. 

Creager,  John,  was  born  in  Lyons,  August  6,  1825.  His  father,  William,  was  a 
native  of  Frederick  county,  Md.,  and  came  to  Lyons  in  1802  with  his  father,  Henry, 
who  exchanged  his  farm  in  Maryland  for  a  section  of  640  acres  in  the  town  of  Galen, 
now  known  as  Creager's  Bridge  John  was  educated  in  the  district  school,  which  was 
on  the  Creager  estate.  His  father  died  when  he  was  twelve  years  of  age,  and  he  had 
to  take  the  management,  with  the  aid  of  his  mother,  of  his  father's  farm.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-five  he  married  Rachael'  A.,  daughter  of  John  Levans,  of  Galen,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Sarah  J.,  who  died  in  August,  1892.  In  1860  he 
bought  the  Cole  Roy  property  of  123  acres,  raising  large  amounts  of  hay,  grain  and 
stock,  in  1867  removed*  to  Alloway,  and  in  1887  bought  his  present  residence  on  Broad 
street  in  Lyons.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  held  the  office  of  assessor  six 
years,  justice  of  the  peace  four  years,  and  trustee  of  the  school. 

Cone,  Walter  L.,  jr.,  was  born  in  Lenox,  Madison  county,  March  13,  1832,  the  fourth 
child  of  a  family  of  six,  born  to  Walter  L.,  sr.,  and  Caroline  C.  (Curtis)  Cone,  the  father 
having  been  born  in  Oneida  county  in  1798,  and  the  mother  in  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  in 
1803.  They  were  married  December  2,  1821.  Mr.  Cone  died  December  12,  1888,  and 
his  wife,  December  5,  1885.  Walter  L.,  sr.,  settled  on  the  farm  owned  by  our  subject  in 
1837,  cleared  it,  and  there  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  was  a  Republican,  and 
was  captain  in  the  State  militia.  Walter  L.,  jr.,  our  subject,  was  reared  on  the  farm, 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Ontario,  and  engaged  in  farming,  now  owning  115 
acres  of  land.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  as  assessor  three  terms.  November 
11,  1858,  he  married  Nellie  Bennett,  of  that  place.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cone  have  had  two 
children  :  Glen  C,  who  married  Allen  Cattien,  and  has  one  child,  Ada  B. ;  and  Kittie,  wife 
of  Floyd  Gates,  of  Ontario.  They  have  three  children  :  Glen,  Roscoe,  and  Elma  M. 
Glen  C.  is  a  fruit  raiser  and  farmer.  He  has  served  as  clerk  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors 
for  three  years.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Walter  R.  Cone,  of  East  Haddam, 
Conn.,  born  November  26,  1764,  who  married  Dorothy  Palmer,  March  26,  1789.  He  died 
November  22,  1829,  and  his  wife  in  1847.  The  father  of  Walter  R.  was  Sylvanus  Cone, 
of  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  born  January  21,  1731,  who  married,  November  13,  1755, 
Hannah  Ackley,  born  March  18,  1742.  He  died  in  Millington,  Conn.,  May  3,  1812,  and 
his  wife,  June  24,  1789.  His  second  wife  was  Mary  E.  Graves,  whom  he  married 
October  6,  1790.  She  was  born  in  1746,  and  died  January  23,  1807.  His  third  wife 
was  Eunice  Spencer,  whom  he  married  November  1,  1809.  She  was  born  in  1736,  and 
died  October  11,  1819.  The  father  of  Sylvanus  was  James  Cone,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Warner.  He  was  born  in  East  Haddam,  August  24,  1698,  and  died  December  7,  1767. 
He  served  as  representative  in  1747.  He  was  married  previously  to  this  to  Grace 
Spencer  who  died  in  1727.  James  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Sarah  (Hungerford) 
Cone,  the  former  dying  in  1731,  and  the  latter  in  1753.  Nathaniel  was  the  son  of  Daniel, 
the  first  of  the  family  to  come  to  America.     He  was  born  in  1626,  and  died  in  1706. 

Craven,  D.  P.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  October  17,  1841.  He  was 
the  oldest  son  of  James  and  Hannah  Craven,,  who  were  natives  of  Yorkshire,  England, 
and  came  to  America  about  the  year  1835,  settling  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.  Three  years 
after  they  moved  to  Sodus;  they  moved  to  Ontario,  in  1853,  where  they  lived  till  the 
year  1867;  leaving  New  York  they  settled  in  Jasper  county,  Iowa,  where  they  resided 
until  their  death,  which  occurred  in  1886  and  1884.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  the  farm 
and  educated  in  Sodus  and  Walworth  Academies.  He  married  Julia  Bennett  in  On- 
tario, N.  Y.,  November  8,  1865,  daughter  of  John  and  Jane  (Mason)  Bennett,  natives  of 


36  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

New  York  and  New  Jersey.  In  April  he  took  the  advice  of  the  sage  Horace  Greeley  and 
went  west  and  settling  in  Jasper  county,  Iowa,  where  he  now  owns  600  acres  of  as 
productive  land  as  is  in  the  United  States.  Mr,  Craven  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  as  are 
also  his  five  sons.  He  is  agnostic  in  religion.  He  has  held  the  office  of  supervisor  for 
a  number  of  years  in  the  State  of  Iowa.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Craven  are  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  living.  J.  Edwin,  born  September  6,  1866; 
D.  Homer,  July  10, 1869 :  John  R.,  September  29,  1871 ;  Thurman  P.,  August  10,  1875 ; 
Galen  R.,  June  22,  1877:  B.  Gabrielle,  January  24,  1879;  M.  Genevieve,  August  24, 
1881,  and  M.  Guinevere,  May  22,  1884.  After  an  absence  of  twenty-sevetj  years  Mr. 
Craven  moved  back  to  Ontario,  N.  Y.,  where  he  now  lives  and  owns  the  McConnell 
farm,  situated  midway  between  Ontario  and  Ontario  Centre  villages,  leaving  his  three 
older  sons  to  manage  his  western  farm. 

Crandle,  R.  S.,  was  born  October  9,  1825,  at  the  place  where  his  home  is  now  situated. 
His  parents,  Seth  and  Rebecca,  came  from  Mentz,  Cayuga  county.  They  had  eight 
children,  of  whom  four  now  survive.  Seth  died  September  21,  1871,  and  his  wife  Jan- 
uary 16,  1855.  Our  subject  began  farming  when  twenty-five  and  purchased  the  farm 
now  his  own  in  1860.  He  married,  January  14,  1864,  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Loammi 
Beadle  of  Savannah,  by  whom  he  had  four  children:  Elton,  born  January  8,  1867,  who 
died  aged  fifteen,  a  youth  of  uncommon  moral  worth  and  studious  habits;  Everett, 
born  January  12,  1869,  who  married  Bertha  Titus  and  lives  in  Savannah;  Martha,  born 
June  1,  1872,  and  Mary  born  September  25, 1874. 

Clark,  Samuel,  of  English  stock,  located  in  Palmyra  about  1794,  having  three  sens: 
Samuel,  jr.,  who  removed  to  Michigan  about  1840;  Benjamin  and  Oliver,  the  two  latter, 
buying  land  together  across  the  creek  from  East  Palmyra.  This  farm  was  afterwards 
divided,  Benjamin  taking  the  north  and  Oliver  the  south  part.  Here  Benjamin  died,  and 
also  his  daughters,  one  remaining  granddaughter  removing  to  the  west  about  1838. 
Oliver  was  born  February  14,  1767,  and  died  January  21,1843.  He  came  with  the  early 
settlers  from  Long  Island,  and  was  a  tailor,  as  well  as  farmer.  He  had  three  sisters,  one 
of  whom  became  the  wife  of  Gabriel  Rogers,  and  later  removed  to  Sodus.  She  was  the 
mother  of  B.  R.  and  James  of  Lyons,  and  Erastus  of  Sodus.  Another  sister  married 
Solomon  Franklin,  and  after  his  death,  Luther  Sandford.  The  other  married  Samuel 
Soverhill  of  Arcadia.  Her  children  were  Joel  and  Hiram,  and  Mrs.  Henry  Cronise.  In 
1796  Oliver  married  Sarah  Jessup,  who  died  January,  1823.  Their  children  were  Maltby, 
born  March  31,  1798;  Matilda,  born  June  3,  1800,  died  April  2,  1827;  Jerry,  born 
September  16,  1802;  Dennis,  born  March  21,  1805;  Nelson,  born  May  7,  1827  ;  Betsey 
J.,  born  December  5,  1810  ;  Hannah,  born  February  14,  1812,  and  Hiram,  born  April 
29,  1814,  died  January  11, 1835.  Jerry,  Nelson,  Betsey  J.  and  Hannah  settled  in  Carlton, 
Orleans  county.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  January  8,  1823,  and  in  1828,  Oliver 
married  Susan  Romyen  of  Galen,  who  died  in  1857.  Maltby,  the  oldest  of  the  family, 
in  1821  married  Maria  Mason,  who  died  the  next  year.  In  May,  1825.  he  married  Jerusha 
Jagger,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children  :  Henry  M.,  born  March  6,  1826  ;  Maria  M.,  born 
January  25,  1829;  Abigail  J.,  November  3,  1831;  Harriet  E,  August  8,  1834;  Nelson, 
March  23, 1837  ;  Lucius  H,  December  8,  1840  ;  Oliver  M.,  January  31,  1846,  and  Mary 
E,,  January  28,  1850.  Malty  served  in  various  town  offices,  was  coroner  six  years,  and 
county  superintendent  of  the  poor  three  terms.  He  died  in  June  1875.  Henry  M.  re- 
sided with  his  parents  until  April  3, 1850,  when  he  married  Frances  A.  Foster.  Their 
children  are  Edwin  H.,  born  January  3,  1852,  who  resides  near  his  father;  George  W., 
born  July  26, 1853,  died  September  30,  1875;  and  Julia  F.,  born  August  14,  1856,  who 
married  Edwin  F.  White.  The  first  four  years  of  Henry  M.'s  married  life  were  passed  on 
a  part  of  his  grandfather's  home  farm,  which  he  afterwards  sold,  and  bought  the  place 
where  his  son  now  resides.  He  was  member  of  assembly  in  1874,  supervisor  in  1880  and 
'81,  and  has  been  stated  clerk  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lyons  for  the  last  twenty-four  years. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  37 

Carman,  Truman,  is  a  native  of  Monroe  county,  born  in  1830,  who  came  when  a 
child,  with  his  parents  to  Wayne  county.  He  followed  farming  until  about  thirty- five 
years  of  age,  then  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  stock  trade  in  Rochester,  Monroe 
county,  for  five  years.  He  then  returned  to  Wayne  county  and  to  Palmyra  in  1884. 
In  1855  he  married  Emeline  Miller,  of  this  county,  born  in  1835,  and  they  have  three 
children :  James,  Jennie  and  Lee.  The  parents  of  our  subject  were  Peter  and  Mary 
(Armstrong)  Carman,  were  natives  of  Dutchess  county,  who  moved  to  Wayne  county 
about  1835,  and  died  in  Walworth.  Mrs.  Carman's  father,  Sylvester  L.  Miller  was 
born  in  Herkimer  county  in  1804  and  was  a  merchant  at  West  Walworth  for  fifty  years 
and  there  he  died  in  1879.  He  married  Charlotte  Chase,  who  was  born  in  1807  in 
Oneida  county,  and  died  in  1877. 

Clarke,  F.  Wake,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y. 
June  1,  1850,  the  only  son  of  John  and  Matilda  Wake,  his  mother  dying  when  he  was 
an  infant.  He  was  adopted  by  his  uncle  and  aunt,  John  and  Mary  Wake  Clark,  from 
whom  he  received  the  name  of  Clark.  Dr.  Clark  was  reared  upon  a  farm  and  educated 
at  the  Marion  Collegiate  Institute  and  Walworth  Academy.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
year  1877,  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  Williamson,  first  in  partnership  with 
Lewis  R.  Rogers,  now  of  Albion,  N.  Y.,  until  the  spring  of  1880,  when  he  purchased 
Mr.  Rogers'  interest  and  conducted  the  business  alone  until  January  1,  1886,  when  he 
sold  out  his  business  to  Lofthouse  and  Norton.  In  the  spring  of  1887  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Peer,  of  Ontario,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  en- 
tered the  New  York  Homeopathic  Medical  College  and  Hospital,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated with  honor,  receiving  his  degree  of  M.  D.  April  11,  1890,  and  in  the  same  year 
located  in  Williamson,  where  he  has  since  had  a  very  successful  practice.  Dr.  Clark  is 
a  member  of  the  New  York  State  Homeopathic  Medical  Association,  the  Western  New 
York  Medical  Association,  and  is  past  master  of  Pultneyville  Lodge,  No.  159,  F.  and 
A.  M.  On  February  18,  1874,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary  A.,  a  daughter  of 
Mason  L.,  and  Lydia  P.  Rogers,  of  Marion,  N.  Y.  Dr.  Clark  and  wife  have  had  two 
children  :  Roger  Wake,  born  December  6,  1874,  a  graduate  of  Marion  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute, class  of  '94,  and  Inez  M.,  born  August  21,  1879. 

Conklin,  Clarence,  is  a  son  of  William,  born  in  the  town  of  Niles,  Cayuga  county, 
October  15,  1827,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  his  life  was  spent  on  a 
farm  till  1882.  February  2,  1852,  he  married  Maria  Brinkhoof,  and  their  children 
were:  Clarence,  Laura,  Mary,  Ida,  Ralph,  William  and  Edward.  In  1880  he  moved  to 
the  town  of  Bristol,  and  four  years  later  to  Newark,  where  he  established  a  lumber 
business  and  a  box  factory,  making  custom  work  a  specialty  The  business  was  in  a 
very  prosperous  condition  when,  in  1892,  occurred  the  fire  by  which  the  firm  were 
heavy  losers,  it  then  being  William  Conklin  &  Son.  After  the  fire  he  sold  his  interest 
to  his  son,  Clarence ;  the  latter  married  Alice  Sheldon,  of  Cayuga  county,  and  they 
have  three  children :  Frank  A.,  Neva  M.  and  C.  Leslie.  The  ancestry  of  the  family  on 
both  sides  can  be  traced  to  Holland.  Jacob,  father  of  William  Conklin,  was  born  in 
Dutchess  county,  and  the  grandfather,  John,  came  to  Cayuga  county  in  1810.  Mrs. 
Conklin  died  May  20,  1875,  and  two  daughters  are  also  deceased,  Laura  and  Mary. 

Chase,  Dr.  H.  L,  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  January  16,  1853,  educated  in  the 
Walworth  Academy  and  studied  medicine  with  Drs.  Rose,  of  Walworth,  and  Ingraham, 
of  Palmyra,  later  entering  the  office  of  Professor  Hines,  of  Cleveland,  0.  He  gradu- 
ated from  the  Union  University,  in  Albany  in  1875,  and  began  practice  at  Macedon, 
which  he  continued  till  1890,  since  which  time  he  has  practiced  in  Palmyra.  Lyman, 
father  of  Dr.  Chase,  came  to  Walworth,  driving  from  Plattsburg  in  1819,  with  his 
father  and  brothers.  He  was  a  cooper  by  trade,  and  married  Martha  Andrew,  a  na- 
tive of  Massachusetts.     Lyman  died  in  1864,  and  his  wife  in  1880. 


38  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Edward  Curtis  was  born  in  Madison,  Madison  county,  July  17,  1825.  His  father, 
Eli  Curtis,  was  born  in  Stratford,  Conn.,  in  1781,  and  died  in  1861.  His  mother, 
Hulda  (Tyler)  Curtis,  was  also  a  native  of  Stratford,  and  was  born  in  1790,  and  died  in 
1866.  They  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Madison,  and  the  street  where  they  set- 
tled was  named  Stratford  street,  from  the  name  of  their  native  place  in  Connecticut, 
from  where  the  first  settlers  had  emigrated.  Eight  children  were  born  to  Eli  and 
Hulda  Curtis,  of  which  Edward  is  the  youngest  living.  Of  the  eight  children  only  one 
sister  besides  now  survives.  Edward  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  Au- 
gusta Academy.  He  was  favored  in  being  a  pupil  of  David  P.  Page,  first  principal  of 
the  State  Normal  School,  at  Albany,  and  heard  the  lectures:  "Theory  and  Practice  of 
Teaching,"  afterwardwards  published  in  a  book.  David  P.  Page  was  one  of  the  ablest 
instructors  in  the  State,  and  no  educational  work  on  school-teaching  has  ever  super- 
seded his  "  Theory  and  Practice  of  Teaching."  To  the  spirit  inculcated  and  the  lessons 
taught,  in  this  book,  E.  Curtis  credits  largely  the  success  of  his  forty  years  of  teaching 
in  the  common  and  union  schools.  He  commenced  teaching  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
soon  after  receiving  a  State  certificate.  His  best  life  energies  were  given  to  only  five 
different  schools,  save  acting  as  vice-principal  of  Marion  Collegiate  Institute.  Tn  1845 
Mr.  Curtis  was  married  to  Lura  A.  Dudley,  of  Augusta,  N.  Y.,  who  was  born  June  21, 
1824.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Ira  J.  and  Laura  (Hurd)  Dudley,  natives  of  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  and  early  settlers  of  Oneida  county.  Mr.  Dudley  died  in  Madison,  Mad- 
ison county,  January  25,  1881,  where  his  wife  now  resides,  aged  ninety  years.  Mrs.  E. 
Curtis  died  suddenly.  October  24,  1893.  She  was  well  educated,  was  thoughtful  and 
discreet,  and  graced  the  home  sphere  as  few  can.  Four  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  E.  Curtis:  Genevieve,  who  married  Charles  E.  Allen,  in  1875,  and  died  August 
18,  1889;  Evangeline,  who  survives  her  husband,  C.  Frank  Radder,  with  two  sons,  Carl 
C.  and  Ray  R.;  Georgp,  who  died  in  Madison  county,  in  infancy,  and  Rollo  D.,  who 
was  educated  in  Yates  Polytechnic  Institute,  and  married  to  Alice  M.  Platner,  of  Savan- 
nah, in  1885.  This  family  was  in  the  Marion  Collegiate  Institute  four  years,  excepting 
Rollo  D,  who  was  publisher  of  the  Jordan  Intelligencer,  at  Jordan,  N.  Y.  In  1880 
Rollo  D.  Curtis  sold  the  Jordan  Intelligencer,  and  in  September  24,  1880,  assisted  by 
his  father,  Edward  Curtis,  established  the  Marion  Enterprise.  This  business  was  pro- 
jected that  the  family  might  be  together.  It  was  not  thought  to  be  continued,  but  so 
well  has  it  thrived,  latterly,  under  the  firm  name  of  E.  Curtis  &  Son,  that  to-day  it  is 
considered  one  of  the  leading  journals  of  Wayne  county.  It  has  a  building  of  its  own 
and  a  well  equipped  office.  The  Enterprise  Building  is  now  almost  a  land-mark  in  the 
town  of  Marion.  In  1881  the  telephone  line  was  built  to  Marion,  chiefly  by  the  ef- 
forts of  Edward  Curtis,  and  tne  telephone  office  opened  in  the  Enterprise  Building 
continues  under  his  management. 

Croncher,  William,  born  in  England  (Sussex)  February  14,  1830,  is  a  son  of  Isaac 
and  Mildred  Croncher,  natives  of  England,  who  came  to  America  in  1845,  and  to 
Marion  in  1869,  where  Mr.  Croncher  died,  June  19,  1881,  and  his  wife  January  15, 
1878.  William  followed  farming  and  threshing  about  forty- five  years.  He  has  dealt 
quite  largely  in  real  estate,  but  now  owns  only  fifty  acres.  He  bought  the  Marion 
mills  in  1884,  and  has  put  in  the  full  roller  process.  He  has  been  a  very  industrious 
man,  and  by  example  has  educated  all  his  children,  except  Edward  and  Fannie,  to  be 
farmers  and  threshers.  October  1,  1853,  he  married  Clara  Willie,  born  June  11,  1827, 
a  native  of  England,  by  whom  lie  had  the  following  children  :  Fannie  M.,  born  July  15, 
185S,  who  married  Albert  Smith,  by  whom  she  has  one  child,  Jessie;  George  W., 
manufacturer  of  cigars  at  Newark,  born  August  4,  1860,  who  married  Rose  Potter,  and 
has  one  child,  Altus;  Elias  D.,  born  July  2,  1S62,  traveling  for  fertilizing  company, 
who  married  Annie  Eddie,  and  they  have  one  child,  Olive  ;  Edward  W.,  born  April  12, 
1865,  who  learned  the  millers'  trade,  and  for  seven  years  has  been  proprietor  of  Marion 
Roller  Mills.  He  is  also  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  amber  cane  syrup  and  pepper- 
mint oil.     He  married  May,  daughter  of  Abram   Garlock  ;   Ira  N.,  born   May  1,  1865, 


FAMILY    SKETCHES.  39 

who  has  been  a  traveling  salesman,  but  is  now  assisting  his  brother  in  the  mill.  Mr 
Croncher  has  a  reputation  for  uprightness  and  integrity,  and  has  given  all  his  children 
academical  educations. 

Clarke,  Sylvester  H.,  was  born  in  Clyde,  November  5,  1820.  His  father,  Sylvester 
Clarke,  was  a  native  of  Northampton,  Mass.,  and  came  to  Clyde  in  the  spring  of  1817, 
where  he  commenced  business  as  a  merchant.  The  family  were  from  the  early  settlers 
of  Massachusetts,  and  can  trace  their  descent  back  to  the  Pilgrim  fathers  that  landed  on 
Plymouth  Rock  in  December,  1620.  Sylvester  Clarke,  the  father,  died  May  27.  1876, 
aged  eighty  years.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  partially  educated  at  William 
Kirkland',-  Boarding  School  in  Geneva,  after  leaving  which  he  continued  his  studies  at 
the  Clyde  High  School,  then  a  new  institution,  under  the  able  supervision  of  William 
H.  Scram  as  principal  and  Josiah  N.  Westcott  assistant.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years  he  became  the  member  of  a  mercantile  establishment  in  Clyde,  under  the  firm 
name  Halstead  &  Clarke,  which  continued  in  existence  up  to  1848.  He  married.  Octo- 
ber 17,  1843,  Lucy,  eldest  daughter  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Preston,  of  Geneva,  by  whom  he 
had  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  In  1855,  while  residing  at  South- 
ampton, Mass.,  he  became  the  private  secretary  of  Hon.  Samuel  C.  Pomeroy,  business 
agent  of  the  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  but  since  then  a  United  States 
senator  from  the  State  of  Kansas,  and  removed  to  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  where,  through 
their  office,  the  towns  of  Lawrence,  Ossawatomie  and  Topeka,  in  Kansas  territory,  were 
settled.  In  1857  returning  to  Clyde  (the  anti-slavery  excitement  among  the  settlers  of 
Kansas,  compelling  him  to  do  so),  he  entered  the  employ  of  Miller,  Rowell  &  Co.,  as  a 
bookkeeper  at  the  Clyde  window  glass  manufactory,  after  which  he  held  an  official 
position  of  fourteen  years,  under  eight  collectors,  in  the  New  York  Custom  House, 
receiving  his  appointment  from  Hon.  Hiram  Barney,  the  first  collector  of  the  Port  of 
New  York,  after  Lincoln's  election  as  president.  In  April,  1875,  he  returned  to  Clyde, 
and  after  the  death  of  his  father,  took  possession  of  a  small  farm,  which  has  now  been 
in  the  Clarke  family  over  seventy-five  years.  He  is  at  present  the  regular  correspond- 
ent of  several  city  dailies,  and  occasionally  writes  for  magazines,  likewise  takes  an 
active  interest  in  Odd  Fellowship,  the  Grange  and  other  society  organizations. 

Crafts,  Alfred  P.,  M.D.,  was  born  in  1828,  at  Cherry  Yalley,  Otsego  county.  He  was 
graduated  from  Union  College,  class  of  '51,  and  graduating  in  1853  from  Buffalo  Medi- 
cal College,  he  practiced  in  Sodus  and  Huron  until  the  exigencies  of  the  war  called  for 
his  professional  services,  and  where  he  was  for  three  years  an  active  assistant  surgeon, 
in  Alexandria  and  Washington.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  located  in  Wolcott,  where 
a  large  medical  practice  engrossed  his  attention  until  his  election  to  the  State  Legisla- 
ture in  November,  1879.  Dr.  Crafts  died  at  Wolcott,  December  18,  1880.  His  widow 
whom  he  married  June  9;  1853,  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Levi  Gaylord,  of  Sodus. 

Carr,  Robert  S.,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Seneca,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  June  22,  1856, 
and  is  the  son  of  Stephen  and  Margaret  McGregor  Carr,  he  a  native  of  England,  and 
she  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  Canandaigua  in  1851.  Mr.  Carr  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion, and  died  in  1863  in  Michigan,  where  he  had  resided  five  years.  His  wife  resides 
in  East  Bloomfield,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  and  Canandaigua  Academy,  and  Cornell  University.  He  then 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  S.  R.  Wheeler  at  East  Bloomfield  one  year,  and  entered  the 
medicical  department  of  the  University  of  Buffalo,  from  which  he  gratuated  in  1889. 
He  went  to  Pultneyville  the  same  year  and  practiced  until  1893,  when  he  came  to 
Williamson,  where  he  has  since  had  a  successful  practice.  He  is  health  officer  of 
Williamson.  He  is  a  member  of  I.  0.  0.  F.,  Acme  Lodge,  No.  469,  Newburg,  N.  Y., 
and  of  K.  O.  T.  M.,  of  Williamson.  In  1892  Dr.  Carr  married  Anna  L.  Nye,  of  Will-' 
iamson,  daughter  of  Benona  and  Lavina  Nye. 

Corning,  Col.  Joseph  W.,  was  born  in  Yarmouth,  N,  S.,  in  1814,  and  removed  to 
Rochester  with  his  parents  in  1823.     In  1834  he  was  elected  captain  of  a  military  com- 


lu  LANDMARKS    OF    WAYNE   COUNTY. 

pany  in  Waterloo.  In  1841  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Ontario,  Wayne  county, 
by  President  William  Henry  Harrison,  serving  four  years.  In  1847  he  removed  to 
Palmyra.  After  spending  three  years  in  California,  he  returned  to  Palmyra,  where  he 
studied  law,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1855.  He  also  held  the  offices  of  justice  of 
the  peace,  police  magistrate,  mayor  of  Palmyra,  and  other  positions  of  trust.  In  1860 
he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the  State  Assembly.  Immediately  upon  ad- 
journment he  returned  to  his  home  and  organized  a  company  for  the  war.  His  pro- 
motion was  rapid,  and  when  the  famous  33d  Regiment  was  mustered  out  in  1863,  he 
was  the  lieutenant-colonel.  He  was  with  his  regiment  in  all  its  engagements.  In  the 
battle  of  Williamsburg,  Col.  Coming's  brilliant  charge  saved  the  day.  He  then  joined 
the  111th  Regiment,  with  which  he  served  a  year,  when  Governor  Fenton  requested 
his  return  home  to  organize  another  regiment.  He  was  commissioned  a  colonel  of  the 
194th,  the  last  regiment  organized  in  this  State.  Shortly  after  Benjamin  Harrison  was 
inaugurated  president,  Col.  Coining  received  the  appointment  of  postmaster  at  Pal- 
myra, which  position  he  held  at  his  death,  June  29,  1890,  when  bis  widow,  Louisa  U. 
Corning,  was  appointed  by  the  president  to  succeed  him. 

Corning,  John  W.,  was  born  in  Ontario,  this  county,  September  8,  1841,  and  moved 
to  Palmyra  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  six,  and  received  his  education  in  the  Palmyra 
Union  School.  He  had  commenced  his  third  year  as  teacher  in  the  Palmyra  Union 
School,  when  the  war  broke  out,  when  he  resigned  and  enlisted  in  Company  B,  33d 
N.  Y.  Volunteers,  and  left  for  the  front  Jul}'  6,  1861.  In  November,  1861,  he  was 
commissioned  second  lieutenant  of  said  company,  and  in  May,  1862,  promoted  to  first 
lieutenant.  In  November,  1862,  he  was  made  adjutant  of  the  33d,  which  position  he 
held  when  mustered  out  with  the  regiment  June  2,  1863,  on  account  of  expiration  of 
term  of  service.  He  was  with  his  company  and  regiment  in  all  their  engagements  in 
the  Peninsular  campaign.  He  was  the  only  officer  with  his  company  during  McClel- 
lan's  seven  days'  retreat  to  Harrison's  Landing.  Upon  reaching  the  James  River,  Sec- 
retary of  War  Stanton  ordered  him  to  New  York  State  to  recruit  men  for  his  depleted 
company,  in  which  he  was  met  with  a  hearty  response.  During  the  winter  of  1862  he 
was  adjutant-general  of  his  brigade,  and  went  with  the  brigade  to  Fredericksburg 
under  Gen.  Burnside,  where  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  being  stuck  in  the  mud,  was 
obliged  to  return  to  White  Oak  Church  and  go  in  winter  quarters.  On  Sunday  morn- 
ing, May  3,  1863,  the  order  came  to  charge  up  the  heights  of  Fredericksburg.  He  and 
his  father  (who  was  in  command  of  the  33d)  went  up,  mounted,  and  upon  gaining  the 
heights,  his  father's  horse  was  shot  from  under  him.  The  two  days'  fighting,  May  3 
and  4,  Company  B  lost  more  men  than  they  had  in  the  entire  two  years'  service.  After 
being  mustered  out,  he  was  connected  with  the  pay  department  in  paying  troops  in  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  November  9,  1864,  he  married  Katharine  Drake,  daughter  of 
the  late  Nelson  Drake,  and  has  two  daughters,  Delia  M.  and  Grace  J.  Mr.  Corning 
was  appointed  collector  of  canal  tolls  at  Palmyra  for  two  successive  years,  and  was  in 
mercantile  business  for  ten  years.  In  January,  1877",  he  was  elected  sergeant-at-arms, 
New  York  State  Senate,  to  which  position  he  was  elected  four  times,  serving  eight 
years.  In  1882,  after  passing  civil  service  examination,  he  was  appointed  examiner  in 
the  United  States  appraiser's  department,  New  York,  which  position  he  held  for  five 
years.  In  1888  the  secretary  of  the  United  States  treasuary  appointed  him  deputy 
surveyor,  Port  of  New  York,  which  position  he  still  holds. 

Cheetham,  Richard  N.,  was  born  in  London,  England,  October  i6,  1846,  and  is  the 
son  of  John  and  Mary  Cheetham,  of  England,  who  came  to  Sodus  in  1852,  where  they 
now  reside.  Mr.  Cheetham  enlisted  in  Company  E,  98th  N.  Y.  Volunteer  Infantry  and 
served  a  year  and  a  half  and  re-enlisted  in  Company  K,  97th  N.  Y.  Volunteer  Infantry, 
and  served  two  years.  Our  sobjecl  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  then  learned  the  carpenter  trade  and  followed  it  for  eleven  years,  in 
Williamson.     He  had  worked  at  carriage  making  two  years  previously.     In  1881  he  and 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  41 

his  brother.  George  F.,  bought  out  Alfred  Bakeley's  hardware  business  and  have  since 
conducted  it  under  the  firm  name  of  R.  M.  Cheetham  &  Co.  They  also  engaged  in 
the  banking  business  in  1893  and  have  had  a  successful  year.  Mr.  Cheetham  and  wife 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Church  In  1871  Mr.  Cheetham  married  Eliza  E.  Smith, 
of  Williamson,  daughter  of  Robert  Smith,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  town, 
who  died  in  1893. 

Crandall,  F.  G-.,  editor  and  proprietor  of  The  Wayne  County  Dispatch,  born  at  Pal- 
myra, July  17,  1863,  was  educated  in  the  common  and  high  schools  of  that  town  ;  and 
learned  the  printer's  trade  in  the  office  of  The  Wayne  County  Journal.  He  conducted 
a  job  printing  office  during  1882-83  for  F.  W.  demons,  and  then  established  one  for 
himself  January  16,  1885.  September  21,  1892,  The  Dispatch  was  founded  by  Mr. 
Crandall,  as  proprietor,  and  A.  F.  Du  Bois  as  editor.  The  publication  is  an  eight-column 
folio,  Republican  in  politics ;  is  the  only  newspaper  in  the  county  setting  all  of  its  own 
matter,  and,  among  other  prominent  features,  makes  a  specialty  of  county  correspond- 
ence, devoting  each  week  about  five  columns  to  this  class  of  news.  February  14,  1892, 
Mr.  Crandall  married  Miss  Mary  Bearss,  of  Rochester.  He  is  a  member  of  Zenobia 
Commandery  No.  41,  K.  T. ;  Phil  Sheridan  Lodge  No.  430,  I.  0.  0.  F. ;  Palmyra  Tent  No. 
118,  K.  0.  T.  M.  ;  Ganargua  Tribe  No.  143,  I.  0.  R.  M. ;  and  Palmyra  Steamer  and  Hose 
Company  No.  1.  Mr.  Du  Bois  was  born  at  Fairville,  N.  Y.,  March  25,  1872,  where  the  first 
four  years  of  his  life  were  spent.  His  father  then  dying,  the  family,  consisting  of  a  mother 
and  four  children,  removed  to  Huntsburgh,  0.,  afterwards  locating  at  Newark,  N.  Y., 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketeh  was  educated  in  the  Union  School  and  Academy.  After 
learning  the  printing  business  in  the  office  of  the  Newark  Union,  he,  in  July,  1891, 
assumed  the  associate  editorship  of  the  Palmyra  Democrat.  Resigning  this  position  he 
became  editor  of  The  Dispatch  at  its  inception,  retaining  the  position  two  years.  In 
September,  1893,  Mr.  Dubois  began  a  two  years'  journalistic  course  of  study  in  the 
University  of  Rochester. 

Chapin,  Joseph  R.,  was  born  in  Huron  in  1846,  and  is  the  son  of  Harlow  Chapin,  of 
Huron,  born  in  1822,  whose  father  was  Spencer  Chapin,  a  farmer  and  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, the  son  of  Phineas  Chapin,  of  the  same  place,  who  came  to  Huron  in  1811 
with  his  family  and  was  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  tree  the  same  year.  The  wife  of  Harlow 
Chapin  was  Fannie  Reed,  and  their  children  were  Spencer  E.,  Joseph  R.,  Charles  E., 
Frank  H.,  Ella  L.,  wife  of  Rev.  Mather  Gafney,  of  Manlius,  N.  Y.,  Edgar  W.  Harlow, 
and  Fanny.  When  twenty-one  our  subject  began  farming  and  from  1874  to  1878  he  was 
interested  in  a  stave  and  barrel  factory.  He  makes  berries  his  special  crop  at  present. 
In  1868  he  married  Fanny  J.,  daughter  of  Lorenzo  and  Almira  Cady,  of  Huron,  who 
was  born  in  1846,  and  their  children  are  Mattie  E.,  born  February,  1873;  May  A., 
born  May,  1876;  Joseph  C,  born  in  May,  1878;  Grace  C,  born  in  December,  1879; 
Stephen  L.,  born  in  May,  1882,  and  Harvy  S.,  born  in  August,  1884.  Our  subject 
served  as  town  clerk  three  terms,  and  as  highway  commissioner  one  term.  In  1879  he 
purchased  the  farm  of  seventy- one  acres,  on  which  he  now  resides. 

Creque,  Hermon  C,  is  decended  from  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished  of  la 
noblesse  families  of  France.  Baudoin  de  Crequy  was  knighted  in  1190,  and  the  family 
record  of  meritorious  services  rendered  through  subsequent  centuries  to  civilization,  the 
state,  and  the  church,  are  preserved  by  France  as  a  national  trust  and  honor.  The 
family  has  furnished  two  eminent  "  Marshals  of  France,"  one  "  Constable  of  France,''  one 
"  Cardinal  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,"  one  "Archbishop  of  Paris,"  and  many  less 
important  state  and  church  dignitaries.  Hermon  C.  is  a  direct  descendent  of  Francois 
de  Blanchefort  Crequy,  marshal  of  France,  who  commanded  the  army  of  France  when 
it  defeated  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  and  added  the  provinces  of  Lorraine  and  Alsace  to 
the  domain  of  France.  He  was  the  "Bismarck"  of  his  time  and  country,  the  intimate 
friend  of  Louis  XV.,  whose  private  chaplain  conducted  his  obsequies  in  1687.  His  por- 
f 


42  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

trait  is  numbered  1419  in"Des  Galleries  Historiques  de  Versailles,"  France.  John 
Creque,  the  father  of  Htrmon  0.,  was  one  of  the  largest  pioneer  manufacturers  of  Cen- 
tral New  York,  and  at  his  extensive  agricultural  and  machine  shops  in  Trumansburg, 
Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  were  made  great  numbers  of  threshing  machines,  plows,  por- 
table horse  powers,  corn  shellers,  horse  rakes,  harrows,  kitchen  and  parlor  stoves,  etc., 
etc.,  and  as  a  dealer  he  early  bought  and  introduced  into  Tompkins  county  the  various 
makes  of  leapers,  mowers,  grain  drills,  etc.,  etc.  He  was  an  acknowledged  power  for 
good  in  social,  religious,  political  and  business  life.  Hermon  C.  was  born  at  Trumans- 
burg, Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1816.  In  1838  he  married  Mabel,  daughter  of  Allen 
Pease,  thus  keeping  up  the  practice  which  had  been  followed  for  centuries  by  members 
these  two  noblesse  families  of  intimate  social  relations  and  frequent  intermarriage. 
He  began  his  business  career  as  a  manufacturer  of  carriages,  and  was  very  successful. 
In  1852  he  purchased  over  a  hundred  acres  of  choice  land  near  Wolcott  village,  Wayne 
county,  N.  Y.,  and  removed  there.  He  was  the  principal  organizer  of  the  first  Temper- 
ance society  formed  in  Wolcott  village.  He  was  a  liberal  contributor  to  the  erection  of 
Leavenworth  Academy  in  Wolcott  village  and  subsequently  liberally  patronized  and 
helped  to  sustain  it.  He  purchased  and  used  upon  his  farm  the  first  grain  drill  and  also 
the  first  mower  and  reaper  employed  in  eastern  Wayne  county,  and  by  becoming  an 
agent  for  their  sale  he  introduced  the  use  of  a  number  of  said  implements  into  Wolcott 
and  adjoining  townships.  He  built  and  resided  in  the  first  large  '"pine  house  "  erected 
in  Wayne  county,  bringing  the  pine  lumber  from  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  by  lake  and 
canal  to  Clyde,  N.  Y.,  and  trucking  it  thence  to  Wolcott.  He  erected  a  brick  store 
building  on  Main  street,  Wolcott  village,  which  is  still  used  for  business  purposes  ;  also 
the  "  Opera  House  Block  "  on  Main  street,  which  he  still  owns.  He  has  been  a  Repub- 
lican since  the  organization  of  that  political  party  and  in  religion  professes  the  Protest- 
ant faith  as  expounded  by  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  has  a  family  of  eight  children 
living,  one  of  whom  has  been  the  largest  manufacturer  in  his  line  in  this  conntry  and  is 
acknowledged  to  be  the  foremost  sanitary  plumbing  engineer  in  the  civilized  world. 
His  lectures  before  eminent  scientific  and  prominent  industrial  art  associations  are  con- 
sidered authoritative  upon  their  respective  subjects.  Hermon  C.  has  conclusively  proved 
in  many  ways  that  he  is  not  a  degenerate  son  of  noble  sires,  but  beside  his  own  useful 
life  he  has  evidently  transmitted  to  posterity  the  unblemished  family  character,  aspira- 
tions, talents,  and  persistent  energy  inherited  from  his  forefathers  and  which  are  des- 
tined to  maintain  the  excellent  record  already  richly  merited. 

Dunham,  Henry,  is  the  son  of  John  and  Sally  (Ketchum)  Dunham.  The  former  was 
born  in  Fabius,  Onondaga  county,  October  21,  1791,  and  the  latter  in  Manlius,  Sep- 
tember 22,  1793,  and  came  to  Savannah  in  1833,  occupying  what  is  now  the  home  of 
our  subject.  Of  their  seven  children,  six  are  living:  Henry,  Melinda.  Betsey,  Mary  O, 
Jerry  and  Erastus,  one  son,  J.  Harvey,  having  died  some  years  ago.  The  three  daugh- 
ters are  married  and  live  in  Michigan,  being  all  residents  of  Kent  county  in  that  State. 
Henry's  boyhood  was  spent  in  Camillus,  Onondaga  county.  He  wa«  born  October  3, 
1820,  and  married  February  7,  1847,  Laura  A.,  daughter  of  Seth  Wood,  of  Savannah. 
She  had  no  children,  and  died  May  3,  1882,  an  earnest  Christain,  a  loving  and  devoted 
wife,  her  loss  is  yet  felt  and  mourned.  Erastus  Dunham  has  spent  his  whole  life  at 
this  home,  where  he  was  born  in  1838.  He  remains  a  bachelor,  is  a  man  of  much 
ability  and  force  of  character,  but  for  more  than  twenty  years  has  been  an  invalid, 
crippled  by  a  spinal  complaint.  February  4,  1883,  Henry  again  married.  His  present 
wife  is  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Abram  O'Neil,  of  Fairport,  N.  Y.  She  has  no  children. 
Mr.  Dunham's  farm  contains  175  acres  of  excellent  land,  situated  five  miles  northeast 
of  Savannah.  His  specialty  has  been  the  breeding  of  Merino  sheep,  in  which  his  suc- 
cesss  has  been  marked. 

Dunham,  Mrs.  Laura  Ann,  was  born  in  Steuben  county  June  23,  1826,  and  was  the 
daughter  of  Seth  Wood,  of  Savannah,  where  she  resided  until  her  death,  May  3,  1882. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  43 

She  was  married  to  Henry  Dunham  February  7,  1847,  and  lived  an  exemplary  Chris- 
tian life.  She  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  and  deeply 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  Master.  She  was  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
knew  her  best,  and  had  their  respect  and  confidence.  She  was  that  earnest  in  her 
work  of  faith  that  the  power  of  God  was  demonstrated  to  the  peoople  while  she  was  in 
travail  of  soul  for  the  salvation  of  sinners.  When  burdened  for  souls  she  would  wrestle 
for  hours  with  God  until  victory  turned  on  Israel's  side,  and  the  joy  and  peace  that  fol- 
lowed was  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  As  she  lived  so  she  died,  in  the  triumphs  of 
a  living:  faith. 

De  Lamater.  George  C,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1828,  the  fourth 
born  of  the  eight  children  of  Stephen  V.  R.  and  Esther  De  Lamater.  Stephen  settled 
on  a  farm  in  Butler  in  1829,  and  ten  years  later  moved  to  Wolcott,  where  he  died  in 
1889,  aged  eighty-eight  years.  For  twenty  years  George  De  Lamater  operated  a  grain 
threshing  outfit,  besides  farming  and  fruit  growing.  In  1858  he  purchased  of  Andrew 
Preston  the  saw  mill  at  North  Wolcott,  which  he  still  runs.  He  has  been  excise  com- 
missioner, also  of  highways.  His  wife,  who  died  in  1890,  had  been  his  companion  for 
over  thirty  years,  and  was  Mary  J.  Robinson,  of  Huron.     He  still  lives  a  single  life. 

Dehond,  Abram  F.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  May  3,  1864,  and  is  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham and  Jeanette  Dehond,  natives  of  Holland,  who  came  to  Rochester  in  1854,  and  to 
Williamson  in  1857,  where  they  now  reside.  Mr.  Dehond  is  a  farmer  and  raises  fruit. 
Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  worked 
for  O.  J.  Tassell  as  clerk  for  one  year,  and  then  for  0.  J.  &  F.  W.  Tassell  for  two  years, 
and  then  clerked  for  Tassell  &  Gordon  until  1887,  when  he  worked  for  a  year  and  a 
half  for  F.  H.  Gordon,  and  then  formed  a  partnership  with  him,  which  has  continued 
for  six  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pultneyville  Lodge,  No.  159,  F.  &  A.  M. 
August  30,  18S8.  he  married  Anna  Adams,  a  native  of  Williamson,  and  daughter  of 
John  Adams. 

Dickie,  James,  was  born  in  Connecticut.  February  14,  1830.  His  father,  John  Dickie 
who  came  to  Constantia,  Oswego  county,  in  1836,  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  emi- 
grated to  this  country  in  1827.  He  spent  the  larger  portion  of  his  life  in  Constantia, 
Oswego  county,  where  he  died  in  1856  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  James  Dickie 
selected  farming  for  an  occupation  and  followed  it  up  to  1874,  and  then  came  to  Clyde 
and  established  himself  in  business.  He  carries  a  selected  line  of  imported  and  domes- 
tic groceries.  At  the  age  of  thirty  Mr.  Dickie  married  Miss  Sybil  Daffler,  of  Constantia. 
Mrs.  Dickie  died  in  1890  at  fifty-eight  years  of  age.  She  was  a  woman  who  was  widely 
known  for  her  Christian  character  and  beautiful  life. 

Down,  George  A.,  was  born  in  Webster,  Monroe  county,  August  30,  1847,  the  fourth 
child  of  eight  children  born  to  John  and  Lavina  Down,  the  former  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, and  the  latter  of  New  Hampshire.  He  came  to  Monroe  county  when  a  young 
man  and  started  for  himself,  then  came  to  Ontario  and  spent  most  of  his  life  in  that 
town.  He  now  resides  at  Marion  with  his  son,  Edwin  O.,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  and  his 
wife  at  the  same  age.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  He  was  in  the  furnace  business  from  1872  to  1877,  when  he  sold,  and  April  3, 
1879,  came  on  the  farm  he  now  owns  of  seventy-eight  acres,  and  follows  general  farm- 
ing. He  was  a  Democrat,  but  at  present  is  a  Republican.  He  has  been  school  trustee 
two  years,  and  is  a  member  of  Webster  Lodge  No.  538,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  married  in 
1S80  Cornelia  M.  Stearns,  a  native  of  Webster,  by  whom  he  has  one  child,  George  M. 
Mr.  Down  has  been  junior  deacon,  senior  master  of  ceremonies,  and  junior  warden. 

Donk,  August,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  January  20,  1843.  His  father 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1851.  Mr.  Donk  came  with  his  mother  the  following 
year  when  nine  years  old.     They   first  located  in   Sodus  one  year,  then  went  to  Pal- 


44  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

myra,  where  they  remained  ten  years.  In  1862  the  family  came  to  Newark.  Mr. 
Donk  was  educated  at  East  Palmyra,  and  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H. 
R.  R.  company  since  the  close  of  the  war,  first  as  baggage  man,  and  afterward  had 
charge  of  the  pumping  engine  at  the  depot.  In  February,  1872,  he  was  appointed 
station  agent,  which  position  he  still  fills.  July  12,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A, 
111th  Infantry  N.  Y.  S.  Volunteers,  was  captured  at  Harper's  Ferry  under  General 
Miles,  duly  paroled  and  exchanged.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  and  the 
Wilderness.  While  on  the  way  to  Cold  Harbor  was  taken  prisoner,  was  in  Anderson 
prison,  Georgia,  four  months  and  a  half,  in  Florence,  South  Carolina,  three  months,  and 
was  a  mere  skeleton  upon  his  arrival  home.  He  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close 
of  the  war  in  June,  1865.  He  has  married  twice,  first  in  1867  to  Jane  Morrison,  of 
Brighton,  Canada,  and  they  had  one  son,  William,  who  died  at  the  age  of  ten.  Mrs. 
Donk  died  in  January,  1875,  and  he  married  second  April  27,  1877,  MattieE.  Toussaint, 
who  was  born  in  Oswego.  They  have  three  children :  Elizabeth  A..  James  and 
Madahne.  Mr.  Donk's  father,  Carl,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1802.  He  married  Hannah 
Eickhoff.  of  his  native  place,  and  they  had  nine  children.  Mrs.  Donk's  father,  Oliver 
Toussaint,  was  born  on  Wells  Island,  Orleans,  Jefferson  ccunty,  in  1829.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Ashton,  of  Oswego,  and  they  had  three  children,  Frederick,  Mattie  E.,  and 
Elner.  He  died  in  1867  and  his  wife  in  1874.  Mrs  Donk  has  been  in  the  employ  of 
the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  company  twenty- one  years  as  ticket  agent.  Mr.  Carl  Donk 
died  in  1873  and  his  wife  in  1892.  Mr.  Donk  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83, 
F.  and  A.  M.,  and  of  Yosburg  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R.,  department  of  New  York.  Mrs. 
Donk  is  a  member  of  the  Women's  Relief  Corps. 

Demmon,  John  Watkins,  was  born  in  1833.  His  father  was  Horace  Demmon,  born  in 
Springfield,  Vt.,  in  1803,  the  son  of  Daniel  Demmon,  born  in  1768.  In  1817  they  came 
to  Huron  and  settled  on  the  farm  owned  by  our  subject.  Daniel  died  in  1824,  and  his 
son  Horace  conducted  the  farm  for  seventy-four  years,  dying  in  1891.  His  wife  was 
Rachael  M.  Richardson,  and  their  children  were :  Clarissa  A.,  Hannah  C,  John  W.  and 
Delia  A.  John  W.  was  educated  at  Red  Creek  Academy  and  Falley  Seminary,  entered 
the  office  of  L.  D.  Lawton,  in  1854,  and  in  January,  1856,  the  Albany  Law  School  at  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.,  and  emigrated  the  following  Fall  to  Wisconsin ;  represented  for  two  years 
the  Milwaukee  Mutual,  and  Wisconsin  Home  Fire  Insuarnce  companies  of  that  State, 
and  the  then  territory  of  Minnesota;  in  December,  1858,  represented  the  publishing 
house  of  J.  H.  Cotton  &  Co.,  172  William  street,  New  York,  in  Georgia  and  South 
Carolina;  and  the  following  year  shipped  horses  to  those  States.  In  1863  he  married 
Lucinda  J.  Smedley.  daughter  of  Rev.  Joseph  and  Mary  Ann  (Jones)  Smedley,  of  Os- 
wego county,  who  was  born  in  1838,  and  by  whom  he  had  two  children  :  Lena  E.,  born 
1865,  and  Horace  Gary,  born  1869.  Mr.  Demmon  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Wol- 
cott  Grange,  P.  of  H.  No.  348,  also  a  member  of  Rose  Lodge  No.  590,  F.  and  A.  M., 
and  Ontario  Shore  No.  495,  I.  0.  0.  F.  In  1877,  under  the  auspices  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U., 
occupied  thep'atform  for  the  gospel  temperance  work  in  the  States  of  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, Wisconsin,  and  Iowa,  and  was  grand  lecturer  of  the  Royal  Templars  of  Tem- 
perance in  1880-1-2.  He  was  for  a  part  of  a  season  on  the  platform  with  Col.  A.  S. 
Wood,  of  Wolcott. 

David,  William  Glenn  (deceased),  was  born  in  Amherst,  N.  H.,  June  12,  1831,  was 
fitted  for  college  at  Phillips  Academy,  entering  Williams  College  in  1848,  and  graduated 
in  1852.  Selecting  the  profession  of  medicine,  he  graduated  from  Harvard  Medical  Col- 
ge  in  1854,  and  then  removed  to  Dubuque,  la.  In  October,  1855,  he  married  Sarah  M., 
daughter  of  Newell  Taf  t,  of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  sons,  three  of  whom 
are  now  living:  William  G.  and  John,  of  New  York,  and  Edward  T.,  of  Glenrock, 
Wyoming.  In  1859  he  removed  to  Lyons  from  Dubuque  and  entered  into  partnership 
witn  Dr.  E.  W.  Bothume.  In  1861  he  entered  the  United  States  army,  receiving  the 
commission  of  surgeon  to  the  98th  Regiment,  U.  S.  Volunteers,  and  took  part  in  the 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  45 

campaign  in  Virginia,  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  Richmond,  White  Oak  Swamp,  and 
numerous  other  engagements.  He  was  promoted  to  brigade  surgeon  at  the  capture  of 
Port  Hudson,  and  afterwards  was  post  surgeon  at  that  place.  Returning  to  Lyons  in 
1865,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1867  he  was 
appointed  examining  surgeon  in  the  United  States  pension  cases,  holding  this  position 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  August  17,  1877. 

Dutcher,  John,  one  of  the  oldest  residents  of  Red  Creek,  came  to  this  vicinity  in  1830, 
He  was  born  at  Lysander,  Onondaga  county,  in  1819.  He  is  the  son  of  Daniel  Dutcher. 
who,  in  1830,  bought  270  acres  of  land,  and  with  the  assistance  of  his  two  sons,  John 
and  Daniel  W.,  grappled  with  the  primeval  forest  and  reclaimed  over  100  acres  of  ara- 
ble land,  meantime  rearing  a  family  of  nine  children.  Mr.  Dutcher  now  owns  and  oc- 
cupies 120  acres  of  the  original  tract. 

Davis,  Barnet  H.,  was  born  in  Fonda,  Montgomery  county,  January  27,  1836.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  B.  H.  Davis  &  Co.,  dealers  in  drugs  and  groceries,  having  occu- 
pied his  present  location  for  the  past  thirty  years.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  State 
Committee,  and  occupied  a  seat  in  the  Legislature  during  the  years  1886-87-88.  In 
1860  Mr.  Davis  married  Alida  Agnes  Van  Edena,  a  native  of  Spraker's  Basin,  and  they 
have  one  daughter. 

Davis,  Rev.  Daniel  D.,  of  Savannah,  was  born  in  Butler,  August  24,  1824.  Paul  H. 
Davis,  born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1791,  and  Polina  Westcott,  his  wife,  born  in  Richfield, 
Otsego  county,  in  1798  (the  parents  of  Daniel  D.),  moved  to  Butler,  Wayne  countv, 
N.  Y.,  about  the  year  1815,  and  in  the  wilderness  purchased  a  farm,  upon  which  they 
erected  a  log  house  and  commenced  life,  consequently  were  among  the  first  settlers  in 
Wayne  county,  N.  Y.  To  this  heroic  couple  were  born  six  children,  who  grew  to 
man  and  womanhood,  namely  :  William  V.,  Lucy  A.,  Oliver  O,  Daniel  D.,  Jerome  B., 
and  John  Wesley  Davis.  Grappling  with  the  realities  of  frontier  life,  these  parents 
were  only  able  to  give  their  children  little  more  than  a  district  school  education.  Reli- 
giously the  parents  were  Episcopal  Methodists,  and,  sooner  or  later,  the  children  were 
all  converted  and  became  members  of  the  church  of  their  honored  parents.  The  father 
died  in  1845,  and  the  mother  in  1846.  November  10,  1845,  Daniel  D.  Davis  married 
Laura  Henderson,  of  Butler,  an  estimable  Christian  lady.  To  them  were  born  two 
daughters:  Pauline  S.,  born  July  10,  1847,  who  married  Rev.  C.  L.  Connell,  of  James- 
ville,  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  Pauline  S.  died  at  Rosevalley,  July  25,  1878;  Carrie, 
V.  Davis,  born  October  4,  1855,  married  in  1881  John  Mojg,  of  Euclid,  Onondaga 
county,  N.  Y.,  who  now  resides  in  Englewood,  111.  Daniel  D.  Davis  followed  farming 
until  1861,  when  at  the  call  of  the  master,  he  left  all  (like  the  fisherman  of  Gallilee)  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  and  for  thirty-one  consecutive  years  has  been  an  honored  member 
of  the  Central  New  York  Conference  (Methodist  Episcopal  Church).  In  1892  Mrs. 
Davis's  health  partially  failed,  and  Mr.  Davis  took  a  supernumerary  edition  to  the  Con- 
ference, and  for  the  past  two  years  has  engaged  in  Evangelistic  woik,  for  which  he 
evinces  decided  talents. 

Deuchler,  Louis,  was  born  in  Alsace,  Germany,  August  25,  1834,  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1852,  and  settled  in  Syracuse.  In  1856  he  removed  to  Lyons,  in  1861  estab- 
lished the  grocery  business  on  Water  street,  and  in  1863  sold  out  and  went  to  New 
York,  remaining  for  two  years.  In  1865  he  returned  to  Lyons  and  bought  the  National 
Hotel,  continuing  the  business  up  to  1885,  then  engaged  in  the  insurance  business, 
making  a  specialty  of  fire  insurance  and  is  agent  for  several  lines  of  foreign  steamships. 
In  1887  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  and  in  1891  was  re-elected  to  the  same 
office,  which  he  now  hold«.  In  1888-89  was  elected  trustee  of  the  village.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-four  he  married  Magdalena,  daughter  of  George  Seligman,  of  Lyons,  and 
they   are  the  parents    of  one  daughter,    Mrs.   Bertha   Klippel.     Our  subject  takes  an 


40  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  having  been  trustee  in  the  First 
German  church  for  eight  years. 

Daboll,  Homer,  was  born  in  Canaan,  Litchfield  county,  Corn.,  July  18,  1827.  His 
father,  Jonathan  Daboll,  was  a  native  of  Windsor,  Conn.,  and  in  1810  made  his  home 
in  Canaan,  where  Homer,  the  youngest  of  five  children,  had  such  advantages  as  private 
and  common  schools  afforded  until  at  the  age  (f  sixteen,  when  his  parents  moved  to 
Center  Groton,  Conn.,  where  he  received  instruction  in  surveying  and  navigation  at 
the  celebrated  Nautical  School  of  that  place,  then  under  the  supe  vision  of  Nathan 
Daboll  and  his  son,  David  A.,  authors  of  Daboll's  Arithmetic  and  other  mathematical 
works.  Professor  Potter,  of  Mystic.  Conn.,  was  his  next  instructor,  after  which  he 
engaged  for  a  number  of  years  in  teaching.  In  1853  he  married  Jane  R.  Shear,  of 
Junius,  N.  Y.,  and  as  a  farmer  settled  near  Cayuga  village,  where  they  resided  four- 
teen years.  Here  their  children  were  born,  De  Lancey,  who  died  in  1873 ;  Phoebe, 
now  Mrs.  A.  D.  Bacon,  of  Rochester-  Homer  F.,  now  manager  of  the  farm,  and 
Sheridan,  of  Rochester.  In  1867  he  purchased  the  farm  of  150  acres  on  which  he 
lives  and  where  to  date  he  has  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  a  numerous  acquaintance. 

De  Zutter,  Cornelius,  was  born  in  Holland,  May  16,  1841,  son  of  Edward  and  Susan 
(Van  Dixon)  De  Zutter,  natives  of  Holland,  where  Mr.  De  Zutter  died  in  1847,  and  his 
wife  and  two  children,  Cornelius  and  Leonard,  came  to  Sullivan  county  in  1848.  Mrs. 
De  Zutter  married  Conner  Devoe,  came  to  Williamson  in  1853  and  resided  here  until 
her  death  in  August,  1888.  Mr.  Devoe  died  June,  1891.  The  great-grandfather  of 
our  subject,  Cornelius,  was  a  native  of  France,  and  grandfather  was  a  native  of 
Holland,  and  died  there  in  1848.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  until  fourteen 
years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Rochester  and  engaged  as  clerk  for  John  Vandenburg 
in  a  fancy  store,  where  he  remained  three  years,  and  worked  one  year  in  a  cotton 
factory.  There  he  and  his  brother  became  partners  in  the  manufacture  of  willow 
ware.  In  the  spring  of  1866  they  returned  to  Williamson  and  continned  in  the 
willow  ware  business  until  1871,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  without  any  insurance. 
They  again  commenced  in  business,  but  after  one  year  was  dissolved.  In  1872  our 
subject  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  produce,  and  continued  in  business  until  1876, 
when  he  was  employed  by  H.  J.  Mdler  and  Sprague,  and  in  1877,  with  Mr.  Gordon, 
established  a  general  store,  the  firm  being  known  as  De  Zutter  &  Gordon,  and  in  1891 
our  subject,  Cornelius,  retired,  when  the  firm  became  De  Zutter  Bros.  &  Engleson. 
They  also  have  a  clothing  store  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  in  what  is  known  as 
the  Rogers  block.  Mr.  De  Zutter  is  a  member  of  the  Pultneyville  Lodge,  No.  159,  F. 
and  A.  M.,  also  a  member  of  A.  0.  U.  W.  Mr.  De  Zutter  married,  December  29,  1864, 
Larinia  Decker,  of  Rochester,  a  daughter  of  Abram  Decker,  a  native  of  Holland,  who 
in  1850  came  to  Williamson.  He  died  in  Rochester  in  1877,  and  his  wife  in  1875. 
Our  subject  and  wife  had  five  children  :  Edward  A.  and  Charles  (now  members  of  the 
firm);  Jennie  E.,  who  died  aged  twenty-two  years;  Ida  M.,  who  assists  in  her  father's 
store  ;  and  Delia,  who  lives  at  home.  Our  subject  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  Mr.  De  Zutter  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  organization 
of  the  party  and  an  active  worker  in  the  party  for  the  past  twenty-five  years. 
Leonard  De  Zutter  was  born  in  Holland,  February  2,  1844,  and  came  to  Sullivan 
county  with  his  mother  and  brother  when  three  years  of  age;  he  came  to  Williamson 
in  1853.  He  and  brother,  Cornelius,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  willow  and  rattan 
ware,  and  were  in  partnership  in  1872,  when  they  dissolved.  He  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  in  1877.  He  is  a  member  of  A.  O.  U.  W.  and  Select  Knights.  Mr.  De 
Zutter  married  in  1867  Susan  Van  Zandt,  a  native  of  Holland,  and  a  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Lucinda  Van  Zandt.  They  had  four  children  :  Lucy  S.,  wife  of  Carl  Fuller, 
of  Wallington;  Edward  L.,  who  died,  aged  twenty-two;  Peter,  who  is  employed  in  a 
clothing  store,  and  Lizzie,  who  died,  aged  eighteen  months. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  47 

Denison,  Porter  G.  (deceased),  was  born  at  North  Stephentown,  Rensselaer  county, 
February  19,  1825.  His  father,  George  T.,  was  a  native  of  Stonington,  Conn.  The 
family  are  lineal  descendants  of  the  titled  families  of  English  and  Scotch  extraction. 
In  1840  he  removed  to  North  Berlin  and  in  1850  came  to  Clyde  and  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business,  which  he  continued  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  March  21,  1890. 
September  30,  1852,  he  married  Mary  B.,  daughter  of  James  H.  Nichols,  who' was  a 
native  of  Bainbridge,  Chenango  county,  and  they  had  three  children;'  Carrie  A., 
Porter  G.,  and  Charles  E.  Our  subject  was  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  town,  identi- 
fied in  every  public  enterprise,  benevolent  and  charitable. 

Denney,  Loren,  was  born  in  Onondaga  county  September  24,  1835,  the  second  child 
of  a  family  of  four  children  born  to  John  and  Almira  Denney,  natives  of  Dutchess 
county.  They  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1843  and  settled  in  Williamson.  The  father 
died  in  Ontario  in  1875,  where  the  mother  now  resides,  aged  seventv-nine  years.  Our 
subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has  always 
been  a  farmer,  owns  forty  acres  of  land,  and  follows  general  farming  and  fruit  raising. 
He  enlisted  in  1862  in  Company  B,  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  participated  in  the  battles  of 
Cold  Harbor,  Winchester,  Cedar  Creek,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  mar- 
ried, December  31,  1861,  Mary  Sanders,  a  native  of  Williamson,  and  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Thursey  (Stowell)  Sanders,  he  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  she  a  native  of  Oneida 
county.  They  came  to  town  when  young,  where  he  died  January  1,  1883,  and  she 
March  11,  1893.  Our  subject  and  wife  have  had  two  children  :  Nora  A.,  wife  of  Fred. 
Smouton,  and  has  one  child  ;  Merton  E.,  at  home.  Mr.  Denney  is  a  Republican,  is  a 
member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  Ontario  Lodge,  and  G.  A.  R.,  Myron  M.  Fish  Post  No.  406 
and  Ontario  Grange. 

Devereaux,  Albert  F.,  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county  October  29,  1832.  His  great- 
grandfather was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  coming  to  America  with  La  Fayette's 
French  troops,  and  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  settled  on  the  Van  Rensselaer  "  Pat- 
ent." The  son,  and  then  the  grandson,  Stephen  Devereaux  (father  of  Albert  F.),  oc- 
cupied the  same  lands,  in  succession,  improving  the  land,  but  being  subject  to  annually 
paying  the  rents,  which  though  not  excessive  were  generally  considered  illegal,  giving 
rise  to  very  much  bitter  feeling,  culminating  in  the  anti-rent  war,  in  which  the  Dever- 
eauxs  and  relatives  were  divided,  some  donning  the  Indian  suits  of  the  anti-renters  and 
others  supporting  the  continuance  of  the  patroon  estates.  The  childhood  and  youth 
of  Albert  F.  was  spent  in  this  somewhat  fettered  and  unsatisfactory  farming,  a  phase 
of  monopoly.  But  in  1839  Stephen  Devereaux  moved  to  Wayne  county,  south  of 
Clyde,  with  his  family,  a  wife  and  nine  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  the  eldest.  The  Reuben  Smith  farm,  now  owned  by  M.  B.  Syron,  adjoining  Al- 
bert F.'s  present  farm,  was  purchased.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  "Albert  F.  went  to 
Michigan  to  make  his  fortune,  having  received  a  common  school  education  and  assisted 
his  father  faithfully  during  the  years  of  minority.  With  $60.12,  his  total  capital,  he 
went  to  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  and  there  engaged  in  work  in  building  the  Michigan  Cen- 
tral Railroad,  afterwards  taking  up  wild  land  near  Grand  Rapids  and  immediately  after 
another  lot  of  land,  partly  improved  and  containing  a  cranberry  marsh  in  Oakland 
county.  This  he  sold  to  his  father,  inducing  all  the  family  to  move  to  Michigan.  In 
looking  up  and  locating  land  Albert  F.  traversed  much  of  the  then  wilds  of  central 
Michigan  afoot  and  by  boat,  and  was  on  the  grounds  of  Lansing,  Ionia,  Marshall, 
Owasso,  and  other  cities  when  they  were  merely  straggling  settlements.  After  a  time 
he  embarked  in  buying  Michigan  cranberries  and  shipping  to  Albany,  N.  Y.  Then  re- 
maining in  the  vicinity  of  Albany  a  short  time  he  came  to  Galen  in  1850  and  married 
Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Stephen  Hull.  They  have  two  sons,  Willard  L.  and  Stephen  H. 
In  1862  he  bought  the  Stephen  Hull  property  of  108  acres.  In  1880  he  bought  the  ad- 
joining property  of  100  acres  of  Jeremiah  Mead,  and  in  1885  fifty  acres  of  woodland  in 
lot  74  along  Clyde  river.     In  1852  he  was  the  foremost  of  three  planters  in  Galen,  per- 


is  LANDMARKS   OF    WAYNE    COUNTY. 

haps  the  first  in  Wayne  county  to  engage  in  tobacco  growing.  This  he  continued  in 
for  thirteen  years.  So  little  was  known  about  the  "  weed  "  that  one  of  the  three,  Mr. 
Harvey  Streeter,  exhibited  growing  plants  at  the  Galen  Fair,  receiving  the  first  premium. 
These  very  plants  and  the  whole  of  his  seeding  that  year  proved  to  be  nothing  but 
mullin  plants.  Albert  F.  was  the  earliest  extensive  planter  of  wine  grapes  and  manu- 
facturer of  wines  and  brandy  in  New  York  State.  Beginning  in  1856,  before  the 
Pleasant  Valley,  Hudson  River  and  Chautauqua  grape  and  wine  districts  were  founded, 
he  began  producing  wines  for  medicinal  and  sacramental  purposes,  of  warranted  purity, 
and  has  established  a  name  continuing  with  his  trade  to  this  day  for  these  goods,  known 
inmost  of  the  States  of  the  Union.  He  was  the  first  grower  and  seller  of  Niagara 
grapes  in  Wayne  county.  Mr.  Devereaux  is,  withal,  a  devoted  agriculturist,  never  for 
even  a  year  relinquishing  his  attachment  to  farming,  always  aiming  to  grow  the  finest 
crops  and  ardently  taking  up  the  many  and  varied  tasks  of  land  improvement.  His 
home  farm  holds  a  large  sum  of  costly  farm  land  engineering  in  the  removal  of  every 
rock,  stones  and  obstructions,  the  laying  of  miles  of  tile  drainage,  stone  walls,  and  other 
fencing.  Large  areas  have  been  filled  in  and  sharp  knolls  graded  down,  clay  soils  mixed 
with  sand  and  gravel  and  large  cuttings  made  for  the  outlet  of  water  into  the  river.  A 
number  of  handsome  farm  buildings  have  also  been  erected.  Mr.  Devereaux  has  been 
a  landmarker  and  has  made  his  farm  a  landmark  in  the  town.  He  was  president  of  the 
Galen  Agricultural  Society  for  three  years.  Mr.  Devereaux  was  also  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  present  Baptist  Church,  of  Clyde,  was  elected  trustee  then  and  has  been 
re-elected  at  the  expiration  of  each  term  until  the  present  time. 

Edgett,  the  late  Ezra  A.,  was  born  in  Greene  county,  November  21.  1828.  His 
parents  came  to  Oneida  county  when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  where  he  was  educated 
in  the  public  and  select  schools.  The  family  came  to  this  county  in  March,  1865.  Mr. 
Edgett  was  an  excellent  business  man.  He  was  at  the  head  of  the  company  in  con- 
ducting the  Wayne  County  Preserving  Company.  At  his  death  his  wife  succeeded  him 
in  the  business  in  company  with  E.  K.  Burnham.  December  16,  1856,  he  married 
Harriet  C.  Marvin,  of  Camden,  Oneida  county,  and  they  had  four  children  :  James  C, 
who  was  well  educated,  and  was  brought  up  in  the  business  with  his  father.  He  mar- 
ried Anna  L.  Wilcox,  of  Port  Gibson,  Ontario  county,  and  they  have  one  son,  Oliver; 
Edith  M.  married  William  R.  Conover,  and  resides  in  Boston,  they  have  one  daughter, 
Halla;  Mary  L.  resides  with  her  mother;  and  George,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Edgett  died  January  30,  1889,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  wife  and  children,  and  many 
friends. 

Eldridge,  Lewis,  was  born  in  Penfield,  Monroe  couuty,  in  1837,  where  he  lived  till  the 
age  of  twenty-five,  then,  in  1862,  married  Betsey  A.  Goodwin,  of  Penfield,  a  native  of 
England,  born  in  1840.  who  came  to  this  country  at  about  the  age  of  twelve  with  her 
parents,  Eli  and  Mary,  who  located  in  Monroe  county,  and  afterwards  in  Walworth, 
where  the  mother  died,  and  where  the  father  still  lives.  Mr.  Eldridge  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Penfield,  purchased  by  his  father  in  1816.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject,  William 
Eldridge,  was  with  Washington  as  his  aide-de-camp  all  during  the  Revolution.  He  was 
born  near  Salem,  N.  Y.,  and  died  at  Penfield.  Erastus,  the  father  of  Lewis,  was  born 
in  Washington  county,  and  died  at  Penfield  in  1863.  His  wife  was  Anna  (Watson) 
Eldridge.  a  native  of  Maine,  who  also  died  at  Penfield.  Lewis  resided  on  the  home 
farm  about  three  years  after  his  marriage.  He  resided  in  Marion  four  years  also,  then 
located  on  the  farm,  where  he  now  resides,  in  Palmyra.  This  place  consists  of  118 
acres,  and  he  also  owns  101  acres  near  by.  He  married  Betsey  A.  Goodwin,  and  their 
children  are  :  Charles  A.,  and  Carrie  A.  (twins),  who  now  reside  in  Monroe  county  ; 
Perinton,  now  Mrs.  J.  Crane,  of  Marion  ;  Fred  D.,  of  Palmyra  ;  Anna  E.,  now  Anna  E. 
Miller,  of  Marion;  Smith  E.,  who  died  in  childhood;  Edward  E.  ;  Arthur  L.  ;  and 
May  L. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  49 

Edgerton,  W.  W.,  supervisor  of  Palmyra,  is  a  native  of  Saratoga  county,  N.  Y.,  born 
December  13,  1819.  In  1829  he  came  to  this  town,  where  he  lived  with  his  uncle, 
Oliver  Durfee,  until  the  age  of  twenty-three,  when  he  married  and  lived  in  the  town  of 
Marion  on  a  farm  for  two  years.  This  he  sold,  and  then  resided  in  Orleans  county  for 
four  years,  and  then  in  the  town  of  Ontario,  Wayne  county.  From  1854  to  1884  he 
lived  in  Walworth,  then  came  to  his  present  residence,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
north  of  the  village  of  Palmyra.  He  also  owns  a  farm  of  105  acres  in  Williamson.  Mr. 
Edgerton  has  served  Walworth  five  terms  as  supervisor,  Palmyra  three  years  as  assessor, 
and  as  supervisor  two  terms.  In  1842  he  married  Louisa  Pratt,  who  died  in  1843.  His 
second  marriage  was  with  Calista  Avery,  of  Palmyra,  a  daughter  of  Caleb  and  Abigail 
(Cole)  Avery,  and  their  children  are:  Arrebell  E.,  now  Mrs.  Rose,  of  New  York  city; 
C.  Avery,  who  graduated  from  the  Cleveland  Homoeopathic  Medical  College,  practiced 
in  Churchville,  near  Rochester,  four  years,  and  died  June  11,  1880.  He  was  born 
August  24,  1849,  and  married  a  daughter  of  Alfred  Miller,  by  whom  he  had  one  child, 
Melvm  G.,  born  August  30,  1859,  now  a  physician  of  Canastota,  also  a  graduate  of  the 
Cleveland  Homoeopathic  Medical  College.  He  married  A.  Nettie  Blair,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  who  died  May  10,  1883,  and  his  second  wife  was  Maude,  youngest  daughter  of 
Hon.  Loring  C.  Fowler,  of  Canastota,  N.  Y. 

Earley,  James,  is  the  son  of  Michael  and  Anne  (Riley)  Earley,  of  County  Westmeath, 
Ireland,  where  he  was  born  May  24,  1837.  In  1853  the  ship  Columbia  landed  him  in 
New  York,  without  capital,  save  health,  good  habits,  and  energy.  After  ten  years 
spent  in  farm  labor,  chiefly  in  Onondaga  county,  he  bought  in  1863  a  small  farm  in 
Butler,  having  married,  April  20,  1862,  Alice,  daughter  of  Patrick  Kennedy,  of  Savan- 
nah. He  came  to  Savannah  in  1866,  and  owns  a  farm  of  136  acres.  Their  children 
are :  Michael,  born  in  1863,  now  a  bookkeeper  at  Hoosick  Falls,  who  married  Olive 
Worden,  of  that  place ;  Edward,  born  in  1864,  who  married  Julie,  daughter  of  John 
Davis,  of  Savannah,  who  conducts  a  farm  adjacent  to  that  of  his  father ;  and  James, 
born  in  1866,  a  bookkeeper  for  the  Wood  Machine  Company  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.  They 
have  also  a  daughter  by  adoption,  Agnes  M.  Keeley,  of  Red  Creek,  adopted  in  1875  at 
the  age  of  three,  and  now  the  wife  of  George  Delaney,  of  Seneca  Falls.  Mr.  Earley  en- 
listed with  the  15th  New  York  Engineers  in  1864,  and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  is  now  a  prime  mover  and  leader  in  the  cause  of  Prohibition. 

Ennis,  Charles  (deceased),  was  born  in  Alloway,  September  1,  1835.  His  grand- 
father, William,  came  from  New  Jersey  in  1806,  and  bought  a  tract  of  land  in  the 
southern  part  of  Lyons,  known  as  the  Squire  Parks  farm.  His  father,  Robert  Ennis, 
was  a  prominent  contractor,  and  in  1847  bought  the  Captain  Towar  residence  and  saw 
mill.  He  died  in  1860.  Charles  Ennis,  the  fourth  son,  was  educated  at  Lima  and 
Hobart  College,  Geneva,  and  afterward  removed  to  Minnesota,  and  in  1865  he  with  his 
brothers  founded  the  Commercial  National  Bank  of  Chicago,  which  at  present  is  one  of 
the  leading  banks  of  Chicago,  and  of  which  he  was  cashier.  In  1867  he  returned  to 
Lyons.  At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  married  Emma  L.,  daughter  of  Deacon  Newell 
Taft,  of  Lyons,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  three  children:  Charles  T.,  Willard  G., 
and  Marian.  Charles  T.  is  now  preparing  for  admission  to  the  bar  of  Wayne  county  in 
the  office  of  J.  W.  Dunwell.  He  had  many  very  large  business  interests  in  the  West, 
but  his  home  was  in  Wayne  county,  retaining  the  relations  and  being  in  association  with 
the  leading  men  of  his  county,  and  he  ever  sought  to  advance  the  west  welfare  of  those, 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  He  died  July  2,  1879,  at  the  age  of  forty-three.  He 
took  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  institutions,  especially  in  the  Presby- 
terian church,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 

Eaton,  James  E.,  was  born  in  Sussex  county,  England,  December  7,  1827.  He  was 
the  oldest  of  eight  children  born  to  Samuel  and  Hannah  Eaton,  natives  of  England,  in 
1854  came  to  America,  and  on  his  return  to  England  he  died.     His  wife  died  in  Eng- 


50  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

jand  in  1853.  James  E.  Eaton  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  in  1850  came  to  Ontario 
and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  the  family.  Mr.  Eaton  had  forty-five  acres,  on 
which  he  made  improvements  and  built  new  buildings.  He  married,  May  8,  1851,  in 
Monroe  county,  Fannie  Woodhams,  a  native  of  England,  came  to  Ontario  in  1850,  and 
here  Mr.  Woodhams  died  in  1878,  and  his  wife  in  1874.  Mr.  Eaton  and  wife  had  twelve 
children:  Sarah  A.,  deceased;  James  T.  ;  Jacob,  deceased;  William;  John  W.  ;  Annie 
M.,  deceased;  Charles  F.,  deceased;  Emma  J.;  Nettie;  Lillie  B.,  deceased;  Roland 
D.,  deceased ;  and  Raymond.  Mr.  Eaton  died  November  24,  1889.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Eaton  are  members  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  church. 

Easton,  Charles  H.,  proprietor  of  the  Empire  Roller  Mills  of  Wolcott,  was  born  here  in 
1861,  the  son  of  Hezekiah  Easton,  a  well-known  citizen  of  Wolcott.  He  attended 
school  at  the  Red  Creek  Seminary,  where  he  obtained  a  fair  business  education.  When 
twenty-one  years  of  age  he  married  Kate  L.  Clapper,  daughter  of  John  Clapper,  of  Red 
Creek.  In  1883  he  purchased  a  farm  of  75  acres,  the  old  homestead,  by  being  quite 
successful  in  the  raising  of  tobacco.  In  1892  he  purchased  the  Empire  Roller  Mills  of 
Wolcott,  where  he  condncts  a  milling  business  both  in  custom  and  merchant  milling. 

Fntts,  Aaron,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Macedon,  March  16,  1873.  His  father, 
George  Fritts,  was  a  native  of  New  York  State,  and  was  a  farmer.  He  died  in  1881, 
but  his  wife  is  still  living.  Aaron  Fritts  is  a  young  man  of  twenty-one  years.  He  was 
educated  in  the  Macedon  Academy,  and  since  leaving  school  has  been  engaged  in  farm 
work.     He  now  owns  a  farm  of  123  acres.     In  politics  Mr.  Fritts  is  an  Independent. 

Freeland,  Charles  D.,  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  July  5,  1818.  His  father  was  a 
native  of  New  Jersey,  and  came  to  Seneca  county  in  1804,  and  died  August  28,  1866,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-six.  Charles  D.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age 
of  thirty-one  he  married  Eleanor  Yan  Demark,  who  passed  away  in  1879.  He  after- 
ward married  Lucy  Mauthe,  and  they  have  one  son,  John  P.,  and  three  daughters, 
Mary  B.,  Emma  O,  and  Katie  May.  In  1866  he  bought  part  of  the  Jonah  Hopkins 
estate,  having  sixty  acres,  and  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain,  and  stock. 

Finch,  David  S.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Dresden,  February  24,  1819.  His  father, 
Jeremiah  S.,  came  to  the  town  of  Rose  in  1820,  when  the  said  town  was  nearly  all  a 
wilderness.  He  first  settled  about  two  miles  west  of  Rose  Yalley,  on  the  farm  now 
occupied  by  a  Mr.  Hicox,  living  there  eight  years,  when  he  took  up  and  cleared  the 
farm  now  owned  by  William  Finch,  where  he  resided  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1859,  aged  seventy-seven  years.  He  was  a  well-known  farmer  and  veterinary  sur- 
geon. David  S.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-sever 
married  Matilda  A.,  daughter  of  Jacob  Brush,  of  Lebanon,  Columbia  county,  by  whom 
he  has  six  children :  Nathaniel,  Charles,  William,  Jeremiah,  Ernest  and  Mrs.  Phoebe  J. 
Howe.  In  1869  he  bought  the  Calvin  H.  Bliss  property  of  208  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay, 
grain  and  stock,  having  also  a  lot  of  about  fifteen  acres  in  the  town  of  Rose,  which  he 
devoted  to  vegetable  growing.  Our  subject  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church 
for  the  past  twenty-five  years,  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  all  school  and  church 
work. 

Fowler,  M.  S.,  was  born  at  Brutus,  January  26,  1851,  is  the  only  son  of  Willirm  and 
Mary  (Wood)  Fowler,  of  Butler.  He  was  educated  at  Rochester  Business  University, 
graduating  in  1874,  and  is  at  present  devoted  to  the  management  of  the  large  farming 
interests  established  by  his  father.  He  married,  November  29,  1876,  Lottie  E.  Wine- 
gar,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons :  George  W.,  born  January  9,  1881 ;  Clarence  M.,  born 
January  16,  1886,  and  Burton  P.,  born  June  19,  1887.  Mrs.  Fowler  is  the  elder  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Mansfield  Winegar,  who  was  a  prominent  figure  in  the  social  and  busi- 
ness affairs  'of  the  locality.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  May  9,  1892,  he  was  senior 
partner  of  the  firm  of  M.  B.  Winegar  &  Son,  engaged  in  hardware  trade  at  South 
Butler.     He  was  sixty  years  of  age. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  51 

Fewster,  Charles,  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  May  17,  1855,  the  son  of  Mather  and 
Mary  Franks  Fewster,  natives  of  England,  he  born  August  24,  1819,  and  she  Decem- 
ber 23,  1818.  They  came  to  Antwerp,  Jefferson  county,  in  1851,  and  resided  there 
until  1859,  and  then  went  to  Gouverneur,  and  remained  until  1865,  when  they  came  to 
Ontario,  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  here  the 
father  died,  August  26,  1893,  and  his  wife  died  December  11,  1891.  Our  subject  was 
reared  on  a  farm  and  remained  at  home,  and  since  sixteen  years  of  age  he  has  had 
charge  of  his  father's  business.  He  owns  104  acres  of  land,  and  is  a  general  farmer. 
He  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  highway  commissioner,  and  his  first  as  excise 
commissioner.  In  1887  he  married  Hattie  Truax,  of  Ontario,  daughter  of  James  and 
Fedelia  Traux,  and  they  have  two  children  :   Ethel  M.,  and  Howard  C. 

Fellows,  Frank  L.,  was  born  in  Lyons,  August  2,  1863,  was  educated  in  the  Lyons 
Union  School,  and  the  Pennington  Seminary,  after  which  he  taught  four  years ;  also 
read  law  at  Cleveland  with  Judge  Williams.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  married 
Anna  M.,  daughter  of  William  H.  Vandercook,  of  Eose,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
three  children  :  William,  Ethel,  and  Laura.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  largest  farmers  in 
his  town,  having  300  acres,  raising  large  quantities  of  mint,  wheat,  barely  and  stock. 
He  takes  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters.  The  family  came  from 
Hessie  Darmstadt  (Germany),  and  settled  in  Columbia  county  in  1750. 

Fanning,  Joel.  Patrick  and  Melinda  Fanning  were  farmers  residing  in  the  town  of 
Butler.  They  had  two  children,  George  and  Joel,  George  being  the  older  by  two 
years.  Joel  Fanning  was  born  June  18,  1855.  At  the  age  of  nine  his  father  was 
killed  by  the  falling  of  a  tree  which  he  was  chopping.  Although  he  had  a  small  farm 
nearly  paid  for,  his  untimely  death  was  a  great  blow  to  his  family.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  attended  the  district  schools  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old  ;  then  he  attended 
the  South  Butler  Union  School,  Red  Creek  Academy,  and  the  Leavenworth  Institute 
at  Wolcott.  By  teaching  school  winters  and  going  to  school  summers  he  fitted  him- 
self for  college.  In  the  year  1879  he  entered  Adrian  College,  Mich.,  where  he  re- 
mained two  years,  after  which  he  taught  the  South  Butler  Union  School  for  two  years 
and  the  Rose  Valley  Union  School  one  year.  In  the  fall  of  1884  he  entered  upon  the 
study  of  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  April  1,  1887,  and  is  at  present  practicing 
his  profession  at  Wolcott.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  allied  himself  with  the  Re- 
publican party. 

Fuller,  Erastus  B.,  was  born  in  Arcadia  in  1843,  son  of  John  L.  Fuller  of  Dutchess 
county,  who  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1843  and  settled  where  he  now  resides.  Our 
subject  has  devoted  most  of  his  life  to  farming,  from  1874  to  1875  was  in  the  produce 
business,  and  in  1879  purchased  twenty-six  acres  of  land  on  the  lake  shore.  His  enter- 
prising mind  soon  conceived  the  idea  of  transforming  this  property  into  a  resort.  He 
put  his  ideas  into  practice,  and  the  result  has  been  the  development  of  the  magnificent 
and  popular  Lake  Bluff  summer  resort,  the  most  sightly  point  on  Great  Sodus  Bay. 
He  erected  the  Lake  Bluff  hotel,  large  and  commodious,  in  connection  with  which  he 
conducts  a  grocery  store,  stables  and  post-office,  Mr.  Fuller  being  postmaster  in  1894. 
He  married  Emma  L.,  daughter  of  Harvey  and  Lucinda  (Clark)  Sherman,  of  Marion, 
born  in  1843,  and  they  have  one  child  by  adoption,  Irvin  S. 

Field,  A.  S.,  was  born  in  Clyde,  July  27,  1815.  His  father,  Daniel,  came  from  the 
town  of  Phelps  to  Clyde  in  1810.  A.  S.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  learned 
the  carpenter  and  joiner's  trade  in  1840,  and  established  the  well-known  furniture 
house  of  A.  S.  Field,  in  which  he  continued  business  for  forty-two  years,  and  is  now 
carried  on  by  his  son,  W.  N.  Field.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married  Rachael, 
daughter  of  Gilbert  Fisher,  and  they  have  had  seven  children,  four  of  whom  are  now 
living:  Mrs.  Charles  T.  Saxton,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Hinman,  W.  N.  Field  and  George  A.  Field. 
His  business  eareer  has  been  of  the  most  honorable  character,  and  he  has  always  en- 


LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

joyed  the  entire  respect  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  has  been  trustee  of  the  Clyde  High 
School,  president  and  trustee  of  the  village  of  Clyde  and  overseer  of  the  poor  of  the 
town  of  Galen.  For  years  he  was  leader  of  the  first  brass  band  organized  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Wayne  county. 

Fenn,  Merritt  H.,  only  son  of  Nelson  G.  and  Fannie  M.  Fenn,  of  Butler,  was  born 
September  11.  1849.  An  elder  sister,  Sylvia,  is  Mrs.  George  Johnson,  of  Wolcott. 
Merritt's  father  died  December  17,  1851,  aged  only  thirty-two  years,  and  six  years 
later  the  family  removed  to  Wolcott,  where  Merritt  married,  February  8,  1872,  Adella, 
only  daughter  of  Cuyler  Castor.  Their  only  child,  Marion,  died  in  1889,  when  only 
fifteen  years  of  age.  Fannie,  the  widow  of  Nelson  Fenn,  is  now  Mrs.  Alpheus 
Roberts. 

Flint,  Dwight  B.,  was  born  in  Rose,  February  9,  1830,  son  of  Elizur  Flint,  a  farmer 
born  in  1793,  and  a  native  of  Connecticut.  He  was  an  1812  pensioner,  and  ranked  as 
sergeant.  He  came  to  Rose  in  1817  and  settled  on  wild  land,  and  died  in  1884.  He 
was  a  Republican  and  had  served  as  supervisor  one  term  and  justice  of  the  peace  for 
many  years,  and  was  commonly  called  Squire  Flint.  His  wife  was  Roxie  Howard,  of 
Connecticut,  and  their  children  were  Dwight  B.  and  Calista,  deceased,  wife  of  George 
Catchpole,  of  Rose.  In  1859  our  subject  came  to  Huron  and  exchanged  farms  with 
his  brother-in-law,  George  Catchpole,  doing  general  farming,  but  apples  being  his 
favorite  crop.  In  1892  he  purchased  a  farm  of  fifty  acres  in  lot  2.  In  1859  he  mar- 
ried Mary  A.,  a  daughter  of  Robert  Catchpole,  and  they  have  one  child,  Augusta  E., 
wife  of  Frank  D.  Gaylord,  of  Sodus,  and  their  children  are:  Elizabeth  C,  born  in  1S86, 
and  Dwight  F.,  born  in  1889.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  in  Rose 
Yalley,  of  which  he  has  been  treasurer  twenty-six  years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republi- 
can, and  has  served  as  assessor,  supervisor  in  1875  and  1876,  and  county  superintendent 
for  six  years.     He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Clyde  Grange. 

Fries,  William,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Rose  December  28,  1847,  the  youngest  of 
eleven  children  of  Andrew  and  Catherine  (Mink)  Fries,  both  natives  of  Columbia 
county,  N.  Y.  The  grandfather,  William,  and  his  wife  emigrated  from  Germany  to 
America  and  were  early  settlers  of  Columbia  county.  Andrew  Fries  came  from  Colum- 
bia county  to  Rose,  then  to  Palmyra,  and  then  to  Williamson,  where  he  died  in  1870, 
and  his  wife  in  1874.  Of  the  family  four  sons  and  two  daughters  still  survive.  Two 
sons  and  one  daughter  reside  in  Wayne  county,  and  the  others  in  Michigan.  William 
Fries  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  worked  the  homestead  farm  a  great  many  years.  In 
1877  he  came  to  Ontario,  was  for  awhile  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Furnaceville,  and 
then  bought  the  farm  near  Furnaceville,  where  he  is  quite  largely  engaged  in  growing 
and  evaporating  fruit.  He  has  twenty-five  acres  of  apples,  five  acres  of  raspberries 
and  peaches,  besides  other  small  fruits.  In  1869  he  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Emmet  Teats,  of  Ontario,  originally  of  Dutchess  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fries  have  had 
four  daughters,  only  one  of  whom  survive :  Eveline  died  at  the  age  of  three  years, 
May  died  at  the  age  of  ten,  Pearl  died  at  the  age  of  six,  and  Edna,  born  October  3, 
1877,  who  is  at  home.  Three  of  Mr.  Fries'  brothers,  Andrew,  Edmund  and  Gilbert, 
were  soldiers  in  the  Rebellion.  Gilbert  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek.  In 
politics  the  family  are  Republican  and  in  religion  they  are  Presbyterians. 

Field,  W.  N.,  was  born  in  Clyde  July  14,  1848.  His  father,  Ambrose  S.  Field,  was 
a  native  of  the  town  of  Galen.  Mr.  W.  N.  Field  was  educated  in  the  Clyde  High 
School,  after  leaving  which  he  associated  himself  with  nis  father  in  the  furniture  and 
undertaking  business.  Hepurchased  the  business  in  1881  and  is  now  proprietor.  Mr. 
W.  N.  Field  married  Miss  Lucy  A.  Foote,  daughter  of  Allen  G.  Foote,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  the  following  children :  Charles  W.,  who  was  graduated  from  Union  Col- 
lege in  1893,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  State  Engineer  Corps  ;  Edna  M.,  Lucy  A. 
and  Winifred.    • 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  53 

Fogerty,  Timothy,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  Ireland  November  7,  18'27,  a  son  of  Ed- 
mund Fogerty,  also  a  native  of  that  country.  Timothy  came  to  America  in  1854  and 
settled  in  Columbia  county,  where  he  worked  in  an  iron  foundry  for  two  years  then 
took  up  his  residence  (1856)  in  Macedon,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  by  the  month 
for  four  years.  In  1858  he  married  Marie  Coniff,  of  this  town,  and  of  their  five  chil- 
dren four  survive,  one  son  having  died  February  26,  1894,  aged  thirty-one  years.  Mr. 
Fogerty  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church.  His  farm  con- 
sists of  171  acres. 

Farrand,  G-.  A.,  was  born  November  1,  1830,  in  Savannah.  He  received  a  common 
school  education,  and  with  that  as  a  basis  has  by  personal  research  become  a  man  of 
wide  information.  He  married  March  28,  1854,  Amelia,  daughter  of  James  Carris,  of 
Tyre,  Seneca  county.  Mr.  Carris  died  February  25,  1887,  aged  seventy-eight  years,  his 
widow,  Pamelia,  surviving  him.  She  was  born  at  Waterloo  December  18,  1816.  The 
only  child  of  G-.  A.  and  Amelia  Farrand  is  Valeria,  born  December  17,  1855.  She  is 
now  the  wife  of  R.  A.  Wilson,  of  Butler,  now  superintendent  of  the  Wagner  Palace 
Car  Company  in  Chicago,  111.  Mr.  Farrand,  like  his  elder  brothers,  is  a  "  landmark"  in 
intellect  and  popularity. 

Farnum,  Aramon  S.,  of  Savannah,  was  born  in  Onondaga  county  in  1848,  a  son  of 
Sylvester  A.  and  Maria  (Conklin)  Farnum,  the  former  dying  in  1893  and  the  latter  in 
1883.  Mr.  Farnum  received  a  liberal  education  at  Albion  Academy,  supplemented  by  a 
business  training  at  the  Ames  College,  of  Syracuse.  He  is  a  trained  telegrapher,  having 
been  engaged  in  that  work  several  years  after  leaving  school.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  he  began  the  manufacture  of  harness  in  this  place,  and  has  built  up  a  large  and 
profitable  trade,  carrying  also  an  attractive  and  large  stock  of  saddlery  hardware.  In 
1872  he  married  C.  Jennie  Westbrook.  Their  eldest  daughter,  Maud,  born  in  1873,  is 
the  wife  of  Prof.  L.  H.  Carris,  principal  of  Apalachin  High  School.  Two  younger 
daughters  are:  Mary,  born  in  1876,  and  Clara,  born  in  1881.  Mr.  Farnum  has  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  for  eleven  years  and  has  served  on  the  Board  of  Supervisors  five 
years,  besides  filling  many  minor  positions.  In  1884  Mr.  Farnum  was  elected  to  the 
Assembly,  serving  two  years,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  colleagues  and  of  his  con- 
stituents. 

Farrand,  Isaac  T.,  the  second  of  the  three  sons  of  Ebenezer  and  Susan  Farrand,  was 
born  January  29,  1828.  He  married  February  25,  1857,  Janette,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Kissinger,  of  Seneca  Falls.  In  1860  he  engagad  in  the  grocery  business,  but  since  1865 
has  been  a  farmer.  He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  a  steadfast  Republican,  hav- 
ing been  an  assessor  for  a  term  of  fifteen  years.  He  is  also  a  man  of  sunny  and  genial 
temperament,  and  has  hosts  of  friends.  He  has  two  sons,  Edrick  H.,  born  August  31, 
1858,  a  dealer  in  agricultural  machinery,  wagons,  seeds,  grains,  etc.,  with  stock  and 
headquarters  on  the  homestead  farm,  and  William,  born"  January  5,  1863,  who  is  a 
watchmaker  and  jeweler  of  much  skill  and  success,  having  graduated  in  189 1' with  a  No. 
1  diploma  from  the  Horological  School  at  Waltham,  Mass. 

Fisher  &  Kellogg.  The  senior  member  of  this  firm,  Gilbert  Fisher,  was  born  at 
Gorham,  N.  Y.,  February  22,  1825.  He  is  the  son  of  the  late  Gilbert  Fisher,  of  Butler, 
a  prominent  farmer,  who  died  in  1832.  He  now  conducts  (having  admitted  his  grand- 
son, Guyon  Kellogg)  a  large  dairy  and  fruit  farm,  shipping  dairy  products  to  New 
York  and  adjacent  points  in  New  Jersey.  Prior  to  the  Civil  War  Mr,  Fisher  con- 
ducted a  hotel  at  Port  Glasgow.  He  was  a  soldier  of  Company  H,  9th  Heavy  Artil- 
lery, serving  until  the  close  of  the  war,  and  although  escaping  unwounded,  suffers 
severely  from  rheumatism  contracted  while  in  the  service.  September  16.  1848.  he 
married  Chalystia  Stage,  of  Wolcott,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Mary,  born  De- 
cember 16.  1848,  who  became  the  wife  of  John  C.  Kellogg  December  24,  1867.  The 
children  of  the  latter  marriage  are  Guyon,  born  March  17,  1870,  and  Ida  May,  born 


54  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

October  27,  1876.  Guy  was  educated  at  Leavenworth  Institute  (as  was  also  his  sister) 
and  was  for  a  time  engaged  as  clerk  with  A.  W.  Moore  and  H.  C.  Moses  at  Wolcott. 
A  young  man  of  good  business  abilities,  he  is  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him. 

Finley,  Mark  G,  of  Walworth,  was  born  December  16,  1826,  and  was  educated  in 
the  Walworth  Academy  and  Union  College,  from  which  latter  he  graduated  in  1856. 
He  then  began  reading  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1859,  and  began  practice 
in  Palmyra.  He  also  served  as  school  commissioner  for  nine  years,  ending  January 
1,  1894.  He  served  as  police  justice  twenty- five  years,  and  was  also  justice  of 
the  peace,  having  served  since  1861.  He  was  again  elected  police  justice  April  1, 
1894.  In  December,  1861,  he  married  Helen  E.  Myrick,  and  their  children  are:  Han- 
nah E.,  a  teacher  in  the  Union  School ;  Helen  M.,  wife  of  Dr.  S.  H.  Hunt  of  Chicago  ; 
Marjone  C,  John  Finley  and  Prudence  Sabin.  The  parents  of  our  subject  were  natives 
of  Orange  county,  N.  Y.,  and  Connecticut,  respectively,  having  been  married  in  Con- 
necticut. They  moved  to  Walworth  in  1816,  where  they  died.  The  father  came  to 
Walworth  in  1808,  and  was  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  second  wife  was  Rebecca  Daven- 
port, nee  Potter,  by  whom  he  had  two  children. 

Fisher,  Abram,  was  born  on  the  ocean;  October  31,  1844,  while  his  parents  were 
coming  from  Holland  to  America.  He  is  a  brother  of  John  Fisher,  mentioned  in  this 
work.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  worked  by  the  month  for  twelve  >ears, 
and  then  purchased  the  land  he  owns  of  sixty-five  acres  and  also  thirty-seven  acres, 
which  he  sold  to  his  brother.  He  follows  general  farming,  and  also  has  eight  acres  of 
berries.  Mr.  Fisher  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  married,  August  8,  1871,  Ella 
Hulbert,  a  native  of  Ontario,  and  daughter  of  Norman  and  Mary  Hulbert,  and  they  had 
seven  children:  Wellington,  Earnest,  Addison  I.,  Jessie,  Allison,  Blanche  and  Frank. 

Forgham,  Richard  F.,  was  born  in  Westmoreland,  Oneida  county,  October  1,  1848, 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  is  a  self-made  and  self-educated  man.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  established  a  crockery  and  variety  store  in  Camden,  which  he 
sold  in  1868  and  came  to  Lyons  in  1871  and  established  the  bottling  business,  being 
the  first  plant  of  the  kind  between  Syracuse  and  Rochester,  and  in  which  he  is  still 
engaged.  At  the  age  of  thirty-nine  he  married  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  Sylvanus  Bailey, 
of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  John  E.  Our  subject  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  is  serving  his  second  term  as  trustee  of  the  village,  being  identified  in 
advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town  and  the  leading  events  of  the  day  ;  the  street 
running  by  his  property  being  named  for  him,  Forgham  street.  He  is  a  man  of  con- 
servative character  and  of  sterling  worth  and  integrity. 

Gates,  Melvin  B.,  born  in  Ontario,  March  1,  1829,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  W.  and  Harriet 
(Levens)  Gates,  the  former  born  in  Oswego  county  February  3,  1801.  Mrs.  Gates  died 
in  1831,  and  he  married  second  a  sister  of  his  first  wife,  who  still  survives,  she  being 
the  only  one  left  of  six.  They  had  four  children,  all  now  living.  Mr.  Gates  was  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Ontario,  was  for  several  years  supervisor  of  the  town,  and  served 
six  years  as  assessor,  and  revenue  assessor  from  1862  to  1866.  The  grandparents  of 
our  subject  was  Isaac  and  Prudence  (French)  Gates,  who  came  to  Ontario  in  1816, 
and  settled  on  a  farm.  He  was  twice  married  and  raised  a  large  family.  Melvin  B. 
was  educated  in  Walworth  Academy  and  has  always  followed  farming.  In  1855  he 
married  Rhoda  M.  Gould,  born  June  11,  1830,  and  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Silva 
(Bancroft)  Gould,  early  settlers  of  Walworth,  Wayne  county,  by  whom  he  has  had 
two  sons,  Floyd  I.,  born  in  November,  1860.  His  wife  is  Kittie  Cone,  and  he  is  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  Ontario ;  and  Louis  M.,  born  September  13,  1868.  At  the  time  of 
his  marriage,  Mr.  Gates  settled  on  the  farm  he  now  owns,  and  has  since  resided  there 
and  made  many  improvements.  His  farm  has  120  acres,  and  he  is  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  fruit  growing.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  is  at  present  county 
superintendent  of  .the  poor.     Mr.  Gates  and  wife  attend  and   support  the  M.  E.  church. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  55 

Gilbert,  Joseph,  a  native  of  Marion,  was  born  February  22,  1833.  He  is  the  young- 
est of  eight  sons  and  eight  daughters  of  Samuel  and  Luceba  (Wilson)  Gilbert,  natives  of 
Hadley,  Saratoga  county.  The  grandfather  was  Joseph  Gilbert,  who  was  a  farmer  of 
Saratoga  county,  where  he  died  aged  ninety-one.  Samuel  came  to  Wayne  county  in 
1809  and  settled  first  in  Williamson.  He  was  at  Pultneyville  during  the  War  of  1812. 
He  removed  to  Marion  in  1849  and  bought  100  acres  of  land,  where  he  resided  until 
his  death  in  1857.  Mrs.  Gilbert  died  in  1864.  aged  seventy-eight.  He  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  abolitionists.  Joseph  Gilbert  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  has  made  farming  his 
life  occupation.  He  married  in  1859  Emerett  Adams,  of  Marion,  by  whom  he  had  one 
daughter  and  one  son,  who  died  in  infancy.  Alma  is  the  wife  of  Delmar  Hope,  and 
they  have  two  daughters,  Daisy  and  Faith  C.  Mr.  Hope  is  now  carrying  on  the 
farm,  which  consists  of  100  acres.  Joseph  Gilbert  is  a  member  of  the  Williamson 
Grange. 

Garlock,  Abram,  born  in  Mohawk  Valley,  N.  Y.,  May  5,  1831,  was  the  youngest  of 
thirteen  children  of  Jacob  and  Maria  Garlock,  who  came  to  Marion  in  1837,  and  here 
lived  and  died  aged  sixty-three  years  respectively.  He  owned  a  large  farm,  the  village 
of  Marion  occupying  a  part  of  that  farm.  Abram  Garlock  was  educated  in  Marion  Acad- 
emy, and  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  ten  years,  but  his  principal  occupa- 
tion was  a  dealer  in  produce.     He  was  postmaster  four  years.     He  married  in  May, 

1854,  Hester  A.  Sweezey,  a  native  of  Marion,  and  daughter  of  Merritt  and  Clarissa 
Sweezey,  he  a  native  of  Marion,  and  she  a  native  of  Vermont.     Mr.  Sweezey  died  in 

1855,  and  his  wife  in  1873.  Mr.  Garlock  and  wife  had  four  children  :  Arthur  M.,  who 
died  in  1888,  aged  thirty;  Emery  L.,  who  died  in  1881,  aged  twenty-one;  Carrie  L., 
who  died  in  1883,  aged  twenty-two ;  and  May,  wife  of  Edward  Croucher.  Mr  Gar- 
lock died  May  13,  1884. 

Gurnee,  Isaac  H.,  born  in  Onondaga  county,  June  6,  1824,  was  the  second  child  of 
Marvin  and  Phoebe  (Hall)  Gurnee,  the  former  a  native  of  Haverstraw,  born  in  July, 
1799,  and  died  June  27,  1870.  He  was  a  son  of  Caleb  Gurnee,  who  lived  in  Skaneate- 
les,  but  died  in  Cayuga  county.  Marvin  came  to  Ontario,  N.  Y.,  in  1828,  and  there 
lived  and  died  in  1870,  and  his  wife  December  12,  1885,  aged  eighty-one  years.  Our 
subject  was  four  years  old  when  he  came  to  Ontario,  where  he  resided  until  1866,  when 
he  came  to  Marion  on  the  farm  he  now  owns.  After  two  years  he  established  a  boot 
and  shoe  business  in  the  village,  but  soon  returned  to  the  farm  he  now  owns,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  He  married,  December  31,  1846,  Sarah  Baker,  a  native  of  East 
Newark,  and  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Jane  (Ehodes)  Baker.  Mr.  Gurnee  and  wife  had 
one  son,  Alonzo  B.,  born  February  16,  1849,  in  Ontario.  He  came  to  Marion  and 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  which  he  followed  six  years,  but  his  principal  occupation 
has  been  farming.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  IT.  W.  of  Marion,  and  has  been  master 
of  the  Grange  three  years,  during  which  time  the  lodge  has  grown  from  twenty-six  to 
one  hundred  members.  He  married,  October  26,  1870,  Euphema  Carpenter,  by  whom 
he  has  had  two  children  :  T.  Carlton  and  Edith  M. 

Griswold,  William  H.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Rose,  April  3,  1838.  His  father, 
Lorenzo,  was  a  native  of  the  town  of  Victory,  Cayuga  county,  and  came  to  Wayne 
county  in  1834.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Nathan  Jeffers,  and  they  had  seven 
children,  of  whom  three  are  now  living :  William  H.,  Mrs.  Sarah  Lane,  and  Mrs.  Helen 
J.  Cobell.  Lorenzo  was  among  the  early  settlers  in  the  town  of  Rose,  and  through  life 
was  a  prominent  farmer  in  his  town.  He  died  in  March,  1851,  aged  forty-three  years. 
William  H.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life 
by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  married  Julia  A., 
daughter  of  James  Weeks,  by  whom  he  has  three  children  :  Charles  E.,  Frank  W.,  and 
one  daughter.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  largest  farmers  in  Wayne  couuty,  raising  large 
quantities  of  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.     He  was  elected  supervisor  for  two  terms,  and 


56  LANDMARKS    OF    WAYNE    COUNTY. 

takes  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  being  a  liberal  supporter  of 
the  Methodist  church. 

Getman,  George  W".,  was  born  in  Columbia,  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  December  18, 
1845,  was  educated  in  the  district  schools,  and  finished  at  West  Winfield  Academy,  after 
which  he  taught  for  two  years,  and  then  entered  the  employ  of  J.  G.  Burriil  at  Herki- 
mer, N.  Y.,  and  learned  the  profession  of  druggist,  moving  to  Lyons  in  April,  1869,  and 
established  the  business  of  retail  druggist  and  wholesale  and  retail  essential  oils,  of 
which  he  is  one  of  the  largest  buyers  and  shippers  in  Wayne  county.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-three  he  married  Fannie  Taylor,  of  Herkimer,  and  they  have  three  sons,  George, 
Frank,  and  William,  and  two  daughters,  Fannie  and  Marion.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  has  been  trustee  of  the  village,  and  is  also  interested  in  school  and  religious  mat- 
ters, having  been  an  elder  twenty  years  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Lyons.  Our  sub- 
ject is  thoroughly  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interest  of  his  town,  where  he  is 
recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  character  and  high  worth. 

Garlock  Packing  Company. — This  firm  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  steam,  water, 
and  ammonia  fibrous  packings,  is  one  of  Wayne  county's  most  important  manufacturing 
establishments.  In  1884  Garlock,  Crandall  &  Co.  began  the  business  at  Palmyra  on  a 
small  scale  in  a  single  room  of  one  of  the  buildings  now  occupied  by  the  present  com- 
pany. The  firm  of  Garlock,  Crandall  &  Co.  consisted  of  0.  J.  Garlock,  a  native  of 
Palmyra,  now  a  resident  of  New  York  city;  Eugene  Nichols,  a  native  of  Monroe 
county,  and  George  H.  Crandall,  a  native  of  this  town.  In  September,  1887,  the  Gar- 
lock Packing  Company  was  formed  by  0.  J.  Garlock,  Eugene  Nichols,  and  F.  W. 
Griffith,  a  native  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county.  The  old  firm  purchased,  in  1886,  the 
main  building  now  occupied  by  the  present  company,  comprising  a  three-story,  36x80 
structure,  and  in  1888  an  additional  building  of  two  stories  was  erected.  The  class  of 
fibrous  packings  made  by  this  firm,  in  ring  and  spiral  forms,  was  originated  by  Mr. 
Garlock,  and  has  replaced  other  kinds  to  a  very  great  extent.  It  was  first  introduced 
about  1884.  They  are  also  large  manufacturers  of  gaskets,  and  jobbers  of  packings 
for  flanges  and  joints.  They  use  one  steam  engine,  with  a  forty-five  horse-power 
boiler,  also  an  electric  dynamo  engine,  employing  from  fifteen  to  twenty  hands.  They 
manufacture  four  special  packings,  viz. :  Garlock's  Special  Water,  Garlock's  Elastic 
King,  Garlock's  Sectional  R'n?,  and  Garlock's  Spiral.  In  addition  to  their  plant  here, 
they  have  also  one  at  Rome,  Ga.,  and  have  branch  offices  in  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Pittsburgh,  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and  Omaha,  from  which  points  shipments  are  made  to 
the  various  parts  of  the  country.  They  have  a  large  export  trade  controlled  by  the 
New  York  branch,  wh'ch  also  supplies  numerous  inter  continental  steamers.  They  are 
shipping  from  Palmyra  about  four  tons  per  week. 

Gilbert,  John  P.,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Lyons  December  27,  1829.  His  father,  John, 
came  to  Lyons  in  1806.  His  father,  Amos  Gilbert,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  himself  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  was  one  of  the  deacons  for  more  than  fifty  years  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1882,  aged  ninety-two  years.  John  P.  was  educated  in  the  Lyons 
Union  School  and  the  Geneva  Medical  College,  and  graduated  from  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  New  York  in  1856,  under  the  celebrated  Valentine  Mott, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Lyons  and  succeeded  Dr.  Pollock,  his  preceptor^  and  estab- 
lished a  general  practice,  making  a  specialty  of  the  treatment  of  the  eye  and  ear.  In 
October,  1857,  he  married  Mary  E.  Tyler,  daughter  of  Piatt  Tyler,  esq,  of  Hillsdale, 
Columbia  County,  N.  Y.  Mrs.  Gilbert  died  in  1882,  leaving  one  child,  Mary  Louisa. 
He  had  charge  of  the  Albany  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary  from  1858  to  1861.  He  received 
a  commission  from  Hon.  Gideon  Wells,  secretary  of  the  navy,  and  entered  the  U.  S. 
Navy  in  December,  1861,  as  acting  assistant  surgeon  in  the  East  Gulf  Squadron,  offi- 
ciating as  chief  medical  officer  on  board  the  U.  S.  ship,  Guard.  Resigning  from  the 
navy  in  1862  he  entered  the  United  States  hospital  service   in  De  Camp  General  Hos- 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  57 

pital  at  David's  Island  ;  was  later  assigned  as  post  surgeon  at  the  Draft  Rendezvous  at 
Riker's  Island,  New  York  harbor.  Continuing  in  the  hospital  service  up  to  1865,  he 
then  resigned  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  soon  after  located  in  Long  Island  City  and 
established  a  general  practice  and  a  drug  store,  and  was  appointed  postmaster.  Since 
1870  he  has  practiced  in  the  west  until  1881,  when  he  returned  to  Lyons,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  Dr.  Gilbert  is  the  inventor  and  proprietor  of  "  Vital  Vim,"  a  new 
stimulant  without  alcohol  or  any  injurious  ingredients,  which  is  rapidly  gaining  in  favor 
as  a  household  remedy,  as  well  as  a  cure  for  the  liquor  habit.  He  is  a  comrade  of  A. 
D.  Adams  Post,  No.  153,  G-.  A.  R.,  of  the  State  of  New  York;  a  member  of  Humanity 
Lodge,  No.  406,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  one  of  the  original  charter  members  of  Temple 
Lodge,  No.  115,  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  of  which  he  is  past  master  work- 
man and  medical  examiner. 

Greenway,  George  B.,  was  born  in  Syracuse  February  15,  1856.  His  father,  George 
Greenway,  was  one  of  the  firm  of  J.  &  G.  Greenway,  brewers.  George  B.  Greenway 
was  educated  in  Syracuse  and  Williams  College,  after  which  he  studied  medicine.  In 
1880  in  connection  with  C.  E.  Wolcott  he  purchased  the  book  and  stationery  business 
of  Davis,  Bardeen  &  Co.,  which  he  afterward  sold  out  and  took  an  interest  in  the 
Whitney  Wagon  Works.  In  1889  he  came  to  Clyde  and  purchased  S.  D.  Streeter's  in- 
terest of  the  Streeter  Malting  Company,  and  in  1892  bought  the  remaining  Streeter  in- 
terest. Mr.  Greenway  married  Miss  Ella  M.  Warner  daughter  of  Arthur  Warner,  of 
Springfield,  Mass.,  and  to  them  one  child  was  born,  viz.,  Ruth  W.  Mr.  Greenway  is  a 
public  spirited  man  and  is  interested  in  the  advancement  of  the  educational  and  religious 
institutions  of  the  town.     In  1894  he  was  elected  president  of  the  village  of  Clyde. 

Gatchell,  William  Whittier,  was  born  in  Galen  September  7,  1822,  a  son  of  Elisha,  a 
native  of  Boston,  who  came  in  1813  to  Lyons,  Wayne  county,  and  some  years  later  to 
Huron  and  settled  on  Great  Sodus  Bay.  He  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  com- 
missioner, and  assessor.  He  married  first  Sophia,  daughter  of  Clark  Whittier,  of  Port- 
land, Maine,  by  whom  he  had  five  children :  Jeremiah,  William  W.,  James  W.,  Harriet, 
and  Mary  Ann.  His  second  wife  was  Margaret  Britton,  and  their  children  were : 
Sophia,  Christopher,  Henry,  Charles,  Guett,  Elisha  (deceased).  Jane,  and  Charles.  The 
grandfather  was  Jeremiah,  also  a  native  of  Boston,  and  a  sea  captain.  His  wife  was  a 
Miss  Diamond,  whose  father  was  sailing  master  on  board  the  war-ship  Constitution. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  William  W.  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Port  Glasgow, 
which  he  followed  four  years,  afterward  engaging  in  the  apple  business,  which  he  fol- 
lowed eighteen  years  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  farming  and  fruit  growing,  own- 
ing 170  acres.  In  February,  1861,  he  married  Louise,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Polly 
Tyndall,  of  Rose,  and  their  children  are :  Minnie,  wife  of  Dr.  George  D.  York,  of 
Huron ;  James  K.,  of  Troy  ;  Worth  and  Sophia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gatchell  are  members  of 
Huron  Grange,  and  in  politics  our  subject  is  a  Democrat.  He  has  served  as  post- 
master, assessor,  constable,  collector,  and  supervisor. 

Gilbert,  Edward  F.,  was  born  in  Lyons  January  21, 1843.  His  father,  John,  was  one 
of  the  prominent  business  men  in  his  town,  being  a  manufacturer  and  inventor  of  fan- 
ning mills  for  over  sixty  years.  These  mills  were  shipped  all  over  the  United  States, 
Canada,  and  to  foreign  countries,  including  Turkey  and  Damascus,  Syria.  He  invented 
the  process  of  putting  the  twist  in  the  double  warp  of  the  wire  screens  used  in  clean- 
ing grain  ;  previous  to  that  time  they  were  braided  by  hand.  In  1858  he  engaged  in 
the  furniture  and  undertaking  business,  in  which  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Edward 
F.,  who  was  educa'ed  in  the  Lyons  Union  School,  began  an  active  business  life  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  and  carried  on  the  business  twenty-eight  years.  He  then  traveled  on 
the  road  and  is  also  engaged  in  shipping  to  foreign  countries  parts  of  fanning  mills  that 
could  not  be  manufactured  there.  He  is  also  the  inventor  of  several  toys,  among  them 
being  the  thirteen,  fourteen,  fifteen  puzzle,  "  Gibert's  Instruction  Alphabet"  and 
h 


58  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

"  Wash  stand  Screen."  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Viola,  daughter  of  Mor- 
timer Calkins,  of  Earlville,  N.  Y.,  a  graduate  from  the  Lyons  Musical  Academy,  who  is 
an  efficient  organist  and  successful  piano  music  teacher.  They  are  the  parents  of  two 
children:  Carrie  (deceased),  and  Mary  Keokee,  who  has  been  a  pupil  of  celebrated  vio- 
linists and  is  herself  a  brilliant  performer  and  able  instructor  on  the  violin.  Our  subject 
is  one  of  the  prominent  business  men  in  his  town,  having  been  trustee,  treasurer  and 
assessor  in  his  village. 

Gillett,  William,  was  born  at  Ferguson's  Corners  in  the  town  of  Galen,  June  26, 
1827.  His  father,  James  Gillett.  was  a  native  of  Kent,  England,  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1824  and  settled  in  Wayne  county  at  Ferguson's  Corners.  He  died  in  1848. 
aged  fifty- six.  William  Gillett  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  in  the  town  of 
Sodus,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  married  Lucy  A.,  daughter  of  John  Butler,  by 
whom  he  had  three  children,  John  H.,  William  J.  (now  deceased),  and  Mrs.  Lizzie  B. 
Patten.  In  1861  he  bought  the  Benjamin  Ford  property  of  100  acres,  raising  fruit, 
hay,  grain  and  stock,  and  making  a  specialty  of  garden  seeds.  Our  subject  is  one  of 
the  representative  men  of  his  town,  was  elected  supervisor  and  assessor,  and  takes  an 
active  interest  in  school  and  church  matters. 

Garlock,  James  P.,  was  born  in  Arcadia  July  15,  1825,  and  came  with  his  parents  to 
Parma,  Monroe  county,  and  here  he  was  educated  and  learned  the  trade  of  carpentry. 
This  he  followed  twelve  years,  since  which  he  has  engaged  in  farming.  February  23, 
1859,  he  married  Lydia  A.  Bryant,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town, 
and  they  have  one  son,  Willard  B.,  a  farmer  with  his  father.  The  family  returned  to 
Wayne  county  and  located  in  East  Palmyra  in  1864,  and  in  1868  to  the  town  of  Arca- 
dia, locatir 
born  in  C 
burgh,  by  ,. 

becca  Van  Zile,  and  their  five  children  were:  Andrew,  James  P.,  Nelson  H.,  William, 
and  Wesley.  This  family  came  here  in  1812,  locating  on  the  Edgett  place  west  of 
Newark.  Nicholas  died  December  17,  1838,  and  his  wife  January  10,  1866.  He  was 
a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  The  great-grandfather  of  James  P.  came  from  Germany 
in  1709  and  settled  in  Montgomery  county,  where  the  family  was  long  identified  with 
the  best  interests  of  the  locality.  The  fifth  generation  is  now  residing  on  the  Bryant 
homestead. 

Gardner,  Amos,  was  born  in  Webster,  Monroe  county,  November  30,  1831.  He  is 
one  of  a  family  of  nine  sons  and  seven  daughters  of  Thomas  and  Matilda  (Russell) 
Gardner,  he  a  native  of  Albany  county,  born  February  12,  1806,  died  February  1,  1861, 
and  she  a  native  of  Greene  county,  born  September  18,  1812.  Mr.  Gardner  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation  and  bought  the  farm  now  owned  by  George  Gardner  in  On- 
tario. Mrs.  Gardner  died  December  13,  1889.  A  son,  Louis,  was  in  the  Rebellion 
two  years.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  from  the  effects  of  which  he 
died  October  20.  1886.  The  grandfather  was  Silas,  who  came  from  Rhode  Island  to 
Monroe  county,  and  settled  finally  in  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  where  he  died.  Amos 
Gardner  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  has  always  followed  farming.  He  now  has  a 
farm  of  fifty  acres  and  carries  on  general  farming  and  fruit  raising.  October  24,  1855, 
he  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  Urial  and  Esther  (Power)  Aldrich,  he  of  Macedon  and 
she  of  Oak  Orchard  Creek,  N.  Y.  They  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom 
are  now  living.  He  died  September  24,  1882,  and  his  wife  resides  at  Farmington,  On- 
tario county,  on  the  homestead,  aged  eighty-four  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gardner  have 
had  three  sons  and  one  daughter  :  E.  Isabelle,  who  died  May  25, 1872 ;  Urial,  deceased  ; 
Cassius  and  Royal,  who  are  at  home.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  in  religion 
they  are  Baptists. 

Gardner,  Ishmael  Gilbert,  is  one  of  Huron's  representatives,  born  in   Huron  April  6, 
1851,  and  is  the  son  of  Samuel  Gardner,  a  farmer  born  in  Ontario  county  in  1820.     He 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  59 

came  to  Huron  in  1849,  and  served  as  assessor,  supervisor,  and  in  other  offices.  His 
wife  was  Hannah  Brewster,  of  Lansingburg,  and  their  children  were  Ishmael  G.  and 
Elizabeth,  deceased.  His  second  wife  was  Happilona  Chatterson,  and  they  had  one 
child,  Ella,  wife  of  Samuel  Lyman,  of  Rose.  Our  subject  now  owns  the  homestead 
farm,  and  is  a  grower  and  distiller  of  the  oils  of  peppermint,  spearmint,  wormwood  and 
tansy.  He  also  has  extensive  hot  houses  and  gardening  lands,  and  is  engaged  in  forcing 
various  winter  and  early  spring  crops  for  the  city  markets.  In  1875  he  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Azael  and  Harriet  Slaght,  and  their  children  are:  Evelyn,  born  1876; 
Samuel,  1878;  Belle,  deceased;  Laura,  1889.     Mr.  Gardner  is  a  Democrat. 

Ganze,  Henry  A.,  was  born  in  Germany,  July  27.  1837,  is  the  son  of  Henry  and 
Maria  Ganze,  natives  of  Germany,  who  came  to  New  York  in  1852,  and  finally  settled 
in  Egg  Harbor  City,  Atlantic  county,  N.  J.,  where  Mr.  Ganze  died  in  1881,  and  his  wife 
in  1866.  Subject  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Germany  and  at  a  evening 
school  in  New  York.  He  left  New  York  in  1854,  and  settled  in  Marion  (at  sixteen 
years  of  age).  Mr.  Ganze  is  a  natural  musician,  and  for  a  number  of  years  played  the 
organ  in  the  Christian  church,  of  which  he  and  his  wife  are  members.  He  learned  the 
carpenter  trade,  and  has  followed  it  most  of  his  life.  He  enlisted  in  1862  in  Company 
D,  160th  New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  three  years  and  three  months.  He 
was  in  the  following  battles :  Port  Hudson,  Winchester,  Fisher's  Hill,  Cedar  Creek, 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner,  but  only  held  one  day.  He  married,  December  30,  1857, 
Clarissa  Fish,  a  native  of  Fall  River,  Mass.,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Fish.  Mr. 
Ganze  and  wife  had  six  children:  Henry  J.,  born  August  26,  1866;  Albert  A.,  born 
September  27,  1867;  William  H.,  born  January  2,  1871;  Thomas  S.,  born  July  7,  1872; 
Mary  A.,  born  February  3,  1875,  and  one  born  in  1880,  who  died  in  infancy.  Henry  J. 
died  August  27,  1866  ;  Albert  A.  died  March  3,  1870;  Thomas  died  April  26,  1873.  Mr. 
Ganze  holds  the  office  of  excise  commissioner. 

Hall,  J.  Madison,  one  of  the  oldest  residents  of  this  locality,  and  who  yet  carries 
lightly  his  eighty-six  years,  was  born  in  Pittstown,  Rensselaer  county,  October  8,  1808, 
the  son  of  Aaron  Hall,  a  native  of  Connecticut.  Practically  a  self-educated  man,  he  is 
an  omniverous  reader  and  a  man  of  vigorous  mental  action.  His  wife,  Phila  Mosher, 
was  born  in  Pittstown,  February  3,  1810,  and  died  May  16,  1889.  Their  children  were 
as  follows:  Henry,  now  with  his  father;  Wesley,  a  prominent  merchant  at  Red  Creek; 
Mary,  wife  of  D.  D.  decker,  of  the  firm  of  Becker  &  Hall,  merchants  and  bankers  of 
Red  Creek ;  Martha,  wife  of  A.  M.  Turner,  of  New  York  city ;  and  Harriet,  who  died 
April  22,  1850,  aged  fifteen. 

Heisler,  Henry,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  November  7,  1833,  and  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1855.  He  first  went  to  Monroe  county,  in  1856  came  to  the  town 
of  Huron,  and  in  1869  bought  the  Rogers  property  of  fifty  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay, 
grain,  and  stock.  In  1857  he  married  Maria  B.,  daughter  of  Casper  Mannes,  and  they 
have  three  children :  Henry  R.,  John  C,  and  Mrs.  Maria  Jenkins.  Our  subject  is  one 
of  the  most  thorough  farmers  in  the  town  of  Galen,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of 
steiling  integrity. 

Hamm,  Moses  F.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Bloomfield,  Ontario  county,  March  17, 
1834,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  is  a  graduate  of  the  Canandaigua  Acad- 
emy. About  1854  he  married  Phoebe  J.,  daughter  of  Jason  and  Adeline  Sanford,  of 
East  Palmyra.  Mr.  Hamm  taught  school  when  a  young  man,  and  by  industry  and 
good  management  has  become  possessed  of  a  comfortable  competence.  When  the  Union 
School  and  Academy  was  erected,  he  devoted  his  entire  time  to  superintending  the  con- 
struction of  the  edifice,  in  the  capacity  of  trustee,  which  latter  office  he  filled  for  nine 
years.  He  has  also  served  as  president  of  village  of  Newark.  Mrs.  Hamm  died  in 
1865,  and  he  married  second,  May  14,  1867,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Lida 
Kirby,  of  Oneida  county.     Mr.  Hamm  is  committee  in  charge  of  the  Emma  L.  Ramsdell 


60  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

estate,  the  owner  being  insane.  He  has  resided  in  Newark  seventeen  years.  His  care 
of  the  above  estate,  together  with  the  care  of  his  farms,  absorbs  his  whole  time  and 
energies.  He  was  formerly  associated  with  James  Upton  and  Gideon  Ramsdell  as 
wood  and  tie  contractors  for  fifteen  years,  for  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R  Co.  He  is  a 
member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M..  also  of  I.  0.  0.  F.  No.  250.  Mrs.  Hamm 
is  a  member  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps.  Mr.  Hamm's  father,  Robert,  was  born  in 
Vermont,  of  Scotch  parentage,  and  came  to  this  part  of  the  country  in  1802,  first 
locating  in  Palmyra,  and  later  in  East  Bloom  field.  His  first  wife  was  Sarah  Mack,  and 
his  second  was  Eunice  Guile,  of  Keene,  N.  H.  His  children  were:  Miranda,  Burton, 
Helena,  Levantiaette,  Robert,  jr.,  Delia,  Moses  F.,  Eunice,  Eusebia.  He  died,  aged 
eighty-four.  Edward  Kirby,  Mrs.  Hamm's  father,  was  a  civil  engineer,  born  in  France, 
who  married  Lida  Long,  of  Oneida  county,  and  they  had  seven  children,  of  which  only 
three  survive. 

Hance,  Thomas  C,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  this  county,  having  been  born  in 
Calvert  county,  Md.,  September  27,  1782,  and  died  April  18,  1888,  in  Macedon,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  105  years,  six  months,  and  twenty-one  days.  He  moved  from  Balti- 
more, Md.,  in  1803,  to  Western  New  York,  and  remained  with  his  parents  in  Farming- 
ton  until  1817,  when  he  married  Esther  C,  daughter  of  Abraham  Lapham.  He  then 
removed  to  Macedon  and  kept  the  first  general  store  on  the  mail  route,  west  of  Palmyra, 
also  had  nurseries  in  Farmington  and  Macedon.  In  1821  he  received  a  patent  for  a 
horse  hay  rake  on  wheels,  it  being  the  first  patent  of  the  kind  issued.  He  and  wife  were 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  They  had  seven  children,  six  of  whom  lived  to 
maturity,  as  follows:  Benjamin  M.,  born  in  1818  in  Macedon,  graduated  from  the 
Canandaigua  Academy,  and  taught  school  a  number  of  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission  in  the  late  war,  stationed  at  Point  of  Rocks,  Va.,  and  later  at 
Alexandria  Heights.  He  took  the  overland  route  to  California  in  1849.  At  present  he 
is  a  resident  of  Niles,  Mich.,  in  the  horticultural  business;  Sarah  D.,  born  in  1820, 
graduated  from  the  Albany  Female  Seminary,  and  at  once  took  the  position  of  precep- 
tress at  Macedon  Academy  (of  which  she  was  a  graduate),  later  of  the  Palmyra  and 
Utica  schools.  She  was  instructor  to  the  daughter  of  Senator  Seward,  and  she  served 
as  an  assistant  private  secretary  to  him  at  Washington  in  1857.  She  died  June  10, 1807  ; 
Abraham  L.,  born  April  6,  1822,  died  December  20,  1893  ;  Thomas  C,  born  in  1823, 
graduated  from  the  Chicago  Medical  College,  was  a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  army, 
and  is  now  stationed  at  Republican  City,  Neb. ;  Dr.  S.  F.  H,  born  in  1825  in  Ohio, 
graduated  from  the  Albany  Medical  College,  and  was  surgeon  in  the  89th  Illinois 
Infantry,  resident  now  of  Minneapolis,  Minn. ;  and  Jonahan  R.,  born  in  Ohio  in  1827. 
The  parents  in  their  old  age  lived  with  their  son,  Abraham  L.  The  father  was  a  de- 
scendant of  John  Hance,  of  England,  who  settled  in  Maryland  soon  after  Lord  Baltimore 
established  the  colony  there.  The  mother  was  a  descendant  of  the  Laphams  of  Rhode 
Island.  She  died  in  June,  1862,  at  the  home  of  her  son  Abraham.  The  latter  is  the 
only  one  of  the  sons  who  remained  in  this  State.  He  was  educated  at  the  Canandaigua 
and  Macedon  Center  Academies,  and  in  early  life  was  a  teacher  and  superintendent  of 
schools,  and  for  forty  years  was  connected  with  the  best  interests  of  his  native  town. 
He  married  Lydia  Packard  in  1854.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Philander  and  Minerva 
Packard.  They  had  two  sons:  Frederick  S.,  born  October  17,  1858,  who  married 
Jessie  E.  Parker  in  1882,  and  has  five  children  :  and  Benjamin  M.,  born  December  9, 
1859,  who  lives  on  the  homestead.     He  married  Ada  E.  Eldredge  in  1883. 

Horton,  George  S.,  of  Wok'Ott,  was  born  in  the  old  homestead  at  North  Wolcott, 
March  23,  1857.  He  was  educated  at  the  Leavenworth  Institute  and  Red  Creek  Union 
Seminary.  In  the  fall  of  1880  he  became  a  student  in  the  law  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor,  remaining  there  one  year,  thence  to  the  Albany  Law 
School,  where  he  graduated  in  the  class  of  1892.  Prior  to  his  le^al  studies  he  spent  a 
portion  of  each  year  as  a  teacher.  When  only  twenty- two  years  of  age,  he  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace  in  his  native  town,  being  the  youngest  one  in   the  country.     Mr. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  01 

Horton  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  James  A.  Garfield  in  1880.  He  has  been  an 
enthusiastic  Republican  ever  since.  He  is  associated  with  Colonel  A.  S.  Wood  in  the 
practice  of  the  law.  In  the  town  of  Wolcott,  where  he  was  reared,  and  with  whose 
interest  he  has  always  been  identified,  no  man  is  more  popular  nor  more  highly  respect- 
ed, as  is  evidenced  by  the  majorities  which  he  always  gets  when  he  is  a  candidate  for  an 
office.  In  the  fall  of  1893  he  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  two  thousand  five  hundred 
and  fifty-three  to  represent  the  big  and  populous  county  of  Wayne  in  the  Assembly. 
He  was  made  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Privileges  and  Elections,  and  was  also  a 
member  on  Judiciary  and  Claims.  In  the  season  of  1894  he  introduced  several  measures 
of  an  economical  and  reformatory  character,  not  only  earning  the  continued  regard  of 
his  constituents,  but  the  respect  of  his  political  opponents.  He  is  married,  and  has  one 
child. 

Hanchett,  Mrs.  Orange  R.,  was  born  at  Mexico,  N.  Y.,  March  17,  1826.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Maretta  Kenyon.  In  1847  she  married  Frank  Maguire,  who  was  born  in 
Tyre,  Seneca  county,  February  22,  1819.  He  was  a  resident  of  Butler  forty  years,  en- 
gaged in  blacksmithing,  and  is  a  citizen  of  irreproachable  character  and  moral  worth. 
He  died  at  Butler,  January  21,  1887.  They  had  two  sons,  Darwin  F.,  who  died  in 
infancy;  and  Adelbert  E.,  who  was  conductor  on  the  T.  W.  S.  W.  R.  R.,  and  was  killed 
in  a  collision,  November  6,  1874,  a^ed  twenty-six  years.  Mrs.  Maguire  married  second, 
Orange  R.  Hanchett  (formerly  of  Wichita,  Kan.),  March  25,  1889,  and  they  moved  to 
Wolcott,  where  Mr.  Hanchett  died  April  9,  1893. 

Henry,  William,  was  born  in  Chatham,  Columbia  county,  in  1817.  a  son  of  William 
Henry,  a  school  teacher,  who  went  to  Albany  in  1818,  and  was  never  again  heard  from. 
His  wife  was  Catherine  Sours,  of  Columbia  county.  In  1836  he  and  his  mother  moved 
to  Wayne  county,  and  purchased  the  farm  where  Mr.  Henry  now  lives.  Here  his 
mother  died  in  1873.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  fruit,  in  which  he  is  very  success- 
ful, his  farm  consisting  of  200  acres.  In  1844  he  married  Olive,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
and  Hannah  Parker,  of  Huron,  who  were  early  settlers  here.  Mrs.  Henry  was  born  in 
1823.  They  had  one  child,  born  in  1846,  Catherine  Ann,  wife  of  Aaron  Peck,  of  Wol- 
cott, by  whom  she  has  three  children  :  G-ertie,  Frank,  and  Minnie.  Mrs.  Henry  died  in 
1849,  and  two  years  later  he  married  Julia  A.  (born  in  July,  1823),  a  daughter  of 
Christian  and  Anna  C.  (Rote)  Sours.  They  had  four  children :  Seymour,  born  in  1852; 
Mary,  born  in  1855.  wife  of  Charles  S.  Pratt,  of  Marion ;  Emma,  born  in  1857,  wife  of 
Lewis  Lovejoy,  of  Huron;  and  Idella,  bom  in  1860,  wife  of  Frank  Chapin,  of  Huron. 
Mrs.  Henry  died  June  18,  1894,  aged  seventy  years.  Mr.  Henry  has  fourteen  grand- 
children, and  three  great-grandchildren.  TJlrich  Sours,  great-grandfather  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Germany,  and  had  three  children:  Tunis,  Peter,  and  Elizabeth.  Tunis, 
born  in  1764,  and  his  wife,  Maria,  born  in  1756,  had  these  children :  Christiana,  born  in 
1786;  Philip,  born  in  1788;  Catherine,  born  in  1790;  Hannah,  born  in  1793;  Margaret, 
born  in  1795  ;  Maria,  born  in  1797  ;  and  Cynthia,  born  in  1799. 

Heit,  Jacob,  was  born  in  Alsace,  March  8,  1823.  His  father,  Michael,  came  with  his 
family  to  the  United  States  in  1830,  and  died  in  187  ,  aged  eighty  years.  Jacob  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married  Magdalena, 
daughter  of  Henry  Miller,  of  Lock  Berlin,  and  they  have  five  children:  John  H.,  George 
F.,  William  A.,  Henry  M.,  and  Jacob  D.  In  1855  he  bought  the  Adam  Clum  property; 
in  1868  bought  the  William  Bonell  property,  and  subsequently  the  David  Waldruff  farm, 
in  all  having  about  450  acres,  and  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain,  and  stock.  Our  subject  is 
one  of  the  largest  farmers  in  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  re- 
ligious matters,  and  has  been  steward  of  the  M.  E.  church  of  Clyde  many  years. 

Hopkins,  Burton  J.,  born  in  Ontario,  September  22,  1835.  is  the  third  of  five  sons  of 
Joseph  and  Pamelia  J.  (Nichols)  Hopkins,  he  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  she  of  Con- 
necticut.    He  came  to  Manchester  and  then  to  Pultneyville,  where  he  was  married.    He 


62  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

then  came  to  Ontario  and  settled  on  a  farm,  where  he  lived  fifty-five  years,  and  there 
died  in  November,  1890,  aged  ninety  years,  and  his  wife  resides  with  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  Mace- 
don  and  Webster  Academies.  He  taught  in  district  school  during  winter  terms  from  the 
time  he  was  eighteen  years  old  until  he  was  married,  was  engaged  in  selling  nursery 
stock  and  also  in  the  saw  mill  business,  and  bought  wool  in  partnership  with  his  brother 
Henry  for  several  years.  He  received  a  patent  for  slicing  and  curing  apples  in  1880,  it 
being  the  first  in  use.  Mr.  Hopkins  is  at  present  a  farmer,  and  purchased  a  farm  of  111 
acres  in  1885,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  is  a  Republican,  a  member  of  South 
Shore  Grange  of  Ontario,  and  is  now  master  of  the  Grange.  The  family  are  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married  in  1864  Ann  E.  Sprague,  by  whom  he  has  had 
four  children  :  Archer  G,  W.  Burr,  Mary  A.,  and  Glenn  N.  W.  Burr  graduated  from 
Phillips  Academy.  Andover,  Mass.,  in  1893,  and  is  now  a  student  of  Brown's  College, 
Providence,  R.  I.  Archer  C.  was  educated  in  Palmyra  and  Macedon  Academies.  Mary 
is  a  student  of  Webster  Union  School. 

Hamm,  Edson  W.,  was  born  at  Sharon  Springs,  N.  Y.,  September  18,  1861,  was  edu- 
cated in  Macedon  Academy,  and  from  there  went  to  the  Albany  Normal  School,  and 
after  teaching  two  years  began  the  study  of  law  with  Hon.  Stephen  K.  Williams  at 
Newark,  N.  Y.,  then  went  to  Washington,  D.  C,  to  assist  in  the  republication  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  reports.  He  then  took  the  law  course  at  the  National 
University  of  Law  at  Washington,  graduating  in  1884,  and  in  1885  took  a  post-graduate 
course,  and  returned  to  Newark  and  spent  a  year  with  Judge  Norton,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1886,  and  then  entered  into  partnership  with  Judge  Norton.  In  1887  he 
terminated  that  connection  and  came  to  Lyons,  where  he  carries  on  a  general  practice. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married  Mary  W.  Yan  Camp,  daughter  of  William  Van- 
Camp.  Subject  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  rising  men  in  his  profession,  giving  an  earnest 
and  energetic  attention  to  all  business  matters. 

Hill,  Edmund,  was  born  in  Junius,  Seneca  county,  May  11,  1835.  His  father,  Peter, 
came  to  Wayne  county  in  1839,  and  was  a  prominent  farmer  in  his  town.  Edmund  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  district  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  read- 
ing and  close  observation.  In  1865  he  married  Augusta,  daughter  of  William  Rein- 
hardt,  of  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  children  :  Theodore  W., 
Charles  E.,  Edmund  Augustus,  and  Lena  E.  In  1879  Mr.  Hill  inherited  his  father's 
estate  of  ninety  acres,  to  which  he  has  added  by  buying  adjoining  property,  and  all  of 
which  he  has  now  under  cultivation.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  town, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Holdrige,  A.  J.,  after  a  life  of  more  than  ordinary  interest  and  adventure  in  foreign 
lands,  returned  in  1865  to  his  old  home,  for  the  next  ten  years  was  on  shore  and  at  sea, 
and  for  sixteen  years  has  been  an  express  and  freight  agent  at  Savannah.  He  was  born 
in  Galen,  September  16,  1838,  a  son  of  Ambrose  and  Charity  Holdridge.  His  educational 
opportunities  were  limited,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he  ran  away  from  home  and  shipped 
from  Greenport,  L.  I.,  on  board  the  whaler  Italy  in  1854.  Off  the  Aleutian  Isles  in  1856 
she  was  dismasted  in  a  heavy  storm,  and  after  the  loss  of  eleven  men  finally  harbored 
in  Honolulu,  Sandwich  Islands,  and  the  cargo  of  2,800  barrels  of  oil  and  32,500  pounds 
of  whalebone  was  saved  intact,  then  visited  a  number  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  among 
the  cannibals.  He  next  shipped  in  the  Sheffield  for  another  whaling  cruise,  which  lasted 
eight  months,  with  a  net  result  of  2,200  barrels  of  oil  and  19,000  pounds  of  whalebone. 
Next  entering  the  merchant  service  he  visited  all  the  principal  ports  of  South  America, 
rapidly  passing  by  various  promotions  from  a  common  sailor  to  first  mate,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  on  board  the  Monterey  when  but  twenty-two  years  of  age.  During  the 
war  between  Peru  and  Ecuador  he  was  on  a  blockade-runner,  which  was  on  one  occa- 
sion chased  all  day  by  a  Peruvian  man-of-war  without  result.  At  Panama,  when  in  the 
passenger  steamer  service,  he  had  the  dreaded  chagres  fever,  and  after  his  recovery 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  63 

he  again  entered  merchant  service,  visiting  London  and  other  points  in  the  Old  World. 
In  1863,  while  on  the  United  States  navy  ship  Aphrodite,  he  suffered  shipwreck  off 
Cape  Lookout,  when  the  ship  and  twenty-six  men  were  lost,  but  Mr.  Holdridge  es- 
caped uninjured.  After  the  war  he  spent  several  seasons  on  the  lakes,  chiefly  in  sail- 
ing vessels,  and  subject  to  the  usual  vicissitudes  of  a  sailor's  life,  sometimes  an  officer, 
and  sometimes  before  the  mast.  In  1889  he  married  Fanny  Taylor,  of  Clyde.  Our  sub- 
ject has  been  president  of  the  village,  trustee,  assessor,  etc. 

Harrington,  Eb.,  is  a  son  of  Daniel  Harrington,  a  Wayne  county  pioneer,  who  died 
at  Savannah  in  1883.  He  was  in  many  ways  a  prominent  man  in  early  times,  con- 
ducted a  steam  saw  mill  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  and  was  commissioner  of  high- 
ways for  twenty-five  years.  His  wife  was  Mary  A.  Fitch,  and  of  her  four  children  two 
are  now  living:  Harriet,  wife  of  Ezra  Van  Duyne,  of  Savannah  ;  and  Eb.,  who  was  born 
October  23,  1848,  and  acquired  a  good  education  at  a  select  school  at  South  Butler. 
When  twenty-four  years  of  age  he  married  Caroline,  daughter  of  the  late  Herman  West- 
cott,  of  Savannah,  and  their  children  are  :  Cynthia,  born  April  19,  1874,  and  Eugene 
born  February  1,  1876.  Caroline  died  February  16,  1886,  and  Mr.  Harrington  is  now 
married  to  Miss  Catharine  Fitch,  of  Savannah,  and  she  has  one  daughter  born  March 
16,  1894. 

Hamilton,  David  R.,  was  born  December  3,  1806,  the  son  of  David  Hamilton,  of 
Montgomery  county,  who  died  December  7,  1819,  at  an  advanced  age.  David  was  one 
of  a  family  of  nine  children,  and  at  the  age  of  eighty- eight  now  stands  the  sole  living' 
representative,  in  Wayne  county  of  that  family.  His  boyhood  was  passed  in  Saratoga 
county,  coming  to  Butler  in  1828,  in  September  of  which  year  he  married  Mary  Hol- 
lister,  of  Saratoga,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children  :  William  H.,  born  May  13,  1830; 
Charles  A.,  born  February  3,  1832 ;  Melissa,  born  October  7,  1833 ;  Harriet,  born  April 
5,  1835;  Mary  C,  born  December  14,  1836;  Hollister,  born  September  30,  1839; 
Martha,  born  February  19,  1841 ;  and  Frank,  born  September  24,  1844.  Mary  Hamil- 
ton died,  January  22,  1873,  and  December  24,  of  that  year,  he  married  Harriet,  widow 
of  Oscar  F.  Coggswell,  of  Meridian.  She  had  one  son,  William  0.  Coggswell,  who 
died  March  24,  1880,  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  aged  twenty-four  years.  He  was  a  practicing 
physician.  Mr.  Hamilton  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  Republican  county  convention, 
held  in  Wayne,  when  he  served  as  secretary.  He  has  served  as  coroner  six  years, 
justice  of  the  peace  four  years,  and  was  commissioner  of  deeds  four  years.  While  he 
was  justice  of  the  peace  he  had  the  pleasure  of  uniting  in  holy  matrimony  Mr.  John 
Bloomingdale  and  Miss  Melissa  Watson,  both  of  the  town  of  Wolcott.  At  last  account 
they  were  living  happily  together  in  Michigan. 

Hotchkiss,  H.  G.,  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  June  19,  1810.  His  father, 
Leman  Hotchkiss,  removed  to  Phelps,  N.  Y.,  in  1811,  and  became  the  pioneer  merchant 
of  that  region.  On  his  death  in  1826,  H.  G.,  with  his  brother  L.  B.,  succeeded  to  his 
business,  which  continued  until  1837,  when  he  embarked  in  extensive  milling  opera- 
tions, sending  his  flour  to  the  New  York  markets.  There  was  at  that  time  a  small 
quantity  of  peppermint  raised  in  the  neighborhood.  He  secured  the  oil  and  sent  it  to 
New  York.  Finding  that  the  market  was  largely  controlled  by  adulterators  who  were 
shipping  the  oil  in  an  impure  state  to  Europe,  he  decided  to  commence  the  manufacture 
of  a  strictly  pure  article  for  the  European  markets.  The  first  consignments  were 
through  George  B.  Morewood  &  Co.  to  London,  and  through  G.  Meyer  &  Sons  to  Rot- 
terdam, in  1839.  It  soon  became  greatly  appreciated  by  the  consumers.  Finding  the 
lowlands  of  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  admirably  adopted  to  the  purpose,  he  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land  in  1843,  and  commenced  the  extensive  cultivation  of  the  plant.  He  re- 
moved there  in  1844.  His  brand  has  been  awarded  the  first  prize  medals  at  the  World's 
Fairs  held  in  England,  Germany,  America,  France  and  Austria  since  1851 ;  and  is  at 
present  the  leading  brand  of  American  essential  oils  in  New  York,  London,  Hamburg, 
and  all  large  European  markets,  as  will  be  noticed  in  the  quotations  in  all  the  leading 


in  LANDMARKS    OF    WAYNE   COUNTY. 

drug  reports  in  America  and  Europe.  On  his  way  to  the  Paris  Exposition  in  1878  he 
stopped  in  London,  and  was  congratulated  by  prominent  London  merchants  on  the 
London  Exchange  on  the  excellent  reputations  of  his  oils.  He  replied  that  if  he  were 
guilty  of  fraud  and  adulterations,  he  would  not  be  there  to  receive  their  congratulations. 
Each  case  of  oil  contains  a  pamphlet  describing  the  honors  awarded  to  this  brand,  and 
received  the  highest  award  of  merit  at  the  Columbian  Exposition  held  at  Chicago  in 
1893. 

Hall,  Aaron,  married  Polly  Warner  in  1806  in  the  town  of  Amherst,  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, moved  to  Vernon,  Oneida  county,  in  ]810,  and  moved  from  there  to  the  town 
of  Galen,  now  Savannah,  Wayne  county,  in  1812  and  settled  on  the  faim  now  occupied 
by  Stephen  Sprague.  They  had  eight  children,  Harriet,  the  oldest,  married  Conrad 
Sedore,  who  died  in  1872.  She  had  eight  children,  three  of  whom  are  now  living.  She 
resides  with  her  son,  Ira  B.  Sedore  at  Savannah,  and  is  eighty-seven  years  of  age. 
Andrew  Hall  married  Mara  Chapin,  of  Savannah,  in  1827.  He  died  in  1841,  and  his 
wife  died  in  1876.  They  had  five  children,  three  of  whom  are  now  living:  Aaron, 
living  about  one  mile  west  of  Savannah,  a  farmer  ;  Andrew  S.,  living  in  Savannah,  an 
insurance  agent ;  and  Hattie,  living  in  the  State  of  Illinois.  Oscar  Hall  died  in  Michi- 
gan in  1893.  Charlotte  Hall  married  Richard  Shears,  who  died  in  1877  in  Michigan. 
She  is  living  at  present  in  Michigan,  and  is  the  mother  of  five  children.  Olive  Hall  mar- 
ried Jacob  Rex.  They  live  in  Steuben  county  and  have  three  children,  all  living. 
Ellis  Hall  married  Thomas  Blasdell,  and  moved  to  Michigan.  They  are  both  deceased. 
Charles  Hall  married  Betsey  Howland,  both  deceased.  Sylvia  Hall  married  Stephen 
Sprague  in  1844,  and  they  live  on  the  homestead.  Sylvia  was  the  youngest  of  the  Hall 
children,  and  is  now  about  seventy  years  of  age.  She  has  six  children.  Polly  Hall 
after  the  death  of  Aaron  Hall  in  1826,  married  Stephen  Sprague,  who  died  in  1858. 
She  died  in  1882,  aged  ninety-three.  Aaron  and  Andrew  Hall  served  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  in  Company  A,  9th  N.  Y.  Volunteers.  Aaron  is  now  sixty  years  old  and 
Andrew  is  fifty-eight. 

Harrison,  Edwin  H.,  son  of  Hurum  and  Jane  Jagger  Harrison,  was  born  in  Ontario. 
Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  June  16,  1839.  His  parents,  who  were  natives  of  Palmyra,  and 
children  of  old  settlers  of  that  town,  came  to  Ontario  about  1830  and  located  upon  a 
farm  of  100  acres,  situated  on  the  Ridge  road,  which  continued  to  be  their  home  until 
their  death.  The  mother  died  many  years  since,  but  the  father  survived  till  1887, 
when  he  died,  aged  eighty-one  years.  Edwin  H.  was  reared,  and  has  always  lived 
upon  this  farm,  which  he  now  owns,  and  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Wayne  county. 
His  occupation  is  general  farming  and  fruit  culture.  He  is  an  earnest  advocate  of 
temperance,  and  is  ever  found  supporting  the  principles  of  justice  and  morality.  May 
12,  1886,  he  married  Lizzie  M.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Harriet  Vaughn,  of  William- 
son, N.  Y. 

Herendeen,  Charles  B.,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  this  town  January  31,  1871,  a  son 
of  Charles  B.,  also  of  this  town,  born  within  a  short  distance  of  where  our  subject  now 
lives.  Charles  B.  married  Mary  Lapham,  daughter  of  John  Lapham,  one  of  the  old 
settlers  of  this  town,  and  they  had  five  children:  Anna,  Hattie  (who  died  aged  about 
twelve  years),  Charles,  Grace  and  an  infant  who  died.  Charles  B.  died  in  1889,  and 
his  wife  in  1874.  Our  subject  owns  a  farm  in  Macedon,  comprising  140  acres,  which 
he  works  according  to  the  latest  approved  methods.  He  attended  the  common  schools 
and  graduated  at  the  Macedon  Academy,  and  is  at  present  a  member  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Macedon.  In  1890  he  married  Stella  Post,  of  Arcadia,  and  they  have  one 
child,  Alice  G.   Mr.  Herendeen  is  a  member  of  the  Grange,  and  in  politics  a  Republican. 

Hall,  Aaron  F.,  was  born  in  Savannah,  August  26,  1833,  the  eldest  son  of  Andrew 
S.  and  Maria  Hall.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Lucretia  Ferris  of  Sa- 
vannah, and   they   have  six  children  :   Frank  S.,  born  April  10,  1856,  who,  with  a  wife 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  65 

and  two  daughters,  reside  at  Marcellus,  Mich.,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  school  furniture;  Caleb  H.,  born  December  18,  1857,  a  farmer  at  Savannah,  married, 
and  has  five  children ;  John  A.,  born  April  30,  1859,  now  a  school  teacher  and  farmer 
at  Bladen,  Neb.,  married  and  has  one  son,  Vaughn  S.,  born  March  30,  1861,  married 
and  has  four  children,  residing  at  Bladen,  Neb.,  a  dealer  in  coal  and  lumber;  Joseph  0., 
born  March  4,  1862,  now  of  Salem,  Oregon,  married  and  has  two  daughters;  Oscar  F., 
born  February  27,  1868,  now  operating  his  father's  farm,  is  married  and  has  one  son. 
Our  subject  in  December,  1863,  enlisted  in  Company  A,  9th  N.  Y.  Artillery,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  two  years  later.  After  the  war  he  spent  eight  years  in  Michigan 
upon  a  farm,  returning  to  Savannah  in  1875,  and  in  1886  purchased  the  farm  of  11] 
acres,  lying  two  miles  west  of  Savannah  on  the  Clyde  and  Savannah  road. 

Holmes,  Sebastian  Durfee,  was  born  in  Palmyra,  April  9,  1833.  His  father,  Robert, 
was  a  native  of  Amherst,  N.  H.,  and  came  to  Lyons  in  1818  with  his  father,  afterward 
engaging  in  the  mercantile  business.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Major  Edward  Durfee, 
of  Palmyra,  who  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  S.  D.  Holmes  was  educated  in  the  Lyons 
Union  School  and  in  Rochester,  then  came  to  Lyons  in  1850  and  learned  the  carriage 
business.  In  August,  1862,  he  raised  Company  D,  111th  N.  Y.  Volunteers,  going  out 
with  it  as  captain.  He  was  engaged  in  the  battles  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Spottsylvania, 
Gettysburg,  Cold  Harbor,  Mine  Run  and  before  Petersburg.  He  was  wounded  in  the 
right  arm  at  Gettysburg  the  last  day  of  the  battle,  which  forced  him  to  resign  May  27, 
1864,  but  he  returned  in  the  fall  and  served  in  the  commissary  department.  He  mar- 
ried Ellen  M.,  daughter  of  Zebulon  Moore,  of  Lyons,  in  October,  1855,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Edith.  Zebulon  Moore  was  a  prominent  railroad  and  canal  contractor, 
taking  the  contracts  to  erect  some  of  the  largest  structures  on  the  Erie  and  Welland 
Canals,  the  Great  Western  Railroad,  the  Hamilton  &  Port  Dover,  London  &  Port 
Stanley  Railroad  of  Canada,  and  the  Iowa  Central  Air  Line.  His  last  large  operation 
was  the  construction  of  the  Southern  Boulevard  in  New  York  city,  extending  through 
the  town  of  Morrisania  and  West  Farms  in  the  county  of  Westchester,  in  which  work 
S.  D.  Holmes  was  associated  with  him  and  completed  the  work  after  his  death  in  1869. 
Mr.  Holmes  then  associated  with  Charles  H.  Moore,  son  of  Zebulon,  and  contracted  to 
build  all  bridge  structures  and  station  buildings  on  the  line  of  the  Canada  Southern 
Railroad.  In  the  meantime  they  bought  1,800  acres  of  woodland  in  Canada  on  the  St. 
Clair  branch  of  the  Canada  Southern  Railroad,  on  which  they  erected  saw  and  stave 
mills,  two  general  stores,  and  cultivate  about  800  acres  of  land,  having  about  200  cattle 
and  over  seventy-five  horses,  and  while  making  a  specialty  of  staves  and  hard  wood 
lumber,  do  a  general  business  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  a  year.  Mr.  Holmes  still 
retains  his  home  in  Lyons. 

Heck,  Augustus,  was  born  in  Germany  August  2,  1839,  son  of  Philip  L.  Heck,  of 
Germany,  who  came  to  America  in  1848.  Two  years  later  he  sent  for  his  family.  He 
was  a  highly  educated  man  and  overseer  in  a  lead  mine  in  Germany.  He  enlisted  in 
1861  for  three  years,  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  and  discharged.  His 
children  were :  Mrs.  Janet  Ramish,  of  Clyde ;  Mrs.  Caroline  Crouse,  of  Greenbush, 
N.  Y.;  Ernstein  (deceased);  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Brown,  Henry,  Augustus,  William  and 
Alfred.  All  four  brothers  were  soldiers  in  the  Union  army.  Our  subject  enlisted  in  the 
3rd  Ohio  Cavalry,  his  principal  engagements  being  Shiloh,  Stone  River,  Chicamauga, 
Lookout  Mt.,  Missionary  Ridge,  and  Atlanta.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  Huron, 
where  he  has  since  resided,  engaged  in  the  fishing  business  on  Lake  Ontario.  In  1884 
he  purchased  a  farm  formerly  owned  by  Daniel  Plumb,  his  wife's  father.  In  1860  he 
married  Eliza  Ann,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Electa  (Green)  Plumb,  who  came  to  Wayne 
county  in  1820.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heck  have  had  eight  children,  of  whom  six  are  now 
living:  Mrs.  Mabel  Curtis,  of  Rose;  Miss  Emma  Heck,  of  Oswego;  Mrs.  Myrtie 
Leroy,  of  Huron  ;  Mrs.  Maggie  Davis,  of  Huron ;  Charles  A.  Heck,  and  Mrs.  Bertha 
Gallagher,  of  Rochester. 


66  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Hoffman,  Augustus  L.,  was  born  in  Croghan,  Lewis  county,  August  15,  185G.  He  with 
his  father,  Frederick,  moved  to  Wayne  county  in  1863,  and  in  1864  made  his  home  in 
Newark.  Augustus  L.  was  educated  in  Newark  Union  School.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  he  married  Emma  C.  Jacoby,  daughter  of  Rev.  Levi  Jacoby,  of  Newark,  and  they 
have  one  son,  Levi  Fred.  After  leaving  school  he  learned  his  father's  trade  of  carpen- 
tering, which  he  followed  three  years,  and  in  1875  learned  the  watchmakers'  and 
jewelers'  business  with  John  E.  Stuart,  of  Newark.  In  1881  he  removed  to  Lyons,  and 
in  connection  with  0.  C.  Robinson  established  the  present  firm  of  watchmakers  and 
jewelers,  musical  instruments  and  art  pottery,  being  the  leading  dealers  and  carrying 
the  largest  stock  in  their  stores  at  Lyons  and  Newark  in  Wayne  county.  Mr.  Hoffman 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  was  elected  trustee  of  the  village  in  1890,  is  also  identified  in 
the  leading  events  of  the  day  and  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town,  where  he 
is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  character  and  worth. 

Huston,  William,  born  on  the  Huston  homestead  in  Ontario  September  5,  1832,  is  the 
youngest  of  three  sons  of  Archibald  and  Laura  (Lockwood)  Huston,  he  a  native  of 
Madison  county,  born  January  16,  1799.  and  she  of  Penfield,  N.  Y.,  born  February  8, 
1804.  Mr.  Huston  came  to  Ontario  when  it  was  a  wilderness  and  settled  on  what  is 
now  known  as  the  New  Boston  road.  He  bought  a  farm,  cleared  a  home  and  built  a 
log  house,  having  in  all  100  acres,  fifty  of  which  he  sold  to  our  subject.  His  principal 
occupation  was  farming,  but  he  was  a  carpenter  and  joiner  by  trade.  Mr.  Huston  died 
February  25,  1869.  Mrs.  Huston  died  in  June,  1861.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig  and 
Republican,  and  was  justice  of  the  peace  and  assessor.  He  was  one  of  the  leading 
members  and  supporters  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Ontario  Center,  which  was  founded  in 
1817.  He  was  also  deacon  in  the  church,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  his  death. 
William  Huston  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  has  always  been  engaged  in  farming.  He 
married,  December  27,  1854,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  John  and  E.  Walrod  White,  of  Pen- 
field,  Monroe  count}',  he  born  in  1806,  and  she  in  1808.  Mr.  White  was  reared  by 
William  Ross,  of  Penfield,  his  father  having  died  when  he  was  quite  young.  He  died 
January  16,  1879,  and  his  wife  January  7,  1889.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Huston  have  had  one 
son  and  one  daughter,  Emma  L.,  wife  of  Willis  W.  Palmer,  boot  and  shoe  merchant,  of 
Yinton,  Iowa,  and  Fred.  S.,  second  engineer  in  the  Barber  Asphalt  Paving  Company, 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.  His  wife  is  Carrie  Parcell,  of  West  Webster.  Mr.  Huston  is  now  en- 
gaged in  general  farming  and  fruit  growing  on  ihe  farm  he  bought  of  his  father.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  they  attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  church. 

Harding,  Rev.  John  R.,  was  born  in  Washington,  North  Carolina,  June  30,  1860 
His  father,  Rev.  Israel  Harding,  was  a  well-known  Episcopal  clergyman.  John  R. 
graduated  from  Union  College  in  1883,  and  also  graduated  in  1887  from  the  General 
Theological  Seminary  of  New  York  and  was  ordained  July  3,  1887,  and  received  a  call 
from  Lyons  Grace  Episcopal  church  while  assistant  minister  of  the  Church  of  Messiah 
of  Brooklyn,  coming  to  Lyons  in  August,  1891.  Finding  the  society  involved,  has  been 
able  through  the  force  of  his  character  to  reduce  the  obligations  against  the  society  and 
to  arouse  a  general  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  church.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven 
he  married  Catherine,  daughter  of  Hon.  John  N.  Rountree,  of  Chicago,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  two  children,  one  of  whom  is  now  living,  Madelaine. 

Hartman,  William  Louis,  was  born  in  Theresa,  N.  Y.,  October  29,  1864.  His  father,. 
John  Hartman,  was  a  prominent  farmer  and  produce  dealer  of  his  town.  William  Louis 
Hartman  attended  the  Hungerford  Collegiate  Institute  at  Adams,  and  was  graduated 
from  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chicago  in  1887.  He  first  located  at  Ant- 
werp, where  he  remained  three  and  a  half  years,  and  then  entered  the  Philadelphia 
Hospital  and  took  a  post-graduate  course.  In  1891  he  came  to  Clyde  and  opened  an 
office,  making  a  specialty  of  surgery  and  the  eye  and  ear.  In  1893  he  was  elected  pro- 
fessor of  eye  and  ear  of  South  Western  Homoeopathic  Medical  College  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
but  declined  to  accept.     He  married  Miss  Lena  M.  Moore.     Dr.  Hartman  is  recognized 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  0? 

as  one  of  the  most  advanced  members  of  his  profession.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Jeffer- 
son County  Medical  Society,  the  Western  New  York  Medical  Society,  the  New  York 
State  Homoeopathic  Society,  and  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy. 

Hunt,  W.  A.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  January  21,  1856.  His  father,  Will- 
iam S.,  was  a  native  of  Rensselaer  county,  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1837.  W. 
A.  Hunt  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  the  Oneida  Conference 
Seminary  at  Cazenovia,  N.  Y.,  returning  to  his  father's  farm  in  1886,  entered  the 
Briggs  National  Bank  as  bookkeeper,  and  was  promoted  to  assistant  cashier  in  1890. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  married  Jennie  0.,  daughter  of  Fenner  T.  Palmer,  of 
Newark,  and  they  have  three  children :  Lester  Palmer,  Olive  M.,  and  Susan  B.  Our 
subject  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town,  of  which  he  was  elected 
treasurer  in  1892,  and  again  in  1894.  He  takes  an  active  interest  in  educational  and 
religious  matters,  being  a  member  and  also  secretary  of  the  official  board  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  is  secretary  of  the  Epworth  League,  and  librarian  of  the  M.  E.  Sunday  school. 

Hicks,  Frank  B.,  merchant,  born  in  West  Walworth,  June  23,  1859,  married,  February 
28,  1883,  Julia  N.,  daughter  of  William  Eldredge.  Mr.  Hicks  is  a  son  of  Elias  Hicks, 
born  in  Pleasant  Valley,  Dutchess  county,  in  1825,  and  is  descended  in  the  seventh 
generation  from  John  Hicks,  who  settled  on  Long  Island  in  1639:  His  father  was  first 
cousin  to  Elias  Hicks,  the  renowned  Quaker  preacher.  Elizabeth  (Howland)  Hicks, 
his  mother,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county  in  1830  and  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Joseph 
M.  Howland,  a  descendent  of  Henry  Howland  in  the  seventh  generation.  Henry  set- 
tled in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  1630.  On  her  mother's  side  she  is  descended  from  Edward 
Doty,  a  passenger  on  the  Mayflower.  Mr.  Hicks  was  educated  at  Macedon  Academy 
and  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  Rochester.  He  began  his  present  business  in  1883, 
and  succeeded  his  father,  who  began  in  1864.  Mr.  Hicks  was  the  founder  of  the  Mace- 
don Centre  Historical  and  Genealogical  Society  and  is  its  president. 

Houston,  James,  was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland  in  1824  of  Scotch  descent,  son  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  Houston,  who  came  to  Canada  about  1842.  Their  children  were  : 
Andrew,  William,  James,  Mrs.  Nancy  McBride,  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Vickerman,  of  Michi- 
gan, Mrs.  Margaret  Abernethy  and  Patrick  While  young  our  subject  learned  the 
weaver's  trade  of  his  father,  and  while  in  Canada  followed  farming  and  lumbering.  In 
1850  he  came  to  Wayne  county,  purchased  a  piece  of  land,  later  added  to  it  until  he 
now  owns  eighty-four  acres  of  choice  land,  and  is  very  successful.  In  1859  he  married 
Caroline,  daughter  of  Jonas  and  Sarah  Ann  (Gest)  Whiting,  born  in  Huron  in  1830, 
and  their  children  are:  Anna  E.,  wife  of.  Stephen  Vernoi,  of  Butler;  Mrs.  Mary 
Andrews,  of  North  Wolcott,  and  Mrs.  Agner  Garner,  of  Huron.  Subject  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Wolcott  Grange. 

Howard,  George  M.,  born  in  Henrietta,  Monroe  county,  November  4,  1819,  is  the 
second  of  six  children  of  Eleazer  and  Matilda  Howard,  natives  of  Connecticut,  who 
went  to  Monroe  county  and  finally  to  Ohio  and  then  to  Illinois,  where  they  both  died. 
He  was  a  farmer,  and  he  and  his  brother  were  first  butchers  in  Rochester.  Subject 
was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  '  He  went  from  Monroe 
county  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  to  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  and  there  resided  until 
1881,  and  came  to  Marion,  where  he  has  since  lived.  He  was  married  twice;  first  to 
Cordelia  Parker,  a  native  of  Mexico,  N.  Y.,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Charlotte 
M.,  deceased,  and  George  D.  P.  Mrs.  Howard  died  November  9,  1860,  and  he  married 
second,  in  1864,  Maria  M.  Parker,  cousin  of  his  first  wife,  and  daughter  of  Lucius  and 
Annie  Parker,  he  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  she  of  Massachusetts.  They  had  three 
children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker  died  in  Monroe  county.  Amos  A.,  brother  of  Mrs. 
Howard,  died  in  the  late  war.  George  P.,  son  of  subject,  married  Eliza  J.  Martin,  of 
Marion,  and  they  have  five  children :  Archibald  E.,  Viona  C,  Floyd  D.,  Clive  M.  and 
Mabel  M. 


68  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Hanby,  Joseph  H.,  born  in  Sodus  April  8,  1844,  is  the  oldest  of  six  children  of 
Charles  and  Catharine  (Gates)  Hanby,  natives  of  Yorkshire,  England,  who  came  to 
Sodus  about  1830,  where  he  died  in  1886,  aged  seventy  years,  and  his  wife  in  1887, 
aged  seventy-four  years.  Mr.  Hanby  had  three  children  by  a  previous  marriage  with 
Harriet  Jackson  in  England.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  followed  farming.  He  came  to  Williamson  in  1879  and  in  1886  set- 
tled on  the  farm  he  now  owns  of  122  acres,  and  follows  general  farming  and  fruit  rais- 
ing. He  was  drafted  in  1865  in  Company  I,  65th  N.  Y.  Infantry,  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  is  a  member  of  John  Hance  Post,  of  Williamson,  No.  320.  He 
married  in  1877  Elizabeth  Yeomans,  a  native  of  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  and  daughter  of  George 
and  Anna  Yeomans,  natives  of  England.  Mr.  Yeomans  died  in  Sodus  in  1891,  where 
his  wife  still  resides.  Mr.  Hanby  and  wife  have  had  two  children,  Charles,  who  mar- 
ried Mary  Buckley,  of  Sodus,  and  Catharine,  wife  of  William  Parkliel,  of  Williamson, 
and  resides  in  Elmira,  N.  Y,,  engaged  with  the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company,  hav- 
ing charge  of  the  office. 

Harbou,  James  B.,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  Canandaigua  January  11,  1852,  a  son  of 
Fritz  Harbou,  of  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1840.  After- 
traveling  in  South  America  he  married  Judith  Fritcher,  daughter  of  John  Fritcher,  of 
Montgomery  county,  May  15,  1844,  and  their  children  were:  Jane  M.,  John  W.,  Mar- 
garet, James  B.,  Benetta,  George  W.,  and  Wilhelmina.  He  was  an  architect  and 
builder,  having  planned  part  of  the  court  house  in  Canandaigua.  He  enlisted  in  the 
army  under  Captain  Atwood,  of  Company  C,  1st  N.  Y.  I  ngineer  Corps,  and  died  at 
Port  Royal  Island,  S.  C,  from  disease  contracted  in  the  army.  His  wife  died  in  1862. 
Until  the  spring  of  1894  James  has  always  followed  farming,  but  is  at  present  engaged 
in  no  active  work.  In  1877  he  married  Helen  E.  Eldredge,  by  whom  he  has  had  six 
children:  Lena  M.,  William  F.,  Emma  B.,  Darwin  B.,  Benjamin  F.  and  Helen.  Of 
these  Darwin  B.,  William  F  ,  and  Helen  are  deceased.  Lena  is  a  student  at  the  Mace- 
don Academy.     Mr.  Harbou  is  a  Granger,  and  in  politics  a  Republican. 

Hibbard,  Nettie,  is  a  daughter  of  Jerome  and  Achsah  Hibbard,  of  South  Butler,  is 
a  business  women,  being  jointly  engaged  with  her  brother  Fremont  in  operating  the 
business  established  by  her  late  father,  well  known  as  the  Hibbard  Basket  Works. 
Jerome  Hibbard  was  born  in  Butler  February  20,  1830.  In  1853  he  married  Achsah 
Clapp,  who  survives  him.  In  1859  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  New  York,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1861  and  was  a 
practicing  physician  at  Fair  Haven  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  during  which  he  saw 
much  hospital  service  as  an  assistant  surgeon.  After  the  war  he  began  to  exercise  his 
inventive  genius,  in  which  direction  he  possessed  wonderful  aptitude,  securing  patents 
upon  farm  gates,  and  various  machinery  for  simplifying  the  manufacturing  of  baskets. 
The  latter  enterprise  has  from  a  small  beginning  grown  into  an  immense  business,  the 
plant  now  covering  two  acres,  employing  twenty-five  to  forty  skilled  workmen,  and 
placing  upon  the  market  goods  of  a  standard  quality  second  to  none. 

Johnson,  William  R.,  was  born  July  21,  1817,  in  Palmyra.  His  grandfather,  Joseph, 
and  father,  David  Johnson,  were  natives  of  Morristown,  N.  J.,  coming  to  Palmyra  in 
the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  Joseph,  the  grandfather,  was  born  September 
19,  1757,  died  December  17,  1825.  David,  the  father  of  William  R.,  was  born  January 
25,  1791,  died  April  26,  1874.  In  1816  he  married  Cynthia  Rogers,  who  died  June  5, 
1835,  at  the  age  of  forty  eight.  By  this  marriage  six  children  were  born,  five  boys  and 
one  girl:  William  R.,  Joseph,  Harriet,  David,  Charles  D.  and  Henry  M.  Joseph  died 
in  infancy,  and  Harriet  at  the  age  of  twenty-one;  the  others  still  survive,  and  all  reside 
in  Palmyra,  N.  Y.  David  is  engaged  in  the  furniture  and  undertaking  business,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Drake  &  Johnson  ;  Charles  D.  in  the  produce  and  commission  trade, 
and  Henry  M.  is  a  dealer  in  nursery  stock.  In  1836  he  married,  for  his  second  wife, 
Mrs.  Julia  Case,  and  by  this  marriage  two  children  were  born :  Caroline,  who  became 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  09 

the  wife  of  0.  D.  Foster,  and  Isabella,  who  married  George  H.  Townsend,  both 
residing  near  Palmyra  village.  For  several  years  David  was  engaged  in  custom  tailor- 
ing, and  subsequently  located  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  George  Cornwall  farm 
situated  on  the  town  line  between  Palmyra  and  Manchester.  In  the  year  1844  Will- 
iam R.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  married  Lucy  Wilson,  who  with  her  widowed  mother 
came  from  Cornwall,  Conn.  Soon  after  marriage  they  located  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  the  David  Aldrich  heirs,  then  in  the  possession  of  Thomas  Rogers.  About  the  year 
1849  he,  with  his  brother  David,  purchased  what  was  then  known  as  the  Dugan  farm 
situated  on  the  Marion  road,  two  miles  north  of  Palmyra,  where  he  has  since  resided, 
having  purchased  from  his  brother  David  his  interest  in  the  farm  in  the  year  1851. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  were  parents  of  the  following  children  :  Carlton  R.,  William  H., 
George  S.,  Harriet  S.,  Charles  H.,  and  Lucy  M.  Carlton  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  while  pursuing  a  course  of  study  at  Yale  College.  William,  with  his  younger 
brother  Charles,  who  married  Catharine  Hathaway,  occupy  the  home  farm;  George 
married  May  C.  Foster,  is  a  shoe  merchant  in  Palmyra  village,  of  the  firm  of  Johnson  & 
Rogers;  Harriet  married  Henry  A.  Rumrill,  and  resides  in  the  village;  Lucy  May  mar- 
ried John  H.  Walton,  and  lives  on  a  farm  one  mile  northwest  of  Palmyra  village. 
After  a  marriage  life  of  forty-seven  years  Mrs.  William  R.  Johnson  passed  quietly  and 
peacefully  away,  January  18,  1891,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine. 

Hance,  De  Witt  C,  was  born  in  Williamson,  April  26,  1843.  He  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  and  Marion  Collegiate  Institute.  He  owns  130  acres  of  land,  and 
follows  general  farming  and  fruit  raising.  He  was  master  of  the  Williamson  Grange 
ten  years,  of  which  he  was  a  charter  member.  January  1,  1879,  he  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Richard  Whitbourn,  by  whom  he  has  had  four  children  :  Samuel  R.,  Harriet 
I.,  Elizabeth  C,  and  John  S.  The  father  of  our  subject,  Benjamin  J.  Hance,  was  born 
in  Farmmgton,  Ontario  county,  October  11,  1815,  the  oldest  of  eight  children  of  Samuel, 
born  in  1781,  and  Margaret  (Pound)  Hance.  The  great-grandfather,  Benjamin,  born 
in  1759,  was  a  native  of  Calvert  county,  Md.,  and  came  to  Ontario  county  in  1802.  His 
wife  was  Sarah  Dare,  by  whom  he  had  five  children.  The  family  was  of  English 
descent,  and  settled  in  Maryland  in  1680.  Samuel  Hance  died  in  1872,  aged  ninety-one 
years,  and  his  wife  in  1880,  aged  ninety-two.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and 
educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer,  and  owns  seventy-five 
acres  of  land.  He  married,  August  15,  1839,  Phoebe  Ridgway,  a  native  of  New  Jer- 
sey, by  whom  he  has  had  four  children :  Samuel,  killed  at  Reams  Station  in  the  late 
war;  John,  who  was  in  the  same  regiment,  and  died  of  disease  contracted  in  the  ser- 
vice; De  Witt  C,  a  farmer  of  Williamson;  Frank,  who  resides  in  California.  He  was 
supervisor  of  his  town,  first  elected  in  1860,  and  held  the  office  until  1874,  was  justice  of 
the  peace  four  years,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Williamson  Grange. 

Jordan,  E.  T.,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1837,  and  came  with  his  parents  in  the 
same  year  to  Macedon,  where  they  lived  eight  years.  They  next  removed  to  their 
present  farm  of  sixty  acres,  which  they  purchased  of  Nathan  Durfee.  John  and  Marga- 
ret A.  Jordan,  parents  of  our  subject,  were  born  in  Columbia  county.  The  father  died 
in  1889,  and  the  mother  resides  with  her  son,  E.  T.  Jordan.  The  latter  married  in  1886 
Agnes  P.  Yosburg,  from  Columbia  county,  and  their  children  are:  William,  born  in 
1869,  now  a  resident  of  Newark,  O.;  John  A.,  teacher  in  Ontario,  who  resides  at  home ; 
Mrs.  Jordan  died  in  1876,  and  he  married  second  in  1889  Jane  M.  Miller,  also  from 
Columbia  county. 

Johnson,  William  R.,  was  born  July  21, 1817,  in  Palmyra,  a  son  of  David  and  Cynthia 
Johnson,  who  located  here  at  an  early  day.  His  father,  David,  was  born  in  Rhode 
Island  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Palmyra.  He  followed  the  occupation  of  a  tailor 
during  the  early  part  of  his  life,  and. then  located  on  a  farm  sn  the  town  of  Manchester, 
near  Palmyra  village.  His  first  wife,  mother  of  our  subject,  died  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight  years,  and  for  his  second  wife  he  married  Mrs.  Julia  Case.     His  children  by  his 


70  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

first  wife  were,  viz.  :  William  R. ;  Joseph,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Harriet,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years  ;  David,  a  resident  of  Palmyra  village,  engaged  in  the 
furniture  trade;  Charles  D.,  produce  dealer,  also  a  resident  of  Palmyra  village;  and 
Henry  M..  a  dealer  in  nursery  stock.  By  his  second  wife  he  had  two  children,  viz.  : 
Caroline,  wife  of  Dwight  Foster,  of  East  Palmyra;  and  Isabelle,  wife  of  George  Town- 
send,  near  Palmyra  village.  William  R.  married  Lucy  Wilson,  who,  with  his  widowed 
mother,  came  from  Connecticut.  After  marriage  they  moved' on  the  farm  now  occupied 
by  the  David  Aldrich  family.  Subsequently  he.  in  company  with  his  brother  David, 
bought  the  farm  where  he  now  resides  (about  1849),  and  where  he  has  since  resided. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  were  the  parents  of  the  following  named  children,  viz. :  Carlton 
R.,  who  died  in  his  twenty-third  year,  while  a  student  (his  last  year)  in  Yale  College; 
William  H.  ;  George  S.,  shoe  dealer  of  Palmyra  village  ;  Hattie  S.,  wife  of  Henry  Rum- 
rill,  of  Palmyra  village  ;  Charles  H. ;  Lucy  May,  wife  of  John  Walton,  of  Palmyra.  The 
mother  of  the  aforesaid  children  died  January  18,  1891. 

Jordon,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  February  9,  1817.  His  father, 
Daniel  Jordon,  was  also  a  native  of  Columbia  county,  born  May  17,  1791,  and  his 
mother,  Polly  Hoffman,  was  born  August  18,  1705.  Mr.  Jordon,  the  father,  settled  in 
Macedon  in  1841,  and  engaged  in  farming.  His  family  consisted  of  nine  children,  in- 
cluding William  H.,  who  is  now  seventy- seven  years  of  age.  William  H.  Jordon  has 
followed  the  same  occupation  as  his  father,  and  has  been  engaged  in  farming  all  his  life. 
In  1871  he  married  Delia  A.  Troop,  of  Port  Gibson.  They  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
church.     Mr.  Jordon  is  a  Republican. 

Jepson,  Charles  B.,  was  born  in  Madison  county  in  1825.  and  is  the  son  of  Eli  Jepson, 
a  native  of  Vermont  (born  in  1794,  and  died  in  1858),  and  Mary  (Burlington)  Jepson 
(born  in  1796,  and  died  in  1865),  a  native  of  Rhode  Island.  Our  subject  married  Cyn- 
thia Badger  in  1848  at  Cicero,  Onondaga  county,  of  which  she  was  a  native,  born  in 
1828,  They  have  had  two  sons:  Eli,  born  in  1849;  and  William,  born  in  1874,  both 
residents  of  this  place,  where  Mr.  Jepson  has  resided  for  forty  years  without  interrup- 
tion. He  is  a  Knight  Templar,  and  has  been  treasurer  of  Lodge  No.  764  for  twelve 
years.  He  is  now  retired  from  business,  and  he  and  wife  occupjr  a  pleasant  home  on 
Main  street.      He  has  been  president  of  Savannah  village  three  years. 

Jennings,  Henry,  was  born  in  Southport,  Fairfield  county,  Conn.,  February  5.  1821, 
and  at  the  age  of  twelve  came  with  his  father,  Joshua,  to  Ontario  county  in  1832,  set- 
tling in  the  town  of  Phelps  on  a  farm.  Henry  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
being  able  to  attend  school  only  during  the  winter  time.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Humphrey,  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  two  sons,  John  H.  and  Burr.  In  1867  he  came  to  Lyons,  and  in  1868 
bought  the  S.  D.  Westfall  farm  of  208  acres,  raising  hay,  grain  and  stock,  and  making 
a  specialty  of  mint  distilling,  producing  from  1,500  to  3,000  pounds  a  year.  He  has 
also  engaged  in  cidermaking.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  success- 
ful farmers  in  his  town,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educational  and  religious  mat- 
ters. 

Jennings,  Loren,  born  in  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  June  21,  1822,  is  the  sixth  of  a 
family  of  six  sons  and  six  daughters  of  Dauiel  and  Polly  (Clarke)  Jennings,  he  a  native 
of  Burlington,  Vt.,  she  of  Coleraine,  Mass.  Mr.  Jennings  in  1810  bought  the  home- 
stead of  fifty  acres;  he  afterward  bought  of  Joel  Sabin  fifty  acres  east  of  his  first  pur- 
chase, and  in  1828  built  a  saw  mill,  where  many  thousand  feet  of  lumber  were  annually 
sawed.  Aside  from  farming  he  did  much  work  as  carpenter  and  millwright.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Whig,  and  later  a  Republican.  He  died  in  1868,  his  wife  in  1862.  His  place 
is  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Mary  Palmer  and  heirs,  and  is  situated  on  the  Lakeside  road. 
His  son,  Loren  Jennings,  was  born  and  raised  on  the  homestead  farm,  assisted  in  clear- 
ing land,  farming,  and  running  the  saw  mill,  which,  with  the  dozen  other  mills  on   the 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  71 

same  stream,  was  supplied  with  logs  from  the  adjoining  heavy  timbered  land.  He 
bought  forty  acres  south  of  and  adjoining  the  old  homestead,  cleared  and  built  a  log 
house  and  set  out  an  orchard  amidst  the  stumps.  Some  of  the  trees  of  this  orchard  are 
yet  in  bearing,  and  a  few  measure  over  six  feet  in  circumference.  Later  Loren  Jennings 
bought  fifty  acres  across  the  road  which  had  formerly  been  owned  by  his  brother 
Charles.  On  this  he  built  his  permanent  dwelling,  where  he  still  resides.  He  married  Oc- 
tober 21,  1849,  Rosetta  B.  Grinnell,  of  Webster,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Wellington  M., 
who  is  now  assistant  superintendent  in  the  Barber  Asphalt  Paving  Company  of  Buffalo^ 
N.  Y.  Mrs.  Jennings  died  in  1851,  and  he  married  second,  Sarah  O.  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  (Hinman)  Huston,  he  of  Rupert,  N,  Y.,  she  of  Clinton,  Oneida 
county,  N.  Y.  By  his  wife,  Sarah  O,  he  had  two  sons  and  three  daughters.  The 
daughters  died  young.  Walter  S.  is  a  bookkeeper  for  the  Barber  Asphalt  Company, 
and  Fred.  L.  is  foreman  at  the  crusher  for  the  same  company.  Four  years  ago,  on  ac- 
count of  disability,  Mr.  Jennings  retired  from  farming.  He  still  lives  on  the  place,  but 
it  is  worked  by  a  tenant.  On  the  farm  are  raised  hay,  grain,  and  fruits.  The  land  is 
rolling  and  with  a  variety  of  soil  which  adapts  it  for  mixed  farming.  With  the  sur- 
rounding pleasing  scenery,  a  fair  view  of  the  blue  waters  of  old  Ontario,  it  is  picturesque 
and  beautiful.  Many  Indian  arrow  heads  are  picked  up  by  laborers  in  the  fields.  There 
was  in  earlier  days  a  tangle  of  uprooted  trees,  forming  a  deer  thicket  on  the  farm,  and 
often  when  the  deer  were  driven  by  hunters  from  shelter  they  would  take  to  the  lake 
for  safety  in  its  waters,  but  many  were  there  shot  and  brought  to  shore.  In  politics 
Mr.  Jennings  is  Republican,  his  first  presidential  vote  being  cast  for  William  H.  Har- 
rison. He  was  a  charter  member  of  the  old  Ontario  Center  Grange,  and  instigator  and 
founder  of  South  Shore  Grange  No.  552,  to  which  order  he  and  his  wife  still  belong. 
Though  in  sympathy  with  present  forms  of  religion,  as  far  as  it  goes  to  enlighten,  en- 
noble, and  better  the  condition  of  the  human  race,  both  he  and  his  wife  are  independ- 
ent in  their  beliefs. 

Jones,  Harvey,  was  born  in  Webster,  October  17,  1830,  the  oldest  son  of  twelve 
children  born  to  Chester  and  Hannah  (Millard)  Jones,  he  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and 
she  of  Rhode  Island.  They  came  to  Webster  in  an  early  day,  where  they  both  died. 
Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  has  been  a  saw  mill  man,  has  been 
engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  Union  Hill,  also  a  dealer  in  lumber  two  years  and 
coal  twelve  years.  He  is  now  engaged  in  farming,  has  eighty  acres  of  land,  and  fol- 
lows general  farming  and  fruit  raising.  He  is  a  Democrat,  has  been  justice  of  the  peace 
five  years,  and  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  assessor.  He  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  M.  E.  church.  He  married  in  1851  Orlena  M.  Milliman,  a  native  of  New  York, 
and  adopted  daughter  of  Amos  Wager,  of  Webster,  N.  Y.  Mr.  Jones  and  wife  have 
had  three  children  :  Zardus,  died  in  infancy  ;  Eva,  wife  of  Rosman  Dayton,  by  whom 
she  has  four  children  :  Frank  J.,  Harvey  E.,  Allen  R.,  and  Annie  A.;  Chester, H.,  who 
married  Nettie  Niveson,  by  whom  he  has  two  children  :  Elmer  C.  and  Esda  N.  The 
maternal  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  His  name 
was  Samuel  Millard,  aged  81  when  he  died. 

Johnson,  J.  Irvin,  was  born  August  15,  1852.  His  father,  William  S.  Johnson,  was 
a  native  of  Manchester,  N.  Y.,  he  was  born  in  1817.  His  occupation  was  that  of  a 
farmer.  He  married  Ann  M.  Slocum,  of  Adams,  Mass.,  who  lived  at  the  time  of  their 
marriage  in  Monroe  county.  In  1864  they  removed  to  the  town  of  Macedon,  where  he 
resided  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1893.  They  were  the  parents  of  two  children :  J. 
Irvin  Johnson,  and  Mary  Frances,  now  Mrs.  Thomas  Maculey,  who  resides  on  the  old 
Johnson  homestead.  J.  Irvin  was  a  farmer  up  to  the  time  he  engaged  in  the  nursery 
business.  In  1883  he  married  Emma  A.  Hanna,  of  Palmyra,  N.  Y.  She  died  in  1891, 
leaving  no  children.  In  1893  he  married  his  second  wife,  May  A.  Hannah,  daughter  of 
the  late  Dr.  Geo.  W.  Hanna,  of  Mendon,  N.  Y.  He  first  advertised  in  1882,  known  to 
the  trade  as  Brook  Side  Nurseries,  making  a  specialty  of  small  fruits  and  other  fine 


72  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

nursery  stock.  He  also  has  several  evaporators,  doing  immense  business  summer  and 
fall  in  berries  and  apples.  He  has  at  present  from  25  to  35  acres  of  choice  nursery 
stock.  He  is  a  shipper  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  His  trade  is  mostly  whole- 
sale, and  his  customers  are  the  leading  firms  of  this  country.  His  home  and  surroundings 
is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  county,  and  through  his  close  application  to  business  and 
honorable  dealing  he  has  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  those  whom  he  has  delt 
with.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Grange.  Mary  F.  Maculey 
was  born  November  2,  1844,  in  the  town  of  Manchester.  In  1875  she  married  Thomas 
Maculey,  of  Manchester,  and  to  them  were  born  three  children  :  William,  Charles,  and 
Lula.  Charles  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Maculey 's  occupation  is  that  of  farming  and  berry 
culture. 

Kennedy,  Charles  R.,  was  born  in  Camden,  N.  J.,  July  28,  1864.  His  father,  Thomas 
G.,  was  a  prominent  electrician  in  the  employ  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany. Charles  R.  was  educated  in  Clyde  and  in  New  York,  after  which  he  entered  the 
employ  of  a  banking  house  in  Wall  street,  New  York.  In  1888  he  entered  the  employ 
of  John  C.  Lloyd  &  Co.,  importers  and  jobbers  of  coffees,  as  head  bookkeeper,  and  in 
1888  came  to  Clyde  and  engaged  in  the  malting  business,  in  which  he  is  now  engaged, 
having  an  average  output  of  100,000  bushels  of  malt  per  year.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  he  married  Juliette  C,  daughter  of  Hon.  James  C.  Lamoreaux. 

Kellogg.  Edward  H.,  is  the  only  son  of  Dr.  A.  D.  Kellogg,  of  Wolcott,  born  Decem- 
ber 22,  1855.  He  attended  Leavenworth  Institute  at  Wolcott,  and  received  an  academic 
education.  He  spent  two  years  traveling  in  the  West  after  leaving  school.  Returning 
to  Wolcott  he  entered  the  law  office  of  J.  W.  Hoag,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
June,  1881.  In  1888  he  married  Mary  Lillian,  daughter  of  the  late  Wilson  Dewitt,  of 
Wolcott,  who  became  the  mother  of  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  Mr.  Kellogg  is  a 
strong  Republican,  and  besides  a  good  legal  practice  is  occupied  with  the  duties  of  police 
justice  of  Wolcott  village,  and  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  town.  He  was  clerk  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors  four  years,  from  1889  to  1892  inclusive.  He  was  also  for  several 
years  secretary  of  the  Republican  Committee  of  Wayne  county. 

Kellecutt,  Charles  Boynton,  was  born  in  Huron,  August  23,  1852,  a  son  of  George, 
a  native  of  Saratoga  county,  born  April  7,  1807,  who  was  a  son  of  David  Kellecutt.  a 
native  of  Osweeo  county.  George  was  a  farmer,  and  came  to  Huron  about  1837.  He 
married  twice,  first,  Delilah  Brooks,  by  whom  he  had  five  children  :  Zilpha,  Margaret, 
Charlotte,  Caroline,  and  Delilah.  His  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Abigail  (Boynton)  Preston, 
and  subject  was  their  only  child.  They  raised  two  children:  Catherine  A.,  and  Caroline 
A.,  the  infant  twin  daughters  of  the  dead  patriot,  Daniel  Keeslar,  of  Huron.  They  are 
now  Mrs.  D.  H.  Evans,  and  Mrs.  P.  Winans,  of  Barry  county,  Mich.  Mr.  Kellecutt 
died  in  November,  1892,  and  his  wife  in  January,  1883.  Our  subject  is  a  prominent 
man  in  his  town,  owns  the  homestead  farm  of  sixty  acres,  and  makes  a  specialty  of 
fruit  growing.  In  1873  he  married  Alice  S.,  the  fourth  of  seven  children  of  William  G. 
and  Sarah  (Roberts)  Guthrie,  and  they  have  one  child,  Eva  Mae,  born  January  19, 
1878.  Mr.  Kellecutt  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Wolcott  Grange,  in  politics  he  is  a 
Republican,  and  has  served  as  collector  one  term,  inspector,  and  justice  of  the  peace. 

Keller,  Jacob,  was  born  in  Cherry  Yalley,  Otsego  county,  March  17,  1799.  His 
parents  were  Germans.  He  came  to  Newark, Wayne  county,  in  1825.  He  was  first  a 
hatter  by  trade,  then  a  farmer.  He  owned  a  good  farm  and  was  one  of  the  substantial 
men  of  the  town.  He  retired  from  business  in  the  year  1870  and  for  his  third  wife 
married  Miss  Amanda  Vanderbilt,  of  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  May  17,  1876.  Mr.  Keller  died 
July  4.  1884.  Mrs.  Keller's  father,  Abram  H.  Vanderbilt,  was  born  in  New  Jersey 
August  7,  1798,  of  Holland  Dutch  descent,  and  came  to  Lyons,  Wayne  county,  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years.  He  married  Julia  A.  Pat  on,  daughter  of  William  Paton,  April 
16,  1820.     They. had  ten  children:   Sarah  A.,  Amanda,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  William,  John, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  73 

Abram,  Helenah,  Newell,  Julia.  Mr.  Vanderbilt  died  October  22,  1841.  His  wife 
died  April  3,  1872.  William  Paton  came  from  Scotland  and  settled  in  Lyons,  Wayne 
county,  in  the  year  1794.  He  married  Eleanor  Van  Wickle  March  15,  1801.  They 
had  four  children  :  John,  Julia  A.,  Evert,  Mary.  Mr.  Paton  died  September  2,  1843. 
His  wife  died  May  14,  1815.  Abram  Vanderbilt,  jr.,  was  born  at  Lyons  May  31,  1835, 
was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  the  Union  School  at  Lyons.  He  followed 
farming  several  years.  December  22,  1859,  he  married  Jennie  A.  Sparks,  of  Galen. 
They  had  three  children :  Emily  J.,  Oscar  T.,  Cora  L.  Mr.  Vanderbilt  enlisted  August 
22,  1862,  in  Company  D,  138th  N.  Y.  Vol.,  which  was  transferred  to  the  9th  Heavy 
Artillery.  He  was  wounded  at  Cold  Harbor,  his  jaw  being  shattered,  and  was  on  the 
field  three  days  without  food  or  water.  He  received  an  honorable  discharge  from  the 
hospital  at  Washington  January  31,  1865.  He  is  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99, 
G.  A.  R. 

Koester,  George  W.,  was  born  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  October  18,  1863.  His  father, 
Charles,  came  from  Alsace-Lorraine  in  1860.  He  first  settled  in  Rochester,  but  soon 
came  to  Lyons  and  engaged  in  the  brewing  business,  acquiring  a  wide  reputation  for 
business  ability.  George  W.  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School,  and  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Massachusetts  College  of  Pharmacy,  and  after  graduating  established  a  man- 
ufacturing wholesale  and  retail  drug  business,  making  a  specialty  of  fine  perfumes  and 
toilet  articles.  At  the  age  of  twenty- eight  he  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Cornelius 
Haitz,  of  Lyons.  He  is  a  Republican  and  was  elected  town  clerk  in  1888-1889 ;  in 
1893  was  elected  president  of  the  village  of  Lyons,  and  in  1894  was  elected  supervisor 
of  his  town.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  his  town,  of  recognized 
business  ability,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  public  matters  and  identi- 
fied in  the  leading  events  of  the  day.  He  has  been  master  of  Humanity  Lodge,  E.  & 
A.  M.  two  years,  is  a  member  of  Newark  Chapter  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  Zenobia 
Commandery,  Knights  Templar.  He  is  a  man  whose  life  has  proven  his  word  to  be  as 
good  as  his  bond. 

Kinney,  W.  H.,  was  born  at  Belfast,  Allegany  county,  April  27,  1856.  His  father 
David,  is  a  nati  e  of  Union,  Conn.,  whose  ancestors  came  from  Holland  in  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  He  married  Esther  A.  Hanks,  whose  family  came  from 
Birmingham,  England,  in  1700  and  settled  in  Plymouth  colony.  He  is  a  farmer. 
W.  H.  Kinney  began  his  education  in  Genesee  Valley  Seminary  at  Belfast,  N.  Y.,  grad- 
uated at  Genesee  Normal  School  in  1876  and  Rochester  University  in  1880.  In  1881 
he  was  principal  of  the  Victor  public  school,  from  1881  to  1888  was  principal  of  the 
Cuba  Union  School  at  Cuba,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1888  came  to  Lyons  as  principal  of  the  Lyons 
Union  School,  having  an  average  attendance  of  806  pupils,  which  is  an  increase  of  200 
since  1888,  the  academic  department  having  nearly  doubled  during  that  time.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-six  he  married  Annie,  daughter  of  Joel  Macafee,  of  Athens,  Pa.  They 
are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Price  W.  and  Edith.  Our  subject  is  identified  in 
advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town,  and  in  the  leading  events  of  the  day. 

Kline,  Mrs.  Rebecca  (Petersen),  was  born  in  St.  Magnus,  Germany,  in  1821,  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Johannah  Petersen,  and  is  one  of  seven  children.  She  came  to  America 
in  1847,  starting  from  Germany,  the  first  day  of  May  and  landed  in  New  York  the 
twelfth  day  of  June.  On  July  3  of  the  same  year  she  married  Lewis  Kline,  who  was 
born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  in  1820.  They  staid  on  Staten  Island  until  June,  1848, 
then  they  came  to  Clyde  on  a  canal  boat,  thence  to  Huron,  where  they  engaged  with 
Benjamin  Lummis  on  a  farm.  Eight  years  later  he  purchased  a  farm,  added  to  it  aud 
provided  each  of  their  children  with  farms.  Their  children  are:  Lewis,  born  in  1848; 
Henry,  born  in  1849;  Aaron,  born  in  1852  ;  John,  born  in  1856  ;  Max,  born  in  1857  ; 
Matie,  born  in  1862,  wife  of  Andrew  Thomas,  of  Huron.  Mr.  Kline  was  a  member  of 
the  Huron  Grange  and  died  in  1893.  Mrs.  Kline  is  a  lady  highly  esteemed  by  all  who 
know  her  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Huron  Grange, 
j 


74  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Kelley,  Albert  E.,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  lone  City,  California,  December  24,  1864,  and 
came  to  Arcadia  with  his  parents  when  three  years  old.  He  was  educated  in  the 
Union  School  and  Academy  at  Newark,  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Landon  and  attended 
lectures  in  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  gradu- 
ating from  that  institution  in  1891.  He  practiced  in  Rochester  until  1893,  when  he 
opened  an  office  here  and  has  a  successful  practice.  His  father,  Charles  H.  Kelley,  was 
born  in  Chatham,  Columbia  county,  October  29,  1823  He  was  educated  in  the  select 
schools  of  his  day,  and  graduated  from  Geneva  Medical  College  in  1850.  He  went  to 
California,  where  he  followed  his  profession  some  time,  and  returned  October  7,  1858. 
He  married  Josephine  E.  Ostrander,  of  Oneida  county,  and  returned  to  California. 
They  had  two  sons  and  two  daughters :  Charles  L.,  who  is  a  civil  engineer  in  Mexico ; 
Carrie,  who  died  in  infancy ;  Albert  E.,  as  above,  and  Genevieve  I.,  who  married  Ray 
Burleigh  and  resides  in  the  town.  The  family  returned  to  this  locality  in  1866.  Our 
subject's  father  is  a  retired  physician  at  East  Newark.  Dr.  Albert  E.  is  the  health 
physician  of  the  town  of  Arcadia. 

Kellogg,  A.  D.,  who  has  practiced  medicine  here  nearly  fifty  years,  was  born  in  1818 
at  Ira,  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.  His  father,  Silas  Kellogg,  was  a  man  of  much  local 
prominence,  supervisor  of  Ira  for  a  number  of  years,  and  died  in  1862,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-three  Our  subject  acquired  a  medical  education  at  Geneva,  and  began  homeo- 
pathic practice  in  1847.  He  married  in  1848  Araminta  V.,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Cur- 
tis, of  Victory,  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.  Their  children  are:  Alice  M.,  born  October  19, 
1849,  now  the  wife  of  E.  L.  Cooper,  of  Williamson  ;  Day  H.,  born  January  21,  1852, 
died  December  10,  1875  ;  Lida  V.,  born  March  17,  1854 ;  and  Edward  H.,  whose  biog- 
raphy appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Ebenezer  Curtis,  father  of  Mrs.  Kellogg,  was 
a  man  of  considerable  renown  in  his  native  place,  besides  being  a  justice  and  super- 
visor he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  1847.  He  died  in  1884  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
one. 

Legg.  Orsborn  Lafayette,  was  born  in  Speedsville,  Tompkins  county,  September  27, 
1845.  His  father,  Lyman,  was  a  son  of  Lyman  Legg,  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in 
1849.  His  wife  was  Sarah  Blinn,  and  their  children  are:  Mary,  wife  of  William  J. 
Harmon,  of  Rochester,  Orsborn  L.,  Edward,  and  Delancey.  At  the  age  of  fourteen 
our  subject  began  life  for  himself.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  learned  the  ma- 
son's trade  and  followed  it  in  different  States  until  1890,  when  he  came  to  Huron, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  farming.  In  1869  he  married  Hulda,  daughter  of 
John  and  Marv  A.  Brown,  of  Huron,  and  they  have  one  son,  Irving,  born  September 
5,  1874. 

Lent,  J.  H.,  was  born  in  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  December  3,  1830.  He  settled  on  a 
farm  in  the  town  of  Macedon,  March  28,  1863,  and  has  been  engaged  in  farming  all  his 
life.  His  farm  consists  of  102  acres,  fifteen  acres  being  woodland.  In  1863  he  mar- 
ried Susan  K.  Jackson,  daughter  of  B.  H.  J.  Jackson,  of  Macedon.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  seven  children,  all  of  whom,  except  the  elder  two,  are  living:  at  home  with  their 
parents.     Mr.  Lent  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church.     In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

Lane,  Charles,  was  born  April  27,  1852,  a  son  of  Francis  B.,  one  of  the  prominent 
farmers  in  the  town,  and  now  resides  on  the  same  farm  which  was  cleared  by  Ziba 
Lane,  his  grandfather.  The  latter  was  born  in  1789  in  Maine,  and  after  the  War  of 
1812,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  he  came  to  Wayne  county,  this  State,  making  his  way 
through  the  forest  with  his  yoke  of  cattle  and  wagon  containing  his  family  and  goods. 
Here  he  located  on  lot  80  and  built  a  log  cabin,  making  his  chimney  of  sticks  and  mud 
and  filling  the  spaces  between  the  logs  with  mud.  A  blanket  served  as  a  door,  and 
greased  cloths  were  their  only  window  glass.  Ziba  felled  the  first  tree  that  was  cut  in 
this  region,  and  many  are  the  interesting  stories  handed  down  to  his  family  of  the  hard- 
ships endured  that  first  year.     His  son,  Francis,  has  added  largely  to  the  original  estate, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  75 

having  bought  the  farms  of  Luther  Lane,  Levi  Lane,  Michael  Hortzel,  Peter  Snyder,  and 
H.  W.  Putney,  some  of  the  best  farm  lands  in  Wayne  county,  as  well  as  being  one  of 
the  largest  producers  of  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Francis  married  Martha,  daughter 
of  Samuel  Spear  of  Valatie,  Columbia  county,  and  of  their  four  children  Charles  is  the 
only  survivor,  and  manages  the  estate.  Ziba  Lane,  great-grandfather  of  Charles,  "was 
born  in  Bedford,  Mass.,  in  1756,  and  married  in  1778  Lydia  Danforth,  of  Billerica, 
Mass.     They  came  to  this  State  in  1814,  coming  from  England  to  this  country  in  1620. 

Lookup,  William,  born  in  Marion,  February  26,  1820,  is  the  son  of  John  and  Sarah 
Lookup,  he  a  native  of  England,  and  she  of  Rhode  Island.  He  came  to  America  and 
afterwards  returned  to  England.  The  mother  remained  in  Marion,  where  she  died  No- 
vember 29,  1843.  Mr.  Lookup  commenced  work  very  young.  He  has  always  lived  on 
a  farm  and  now  owns  127  acres  of  land.  He  served  his  town  as  road  commissioner 
from  1877  to  1886.  He  was  married  twice,  first  to  Eliza  Garlock  in  1844,  a  native  of 
Fort  Plain,  N.  Y.,  and  daughter  of  Jacob  Garlock.  To  them  five  children  were  born, 
one  died  in  infancy.  The  others  are:  Sarah  (deceased),  wife  of  Jacob  Morrison,  by 
whom  she  had  five  children  ;  George,  who  married  Delia  Crouch,  and  has  six  children  ; 
William  H.  who  married  Nellie  Kitchen,  and  has  one  child,  Eva;  Eliza,  wife  of  Fay- 
ette Davies,  by  whom  she  has  five  children.  The  four  children  who  grew  up  were  edu- 
cated at  the  Marion  Collegiate  Institute.  Both  sons  are  farmers,  William  having  been 
engaged  for  a  time  in  produce  dealing.  Mr.  Lookup  was  the  second  time  married  to 
Mrs.  Helen  Delaney,  April  7,  1859,  who  died  suddenly  November  14,  1874. 

Lovejoy,  Nelson,  has  for  almost  fifty  years  been  a  central  figure  in  the  life  of  North 
Wolcott.  He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ross,  June  14,  1823,  the  son  of  Silas  and  Anna 
(Nochols)  Lovejoy,  most  of  whose  married  life  was  spent  in  that  town  and  who  reared 
a  family  of  seven  children.  Silas  Lovejoy  reached  the  age  of  eighty-six  years,  and  his 
son  bids  fair  to  present  a  similar  case  of  longevity.  February  11,  1844,  he  married 
Charity,  daughter  of  Richard  D.  Morey,  of  Rose,  and  of  their  six  children  but  two  are 
living :  Ellen,  the  wife  of  N.  J.  Field,  and  the  only  son,  Eron  N.  Two  children  died 
in  early  infancy,  and  two  daughters,  Theresa  and  Elizabeth,  are  also  deceased. 

Landon,  Dr.  Newell  E.,  was  born  in  Newark,  March  3,  1852,  was  educated  in  the 
Union  School  and  the  Academy,  and  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Pomeroy.  Later  he  at- 
tended lectures  at  the  College  of  Physicians\fc  Surgeons  of  New  York  city,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1876.  "Upon  his  return  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  Pomeroy, 
which  existed  four  years,  when  he  began  practice  on  his  own  account.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wayne  County  Medical  Society,  the  Central  New  York  Medical  Society,  the 
New  York  State  Medical  Association,  and  of  the  American  Medical  Association.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  National  Association  of  Railway  Surgeons,  division  surgeon 
of  the  West  Shore  Railroad,  and  also  of  the  Pennsylvania  Central  Railway  Company, 
and  consulting  physician  of  the  Custodial  Asylum  of  Newark.  He  is  a  member  of 
Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M. ,  of  Newark  Chapter  No.  1 17,  R.  A.  M.  He  married, 
January  1,  1880,  Mary  E.  Eaton,  of  Newark,  who  died  December,  1881.  October  20, 
1886,  he  married  Alice  Russell,  of  Port  Gibson,  Ontario  county. 

Laird,  John  B.,  of  Savannah,  was  born  in  Elbridge,  April  24, 1833,  a  son  of  Chauncey 
B.  and  Sally  (Adams)  Laird,  and  one  of  their  twelve  children.  His  grandparents,  John 
and  Polly  (Boyd)  Laird,  were  among  the  first  settlers  of  that  place.  Our  subject  was 
educated  at  Falley  Seminary,  Cazenovia  Seminary,  and  the  Collegiate  Institute  at  El- 
bridge, and  he  taught  school  with  success  at  Jordan  and  Baldwinsville.  March  22, 
1858,  he  married  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  Daniel  Bates,  of  Jordan,  a  graduate  of  Jordan 
Academy,  who  was  a  successful  teacher  for  eleven  years,  chiefly  at  Jordan,  Memphis 
and  Elbridge.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laird  have  occupied  their  present  home  on  the  farm, 
comprising  160  acres,  a  mile  north  of  Savannah,  for  over  twenty-six  years,  Mr.  Laird's 
specialties  being  dairy  productions,  poultry  and  eggs,  which  latter  he  ships  to  Bridge- 
port, Conn. 


7(5  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Lake,  Luther  S.,  was  born  in  Guilderland,  Albany  ccunty,  October  17,  1864,  gradu- 
ated from  the  Paterson,  N.  J.,  Business  College  in  1883  and  struck  out  in  life  for  him- 
self. He  came  to  Lyons  in  May,  1885,  with  less  than  a  dollar  of  capital,  and  entered 
the  employ  of  Mann  &  Radder  as  bookkeeper.  He  was  afterwards  employed  in  the 
same  capacity  by  George  Mapes,  Charles  fl.  Radder  and  Louis  E.  Wolfe.  In  March, 
1888,  he  purchased  the  fire  insurance  agency  of  Johnson  &  Rogers  and  founded  the 
general  insurance,  real  estate  and  loan  agency  of  L.  S.  Lake  &  Co.  at  No.  65  William 
street.  He  associated  with  himself  in  business  Charles  A.  Pulver,  of  Sodus,  and  War- 
ren W.  Crittenden,  of  Phelps,  the  latter  member  retiring  from  the  firm  in  1890,  and 
being  succeeded  by  Lizzie  S.  Lake.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Lizzie  S., 
daughter  of  Frank  Smith,  of  Lyons.  Our  subject  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
energetic  business  men  of  his  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests  and  deeply 
interested  in  the  leading  events  of  the  day. 

Lapham,  Stephen  W.,  was  born  in  1834  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides.  His 
father,  John  Lapham,  born  in  1791,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  coming  with  his 
parents  to  this  locality  in  1792.  In  1818  he  married  Salome  Porter  and  settled  on  the 
farm  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  son.  In  1847-48  Mr.  John  Lapham  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature.  His  family  consisted  of  ten  children,  four  of  whom  are  now 
living :  Esther  A.  Hill,  of  Buffalo,  Elizabeth  N.,  Stephen  W.  and  Ellen  C.  Wilcoxen. 
Stephen  W.  Lapham  has  always  followed  farming  and  is  still  in  possession  of  the  old 
homestead  of  170  acres.  In  October,  1858,  he  married  Helen  M.  Arnold,  of  Madison 
county.     In  politics  Mr.  Lapham  is  a  Republican. 

Lawrence,  Walter,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  November  21,  1825.  His  father, 
Walter  Lawrence,  sr.,  was  also  a  native  of  that  State,  and  was  a  carpenter,  following 
his  trade  in  New  York  city  for  a  time,  while  he  lived  in  New  Jersey.  Later  he  came 
to  Farmington,  Ontario  county,  to  reside,  and  afterwards  to  Macedon,  where  he  took 
up  farming.  He  married  Susan  Johnson,  of  New  Jersey,  by  whom  he  had  nine  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Walter,  jr.,  was  the  sixth.  The  latter  has  been  engaged  in  farming  all 
his  life,  and  at  present  owns  eighty-nine  acres  of  fine  land,  being  largely  engaged  in 
fruit  raising.  He  married  Phoebe  F.  Fritts,  a  native  of  Orange  county,  where  they 
were  married,  and  to  them  have  been  born  nine  children.  In  politics  Mr.  Lawrence  is 
a  Republican. 

Lyon,  Samuel,  was  born  in  Port  Chester,  N.  Y.,  August  16,  1837.  He  is  the  oldest 
of  the  three  children  of  William  and  Elizabeth  A.  Lyon.  William  Lyon  was  born  in 
June,  1811,  in  the  town  of  Greenwich,  Conn.,  and  died  December  16,  1859.  Elizabeth 
A.  (Sands)  Lyon,  his  wife,  was  born  in  Newcastle,  Westchester  county,  N.  Y.,  May  28, 
1813,  and  now  resides  at  Port  Chester,  N.  Y.  Samuel  Lyon  was  reared  in  the  village  of 
Port  Chester,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1867  came  to  Pultneyville,  in  the  town  of  Williamson,  and 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  and  later  was  engaged  in  the  importation'and  manu- 
facture of  lumber  at  Pultneyville,  N.  Y.,  and  afterwards  was  interested  in  the  manu- 
facture of  woolen  goods  at  Port  Byron,  N.  Y.  Mr.  Lyon  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  has  been  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  twenty  years.  He  was  married  April  22,  1868, 
to  Georgiana  Allen,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Alfred  Allen,  of  Pultneyville,  and  formerly 
of  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.  Mr.  Lyon  was  educated  in  the  select  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  Friends'  Nine  Partners  Boarding  School  in  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  and  Mrs. 
Lyon  is  a  graduate  of  the  Brockport  Collegiate  Institute  at  Brockport,  N.  Y. 

Long,  Charles,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  April  25,  1826,  a  son  of  Charles  Long,  who 
came  to  Seneca  county  in  1829,  residing  at  various  times  in  the  towns  ofWaterloo,  Fayette, 
Seneca  Falls,  and  Tyre,  settling  in  Galen  in  1844.  In  1861  he  was  struck  and  killed  by 
an  express  train  at  Savannah,  being  then  seventy-one  years  of  age,  and  with  hearing 
much  impaired.  Charles  Long's  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  common  schools, 
to  which  he  has  added  by  reading  and  close  observation,  being  a  self-made  man.    After 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  77 

leaving  school  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm,  of  which  he  took  charge  at  the  age  of 
sixteen.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years  he  married  Martha  A.,  daughter  of  Josiah 
Snyder,  of  Savannah,  and  they  have  four  children  :  Mrs.  C.  0.  Wylie;  Mrs.  F.  S.  Hall  ; 
Mrs.  John  H.  Newton;  and  Mrs.  John  H.  Rose.  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Long  died  in  1886, 
a  woman  widely  known  for  her  Christian  traits  of  character.  In  1890  Mr.  Long  mar- 
ried Frances  A.,  daughter  of  Ira  Davis,  of  Savannah.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  promi- 
nent men  of  the  town,  having  held  the  office  of  assessor  three  years,  and  taking  intelli- 
gent interest  in  all  the  leading  questions  of  the  day. 

Lang,  Philip,  was  born  in  Al*ace,  Germany,  in  1806.  In  1832  he  came  to  the  United 
States  with  his  parents  and  five  sisters,  and  settled  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides. 
At  the  age  of  thirty-two  years  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Wagner,  daughter  of  Henry 
Wagner,  of  Galen.  There  were  five  children  born  to  them,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living:  Mrs.  Caroline  Wiseman,  of  Ontario,  Cal. ;  Geo.  H.,  of  Galen  ;  and  Miss  Elizabeth, 
who  resides  with  her  father  on  the  old  homestead.  Later  he  married  Miss  Minnie 
Grosscup,  his  former  wife  having  died  in  1849.  The  children  of  this  marriage  are: 
Philip,  jr.  (deceased) ;  Mrs.  Mary  Unger,  of  Buffalo  ;  and  Mrs.  Minnie  Eller,  of  Chicago, 
after  the  birth  of  whom  his  second  wife  died  also.  He  is  a  man  of  sterling  worth, 
whose  counsel  and  advice  is  often  sought  by  his  friends  and  neighbors.  He  takes  an 
active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  farmers  of 
Wayne. 

Little,  Henry  M.,  was  born  December  8,  1853,  in  Macedon.  John  Little,  his  father, 
was  born  in  1819.  His  occupation  was  farming  and  drover,  handling  cattle,  sheep, 
hogs,  etc.  For  nearly  twenty  years  of  his  early  life  he  shipped  stock  to  the  New  York 
markets  from  many  different  States.  He  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  two  terms 
in  Murray.  In  1851  he  married  Harriet  T.  Allen,  by  whom  he  had  three  children: 
Henry  M.,  our  subject;  Emma;  and  Mary;  the  latter  being  deceased.  Our  subject  is 
engaged  in  farming,  and  the  breeding  of  blooded  stock,  also  in  the  drug  business.  He 
was  educated  at  Hulberton  and  Macedon,  where  he  finished.  He  has  been  commissioner 
of  highways,  and  for  the  last  two  years  has  been  president  of  the  village.  He  has  been 
vice-president  of  the  Trotting  Horse  Breeders'  Association  of  the  State  of  New  York 
for  seven  years,  has  many  times  acted  as  judge  on  stock  at  prominent  fairs  in  the  State, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  and  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  He  married 
in  1875,  and  has  two  children  :  Allen  T.,  and  Mable  D. 

Loveless,  Ransom,  born  in  Wolcott  (now  Butler),  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  February, 
28,  1818,  is  the  son  of  Ransom  Loveless,  who  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  N.  Y., 
1791,  and  came  to  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  1800,  an  orphan;  there  accumulated  $500  ; 
married  Mary  Hodges,  moved  to  Allegany  county,  N.  Y.,  lost  all  of  his  property,  came 
to  Wolcott  (now  Butler,  Wayne  county),  in  1816,  and  by  his  indomitable  will  and 
energy  accumulated  $45,000  at  death,  August  1,  1864.  Ransom  Loveless,  jr.,  being  the 
elder  of  ten  surviving  children  (three  others  having  died  about  two  years  of  age)  saw 
many  hardships  and  privations,  especially  obtaining  of  rudiments  of  an  education,  which 
was  wholly  neglected  until  twenty  years  of  age,  then  seeing  and  feeling  the  want  of  an 
education,  began  the  acquisition  of  same  by  attending  school  in  Butler,  Victory,  Red 
Creek,  all  in  Wayne  county;  Elbridge.  Onondaga  county,  and  Cazenovia,  Madison 
county  (all  of  which  places  are  in  New  York).  In  1884  commenced  the  study  of  law 
at  Lyons,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y\,  soon  abandoned  same  because  of  poor  health.  Dur- 
ing intervals  attending  school  at  the  above  places,  taught  school,  taught  four  winters 
afterwards  and  after  marriage.  August  17,  1845,  married  Jane  M.  Lamoreux,  who  was 
born  in  Putnam  county,  N.  Y.,  October  14,  1818,  and  same  year  moved  to  Michigan, 
taught  school  during  winter,  returned  in  spring,  followed  farming  summers,  teaching 
winters  until  1852,  when  he  abandoned  teaching  and  followed  farming  to  date,  August 
2,  1894.  Having  owned  and  disposed  of  356  acres  of  land,  and  now  owns  forty-three 
acres.     Have  made  building  and  set  orchards,  needless  to  mention.     Having  been  born 


78  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

and  bred  to  manhood  in  ignorance;  at  that  date  he  knew  little  of  politics,  and  was  car- 
ried along  and  believed  as  his  father  did,  who  was  at  first  a  Republican,  anti-Mason, 
Whig,  and  lastly  a  Republican  again.  With  the  lights  before  him  now  he  stands  a  Jef- 
fersonian  Democr.  t,  except  as  to  a  revision  of  our  present  banking  system,  his  views  of 
which  remain  '"lex  non  scripta." 

McGinniss,  Michael,  is  the  son  of  James  and  Bridget  (Whalen)  McG-inniss,  of  County 
Meath,  Ireland,  who  were  married,  May  8,  1853,  and  immediately  sailed  for  America, 
coming  to  Montezuma,  Cayuga  county,  where  subject  was  born  March  8,  1854.  The 
elder  McGinniss  received  a  collegiate  education  in  Dublin.  He  came  to  Savannah  in 
1857,  and  died  here  September  24,  1878,  and  his  wife  died  June  12,  1892.  They 
left  a  family  of  six  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  but  three  are  now  living,  two 
sons,  Sylvester  and  Peter,  being  residents  of  Buffalo.  Michael  received  a  good  com- 
mon school  education  and  began  life  in  earnest  at  the  age  of  twelve.  In  1870  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  being  promoted  in  1874  to  sec- 
tion foreman,  a  position  he  still  holds.  February  9,  1878,  he  married  Angeline.  daugh- 
ter of  James  Murphy,  of  Clyde,  she  being  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Alex  Gregg,  of  Savannah. 
They  had  seven  children :  Mary  Ellen,  born  December  9,  1878;  James,  born  May  8, 
1880,  and  died  in  infancy  ;  Elizabeth,  born  June  9,  1881 ;  Catherine,  born  October  14, 
1883;  Angeline,  born  October  ]  7,  1886;  Frances,  born  November  4,  1888;  and  Peter, 
born  November  15,  1891.  Elizabeth  Catherine  and  Angeline  fell  victims  to  the  dread- 
ful epidemic  of  diphtheria,  which  visited  Savannah  in  1893.  They  were  recognized  as 
children  of  unusual  precocity  of  intellect,  and  Angeline  was  something  of  a  prodigy  as 
a  childish  musician.  Mr.  McGinniss  is  a  man  of  much  character  and  moral  worth,  and 
highly  esteemed  as  a  citizen.  He  has  served  as  overseer  of  poor,  village  trustee,  presi- 
dent, and  is  a  trustee  of  the  Catholic  Church  Society. 

McDonald,  Dr.  Nicholas  L.,  was  born  in  Newark,  February  26,  1856.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Union  School  and  Academy,  and  studied  the  profession  of  dentistry  with 
Doctors  Wilcox  and  Willett.  In  1877  he  became  a  partner  with  Dr.  W.  L.  Willett, 
and  continued  until  1882,  when  he  bought  Dr.  Willett's  interest,  and  has  continued 
with  much  success  since.  October  29,  1883,  he  married  Rose  Allen,  of  Canandaigua, 
and  they  have  four  children  :  Rose  E.,  Thomas  N.,  M.  Margherita  and  Avalyna  A. 
His  father,  Thomas,  was  born  in  Kilberry,  Ireland,  about  1826,  locating  in  Newark  in 
1850.  He  married  Bridget  Phillips,  and  they  have  had  six  children:  Catherine, 
Nicholas  L  ,  Ida  E.,  Mary  J.,  James  P.,  and  Avalyna.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  and 
Mary  J.,  his  sister,  surviving.  Thomas  McDonald  enlisted  in  1862  in  Company  A, 
]60th  Infantry,  N.  Y.  S.  Volunteers,  was  in  all  the  engagements  under  General  Banks, 
and  was  transferred  to  General  Sheridan's  c(  mmand  in  1864,  and  was  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  October  10,  1864,  the  result  of  which  he  died,  November  2, 
1864,  in  the  hospital  at  Winchester,  Va.  Dr.  McDonald  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  St. 
Michael's  Catholic  Church,  and  a  member  of  Newark  Council,  Newark,  N.  Y.,  Catholic 
Benevolent  Legion.  Himself,  wife  and  children  are  members  of  St.  Michael's  Catholic 
Church  of  this  village. 

Muilie,  Isaac,  born  in  Holland,  in  1837.  was  the  oldest  son  of  the  sixteen  children  of 
Isaac  and  Delia  Shoonaard  Muilie,  natives  of  Holland,  who  came  to  Williamson  in  1851, 
and  here  Mr.  Muilie  died  in  1883,  but  his  wife  is  still  living.  Our  subject  has  always 
been  a  farmer,  and  owns  sixty-five  acres  of  land.  Mr.  Muilie  is  independent  in  politics. 
He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed  Church.  In  1857  he  married  Jennie 
Yansyn,  a  native  of  Holland,  and  a  daughter  of  Adrian  and  Maggie  Vansyn, 
natives  of  Holland,  where  the  father  died  in  1855,  and  the  mother  died  in  Rochester  in 
1857.  Mr.  Muilie  and  wife  have  had  four  children:  Isaac,  who  married  Mary 
De  Right,  who  have  one  child  ;  Delia,  wife  of  C.  V.  Palssche,  of  Williamson ;  Maggie, 
wife  of  M.  0.  Ingleson,  of  Williamson,  N.  Y. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  79 

Mclntyre,  S.  B.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  of  Scotch  descent  and  came  to 
Palmyra  from  Cummington,  Massachusetts.  The  first  settlement  of  that  town  was  by 
his  Scotch  ancestor  of  the  name  of  Mclntyre,  in  1770.  His  father  was  Alexander,  a 
physician  of  Wayne  county.  Mr.  Mclntyre  was  born  at  Palmyra  in  1828,  received  his 
education  in  the  Palmyra,  Canandaigua,  and  Millville  Academies,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1851,  having  been  in  continuous  practice  in  Palmyra  ever  since,  except  when 
in  the  army.  He  was  first  lieutenant  in  the  111th  New  York  Regiment  and  afterwards 
received  commissions  as  adjutant  and  captain.  During  most  of  his  service  as  first 
lieutenant  he  acted  as  judge  advocate  of  the  third  division  of  the  2d  Corps.  Still  later 
he  was  captain  and  commissary  of  subsistence,  under  General  Gilmore  in  the  depart- 
ment of  the  south.  When  the  war  closed  he  retired  with  the  rank  of  major,  and  re- 
sumed his  law  business  at  Palmyra.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  been  a  candidate  for 
county  judge  and  district  attorney.  His  legal  business  has  been  very  extensive,  and  he 
has  figured  in  many  important  trials.  Mr.  Mclntyre  is,  and  for  three  years  past  has 
been  president  of  the  111th  Regimental  organization,  and  is  a  past  commander  of  James 
A.  Garfield  Post,  G.  A.  R.  For  twenty-five  years  he  has  been  one  of  the  trustees  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  and  for  twelve  years  was  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath- 
school.  He  occupies  a  handsome  residence,  which  he  built  in  1868.  Mrs.  Mclntyre 
died  January  6,  1893,  leaving  two  daughters.  Mr.  Mclntyre  is  widely  known  through- 
out the  State,  and  has  a  large  law  practice. 

Muth.  James  R.  Prof,  (deceased)  was  born  in  Gimbsheim,  Hesse-Darmsdadt.  Ger- 
many, May  4,  1834.  At  an  early  age  he  studied  in  the  musical  schools  of  Mainz, 
Munich,  Leipsic,  and  Stuttgart,  graduating  in  all  branches  of  musical  science.  In  1861 
he  came  to  the  United  States  and  established  a  conservatory  of  music  in  Syracuse,  and 
was  director  of  the  Philharmonic  Orchestra,  composed  of  forty-nine  of  Syracuse's  best 
musicians.  In  1867  he  married  Marion  A.,  daughter  of  Norman  Carver,  of  Syracuse, 
N.  Y.  When  a  competent  director  of  music  was  sought  for  the  Ladies'  Seminary  at 
Hamilton,  N.  Y.,  in  1872  Professor  Muth  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy,  which  position 
he  filled  for  six  years,  assisted  by  his  wife,  a  musician  and  artist.  In  1878,  owing  to 
poor  health,  he  returned  to  Syracuse,  took  up  photography  for  a  change ;  in  1880  re- 
moved to  Clyde,  since  which  time  his  interests  and  labors  have  been  here.  When  the 
National  Photographers'  Association  was  formed  he  became  a  member  and  entered  an 
exhibit  at  the  convention  in  Chicago  in  1880,  taking  the  first  prize  for  his  carbon  pic- 
tures, in  which  style  of  work  he  has  never  been  excelled.  While  pursuing  his  regular 
business  he  found  time  to  devote  much  attention  to  music.  At  one  time  under  his 
drill  the  Clyde  Saxton  Band  was  not  surpassed  by  any  similar  organization  in  the  State. 
In  1885  he  built  himself  one  of  the  most  tasty  and  beautiful  residences  in  Clyde.  He 
died  December  19,  1891,  regretted  by  a  large  circle  of  friends,  leaving  a  wife  to  take 
up  and  carry  his  plans  to  completion.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Lodge,  hold- 
ing the  degree  of  Knight  Templar,  and  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  At  the 
time  of  his  marriage  Professor  and  Mrs.  Muth  traveled  in  Europe  two  years,  allowing 
Mrs.  Muth  the  opportunity  of  prosecuting  her  studies  in  art  and  music  in  the  art  center 
of  the  old  world,  making  a  specialty  of  oil,  water  color,  and  point  crayon  engraving,  in 
which  she  has  acquired  a  well  deserved  reputation  as  an  artist  throughout  Central  New 
York,  enlarging  portraits  if  necessary  from  pictures  of  miniature  size. 

McOmber,  Amos,  born  in  Jefferson  county,  August  30,  1828,  was  the  fifth  of  eleven 
children  of  Isaac  and  Anna  (Howland)  McOmber,  he  a  native  of  Galway,  born  August 
12,  1798,  and  she  of  the  same  place.  Amos  came  to  Wayne  county  with  his  parents. 
He  enlisted  in  1862  in  Company  D,  160th  N.  Y.  Infantry,  was  an  orderly  sergeant  and 
recruiting  officer ;  holding  two  offices,  and  doing  two  men's  work,  he  could  come  home 
only  for  troops.  He  died  in  December,  1863.  He  married,  December  26,  1849,  Lucy 
H.,  daughter  of  Levi  Clark,  born  in  Washington  county  November  28,  1805,  who  eame 
to  Marion  in  1826.     Mr.  McOmber  and  wife  had  four  children :     Clark,  who  married 


80  LANDMARKS   OF    WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Matilda  A.  Rutherford,  who  died  April  24,  1893 ;  Eva  L.  (deceased),  Addie  Mary, 
wife  of  Herbert  Snyder,  by  whom  she  has  three  children  ;  Rosamond  S.,  Celia  Lucy', 
Leon  H.;  and  Kittie,  at  Johnstown,  N.Y.  Mr.  McOmber  was  a  builder  and  contractor.' 

Meade,  Peleg  (deseased),  was  born  May  16,  1817,  at  Mount  Washington,  and  came 
to  Wayne  county  in  1818  with  his  father.  David  Meade,  who  took  up  100  acres  of 
land.  Peleg  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  the  Clyde  High  School.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-two  he  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Aaron  Waterbury,  and  they  have 
four  children:  Harris  W.,  now  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal.;  Mrs.  Alice  Reynolds  and  Mrs. 
Libbie  Williams,  and  Al;da  Meade.  In  1881  he  bought  the  Oleander  Brown  property 
of  103  acres,  where  the  family  now  reside.  Our  subject  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
substantial  men  of  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  school  and  religious  matters. 
He  died  in  1884  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven,  leaving  a  wife  and  one  daughter  at  home 
to  take  np  his  many  plans  and  carry  them  forward  to  completion. 

McCollum,  W.  E.,  was  born  in  Jefferson  county  November  6,  1864,  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  finished  at  Pulaski  High  School,  after  leaving  which  he  engaged  in 
the  drug  business.  In  1888  he  went  into  the  Wayne  county  clerk's  office,  under  E.  B. 
Wells,  and  was  appointed  special  deputy  under  F  A.  Peacock,  serving  six  years.  In 
1894  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  justice  of  the  peace,  to  which  he  had  been  pre- 
viously elected.  On  retiring  from  the  clerk's  office  he  was  made  Wayne  county  man- 
ager of  the  Abstract  Guarantee  Company  of  Rochester,  a  company  engaged  in  the 
business  of  making  guaranteed  searches  of  real  estate,  in  wuich  line  he  is  an  expert. 
Also  includes  with  his  law  business  a  full  line  of  insurance,  representing  some  of  the 
most  substantial  insurance  companies  in  the  United  States.  Our  subject  is  an  active 
business  man,  and  is  now  pursuing  a  course  of  reading,  preparatory  to  admittance  to 
the  New  York  State  bar. 

Munson,  John  A.,  a  central  figure  in  the  business  and  social  life  of  Savannah,  was 
born  in  Tyre,  Seneca  county,  November  22,  1848,  the  son  of  Archibald  and  Mary 
(Evans)  Munson.  The  elder  Munson  came  to  Savannah  in  1858,  and  established  the 
business  now  conducted  in  a  greatly  enlarged  form  by  his  son,  besides  whom  there 
were  four  other  children,  none,  however,  surviving  early  childhood.  Archibald  Mun- 
son died  in  1873  and  his  wife  in  1891.  John  A.  graduated  from  Genesee  College  in 
1870,  Lima,  N.  Y.,  with  the  degree  of  B.  S.  and  degree  M.  S.  was  afterwares  conferred 
by  Syracuse  Uuiversity  in  1873.  He  had  also  spent  two  years  in  Rochester  at  the 
Eastman  Business  College,  and  taught  bookkeeping  at  the  Bryant  and  Stratton.  March 
27,  1872,  he  married  Frances  C.  Sherman,  of  East  Avon,  N.  Y.,  who  was  a  graduate  of 
Wesleyan  Seminary,  class  of  '69.  John  A.,  jr.,  a  young  man  of  unusual  business  ability, 
born  May  6,  1876,  is  now  in  his  father's  office,  the  only  child  living,  another  son  having 
died  in  1874,  in  early  infancy.  Mr.  Munson  is  a  sturdv  Republican  in  politics,  was 
town  clerk  in  1871  and  1872  and  supervisor  in  1875-76-77-78.  Before  the  expiration 
of  the  latter  term  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  from  the  first  district,  participating 
in  the  first  session  held  in  the  new  capitol  at  Albany.  In  1887-88-89  he  again  repre- 
sented Savannah  on  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  was  at  one  session  made  chairman 
by  a  viva  voce  vote,  at  that  date  an  honor  without  local  precedent.  Mr.  Munson  may 
be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  Masonic  Lodge,  and  is  in  all  respects  a  representative 
figure,  conducting  an  extensive  business  in  grain  and  flour,  coal,  lumber,  etc. 

McClelland,  David,  was  born  in  Lyons,  December  6,  1824.  His  father,  John,  came 
from  Glasgow,  Scotland,  in  1811.  In  1813  he  took  up  a  farm  from  the  United  States 
government,  four  miles  northwest  of  Lyons.  After  living  a  successful  farmer,  upright 
and  honest  with  all  men,  he  died  in  1870  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-four  years,  leaving 
three  sons  and  one  daughter.  David,  the  youngest  son,  married  Lettie,  daughter  of 
Jacob  Vanderbilt,  in  1849,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  To  them  were  born  two  chil- 
dren, Almeda,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years,  and  Morgan,  who  still  resides  on  the 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  81 

old  homestead.  David,  like  his  father,  has  been  a  successful  farmer,  purchasing  the 
old  homestead  of  166  acres  in  1850,  and  raising  hay,  grain,  fruit  and  stock,  also  grow- 
ing and  distilling  peppermint  oil. 

Merchant,  John,  was  born  in  Fort  Edward,  N.  Y.,  June  23,  1811.  His  father,  John, 
came  to  Wayne  county  September  1,  1817,  and  settled  in  the  northern  part  of  Lyons, 
buying  fifty  acres  at  the  start.  At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1867,  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
one  years,  he  owned  220  acres.  He  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  Eliza  Closson, 
and  bad  a  family  of  nine  children,  of  whom  John  Merchant  is  the  sole  survivor.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  Ostrander's  Academy  in  Lyons, 
after  which  he  taught  winter  school  six  years.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married 
Cynthia,  daughter  of  Nehemiah  Reynolds,  who  died  in  1851.  By  her  he  had  four 
children  :  Riley  P.,  John  A.,  Mrs.  Eliza  Mesick,  who  died  at  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
Charles  E.,  who  died  in  1889,  at  forty  years  of  age.  Mr.  Merchant  married  second, 
Harriet,  daughter  of  Joseph  Cole.  In  1837  he  bought  the  Oliver  Evans  property  and 
in  1857  bought  part  of  the  Joseph  Gee  farm,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our 
subject  is  one  of  the  representative  men  of  his  town,  filling  the  offices  of  school  com- 
missioner, town  auditor,  also  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Lyons  fifty  years,  of 
conservative  character  and  sterling  integrity,  his  life  has  ever  proven  his  word  to  be  as 
good  as  his  bond. 

Moran,  Daniel,  was  born  in  Queens  county,  Ireland,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1851  and  resided  with  his  parents  in  "Waterloo,  N.  Y.,  assisting  his  father,  who  was 
engaged  in  the  clothing  business.  He  came  to  Lyons  in  1861  and  engaged  in  merchant 
tailoring,  gents'  furnishing  and  ready-made  clothing  business,  which  he  continues  at  the 
present  time,  carrying  the  largest  and  finest  stock  in  Wayne  county.  He  is  also  inter- 
ested in  the  water  works,  electrical  company,  the  pottery  and  the  Manhattan  Silver 
Plate  Company,  and  is  recognized  in  his  town  as  one  of  the  most  active  business  men, 
identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town  and  the  leading  events  of  the  day. 
At  the  age  of  thirty-five  he  married  Bridget  A.,  daughter  of  John  Fitzpatrick,  of  Flor- 
ence, N.  Y.,  formerly  of  Ossory,  Ireland,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  eight  children. 
Our  subject  has  always  led  a  very  active  business  life,  but  has  found  time  to  take  an 
interest  in  school  and  church  matters,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  whose  life  has  proven 
his  word  to  be  as  good  as  his  bond. 

McMath,  William,  was  born  in  Lyons,  February  11,  1836.  His  father,  M.  McMath, 
was  a  native  of  Ovid,  Seneca  county,  and  was  born  August  8,  1802,  and  died  in  1881 
at  the  age  of  seventy-nine.  William  McMath  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School, 
after  which  he  entered  the  employ  of  Mrs.  William  Sisson,  and  learned  the  druggist 
business.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  160th  N.  Y.  Infantry  Volunteers,  and 
took  part  in  the  engagement  of  the  gunboat  Cotton,  Bayou  Teeche,  Fort  Bisland,  Port 
Hudson,  the  Red  River  Expidition,  going  as  a  private  and  receiving  his  commission  of 
lieutenant  in  his  second  year,  and  an  honorable  discharge  in  1864.  In  1872  he  married 
Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Thomas  Smith,  of  Clyde,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Margaret 
J.  He  remained  in  Louisiana  and  engaged  in  mercantile  and  agricultural  pursuits  for 
seventeen  years.     In  1874  he  came  to  Clyde  and  engaged  in  farming. 

McLouth,  Judge  Charles. — Erom  1828  to  1888  Dr.  John  McLouth  was  a  practicing 
physician  at  Walworth,  Wayne  county.  He  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one, 
and  celebrated  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  his  marriage  six  years  before  his  death.  His 
Avidow  is  still  living,  above  ninety  years  of  age.  His  son,  Charles,  was  born  at  Wal- 
worth in  May,  1834,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  school  and  academy  at 
that  place.  He  read  law  with  Judges  Ketcham  and  Cowles  at  Clyde,  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  December,  1857.  In  1858  he  moved  to  Palmyra  and  formed  a  part- 
nership with  William  F.  Aldrich,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  profound  lawyers  in  that 


82  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

part  of  the  State,  which  continued  for  six  years,  since  which  he  has  been  alone.  His 
practice  has  extended  to  all  the  tribunals  below  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  both  State  and  Federal,  and  has  connected  him  with  most  of  the  important  liti- 
gation of  Wayne  and  the  adjoining  counties.  Since  the  war  he  has  been  an  active 
Democrat,  and  in  later  years  he  has  been  closely  identified  as  an  uncompromising  Hill 
man,  and  he  has  made  his  influence  felt  in  both  State  and  National  Conventions.  He 
has  done  a  great  deal  of  speaking  in  political  campaigns  as  well  as  the  making  of  many 
addresses  upon  public  or  civic  occasions.  He  is  a  ready  writer  and  a  speaker  of  force 
and  conciseness.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  county  judge  by  Governor  Hoffman. 
Judge  McLouth  is  an  ardent  and  active  churchman,  and  has  been  for  twenty-five  years 
or  more  a  member  of  the  vestry  of  Zion  Church,  Palmyra,  and  was  for  eighteen  years, 
and  until  he  refused  to  be  re-elected,  a  trustee  and  the  treasurer  of  the  fund  for  dis- 
abled clergy  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  clergymen.  He  has  been  for 
several  terms  of  three  years  each  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Palmyra 
Classical  Union  School  and  was  for  six  years  its  president,  covering  the  time  of  the 
building  of  the  beautiful  new  school  building,  in  which  he  was  much  interested,  and  to 
which  he  gave  close  supervision  and  attention  every  day.  In  the  building  of  the  new 
Zion  Church  in  1872  he  was  one  of  the  building  committee  and  gave  similar  service. 
From  1864  to  1893,  when  he  was  relieved  at  his  own  request,  he  was  a  director  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Palmyra,  of  which  he  has  always  been  the  attorney,  and  during 
the  same  time  he  was  and  still  is  a  director  of  the  Palmyra  Gas  Light  Company,  and  is 
now  its  president,  secretary  and  treasurer.  In  1890  Governor  Hill  appointed  him  a 
trustee  of  the  New  York  State  Custodial  Asylum  for  Feeble-minded  Women,  located 
at  Newark,  N.  Y.,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Hon.  David  Decker,  late 
of  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1892  Governor  Flower  appointed  him  for  the  full  term  of  six 
years.  In  the  extensive  building  operations  of  that  institution  he  has  always  been  on 
the  building  committee,  and  he  has  given  to  that  extensive  and  valuable  chanty  his 
time  and  labor  without  limit.  In  1893  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Flower  one  of 
the  three  commissioners  in  reference  to  the  storage  of  the  water  of  the  Genesee  River 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Erie  Canal  and  the  city  of  Rochester.  Judge  McLouth  has  a  fine 
law  library  of  about  2,500  volumes,  aud  an  equally  fine  private  library  of  1,000.  He 
has  a  magnificent  residence  at  the  corner  of  Cuyler  and  Jackson  streets,  built  by  him- 
self in  1886,  where  he  resides  with  his  wife  and  two  children,  Mary  Scotland  and 
Charles.  He  is  a  very  able  man  and  has  deserved  personal  influence  in  the  community, 
but  this  is  not  superior  to  his  interest  in  the  village  and  everything  connected  with  the 
interests  of  it  or  its  citizens.  The  kindly  feeling  of  his  neighbors  towards  him  was 
well  expressed  in  the  fall  of  1893,  when  Governor  Flower  visited  the  village  and  made 
an  address  at  the  agricultural  fair.  Judge  McLouth  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements  and  entertained  and  introduced  the  governor,  and  the  Courier  said, 
among  other  things:  "While  the  Palmyra  Union  Agricultural  Society  appreciates,  as 
does  every  citizen,  the  great  honor  conferred  by  the  presence  of  Governor  Flower 
among  us  on  Friday  last,  it  is  only  proper  to  state  that  to  Judge  McLouth  is  largely  due 
the  credit  of  securing  the  presence  of  his  excellency  on  that  occasion.  Interested  as  he 
is,  and  always  has  been,  in  the  Palmyra  Fair  he  believed  the  presence  of  the  governor 
and  an  address  from  him  to  the  farmers,  would  give  renewed  interest  to  this  annual 
exhibition,  and  fortunately  his  efforts  in  this  direction  were  crowned  with  success. 
Doubtless  the  judge  is,  upon  occasion,  a  hot  partisan,  but  no  man  knows  better  than  he 
how  to  keep  politics  out  of  a  non-partisan  gathering,  and  as  chairman  of  the  Reception 
Committee  he  eliminated  every  particle  of  partisanship  from  the  affair,  as  was  right 
and  proper,  and  from  the  dignified  and  admirable  manner  in  which  every  detail  of  the 
arrangements  was  carried  out,  he  is  entitled  not  only  to  the  thanks  of  the  society,  but 
to  words  of  praise  from  every  citizen." 

Merrill,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Wolcott  in   1846   and  is  one  of   eight  children  of 
Benjamin  and  Harriet  Merrill,  who  settled  here  in  1820.     The  elder  Merrill  was  a  maker 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  83 

of  boots  and  shoes,  and  in  later  years  a  dealer  in  the  same.  He  was  born  in  George- 
town, Mass.,  January  1,  1808,  and  died  in  1888,  aged  eighty  years.  His  wife  was  born 
in  Lyndeborough,  N.  H.,  April  6,  1817,  a  sister  of  Nathaniel  Merrill,  of  this  locality, 
who  was  one  of  the  best  lawyers  in  the  county.  Benjamin  and  Harriet  had  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  John  H.,  Edward  P.,  James  A.,  and  William  H.  were  in  the  late  war. 
William  H.,  who  is  a  life-long  resident  of  this  town,  was  with  the  9th  Artillery  in  the 
thick  of  the  fight  at  Cedar  Creek.  He  married  November  30,  1872,  Margaret,  daughter 
of  William  Anderson,  of  Wolcott,  and  has  two  daughters:  Mary,  born  September  1, 
1883,  and  Harriet,  born  January  30,  1888. 

Millard,  George  F.,  was  born  in  Stamford,  Vt.,  May  6,  1828.  His  father,  Stephen  C, 
was  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  his  town.  George  F.  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  education  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  added  through  life 
by  reading  and  close  observation.  He  was  one  of  ten  children  in  his  father's  family, 
seven  brothers  and  three  sisters.  In  1850  he  came  to  Clyde,  N.  Y.,  and  established  his 
present  business  of  manufacture  of  tinware,  both  wholesale  and  retail,  and  is  one  of  the 
largest  dealers  in  rags,  paper  stock,  old  rubber,  old  metals,  and  old  iron  in  Central  and 
Western  New  York.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  married  Marietta  Barnes,  of  Galen, 
who  died  April,  1869,  leaving  him  two  children  :  Hattie  Bell,  now  Mrs.  E.  E.  Sampson, 
of  Atchison,  Kan.  ;  and  Ernest  G.,  now  of  South  Omaha,  Neb.  In  1872  he  married 
second  S.  J.  Porter,  of  Cazenovia,  by  whom  he  had  three  more  children  :  Adelbert  C. 
(deceased),  George  Porter,  and  Flora.  George  F.  is  a  prominent  business  man  of  his 
town,  and  is  also  a  steward  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  of  which  he  has  for  many  years 
been  a  worthy  member. 

Miles,  William,  was  born  in  Mount  Morris,  N.  Y.,  August  21,  1816.  His  father, 
William,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1820,  settled  in  the  town  of  Sodus,  and  took  up 
200  acres  of  land,  what  is  known  as  the  Hopkins  farm.  William  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Isabel,  daughter  of  John  But- 
ler, of  Lyons,  and  they  have  had  one  son,  W.  H.  Miles,  who  is  married  and  lives  on  the 
homestead,  and  a  daughter,  Elizabeth  B.,  born  October  7,  1841,  who  married,  aged 
twenty-four,  Edwin  R.  Sweezey,  of  Marion.  They  are  both  deceased.  They  left  one 
(laughter,  who  died  aged  thirteen.  In  1885  Mr.  Miles  bought  the  John  Butler  property 
of  seventy-five  acres,  also  bought  the  balance  of  the  John  Butler  farm  in  1879  of  forty- 
four  acres,  and  through  life  has  been  a  prominent  farmer  and  producer  of  garden  seeds. 
He  takes  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  having  been  trustee  of 
the  M.  E.  church  of  South  Sodus  for  a  number  of  years. 

McOmber,  Frank  H.,  was  born  in  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  May  24,  1859.  His  father, 
Mansfield  S.,  was  a  native  of  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.  Frank  H.  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  finished  at  Ann  Arbor,  after  leaving  which  he  followed  farming 
for  five  years,  then  entered  the  dental  profession  under  Dr.  A.  W.  McNames,  of  Water- 
loo, and  in  1885  entered  the  Pennsylvania  Dental  College,  graduating  in  1887,  and  the 
same  year  came  to  Lyons  and  established  the  dental  parlors  occupied  by  him,  where  he 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  progressive  and  enterprising  men  in  his  profession, 
using  the  latest  and  most  approved  methods  and  appliances  in  his  business.  At  the  age 
of  thirty-three  he  married  Marguerite,  daughter  of  James  Gibbons,  of  Newark.  He  is 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and  in  1894  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  receiving  the  larg- 
est majority  of  any  candidate  on  the  ticket.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  progressive  men 
of  the  town,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  and  in 
advancing  its  best  interests ;  where  he  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  conservative  character 
and  sterling  worth. 

Mathews,  F.  H.,  elder  son  of  Lawson  Mathews,  at  present  one  of  the  largest  land 
holders  of  his  native  town.  He  was  educated  at  the  Leavenworth  Institute,  where  he 
took  the  highest  contested  prize  for  scholarship  and  ability  in  his  department  during 


84  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

two  successive  years,  and  was  awarded  a  full  regents'  certificate  at  fifteen  years  of  age. 
After  a  long  course  in  the  special  study  of  jurisprudence,  and  as  confidential  clerk  for 
William  Roe  and  E.  M.  Walker,  esq.,  Mr.  Mathews  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1881. 
F.  H.  Mathews  is  of  old  Puritan  stock,  his  ancestors  emigrating  for  conscience  sake  in 
the  times  of  the  "  Merrie  Monarch,"  and  afterwards  resisted  British  oppression  upon 
the  battlefields  of  the  Revolution.  Jesse  Mathews  and  Lucius  Hibbard,  who  were  re- 
spectively his  paternal  and  maternal  grandfathers,  were  two  of  the  six  pioneers  who 
came  from  New  Hartford,  Conn.,  in  1809  and  1810,  and  settled  upon  that  portion  of 
the  Clyde  road  running  south  from  Wolcott  village,  and  hence  known  as  New  Hartford 
street.  The  old  Mathews  homestead,  one  mile  south  of  Wolcott,  is  one  of  those  rare 
pieces  of  property  which  has  never  changed  ownership  only  by  the  laws  of  natural  suc- 
cession. Jesse  Mathews  died  while  supervisor  of  his  adopted  town  before  the  forma- 
tion of  Wayne  county.  His  wife,  Alice  Mathews,  died  on  the  old  homestead  in  1871  in 
her  ninety- third  year,  after  fifty  years  of  widowhood.  Lucius  Hibbard  lived  to  become 
the  wealthiest  farmer  in  the  town  of  Butler,  and  was  well  known  as  an  active  Aboli- 
tionist in  ante-bellum  days.  Owing  to  lung  weakness  and  consequent  ill  health,  F.  H. 
Mathews  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  chosen  profession  and  seek  relief  in  a  warmer 
climate.  In  1886,  while  principal  of  the  High  School  in  Seddon,  Ala.,  he  married  Mol- 
lie  E.,  elder  daughter  of  Willis  H.  Roberf-on,  a  prominent  citizen  and  politician  of  St. 
Clair  county,  and  formerly  an  officer  in  the  10th  Alabama  C.  S.  A.  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia.  Mr.  Mathews  was  a  local  correspondent  for  the  Lyons  Republican  for  ten 
years.  Subsequently  he  has  written  several  series  of  letters  to  the  local  press  from 
Florida  and  the  industrial  centers  of  the  New  South.  In  1892  Mr.  Mathews  purchased 
the  old  Moore  farm,  and  now  resides  adjoining  his  ancestral  homestead,  upon  which  his 
aged  father  is  passing  his  more  than  three  score  years  and  ten  in  peace  and  comfort. 

McKee,  Joshua,  was  born  in  Webster,  Monroe  county,  in  1846,  son  of  Josiah  McKee, 
born  in  Washington  county,  Vt.  The  grandfather  was  Josiah  McKee,  of  Vermont,  and 
a  farmer.  Subject's  father  was  also  a  farmer.  His  wife  was  Electa  Rodgers,  and  their 
children  were  :  Josiah,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Thayer,  of  Ontario,  John,  David,  George,  Simeon, 
Lernun,  Nathan,  and  Joshua.  He  died  in  1885,  and  his  wife  in  1888,  aged  ninety,  re- 
spectively. In  1874  Mr.  McKee  came  to  Huron,  in  1877  he  purchased  a  farm,  later  sold 
and  returned  to  Webster.  In  1883  he  purchased  his  present  farm  of  seventy-five  acres, 
on  which  he  erected  a  modern  dwelling;  also  made  other  essential  improvements.  In 
1866  he  married  Maria,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Hannah  Lake,  of  Huron,  born  in  Farm- 
ington,  Ontario  county.  Subject  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  from  1891  to  1894 
was  overseer  of  poor,  and  always  takes  an  active  interest  in  politics.  He  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Huron  Orange. 

Milhan,  David  R.,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  September  1,  1834,  and  is  the 
oldest  of  six  children  of  Martin  and  Maria  Rhoda  Milhan.  The  father  of  David  R.  moved 
to  Columbia  county  in  1837,  and  in  1849  came  to  Williamson,  Wayne  county,  and 
settled  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Plyster  farm  (formerly  as  the  Gilbert  farm),  where 
he  resided  for  five  years,  then  went  to  Marion,  where  his  last  days  were  passed,  dying 
May  28,  1877.  June  27,  I860,  Davis  R.  married  Orvilla  S.,  oldest  daughter  of  Colonel 
Cephas  and  Sally  Porter  Moody,  who  was  born  and  brought  up  on  the  place  they  now 
occupy,  which  has  always  been  known  as  the  Colonel  Moody  farm,  it  having  been 
cleared  from  a  wilderness  by  him,  when  he  came  to  this  place  from  Amherst,  Mass.,  iu 
1812,  and  remained  at  his  home  until  his  death,  November  24,  1869.  He  was  colonel 
of  a  standing  regiment  for  several  years,  deputy-sheriff  two  years,  and  overseer  of  the 
poor  fifteen  years,  until  his  health  failed,  being  about  eighty-one  years  of  age.  D.  R. 
Milhan  resided  on  his  father's  farm  for  three  years  after  their  marriage,  then  settled 
permanently  on  the  Moody  homestead.  He  has  since  bought  the  Vaughn  farm,  making 
in  all  160  acres  of  land  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  has  been  a  dealer  in  all  kinds 
of  agricultural  implements,  fertilizers,  etc.,  for  twenty-five  years,  and  for  several  years 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  85 

a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Bennett  &  Milhan,  general  dealers  in  produce  at  the  warehouse 
at  Williamson  depot.  Mr.  Milhan's  politics  has  always  been  Republican,  and  for  twenty- 
one  years  in  succession  he  served  as  poormaster.  Pie  and  his  wife  were  charter  mem- 
bers of  Williamson  Grange.  They  have  three  children  :  Warren  O,  who  married  Minnie 
Tinkiepaugh,  who  have  one  daughter  and  one  son  ;  Sidney  D.,  who  married  May  Wilder, 
they  have  one  son ;  and  Winona  0.,  who  married  Benedict  Cook,  of  Webster,  Monroe 
county,  N.  Y. 

Moore,  Isaac,  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  September  10.  1835.  When  about  twelve 
years  of  age,  his  parents  removed  to  the  town  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county.  He  is 
and  always  has  been  a  farmer.  He  married  Clarissa  Short,  of  Manchester,  and  to  them 
five  children  were  born:  Marion  S.,  Mary  E.,  Floyd  N.,  Clara  I.,  and  Lillian  A.,  all 
residing  at  home.  Mrs.  Moore  died  in  1882,  and  in  1883  the  family  moved  to  Palmyra, 
and  in  1884  to  Newark,  where  Mr.  Moore  bought  the  farm  on  which  they  now  reside. 
Mr.  Moorels  father,  John  Moore,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1802,  a..d  when  a  boy 
went  to  live  with  an  uncle  in  Cayuga  county.  He  married  Margaret  Howell,  of  Cayuga 
county,  and  located  east  of  Seneca  Falls  on  the  State  road.  They  had  eight  children, 
only  three  now  living.  The  three  surviving  members  are:  Harriet,  Isaac,  and  Emily. 
He  died  in  1854,  and  his  wife  in  1874.  Mr.  Moore  has  bought  lots  on  Mason  street,  on 
Madison,  north  and  south  side  of  Miller,  and  on  Main  street,  and  has  sold  sixteen  build- 
ing lots,  residences  erected  on  thirteen  of  them. 

Mead,  John  G,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county,  March  16,  1824.  His  great-grand- 
father, Jonathan,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Connecticut.  Nathaniel,  the  grand- 
father, was  born  August  19,  1750.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Richard  T.,  the  father,  was  a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  born  June  22,  1787.  He  mar- 
ried Phebe,  daughter  of  John  G-urney,  of  Stanford,  Dutchess  county,  and  their  children 
were:  Thomas  W.,  Judith  G.,  Hannah,  Nathaniel,  John  G,  Phebe  S.,  and  Mary,  of 
whom  three  are  now  living:  Nathaniel  and  Mary  (Mrs.  Wm.  Cline),  who  live  in 
Rochester,  N.  Y. ;  and  John  G,  who  married,  October  20,  1848,  Emma  B.,  daughter  of 
William  Cookingham,  of  Livingston  county ;  these  are  their  children :  Edgar  L.,  Alfred 
M.,  and  E.  Louise  (now  deceased),  wife  of  Dr.  C.  M.  Briggs,  of  Fairport,  Monroe 
county.  Edgar  B.  married  Alice  H.  Smith,  of  Macedon  Center,  N.  Y.,  and  has  two 
children:  E.  Louise,  and  Alvin  S.,  who  reside  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.  Alfred  M.  (physician 
and  surgeon),  of  Victor,  Ontario  county,  married  Hattie  A.  Brown,  of  Ontario,  Wayne 
county,  and  has  three  children:  Edgar  R.,  Dora  E.,  and  Mary  E.  The  occupation  of 
John  G.  has  always  been  farming.  He  has  held  the  office  of  road  commissioner  six 
years  and  was  county  superintendent  of  the  poor  nine  years.  They  are  members  of  the 
M.  E.  Church. 

North,  Miss  Orissa,  was  born  May  17,  1848,  at  Rose.  Her  father,  John  North,  came 
here  in  1834,  and  bought  the  farm  four  miles  north  of  Savannah,  where  she  now  lives. 
He  was  one  of  the  sturdy  pioneers  of  this  locality,  who  helped  to  clear  away  the  wilder- 
ness, a  man  of  much  ability,  who  served  in  his  later  life  as  assessor  for  twelve  years 
and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  he  did  not  omit  his  presence  and  vote  at  a  single  election 
or  town  meeting  from  the  date  of  his  majority  until  his  death,  July  18,  1892.  March  7, 
1832,  he  married  Sebel  Campbell,  who  was  born  atElbridge,  August  1,  1812,  and  reared 
three  children  :  Elias  W.,  born  February  10,  1833,  married,  September  22,  1869 ;  Sarah 
E.  Mills,  of  Palmyra,  who  died  November  1,  1869  ;  Fitz  Alen  C,  born  March  16, 1835, 
married  Julia  P.  Gay,  of  Savannah,  October  31,  1855,  and  died  February  26,  1892  ;  and 
Orissa,  now  left  sole  representative  of  her  family,  her  mother  having  died  February  23, 
1892.  Miss  North  was  educated  at  Wolcott  Academy  and  elsewhere,  and  is  a  lady  of 
much  ability  and  refinement. 

Mitchell,  D.  P.,  town  clerk  of  Butler,  and  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Wilson  & 
Mitchell,  general  store  keepers  at  South  Butler,  was  born  at  Rose,  Wayne  county,  De- 


86  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

cember  19,  1861.  He  is  the  oldest  son  of  Philander  and  Margaret  (Barnes)  Mitche'l, 
for  many  years  residents  of  Rose.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Philander  Mitchell,  was 
of  Scotch  ancestry,  a  man  of  great  energy  and  ability,  a  prime  mover  in  the  business 
affairs  of  Rose  in  earlier  days,  holding  the  office  of  justice  for  a  long  period.  Darwin 
became  a  citizen  of  South  Butler  in  1883,  and  was  for  three  years  principal  of  the  public 
schools.  In  1886  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  with  Gorham  Wilson.  A  Re- 
publican in  politics,  he  was  elected  to  his  present  position  (town  clerk)  in  March,  1894. 
November  18,  1885,  he  married  Jessie,  only  daughter  of  William  H.  Clapp,  of  South 
Butler.  Mr.  Mitchell  has  been  the  regular  local  correspondent  for  the  Clyde  Times  from 
South  Butler  for  eleven  years. 

Nutten,  Wilbur  F.,  was  born  in  Churchville,  Monroe  county,  December  2,  1839.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  in  various  places  and  in  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary 
of  Lima.  He  first  began  to  study  medicine  in  Hornellsville,  Steuben  county,  attended 
lectures  at  Buffalo  Medical  College  one  course,  and  one  course  at  Ann  Arbor  Medical 
College,  Michigan.  He  graduated  from  the  Medical  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
in  New  York  city  in  1863.  His  father  and  family  came  to  Newark  in  1860.  Dr. 
Nutten  began  to  practice  in  Newark  the  year  that  he  graduated  in  company  with  Dr. 
Pomeroy,  under  the  firm  name  of  Pomeroy  &  Nutten,  which  continued  over  four  years, 
since  which  time  he  has  practiced  on  his  own  account.  He  has  married  twice,  first, 
November  20,  1867,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Rev.  Orrin  Trowbridge,  of  Lima,  N.  Y.  She 
died  January  24,  1885,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  husband  and  regretted  by  many  friends. 
September  30,  1888,  he  married,  second,  Mrs.  Addie  J.  Jewell,  nee  Green,  of  California. 
She  had  one  son,  Frank  J.  Jewell,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Academy.  Mrs.  Nutten's 
father-in-law,  Rev.  F.  F.  Jewell,  is  a  presiding  elder  in  the  M.  E.  Conference  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, Cal.  The  doctor's  father  was  a  preacher  in  the  M.  E.  church  fifty  years.  The 
doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Wayne  County  Medical  Society,  also  of  the  Central  New 
York  Medical  Association,  New  York  State  Medical  Association,  and  the  American 
Medical  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Newark  Lodge,  No.  83,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and 
Newark  Chapter,  No.  117,  R.  A.  M. 

Norton,  G.  P.,  was  born  on  the  old  Norton  homestead  at  Lakeside,  N.  Y.,  in  1851. 
The  great-grandfather  of  our  subject.  Felix  H.  Norton,  came  from  England  to  America 
and  settled  at  Old  Guilford,  Conn.  Five  of  his  sons  moved  to  Ontario,  Wayne  county, 
N.  Y.,  in  1811,  settling  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Lakeside  Road.  Lester,  the 
grandfather,  of  our  subject,  married  Matilda  Allen,  who  died  in  1826,  leaving  eight 
children,  of  whom  four  are  now  living.  He  married,  second,  Nancy  Taylor,  who  died 
in  1863,  and  the  death  of  her  husband  occurred  in  1864.  Philetus  H.,  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  in  1822,  and  followed  farming,  besides  speculat- 
ing in  horses,  cattle,  produce,  wool,  etc.  He  lived  on  the  old  homestead  during  his 
life,  except  one  year  in  Rochester.  In  politics  he  was  a  staunch  Republican.  In  1850 
he  married  Cordelia  Whitcomb.  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Whitcomb,  whose  father  came 
from  Scotland  and  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  Airs.  Norton  died  in  1873,  leaving 
a  daughter,  Frances  A.,  of  Marion,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  and  a  son,  Gilbert  P.  the 
subject  of  our  sketch.  Oscar,  the  second  son,  died  at  the  age  of  three  years.  He  mar- 
ried, second,  Mrs.  Emily  Merritt,  widow  of  Calvin  Merritt  and  a  daughter  of  Uzial 
Brown,  of  Penfield,  N.  Y.,  who  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Norton  died  July  4, 
1891,  and  his  wife,  who  still  survives  him,  resides  on  the  Norton  homestead.  G.  P. 
Norton  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  obtained  his  education  at  a  common  school  and 
Macedon  and  Canandaigua  Academies,  and  taught  school  for  a  short  time  after  he  had 
finished  his  education.  A  Republican  in  politics,  and  an  ardent  worker  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  party ;  has  always  followed  farming,  except  three  years  in  the  marble  and 
granite  business  at  Webster,  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.  He  now  has  the  Norton  home- 
stead, settled  by  his  grandfather,  and  carries  on  general  farming  and  fruit  growing.  In 
1885  he  married  Mamie  B.,  a  daughter  of  Robert  and  Eliza  Thompson,  now  of  Detroit, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  87 

Mich.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Norton  have  one  son,  Harrison  W.,  born  September,  1886,  and 
one  daughter.  Lucille  C,  born  May,  1891.  Mr.  Norton  is  a  zealous  Mason,  being  a 
member  of  Wayne  Lodge  No.  416,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  which  he  served  as  master  six 
years. 

Newell,  Mrs.  Emily  J.,  is  a  daughter  of  R.  Cahoon,  of  Little  Falls,  Herkimer  county, 
N.  T.,  and  was  born  there  June  29,  1829.  Her  father  came  to  Wayne  in  1842,  pur- 
chasing a  farm  in  Huron.  She  married,  in  1849,  Roger  H.  Newell,  a  life-long  resident 
of  Huron.  He  was  a  prominent  Odd  Fellow  and  Mason,  and  was  at  various  times 
constable,  town  clerk,  and  commissioner  of  highways.  His  principal  business,  how- 
ever, was  farming,  and  he  was  a  large  land  owner  in  Huron.  Mr.  Newell  was  also  a 
prominent  Granger,  and  in  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  He  was  always  charitable  to 
the  needy.  He  died  April  30,  1893,  aged  seventy-two  years  and  three  months,  and  a 
year  later  Mrs.  Newell  became  a  resident  of  Wolcott  by  the  purchase  of  an  elegant 
home,  corner  Wright  and  Orchard  streets. 

Olmstead,  Ira  M.,  was  born  in  Huron  December  29,  1821.  His  father,  Elijah,  came 
from  Connecticut  in  1810  and  reared  a  large  family  of  children.  He  died  in  1833,  and 
since  that  time  Ira  has  been  a  resident  of  Butler.  He  married,  in  1850,  Olive,  daughter 
of  Ethan  W.  Allen,  and  of  their  three  children,  H.  Allen,  Lucy  Irene,  and  an  infant 
daughter,  only  the  former,  born  July  28,  1853,  is  now  living.  Mr.  Olmstead  is  a  veteran 
of  the  late  war,  with  Company  E,  96th  Regiment,  N.  Y.  S.  Volunteers.  Allen  Olmstead 
married,  in  1873,  Flora  F.  Campbell,  of  Butler,  by  whom  he  has  had  three  children, 
Charles  A.,  Ira,  Le  Roy  and  Zemira  E. 

Owen,  C.  Wooster,  was  born  in  Penfielcl,  Monroe  county,  July  8,  1841,  the  sixth  of . 
a  family  of  nine  children  born  to  C.  W.  and  Clarissa  (Beebe)  Owen,  natives  of  Ballston 
Springs,  Saratoga  county,  and  of  Vermont,  respectively.  C.  W.  Owen  came  to  Monroe 
county  when  a  young  man,  in  1814,  and  learned  the  carpenters'  trade,  also  owning  a 
good  property  in  the  village  of  Penfield,  where  he  spent  his  last  days,  and  where  his 
widow  now  resides,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  The  grandfather  of  C.  W.  was 
William,  who  was  born  December  29,  1764,  a  native  of  Boston,  who  spent  much  of  his 
life  in  Penfield,  where  he  died,  May,  1833.  He  served  in  the  Revolution  three  years. 
Our  subject  was  reared  in  Penfield,  and  there  educated,  coming  to  Ontario  at  the  age  of 
nineteea  years,  and  learned  the  tinners'  trade.  In  1863  he  formed  a  partership  with 
M.  Lockman  in  the  tin  and  stove  business,  and  then  Mr.  Owen  purchased  his  interest, 
and  has  since  been  alone  in  the  business,  which  he  has  enlarged  in  many  ways,  carrying 
a  line  of  paints,  oils  and  glass,  besides  his  regular  lines  of  stoves,  furnishing  goods, 
agricultural  implements,  etc.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  A. 
0.  U.  W.,  Lake  Shore  Lodge.  No.  306.  H.  B.,  a  brother  of  our  subject,  was  in  the  late 
war  about  two  years,  and  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania,  May  10,  1864.  In 
December,  1873,  Mr.  Owen  married  Emma  Fewster,  a  native  of  Antwerp,  Jefferson 
county,  and  they  have  two  children  :  Daisey  and  Charles  F. 

Ostrander,  Rev.  L.  A.,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Franklinville,  Cattaraugus  county,  N.  Y., 
July  14,  1843.  His  father,  Joseph  Ostrander,  a  farmer  in  moderate  circumstances,  died 
when  he  was  eight  years  old.  Shortly  after  this  his  home  was  broken  up.  He  went 
to  Chicago  and  took  a  position  in  a  drug  store.  When  fifteen  years  of  age,  feeling  it 
his  duty  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  determined  to  obtain  a  liberal  education.  He  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Cazenovia  Seminary.  During  the  winters  he  taught  school.  He 
entered  Knox  College  at  Galesburg,  111.,  in  1861.  After  two  years  he  went  to  Hamil- 
ton College  at  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  where  he  graduated  in  1865,  He  took  both  "Head"  ora- 
tion and  the  "Clark"  prize  at  Hamilton.  Upon  leaving  college  he  accepted  an  appoint- 
ment as  tutor  in  Robert  College  at  Constantinople  (Turkey).  He  traveled  quite  ex- 
tensively in  Europe,  also  in  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land.  Returning  to  America  in  1867 
he  began  the  study  of  theology,   graduating  at  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  1871. 


88  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

While  pursuing  his  theological  studies  he  entered  the  lecture  field  and  gave  a  course  of 
five  oriental  lectures,  by  this  means  meeting  his  seminary  expenses.  In  1871  he  re- 
turned to  Constantinople,  where  on  the  25th  day  of  May  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza 
A.  Thomson,  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Thomson,  a  Scotch  missionary.  His  first 
pastorate  was  at  Dubuque,  la.  After  five  years  of  successful  labor  in  that  field  he  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Oswego,  N.  Y.  Here  he  remained  six 
years.  He  then  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Lyons  in  1882. 
A  good  degree  of  prosperity  has  marked  this  long  and  happy  pastorate.  The  church 
now  has  a  membership  of  442.  While  a  hard  working  pastor,  Mr.  Ostrander  is  still 
able  to  devote  some  time  to  the  lecture  field.  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D. 
from  his  alma  mater,  Hamilton  College,  in  1890.  He  has  four  children:  Leroy,  Aleck, 
Robert,  and  Ethel. 

Osborne,  William  H.,  was  born  on  the  homestead,  September  19,  1841.  His  father, 
George  L.,  was  a  native  of  Dutchess  county.  The  family  who  were  among  the  early 
settlers  of  Massachusetts  were  of  English  extraction,  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in 
1833.  George  L.  married  Martha  H.,  daughter  of  John  Cornell,  and  they  had  three 
sons:  Charles  A.,  and  Gilbert  L.,  now  of  Owosso,  Mich.  Wiliiam  H.  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  forty  married  Julia,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  H. 
French,  of  Junius,  Seneca  county.  In  1865  he  inherited  and  purchased  the  homestead 
of  120  acres,  which  has  been  in  the  family  over  sixty  years,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and 
stock.     Our  subject  is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  his  town. 

Porter,  Nathan  B.,  is  the  only  son  of  the  late  Nelson  Porter,  of  Saratoga  county.  He 
acquired  a  thorough  business  education  at  Eastman's  Business  College  at  Poucrhkeepsie, 
graduating  in  1878.  After  five  years  as  bookkeeper  for  S.  C.  Redgram,  of  Lyons,  he 
became  manager  for  the  Ryan-McDonald  Manufactering  Co.,  builders  of  locomotive 
engines  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  in  1891  became  secretary  for  the  Q  &  C.  Co.  of  Chicago, 
manufacturing  railroad  specialties.  In  1S94  he  purchased  an  interest  in  the  foundry 
and  machine  works,  now  known  as  the  Knapp-Porter  Iron  Works,  on  Mill  street,  Wol- 
cott.  In  1884  he  married  Julia  Darrin,  who  died,  February  12,  1893,  leaving  two 
daughters,  Miriam  and  Nathalie. 

Paddock,  H.  R.,  only  son  of  Henry  and  Clarissa  Paddock,  was  born  near  the  site  of 
his  present  home  in  Wolcott,  May  12,  1840.  Henry  Paddock,  the  elder,  was  born  at 
Vienna,  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  1810,  and  came  to  Wolcott  in  1835.  Our  subject  grad- 
uated from  Falley  Seminary  at  Fulton,  N.  Y.,  and  engaged  in  farming,  where  his  sur- 
roundings are  models  of  neatness  and  convenience.  His  present  home  was  acquired 
by  purchase  in  1879.  December  20,  1860,  he  married  Lucy  Dowd,  of  Huron,  and 
they  have  one  son,  Frank  A.,  born  March  15,  1862,  now  a  druggist  in  Rochester.  He 
was  married  May  31,  1894,  to  Nellie  Loughborough,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Pallister,  Albert  A,  born  in  Pultneyville  July  21,  1843,  is  the  son  of  John  and  Han- 
nah (Wake)  Pallister,  natives  of  Yorkshire,  England.  He  and  brothers  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1829,  bringing  their  parents  with  them.  The  father  died  on  the  voyage  and  was 
buried  at  Prescott.  The  grandmother  spent  her  last  days  in  Pultneyville  with  her  chil- 
dren. John  Pallister  learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker  in  England.  He  worked  at  the 
trade  in  Pultneyville  till  1867,  when  he  retired  and  lived  with  his  children  until  his 
death.  December  29,  1879.  Mrs.  Pallister  died  in  February,  1870.  Her  parents,  John 
and  Sarah  (Leadly)  Wake,  came  from  their  native  country  in  1831,  bringing  a  family 
of  four  sons  and  five  daughters.  One  daughter,  Elizabeth,  died  in  England.  They 
first  came  to  Pultneyville,  but  settled  west  of  Williamson.  Mr.  Wake  was  born  in 
November,  1771,  in  Yorkshire,  England,  and  his  wife  in  1778.  They  were  married  in 
1803,  and  he  was  a  farmer  in  England.  Albert  A.  Pallister  commenced  his  career  as  a 
shoemaker,  and  with  the  exception  of  one  year  on  the  ocean  in  a  whaling  steamer,  has 
followed  that  business.     He  is  now  engaged    in   the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes  in 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  89 

Pultneyville,  also  carries  a  fine  stock.  He  is  also  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  Mer- 
vin,  in  the  lumber  business  at  Pultneyville,  carrying  a  large  stock  of  lumber,  posts, 
shingles,  lath,  brick,  etc.  They  are  proprietors  of  the  vessel  ''Fred  L.  Wells,"  which 
sails  from  Pultneyville.  In  1879  he  married  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Philip  Robinson,  and 
daughter  of  Hamilton  Cooper.  She  has  one  son  and  one  daughter,  Gertrude  and  Clif- 
ford. 

Patten,  Silas  (deceased),  was  born  in  Newburg,  Orange  county,  November  19,  1788, 
and  came  to  Phelps  in  1792  with  his  father,  John  Patten,  moved  into  the  town  of 
Lyons  in  1795  and  settled  on  lot  20.  His  opportunities  for  education  were  limited. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Mrs.  Phoebe  Williams,  daughter  of  Samuel  Row- 
land, who  died  in  1850.  In  1854  he  married  second  Bridget,  daughter  of  Michael 
Dwyer,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  of  whom  but  one  is  now  living, 
Mrs.  Mary  Teller,  who  married  Arthur  D.  Teller,  of  Lyons,  and  who  are  the  parents  of 
one  daughter,  Agnes  M.  Teller.  Silas  Patten  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  Wayne 
county,  taking  up  large  tracts  of  land  from  the  United  States  Government.  He  soon 
occupied  a  prominent  place  in  his  town,  being  a  liberal  supporter  of  educational  and 
religious  institutions.  He  died  January  12,  1882,  at  ninety-three  years  of  age,  mourned 
by  his  family  and  regretted  by  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

Quackenbush,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  was  born  in  Aurelius,  Cayuga  county,  August  25,  1820, 
and  is  the  daughter  of  Albigence  and  Phoebe  (Clark)  Munroe,  whose  children  were : 
Albigence,  jr.,  born  March  22,  1822,  died  at  Chattanooga  February  1,  1874;  Maria 
Matthews,  born  May  15,  1837,  now  living  at  Rochester;  Elizabeth,  as  above,  who  mar- 
ried July  4,  1837,  Abram  Quackenbush,  of  Seneca  Falls.  He  was  born  at  Leroy  Sep- 
tember 22,  1816,  and  was  by  trade  a  tanner  and  currier,  but  went  to  California  in  1850, 
where  he  followed  gold  mining  for  three  years.  He  came  to  Savannah  in  1853,  where 
they  have  since  resided  continuously.  Their  children  are  :  George,  born  December  13, 
1840  ;  Rugene,  born  in  1842,  died  in  1878  ;  Catharine,  born  October  17,  1844,  now  a 
widow,  living  with  her  mother ;  and  Maria,  born  April  28,  1860,  now  the  wife  of  Ed- 
ward Rutledge,  of  Syracuse.  Mr.  Quackenbush  was  attacked  with  epilepsy  in  1875, 
since  which  time  his  powers  of  mind  and  body  have  greatly  weakened. 

Paine,  William  T.,  was  born  in  Lyons  July  14,  1836.  His  father,  Thomas,  was  a 
native  of  Kent,  England,  and  came  to  the  United  States  1822,  when  he  was  ten  years 
of  age.  He  married  Naomi,  daughter  of  Richard  Thomas,  of  Kent,  England.  William 
T.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  added  through  life  by  reading  and 
close  observation.  After  leaving  school  he  associated  in  general  merchandise  business 
at  Alloway,  and  which  he  has  carried  on  for  the  past  forty-seven  years.  In  1873  he 
bought  the  Alloway  Hotel  property.  At  the  age  of  forty-one  he  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Gorsline,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children :  Edward.  Ed- 
win and  Ina.     Our  subject  takes  a  prominent  part  in  the  events  of  the  town. 

Phillips,  Clark,  was  born  in  Schodack,  Rensselaer  county,  eleven  miles  east  of  Al- 
bany, August  5,  1817.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  Nassau  Academy, 
with  such  men  as  John  A.  Griswold,  Dr.  Herrick  and  Hugh  and  Robert  McClellah.  In 
his  early  manhood  he  was  a  farmer  in  his  native  county.  He  came  to  this  country 
with  his  parents  in  1835,  and  was  a  farmer  with  his  father,  and  succeeded  to  the  farm. 
He  married  twice ;  first,  September  30,  1840,  Irene  G.  Pitts,  of  Chatham,  Columbia 
county,  and  they  had  three  daughters,  Mary  E.,  Frances  E.,  and  Emma  L.,  the  young- 
est died  in  infancy,  Mary  E.  married  Chester  Ellinwood  of  the  town  of  Rose,  this 
county,  and  they  had  five  children,  two  daughters  and  three  sons :  Irene  P.,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  ;  Mary  L,  John  C,  Chester  and  Robert  survive.  Mrs.  Phillips 
died  August  10,  1879,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  husband  and  many  friends.!  He  mar- 
ried second,  May  3,  1882,  Mrs.  Lizzie  M.  Holman,  nee  Sanford,  of  North  Adams,  Mass. 
l 


DO  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Mr.  Phillips  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Newark  March  14,  1872,  under  President 
Grant's  administration,  serving  about  six  years.  He  was  appointed  railway  commis- 
sioner in  1870,  also  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Sodus  Point  and  South- 
ern Railway  (now  the  Northern  Central).  He  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
school  of  the  First  Baptist  church  in  Newark  thirty-two  years,  and  is  trustee  and  clerk 
of  that  church.  Mr.  Phillips's  father,  John,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county,  February  20, 
1774,  and  married  Esther  Warring,  who  was  born  September  13,  1776.  They  had  six 
children  :  Phoebe,  Joseph,  Daniel,  John,  James  and  Clark.  John  Phillips,  sr.,  died 
December  9,  1860,  and  his  wife  February  20,  1864. 

Peer,  T.  J.,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  March  9,  1843,  a  son  of  John  H.  and 
Harriet  R.  (Adams)  Peer.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Williamson  and  a  son  of  Abram 
Peer,  of  New  Jersey,  who  was  one  of  Williamson's  first  settlers.  John  H.  came  to 
Ontario  at  the  age  of  about  sixty,  where  has  since  resided  and  followed  farming.  He 
is  now  seventy-eight  years  of  age,  and  his  wife  seventy-six.  Our  subject  was  educated 
in  the  academy  at  Sodus,  and  read  medicine  with  Dr.  A.  G.  Austin,  of  Williamson, 
with  whom  he  remained  four  years.  He  attended  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity at  Ann  Arbor  (1862-63)  and  in  1865  located  in  Ontario,  where  he  has  since  had 
a  successful  practice.  Later  he  entered  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  at  Chicago, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1871.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  political  affairs  of  his  town  and  county,  having  been  United  States  pension  ex- 
aminer five  years.  In  1866  he  married  Augusta  Boynton,  a  daughter  of  L.  S.  Boyn- 
ton. 

Putney,  Hubbard  W.,  was  born  in  Hampshire  county,  Mass.,  March  28,  1819,  end 
came  to  Lyons  in  1840,  and  established  the  wire  cloth  industry  in  all  its  branches, 
making  the  different  grades  of  fanning  mill  wire  cloth  a  specialty.  In  1842  he  com- 
menced to  manufacture  fanning  mills,  and  at  different  times  opened  branch  offices  in 
Amsterdam,  Hudson,  Poughkeepsie  and  Nyack,  N.  Y.,  also  Williamsport  and  North- 
umberland, Pa.,  and  Washington,  New  Jersey.  In  1872  he  erected  the  brick  block  in 
Lyons  known  as  the  Putney  block,  and  where  he  has  carried  on  business  for  the  past 
fifty-four  years.  At  twenty-four  years  of  age  he  married  Clara  A.  Wilds,  of  Litchfield, 
Conn.,  and  they  have  three  sons:  Cassius  H,  Edwin  B.  and  George  E.  He  is  a  Re- 
peblican  in  politics,  and  has  been  assessor,  road  commissioner,  trustee  and  a  member 
and  trustee  of  the  M.  E.  Church  for  forty-four  years.  Subject  is  one  of  the  oldest 
manufacturers  in  Wayne  county,  identified  in  the  leading  events  of  the  day,  and  of 
sterling  worth  and  integrity,  whose  life  has  proven  his  word  to  be  as  good  as  his  bond. 

Putnam  &  Co.,  J,  H,  manufacturers  of  barrels  and  staves  at  Wolcott,  have  their 
factory  located  upon  Lake  avenue,  near  the  railroad.  This  plant  is  a  branch  having  its 
central  business  at  Wayne  Center.  There  are  also  branch  shops  at  Savannah,  Lyons, 
Sodus  and  Clyde  for  the  manufacture  of  barrels,  and  Mr.  Putnam  is  largely  interested 
in  mills  located  in  Ohio  and  in  Michigan,  holding  valuable,  exclusive  patents  for  special 
machinery  for  crozing  and  chamfering  staves.  The  works  at  Wolcott  have  a  capacilty 
of  one  thousand  barrels  per  diem,  and  are  under  the  management  of  Mr.  L.  D.  Sopher, 
a  gentleman  of  wide  experience  and  ability. 

Pickering,  William,  was  born  in  England,  June  29,  1858,  coming  to  this  country  in 
1870,  and  settled  in  Sodus.  For  seven  years  he  worked  at  farming  by  the  month,  then 
rented  farms  and  worked  for  himself.  Nine  years  ago,  in  1885,  he  bought  the  Robert 
Hale  place,  consisting  of  114  acres.  In  1876  he  married  Harriet  Briggs,  of  Arcadia, 
and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  children  :  Willie  J.,  George  A.,  May  N.  and  Harry 
C,  all  living  at  home  and  attending  school.     Mr.  Pickering  is  a  Democrat. 

Palmer,  L.  H.,  was  born  in  Nassau,  Rensselaer  county,  January  31,  1835.  His 
father,  Jonathan  Palmer,  came  to  Lyons  in  1844,  and  purchased  a  farm  north  of  Lyons. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  91 

He  was  a  very  prominent  man  in  the  town  and  at  one  time  held  office  as  supervisor. 
L.  H.  Palmer  was  educated  in  Lyons  Union  School  and  Lima  Seminary,  after  which 
he  entered  the  employ  of  Herrick  &  Co.,  of  Albany.  He  remained  with  them  till  1861 
and  then  moved  to  Newark.  In  1865  he  came  to  Clyde  and  in  company  with  S.  H. 
Briggs  established  the  Briggs  &  Palmer  Bank,  which  continued  up  to  1880,  when  the 
bank  was  reorganized,  and  is  now  known  as  the  Briggs  National  Bank.  Mr.  Palmer 
married  Louisa  M.  Briggs,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  these  children :  Edwin  B., 
Louis  R.,  of  Baltimore,  Briggs  S.,  Mrs.  Olive  Miller,  of  Brooklyn,  May  L.  and  Anna  R. 

Peer,  Barton  P.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  March  20,  1828,  the  son  of  Thomas  and 
Emily  Pratt  Peer,  he  born  in  New  Jersey,  December  2,  1800,  and  she  in  Williamson. 
February  22,  1806.  The  father  of  Thomas  Peer  was  Abram,  a  native  of  New  Jersey, 
who  came  to  Williamson  in  1809.  Thomas  was  a  farmer,  and  died  in  1875.  Our 
subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  Walworth 
Academy,  and  studied  dentistry  with  Dr.  D.  J.  Peer,  and  finished  his  education  in 
this  line  at  Menervia  Medical  College.  In  1852  he  went  to  Palmyra  and  practiced 
there  until  1856,  when  he  came  to  his  father's  farm  and  then  practiced  his  profession, 
and  in  1875  he  came  to  the  village  of  Williamson,  and  purchased  twenty-one  acres, 
off  of  which  Elm  street  has  been  principally  built.  Mr.  Peer  has  been  assessor,  in- 
spector of  election,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  notary  public  for  eight  years.  He  is  a 
member  af  Pultneyville  Lodge  No.  159,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  the  Williamson  Grange  No. 
338.  September  2, 1848,  he  married  Loraine  Merrill,  of  Madison  county,  and  they  have 
had  two  children :  Duane,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  months ;  and  Ellen 
Isabelle,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years.  This  family  is  of  Holland  descent,  and 
trace  their  ancestry  to  three  brothers  coming  from  Holland  in  1776,  one  of  whom  was 
the  father  of  John  Peer,  and  the  great-grandfather  of  our  subject. 

Plyte,  Isaac,  was  born  in  Holland,  April  24,  1823.  He  is  the  youngest  of  the  five 
children  of  John  and  Anna  Miller  Plyte,  natives  of  Holland.  Their  father  died  in  Hol- 
land, and  the  mother  in  Williamson  in  1871.  Our  subject  came  to  America  in  1846,  and 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Williamson,  and  he  now  owns  150  acres  of  land.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics.  In  1846  he  married  Matilda  Ver  Dow,  a  native  of  Holland,  and 
daughter  of  Lucas  and  Matilda  Berdine  Ver  Dow.  Mr.  Plyte  and  wife  have  had  these 
children  :  John,  who  married  Amanda  Englison,  of  Marion  ;  Peter  married  Kate  Van 
Bortle  in  1880,  and  has  four  children ;  Matilda  married  Abram  Collier  in  1881,  and  they 
have  had  these  children;  Annie,  at  home;  Joan,  wife  of  John  Van  Bortle;  Diana,  de- 
ceased, was  the  wife  of  William  Van  Holde,  and  had  one  daughter,  Clara  ;  Isaac  mar- 
ried Susa  Collier  in  1886  ;  Alice,  wife  of  Marinus  Braser.  a  farmer  of  Williamson,  they 
have  one  daughter. 

Paddock,  W.  W.,  has  been  for  nearly  forty  years  the  leading  dealer  in  hardware 
and  kindred  goods  in  Wolcott.  He  was  born  June  6,  1832,  at  Vienna,  Oneida  county, 
N.  Y.,  and  in  1850  began  his  business  career  with  Bradish  &  Brown  at  Lyons.  For 
seven  years  their  trusted  employee,  he  then  formed  a  copartnership  with  S.  H.  Foster, 
at  that  time  practically  founding  the  large  business  now  conducted  under  the  firm 
name  of  Paddock  &  Son.  In  1871  he  built  the  store  which  he  now  occupies  at  No.  14 
Main  street,  and  in  1891  his  son,  William  H.,  then  twenty-five  years  old,  became  a  part- 
ner in  the  bnsiness. 

Paget,  Tom,  was  born  December  1,  1836,  in  Knightley,  Yorkshire,  England,  and  is  the 
oldest  living  child  of  William  and  Mary  Blakeley  Paget,  natives  of  Yorkshire,  England, 
and  who  came  to  America  in  1849,  and  there  lived  and  died.  Our  subject  was  reared 
in  Lyons,  and  in  1853  went  to  Canada,  and  on  February  1,  1859,  he  returned  to  Lyons. 
In  1868  he  went  to  Sodus,  and  in  1879  he  came  to  Williamson,  and  has  since  resided 
here  on  his  farm  of  thirty- one  acres.  He  also  has  thirteen  acres  near  here.  He  has 
twenty-two  acres  of  berries  and  other  small  fruits.     Mr.  Paget  is  a  Democrat,  a  mem- 


92  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

ber  of  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  the  Select  Knights.  September  26,  1859,  he  married  Mary 
Jones,  of  Gloucestershire,  England,  who  came  to  Canada  with  her  parents,  and  they 
both  died  there.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paget  have  had  ten  children :  Sallie,  Thomas  W. 
(deceased),  Mary  A.  (deceased),  Martha  J.  (deceased),  Tom  (deceased)/Alfred  J.,  Fran- 
cis (deceased),  Joseph  H.,  Elmer,  and  Hannah  (deceased).  Mr.  Paget  was  a  carriage 
maker  until  he  came  to  Williamson,  and  worked  at  Sodus  with  J.  W.  Stuver  for  seven 
years. 

Pierce,  Eugene  Herbert,  was  born  in  Huron,  May  31,  1850,  a  son  of  John  Pierce,  of 
Yorkshire,  England,  born  in  1817,  who  came  in  1826  with  his  parents,  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Barker)  Pierce,  to  Wayne  county.  Here,  in  1860,  John  bought  the  farm  of  103 
acres,  where  his  son  Eugene  now  resides,  and  here  he  spent  quietly  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  vote  the  Abolition  ticket  in  this  town.  He  married 
Matilda  B.,  daughter  of  Ahiel  and  Diantha  Guthrie,  born  in  Sodus,  February  10,  1823. 
They  had  three  children:  Matilda  B.,  wife  of  Daniel  W.  Gibbs,  of  Sodus;  Eugene  H., 
and  Lyman  C,  who  is  now  a  teacher  in  New  York.  Mr.  Pierce  died  in  March,  1894, 
aged  seventy- six  years,  and  his  wife  in  1876,  aged  fifty-three.  John  Pierce,  the  grand- 
father, after  some  years'  residence  in  this  and  Ontario  counties,  removed  with  his  wife 
to  Wisconsin,  whence  they  went  to  Iowa,  where  they  both  died.  Their  children  were: 
John,  William,  Thomas,  Jane,  Mary,  Ann,  Elizabeth,  Harrison,  and  Deborah.  Ahiel 
Guthrie  was  of  Scotch  ancestry,  and  spent  most  of  his  life  as  a  school  teacher.  His  par- 
ents died  when  he  was  a  youth,  and  he  had  one  sister,  younger,  who  died  when  five 
years  of  age.  His  wife  was  Diantha  Bockas  Bullock,  and  they  were  married  in  1818. 
They  lived  first  in  Montgomery  county,  then  removed  to  Sodus,  and  afterwards  to 
Huron,  this  county,  where  they  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  our  subject.  The 
grandfather  died  March  7,  1851,  and  the  grandmother  January  30,  1873.  E.  H.  Pierce 
was  reared  to  farm  life,  and  was  educated  in  Wolcott  Union  School  and  Sodus  Acad- 
emy. He  has  spent  m^st  of  his  life  on  the  farm  with  his  father,  engaged  in  general 
work  together  with  fruit  raising.  In  1877  he  married  Emily  S.  Overton,  daughter  of 
Sheldon  R.  and  Catharine  Overton,  of  Wolcott.  She  was  born  in  Huron  in  1847,  one 
of  seven  children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pierce  have  bad  two  children  :  John  H.,  born  January 
4,  1883;  and  Anna  E.,  born  July  21,  1889.  Mr.  Pierce  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served 
as  assessor  five  years. 

Porter,  George  E.,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Hartford,  Vt.,  June  8,  1867.  His  father,  W. 
B.,  was  one  of  the  leading  farmers  in  his  town.  George  E.  was  educated  in  New 
Hampshire  Agricultural  College  and  Mechanic  Arts,  located  at  Hanover,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1888,  receiving  the  degree  of  B.S.  He  then  entered  the  Dartmouth  Medi- 
cal College,  graduating  in  1891,  first  locating  in  Chatham,  Mass.,  and  came  to  Wayne 
county  in  1893.  He  engaged  in  general  practice.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  mar- 
ried Mary  J.,  daughter  of  Nahum  G.  Turner,  and  they  have  two  children,  Laura  May 
and  Clara  L.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Medical  Society, 
and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  ability  in  his  profession. 

Palmer,  Oscar,  born  in  Ontario,  May  5,  1844,  was  a  son  of  Rensselaer  and  Mary 
(Miller)  Palmer,  both  natives  of  Wayne  county,  he  born  in  1803,  and  she  in  1807.  He 
died  in  1881,  and  his  wife  in  1890.  A  brother  of  our  subject,  John  Palmer,  enlisted 
in  September,  1863,  in  the  97th  New  York  Infantry,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness.  Oscar  was  educated  at  Macedon  and  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary.  He 
was  engaged  in  teaching  for  a  while,  then  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Lakeside,  being 
the  first  to  carry  on  the  business  there.  He  gave  up  that  business  and  purchased  a  farm 
on  the  Lake  road,  where  he  has  since  resided,  engaged  in  general  farming  and  fruit 
raising.  The  house  is  known  as  the  Palmer  house,  and  they  entertain  a  high  class  of 
boarders  from  the  city  during  the  summer  months.  October  14,  1869,  he  married 
Amelia  A.  Botsford,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Diana  (Foster)  Botsford,  he  a  native  of 
Canton,  St.  Lawrence  county,  and  she  of  Marion  county.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Palmer  have 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  93 

two  sons :  Myron  B.,  born  August  27,  1873,  now  in  State  Normal  School  at  Geneseo ; 
and  Howard  L.,  born  December  23,  1879.  Mr.  Palmer  was  a  soldier  in  the  late  war,  a 
member  of  the  8th  New  York  Cavalry,  went  in  1864,  and  remained  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  was  in  Sheridan's  division  under  Custer,  and  was  wounded  at  Five  Forks. 
In  politics  Mr.  Palmer  is  a  Republican,  and  is  now  justice  of  the  peace.  He  has  been 
notary  public  a  good  many  years. 

Pound,  Charles  Edward,  born  July  15,  1868,  is  the  only  son  of  Edward  H.  Pound, 
born  in  Farmington,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  February  9,  1828,  and  Lucy  Pease  Pound, 
born  in  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  April  23,  1835.  His  grandfather,  Nathan  K. 
Pound,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  January  18,  1798,  and  carne  to  Ontario  in  March,  1835, 
purchasing  a  farm,  where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1882.  He  had  four  sons  :  Addison 
S.,  Edward  H.,  Jacob  M.,  and  Stephen  B.  Edward  H.  Pound  early  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, bought  the  homestead  in  1878,  and  there  resided  until  his  death  in  June,  1893. 
His  wife  is  now  living  at  Ontario  Corners.  Charles  E.  was  educated  at  the  Walworth 
and  Canandaigua  Academies,  and  has  always  been  a  farmer,  residing  on  the  homestead, 
which  he  now  owns.  He  has  192  acres,  and  carries  on  general  farming  and  stock 
raising.  In  November,  1891,  he  married  Lizzie,  the  adopted  daughter  of  Amos  and 
Dorcas  Woodhams,  and  they  have  one  child,  Norma  May,  born  November  30,  1893. 
Mr.  Pound  attends  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Quereau,  William,  one  of  Huron's  representative  men,  was  born  in  Cayuga  in  1847, 
son  of  William  Quereau,  a  native  of  Westchester  county,  N.  Y.,  born  in  1819,  whose 
father  was  John  Quereau,  a  farmer  in  Cayuga  county.  William,  father  of  our  subject, 
came  to  Wolcott  in  1850,  and  was  prominently  identified  in  the  politics  of  his  county. 
His  wife  was  Mrs.  Sabra  (Myers)  Lewis.  Our  subject  began  for  himself  when  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  and  in  1883  purchased  his  present  farm,  his  principal  crops  being  fruit 
and  gram.  From  1888  to  1890  he  served  as  under-sheriff  of  Wayne  county,  from  1887 
to  1890  as  commissioner  of  highways,  and  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office  from  1892 
to  1896,  constable  two  years,  and  collector  one  year.  In  1868  he  married  Minnie  A., 
daughter  of  Watson  and  Harriet  Dowd,  of  Huron,  born  in  1852.  Their  children  are : 
Sabra  A.,  born  in  February,  1873  ;  Elliott,  born  in  June,  1875  ;  Rosa  W.,  born  Septem- 
ber, 1886 ;  and  Ray  D.,  born  in  January,  1890. 

Pierson,  Forest  R.,  was  born  in  Tyre,  Seneca  county,  December  6,  1842.  He  is  the 
elder  son,  and  now  the  only  one  living,  of  the  late  Ogden  and  Julia  A.  Pierson,  who  came 
to  Butler  in  the  spring  of  1845,  and  settled  upon  a  farm  near  the  present  village  of 
South  Butler.  Forest  Pierson's  mother  died  in  1887,  when  seventy-five  years  of  age, 
his  father  had  reached  the  age  of  eighty-five,  died  November  27.  1892.  Forest  was 
identified  with  the  Ninth  Artillery  during  three  years  in  the  thick  of  the  Civil  War.  A 
musician  and  member  of  Company  Gr,  and  despite  the  protracted  and  desperate  character 
of  the  service,  he  escaped  physical  injury.  His  wife  is  Melvina  J.,  daughter  of  the  late 
Loami  Beadle,  of  Savannah.  They  were  married  February  26,  1873.  Of  three  children 
but  one  daughter  living,  Alta,  born  February  23,  1874,  and  now  the  wife  of  Cyrus 
Aikins.  Asa  and  Lillie  did  not  survive  infancy.  Mr.  Pierson  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  at  Butler  Center,  and  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  for  the  past 
seven  years,  and  being  deeply  interested  in  all  moral  reforms,  was  the  first  person  in  the 
town  of  Butler  to  espouse  the  cause  of  Prohibition,  and  was  a  candidate  on  that  ticket 
for  member  of  assembly  for  the  First  District  of  Wayne  county  in  1890,  and  may  be 
reckoned  among  the  citizens  of  Butler  a  representative  citizen  of  that  place. 

Pallister,  Richard,  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  January  6,  1820.  He  is  the 
second  of  four  children  of  Thomas  and  Mary  Pierson  Pallister,  of  England,  who  came 
to  Williamson  in  1828,  and  here  iived  and  died;  he  in  1860,  and  she  in  1841.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  and  a  sailor  when  a  young  man.  Our  subject  owns  fifty-one  acres 
of  land.     He  is  a  Prohibitionist,  and  both  he  and  she  are  Methodists.     In  1846  he  mar- 


94  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

ried  Lovina  E.,  daughter  of  Glover  and  Sarah  Munson,  born  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y., 
July  18,  1826.  Mrs.  Pallister's  parents  came  to  S^dus  in  1830,  and  here  her  father,  Mr. 
Munson  died  in  1883,  and  his  wife  in  1832.  Mr.  Pallisler  and  wife  have  had  two 
children  :  Mary,  the  wife  of  Sidney  A.  Baker,  of  Williamson,  and  they  have  three 
children;   and  George,  who  married  Louisa  Steele,  and  they  have  one  son. 

Rising,  Henry  C,  is  a  prominent  landmark  among  the  farmers  of  Northern  Savannah. 
He  is  the  son  of  Joseph  H.  Rising,  who  is  also  a  resident  of  Savannah,  and  eighty- 
three  years  of  age.  Henry  C.  was  born  August  4,  1840,  at  Lorraine,  Jefferson  county, 
N.  Y.,  educated  at  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  at  the  Jefferson  County  Institute  and  Brown's 
Commercial  School,  taught  school  prior  to  his  marriage,  January  1,  1862,  to  Ellen  M. 
Chapin,  of  Worth,  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Grace  E.,  born 
May  10,  1870,  and  who  died  June  26.  1881.  Mr.  Rising  again  married,  October  13, 
1870,  Augusta  C.  Cooley,  of  Rodman,  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  who  has  two  children, 
Byron  O.,  born  November  16,  1873,  and  Mattie  A.,  born  January  13,  1889.  He  came 
to  Savannah  February  3,  1877,  and  bought  the  present  homestead  and  engaged  in 
farming  and  fruit  growing,  is  a  life-long  Republican,  now  serving  his  th,ird  term  as 
justice  of  the  peace.  He  has  also  been  notary  public  for  ten  years  and  for  several  terms 
an  associate  justice  in  the  Court  of  Sessions. 

Perry,  D.  H.,  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  March  27,  1864.  His  father,  John,  was  a 
native  of  Switzerland,  came  to  the  United  States  in  1854,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion. D.  H.  Perry  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through 
life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  In  1883  he  came  to  Marengo  and  followed 
farming  until  1890,  when  he  established  his  present  business,  carrying  a  large  and  well 
selected  stock  of  general  merchandise,  being  one  of  the  largest  dealers  in  pork,  butter, 
eggs,  and  poultry  in  Wayne  county.  In  1890  he  received  the  appointment  of  post- 
master, which  position  he  still  holds.  Our  subject  is  the  leading  merchant  and  produce 
dealer  in  the  town. 

Rising,  Joseph  H.,  was  born  in  the  south  of  Jefferson  county.  N.  Y.,  February  2, 
1812,  the  son  of  Abner  and  Jane  Rising.  He  has  one  sister  in  Wayne  county,  Miranda, 
widow  of  Jeremiah  Smith,  of  Wolcott.  February  22,  1838,  he  married  Rachael  P. 
Wakefield,  of  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  born  in  Vermont  in  1814  and  who  died  at  Savannah 
October  28,  1886.  Of  her  four  children  one  son  died  in  infancy.  Byron  J.  died  in 
1862,  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  the  biography  of  Henry  C.  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  Alice  A.,  born  December  26,  1850,  and  not  married,  is  a  member  of  her 
father's  family  at  present,  a  lady  of  superior  mental  endowment  and  refinement  and 
a  life-long  member  of  the  M.  E.  church.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  commencing  life 
in  the  wilds  of  a  new  country  and  under  adverse  circumstances,  has  by  his  own  un- 
aided efforts  acquired  a  valuable  competency  and  is  now  living  upon  his  fine  farm  in 
the  northern  part  of  Savannah.  He  has  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life  been  a 
prominent  and  substantial  member  of  the  M.  E.  church,  has  served  fcur  years  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  but  has  not  sought  official  honors.  He  is  of  decided  convictions, 
outspoken  and  consistent,  in  all  respects  worthy  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he 
is  held. 

Pintler,  Freeman,  was  born  in  Fairfax  county,  Va.,  April  10,  1854,  a  son  of  Peter 
and  Emma  Pintler,  he  a  native  of  Delaware  county,  and  she  of  Orleans  county,  N.  Y., 
born  in  1820.  They  went  to  Virginia  in  1851  and  resided  there  until  1861,  owning  a 
farm  adjoining  the  Robert  E.  Lee  estate.  In  1860  Peter  was  one  of  seven  men  in 
Fairfax  county  that  dared  to  vote  for  Lincoln.  Mr.  Pintler  was  warned  three  times  to 
leave,  and  finally,  after  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  he  was  driven  from  his  home, 
took  his  family  to  Washington,  and  after  a  few  weeks  came  to  Orleans  county,  and 
four  years  after  to  Ontario  countv,  and  was  killed  by  lightning  in  1869,  and  his  wife 
died  in  1872.     Mr.  Pintler  was  a  contractor  and  builder,  and  remodelled  the  Robert  E. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  95 

Lee  house  while  in  the  south.  His  father  was  Adam  Pintler,  a  native  of  Germany. 
The  father  of  Emma  Shaw  was  Elijah  Shaw,  of  this  state,  and  of  German  descent,  who 
was  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  wife  was  Lydia  Freeman,  and  they  had  six  children. 
Our  subject  was  seven  years  old  when  his  parents  came  to  Orleans  county.  He  was 
fifteen  years  old  when  his  father  died,  and  his  mother  two  years  later.  At  eighteen 
he  began  teaching  and  afterwards  completed  a  course  at  the  Oswesro  Normal  School. 
He  has  been  a  very  successful  teacher,  having  taught  thirty-three  terms.  In  1886 
he  engaged  as  traveling  salesman  with  the  Niagara  Grape  Company,  and  sold  enough 
grapes  to  plant  3,000  acres  of  land.  He  went  to  Europe  in  the  interest  of  that  com- 
pany and  traveled  in  England,  Scotland,  and  France.  In  1893  he  was  elected  school 
commissioner,  and  has  served  as  supervisor  of  the  town  of  Ontario  during  1892  and 
1893,  heading  the  first  straight  Republican  ticket  that  had  been  elected  in  that  town  in 
twenty  years.  He  is  a  member  of  Wayne  Lodge  No.  416,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  also  of  the 
A.  0.  U.  W.,  No.  306.  March  23,  1883  he  married  Hattie  J.,  daughter  of  Edward 
Thompson,  of  Williamson,  and  they  have  two  children,  Leon  F.,  born  February  12,  1884, 
and  Minnie,  born  November  13,  1885. 

Rooke,  Thomas,  was  born  near  York  (England),  April  6,  1833,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  with  his  father,  John  Rooke.  in  1833,  who  settled  in  the  town  of  Galen. 
John  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Mathew  Robinson,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children.  He 
died  in  March,  1862,  aged  seventy-two.  Thomas  Rooke  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  He  has 
accmired  by  purchase  of  the  other  heirs  his  father's  estate,  subject  to  the  rights  of  the 
widow,  hi.-  mother,  who  still  lives,  and  also  purchased  part  of  the  Charles  Tyndall  estate 
and  other  adjoining  pieces  of  property,  having  120  acres.  He  raises  fruit,  hay  and 
stock.  Our  subject  was  taken  with  erysipelas  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  resulting  in  the 
loss  of  the  use  of  both  legs,  and  since  then  has  been  obliged  to  use  crutches  to  get 
about.  Notwithstanding  this  great  calamity  he  has  been  successful  in  business,  and 
gained  the  confidence  of  his  associates.  He  never  was  willing  to  accept  public  office, 
but  is  trustee  and  steward  of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Lock  Berlin. 

Raymour,  L.  S.,  a  native  of  Macedon,  born  November  24,  1824,  is  the  oldest  of  a 
family  of  thirteen  children  of  John  and  Alzina  (Aldridge)  Raymour,  he  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, born  in  1S02,  and  she  of  New  York,  born  in  1804.  The  grandparents  were  early 
settlers  of  the  town  of  Walworth,  where  they  lived  and  died.  John  came  to  Ontario 
about  1832,  and  bought  a  farm  on  the  town  line,  between  Williamson  and  Ontario, 
which  he  sold  and  bought  the  farm  now  owned  by  Samuel  Raymour.  They  went  to 
Palmyra,  where  they  died,  he  May  12,  1880,  and  she  July  7,  1872.  He  was  a  Republi- 
can, and  they  were  Methodists  in  religion.  L.  S.  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  has  always 
followed  farming  and  fruit  growing.  In  1835  he  bought  the  farm  he  now  owns,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  married  in  1847,  Emily  Thayer,  of  Orleans  county,  by  whom 
he  had  two  daughters:  Addie,  wife  of  Harda  Bunday,  a  civil  engineer  of  Monroe 
county,  N.  Y..  and  has  one  son,  Clifford,  and  a  daughter,  Winnifred,  and  Martha,  wife 
of  Jacob  Verdow,  who  is  now  working  the  farm.  They  are  principally  engaged  in 
growing  fruit.  They  have  two  sons,  Bertley  and  Spencer.  Mrs.  Raymour  died,  June 
14.  1881.     Mr.  Raymour  is  a  Republican. 

Roffee,  E.  M.,  was  born  in  Scipio,  Cayuga  county,  August  31,  1838.  His  father, 
Christopher,  was  a  native  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  was  a  sea  captain,  and  later  was  a  promi- 
nent contractor  and  builder  at  Providence.  R.  I.,  erecting  a  number  of  the  churches  and 
public  buildings  in  that  city.  In  1834  he  lemoved  to  Scipio,  Cayuga  county,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming.  He  died  in  1885,  aged  seventy-eight  years.  E.  M.  Roffee  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  and  finished  his  preparatory  course  at  the  Antioch  Col- 
lege, Springfield,  O.  The  year  1857  he  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  Hines,  of  Elmira.  and 
learned  the  profession  of  dentistry.     In  October,  1859,  he  came  to  Clyde,  and  established 


96  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

himself  in  business,  being  associated  with  Dr.  T.  C.  Olds,  and  after  his  decease  purchased 
the  entire  business,  which  he  has  since  continued.  The  year  1882  went  to  Grayling  for 
his  health,  a  thriving  village  in  the  northern  part  of  Michigan.  During  his  stay  was  in- 
duced to  purchase  village  lots,  also  eighty  acres  adjoining  the  village,  and  at  once  platted 
the  same.  With  the  proceeds  of  his  sales  of  lots  built  a  number  of  houses,  and  he  has 
not  missed  an  annual  visit  since  his  first  there,  and  in  meantime  regained  his  health. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married  Emma  A.,  daughter  of  J.  S.  Hood,  and  they  have 
had  two  children :  Mrs.  George  H.  Hardisty  and  Nellie,  who  died,  aged  twenty-three,  a 
devout  Christian.  Our  subject  takes  an  active  interest  in  education  and  religious  insti- 
tutions, and  has  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  thirty- five  years. 

Rector,  Mrs.  Sarah,  of  Savannah,  was  born  January  30,  1842,  a  daughter  of  Peter 
and  Hannah  (Carncross)  Albright,  of  Lysander,  who  settled  on  the  farm  now  occupied 
by  Mrs.  Rector  in  1834.  Here  the  mother  died  in  1855  and  the  father  in  1886,  he  be- 
ing then  in  his  eighty-third  year.  Sarah  Albright  was  born  on  the  farm  where  she 
now  lives,  and  which  is  now  operated  by  her  only  son,  John  W.  Rector.  She  was 
married  in  1863  to  John  W.  Rector,  of  Wolcott,  who  died  fifteen  months  later,  Her 
son,  John  W.,  was  born  March  18,  1864,  and  by  trade  is  a  machinist,  but  he  has  re- 
turned to  the  farm,  and  in  1884  he  married  Minnie  Ulum,  of  Alamo,  Mich.,  who  died 
in  1886,  leaving-  one  son,  Ray,  born  March  8,  1885.  January  26,  1887,  he  married 
again,  Ursula  May  Schuyler,  of  Alamo,  Kalamazoo  county,  Mich.,  by  whom  he  had 
two  children :  Rose,  born  November  20,  1889,  and  Anson,  born  December  8,  1891. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  woman  of  most  estimable  character  and  mental  ability, 
who  has  always  devoted  herself  to  her  family.  Her  husband,  before  his  death,  was 
one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  the  early  life  of  Wayne. 

Ray,  C.  H,  was  born  in  Piffard,  Livingston  county,  October  12,  1854.  His  father, 
Rev.  Charles  Ray,  now  in  charge  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Marion,  has  been  an 
ordained  clergyman  for  forty  years.  C.  H.  Ray  was  educated  at  the  Temple  Hill  Acad- 
emy and  Hamilton  College,  graduating  from  the  latter  institution  in  1877.  Afterward 
was  principal  of  the  Cayuga  Lake  Academy  at  Aurora,  N.  Y .,  for  one  year,  and  then 
began  the  study  of  the  law.  He  read  with  Hon.  John  L.  Parker,  of  Parker  &  Green- 
field, at  Moravia,  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  also  taking  the  Hamilton  College  Law  School 
course,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1880,  and  in  September  of  the  same  year  he 
entered  into  general  practice  at  Lyons.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  married  Hattie, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Dennison  R.  Pearl,  of  Sherwood,  Cayuga  county,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  two  sons:  Reginald  P.  and  John  P.  In  1S85  he  was  elected  district  attor- 
ney of  Wayne  county,  and  has  been  identified  with  most  of  the  leading  events  of  the 
day,  taking  an  active  part  in  political  and  educational  mattera. 

Richman,  Thomas  I.,  was  born  in  Onondaga  county  February  3,  1824.  His  father, 
Jacob  Richman,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  moving  to  Manlius,  Onondaga  county, 
where  he  married  Esther  Clark,  daughter  of  Christopher  Clark.  Mr.  Thomas  I.  Rich- 
man  was  connected  with  the  building  of  several  different  railroad-',  viz. :  A  portion  of 
the  Ogdensburg  Railroad  running  east  of  Malone,  a  portion  of  the  New  York  Central 
running  through  Wayne  county,  also  west  of  Batavia,  and  forty  miles  of  railroad  in 
Canada,  and  in  company  with  his  brother  built  several  sections  of  the  Erie  Canal  en- 
largement, including  the  aqueduct  in  Macedon.     He  is  now  engaged  in  farming. 

Rouch,  Frank,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ontario  June  10,  1857,  a  son  of 
Max  Rouch,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  came  to  this  country  when  a  young  man  and 
settled  in  Ontario,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  served  in  the  late  war  three  years, 
where  he  was  wounded  and  disabled  for  any  further  hard  work,  for  which  he  drew  a 
pension.  He  died  in  Ontario  in  1888,  aged  sixty-three.  Frank  married  Adella  Gard- 
ner, of  Macedon,  February  28,  1883,  and  they  have  no  children.  He  owns  a  place  of 
sixty-six  acres.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  as  school  trustee.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Grange. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  97 

Robertson,  Dr.  J,  N,  was  born  in  Wolcott  June  10,  1853.  His  father,  Jonn,  who 
died  in  1880  at  the  age  of  fifty-five,  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
and  a  staunch  adherent  to  the  Republican  party.  Dr.  Robertson  received  his  diploma 
from  the  University  of  Vermont  in  1877  and  afterwards  took  a  post-graduate  course  in 
New  York  city.  He  began  practice  at  Sterling,  N.  Y.,  removing  to  Wolcott  two  years 
later.  December  1,  1880,  he  married  Anna  M.  Howard,  of  Sterling,  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Eva  Lucille,  born  July  23,  1885.  Dr.  Robertson  is  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Education  of  Woleott  and  an  elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

Redfield,  Albert  F.,  was  born  in  Victor,  Ontario  county,  April  15,  1817.  His  father, 
Luther,  was  a  native  of  Richmond,  Mass.,  who  located  in  the  town  of  Junius  in  1800. 
He  removed  to  the  town  of  Galen  in  1822,  purchasing  108  acres,  to  which  he  added 
fifty  acres  adjoining.  He  died  in  1867,  aged  eighty-seven  years.  The  family  trace 
their  genealogy  back  to  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts.  Albert  F.  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation. 
After  following  farming  fifteen  years  he  went  into  the  mercantile  business  in  Clyde, 
remaining  five  years,  and  then  engaged  in  the  distillery  business,  which  was  burned  in 
1857.  He  also  was  in  the  tan  and  curry  business  for  nine  years.  He  also  engaged  in 
the  malting  business  ten  years.  In  1869  he  was  elected  county  clerk  and  served  three 
years,  and  was  elected  supervisor  of  his  town  for  five  terms.  At  the  age  of  thirty-six 
he  married  Susan  A.,  daughter  of  Aaron  Griswold,  and  they  had  one  daughter,  Mrs. 
Mary  G.  Whiting,  who  died,  aged  thirty-three  years. 

Rice,  Stephen  D.,  was  born  in  Butler,  July  26,  1835,  a  son  of  Jonathan  G.,  a  native 
of  Rowe,  Mass.,  born  May  28,  1813.  He  married,  in  1832,  Levinne  H.  Doolittle,  born 
September  11,  1814,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Polly  Doolittle,  of  Granby,  Conn.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rice  had  seven  children :  Stephen  D.,  Levinne  A.,  George  E.,  Charles  G., 
Harriet  J.,  Jared  F.  and  Franklin  J.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Ebenezer 
Rice,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  married  Sallie  Glazier,  and  had  seven  children. 
He  died  aged  eighty-seven,  and  his  wife  aged  ninety.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  Stephen 
D.  began  learning  the  miller's  trade,  which  he  has  followed  for  the  past  forty-three 
years.  In  1857  he  married  Lydia  J.,  daughter  of  Nicholas  and  Anna  Taylor,  of  Victory, 
Cayuga  county.  She  was  born  October  15,  1839.  Their  children  are  as  follows  : 
Franklin  J.,  born  March  17,  1862;  Levinne,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  George  W.,  born 
January  6,  1872.  Both  sons  are  millers.  Mr.  Rice  is  a  Mason,  and  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  though  he  has  always  declined  nomination.  He  was  a  captain  in  Company  D, 
107th  Regiment,  25th  Brigade,  7th  Division,  N.  Y.  S.  Militia. 

Robinson,  the  late  John  N.,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  February  28,  1822.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  school  and  spent  his  early  life  on  the  farm.  He  afterward  became 
a  blacksmith  and  carriage  maker  in  this  village.  He  married  twice ;  first,  Maria  Austin, 
by  whom  he  had  three  children :  Cordelia,  Frances,  who  died  at  the  age  of  six  years, 
and  Osman  C.  Mrs.  Robinson  died  in  1862,  and  he  married  second,  November  6,  1863, 
Lydia  Weaver,  and  they  had  one  son,  J.  Floyd,  who  was  educated  in  the  Union  School 
and  Academy,  and  is  learning  the  jeweler's  trade  in  the  village.  He  resides  with  his 
mother.  Mr.  Robinson  was  a  successful  business  man,  and  died  April  2, 1882,  mourned 
by  a  bereaved  wife  and  family.  Mrs.  Robinson's  father,  Jacob  Weaver,  was  born  in 
Dutchess  county  January  1,  1812,  and  came  here  with  his  parents  when  he  was  a  boy. 
He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  followed  farming.  In  1831  he  married 
Sylvina  Hoysrodt,  formerly  of  Dutchess  county,  and  they  had  six  children:  Homer, 
Lydia,  Lewis,  Christina,  Esther  and  Jacob,  jr.  The  ancestry  of  this  family  are  English 
and  German. 

Redner,  Dr.  P.,  was  born  in  Orange  county,  September  8,  1841,  and  is  the  son  of 
Peter  and  Elizabeth  Hall  Redner,  both  natives  of  Orange  county,  where  both  families 
had  resided  for  over  a  hundred  vears,  and  where  the  father  died  in  1848  and  the  mother 


98  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

at  Patterson,  N.  Y.,  in  1890.  Dr.  Redner,  when  seven  years  of  age  went  to  live  with 
Martin  Litchult,  of  Ramsey,  N.  J.,  where  he  remained  six  years.  He  then  went  to 
New  York  city  and  remained  five  years,  learning  the  butcher's  trade.  He  then  came 
to  Wayne  county  and  attended  school  under  Professor  Curtis,  and  speculated  during 
the  summer.  In  1865  he  went  to  Buffalo  and  was  engaged  with  the  Western  Trans- 
portation Company.  He  afterward  went  to  Nevada  and  Montana  and  engaged  in 
mining  for  three  years,  and  then  went  to  Denver  and  engaged  in  the  feed  and  stock 
business,  taking  the  first  load  of  cattle  that  went  over  the  Union  Pacific  from  Omaha 
to  Cheyenne.  He  next  entered  the  Homoeopathic  Institute  in  Cincinnati,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1874,  and  practiced  his  profession  for  twenty  years  in  various  places. 
In  1889  he  came  to  Ontario,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  is  an  extensive  property 
owner.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Sodus  Lodge,  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.  November  20,  1872, 
he  married  Mary  H.,  daughter  of  Hezekiah  Hill,  who  was  born  in  Ontario  in  1811.  His 
parents  were  natives  of  Massachusetts  and  settled  in  Ontario  in  1800.  His  father  died 
when  he  was  four  years  old,  leaving  his  mother  and  nine  children,  the  eldest  but  four- 
teen years  old.  Mr.  Hill's  educational  advantages  were  limited,  but  by  hard  study  he 
was  able  at  the  age  of  eighteen  to  teach  school,  which  he  did  for  six  winters.  He  was 
school  commissioner  one  year  and  school  inspector  two  years,  and  held  the  office  of 
constable  two  years,  assessor  nine  years,  justice  four  years,  and  was  the  railroad  com- 
missioner of  the  town.  In  1840  he  married  Pamelia,  daughter  of  Samuel  Stuck,  of 
Ontario.  In  1849  he  bought  the  Pratt  farm  of  320  acres  at  Inman's  Corners,  now 
Ontario  Village.  He  began  at  once  to  sell  lots,  and  a  large  part  of  the  village  was  built 
by  him.  for  those  to  whom  he  sold  lots.  He  became  a  large  real  estate  owner  in  On- 
tario, Canada  and  Michigan.  He  died  in  1889.  Dr.  Redner  and  wife  have  four  chil- 
dren:  Wilfred  H,  who  died  in  1876,  Howard  H,  Vera  A.  and  Boyd  A. 

Russell,  W.  D.,  was  born  in  Marion  in  1836,  on  January  27.  He  is  the  sixth  of  a 
family  of  nine  sons  of  Daniel  W.  and  Mary  Turner  Russell,  he  a  native  of  Williamson, 
and  she  of  Washington  county,  N.  Y.  Daniel  Russell  came  to  Williamson  about  1793 
from  Conn.,  and  first  settled  at  Pultneyville  and  afterwards  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Darius,  his  grandson.  The  father  of  our  subject  held  various  offices  of  public  trust,  and 
died  in  1868  and  his  wife  in  1873.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
and  Sodus  Academy,  and  learned  the  printer's  trade  with  Richard  Olyphant,  of  Oswego, 
but  was  poisoned  by  the  ink,  and  gave  up  the  business  and  went  to  Lockport,  111.,  and 
was  connected  with  the  construction  of  the  Joliet  &  Chicago  Railroad.  He  then  went 
to  the  county  surveyor's  office  with  A.  J.  Matheson,  of  Walworth,  N.  Y.,  and  after  a 
year  he  came  to  Marion,  and  owing  to  his  father's  sickness  he  remained  on  the  farm 
until  the  war  broke  out  in  1861.  He  enlisted  in  Company  I,  98tb  N.  Y.  Volunteer  In- 
fantry as  first  lieutenant.  After  the  consolidation  of  the  98th  and  a  portion  of  the 
Franklin  County  Rifles,  subject  enlisted  as  a  private  and  was  soon  promoted  to  second 
lieutenant,  and  was  in  these  battles :  Fairoaks,  White  House  Landing,  Seven  Days  fight, 
White  Oak  Swamp,  Malvern  Hill,  Siege  of  Yorktown,  Second  Fair  Oaks,  Charleston, 
and  was  mustered  out  through  another  consolidation  in  June,  1863,  and  then  returned 
to  the  farm.  In  January,  1865,  he  married,  re-enlisted,  and  was  detailed  on  recruiting 
service  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  then  recruited  eighty-four  men  for  the  194th  Regiment,  and 
was  at  Elmira  in  command  of  barracks,  and  was  to  be  made  captain  of  Company  A, 
194th  Regiment,  but  the  company  got  no  further  than  Elmira  when  they  were  mustered 
out  of  service.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  engaged  in  farming  for  five  years,  then 
went  to  Binghamton  and  was  general  agent  for  the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company. 
After  three  years  he  returned  to  Williamson  and  bought  a  farm  of  fifty-three  acre*, 
where  he  resided  thirteen  years,  when  he  engaged  in  the  sale  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments. After  four  years  he  retired  from  business,  and  in  1891  he  came  to  the  village 
of  Williamson,  where  he  owns  a  fine  residence.  He  is  a  O.  A.  R.  man,  having  been 
commander  of  John  Hanes  Post,  also  aid-de-camp  on  the  department  commander's  staff, 
as  well  as  the  commander-in-chief's  staff,  and  also  a  member  of  the  fire  company  and  of 
the  Grange.     His  wife  is  Lucy  M.,  daughter  of  Roswell  B.  Harkness,  of  Williams. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  90 

Riker,  John,  a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  was  born  December  10,  1810.  His  parents 
died  when  be  was  very  young,  and  but  little  is  known  of  the  history  of  the  family. 
About  1836  he  came  to  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  and  bought  seventy-six:  acres  of  land, 
to  which  he  added  about  125  acres,  and  which  he  left  to  the  family.  He  married  Mary 
Thorne,  of  Dutchess  county,  by  whom  he  had  four  sons  and  five  daughters,  one  son 
and  four  daughters  are  deceased.  Mr.  Riker  died  November  2,  1882,  and  his  wife 
April  17,  1886.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith  they  were  Friends. 
The  surviving  children  are  Julia,  wife  of  Wilfred  M.  Burke,  a  farmer  of  Meridian, 
Cayuga  county  ;  James  H.,  J.  F.  and  Edward  L.,  who  are  now  on  the  old  homestead 
and  carry  on  the  farm  business,  J.  F.  and  E.  L.  in  partnership.  They  are  engaged  in 
general  farming  and  fruit  raising,  and  grow  about  four  or  five  acres  of  raspberries,  ten 
acres  of  apples,  and  thirty-eight  acres  of  grapes.  Edward  married,  January  27,  1887, 
Carrie  J.,  daughter  of  Margaret  and  W.  S.  Hawley,  of  Webster,  N.  Y.,  by  whom  he 
has  had  one  son,  John  H.,  born  December  13,  1887.  J.  F.  married  Annie  S.  O'Dell, 
who  died  February  21,  1887.  In  politics  they  are  Democrats.  Mrs.  Riker  is  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church,  which  they  attend  and  support. 

Ruf,  John  P.,  was  born  in  New  York  city  May  23,  1860.  He  was  educated  in  the 
Freehold  Institute,  of  New  Jersey,  graduating  in  1877,  located  in  Clyde  in  1878.  In 
1883  entered  the  Philadelphia  Dental  College  and  Hospital  of  Oral  Surgery,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1885.  Dr.  Ruf  is  a  member  of  the  Seventh  District  Dental 
Society  and  of  the  Garretsonian  Society,  of  Philadelphia,  the  latter  having  a 
membership  of  3,500.  He  is  interested  in  local  affairs,  and  at  one  time  held  office  as 
trustee  of  the  village.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Clyde  branch  of  the  Wayne  Building 
&  Loan  Association.  Dr.  Ruf  is  active  in  Masonic  circles  and  was  for  four  years 
master  of  Clyde  lodge,  F.  A.  &  M.,  No.  341.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  married 
Hattie  B.,  daughter  of  John  Thomas,  of  Clyde. 

Robinson,  William  Henry,  is  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  Huron  and  was  born 
August  14,  1833,  in  Ontario  county.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  Robinson,  whose  early 
life  was  spent  at  the  mason's  trade,  and  his  last  years  as  a  farmer.  Thomas  was  born 
in  1801  in  Mantlin.  Ireland,  where  he  married  Christina  Gibson,  by  whom  he  had 
eleven  children.  About  1830  he  came  with  his  family  to  America.  He  landed  at 
Quebec,  and  at  once  began  working  on  a  farm.  Later  he  removed  to  Phelps  and 
afterwards  came  to  Huron,  where  he  bougnt  a  place  of  fifty  acres,  cleared  the  land  and 
built  him  a  home.  He  owned  at  his  death  100  acres.  Seven  children  grew  to 
maturity :  Richard,  Eliza,  Mary,  William  H.,  Minerva,  Rebecca  and  John  W.  The 
grandfather  of  our  subject  was  George  Robinson,  who  married  Elizabeth  Gibson,  and 
had  thirteen  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity.  Thomas  died  in  November,  1886, 
and  his  wife  in  June,  of  the  same  year.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  William  H.  began 
life  for  himself,  having  learned  the  stone  mason  and  bricklayer's  trades.  In  1868  he 
married  Catharine,  daughter  of  James  M.  and  Eliza  (Stout)  Cosad,  of  Junius,  born 
August  9,  1838,  and  they  have  had  one  child,  Lizzie  C,  wife  of  Charles  Gilkey,  of 
Butler.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson  and  daughter  are  members  of  the  Wolcott  Grange. 
Our  subject  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  eight  years,  and  as 
collector  one  year. 

Reed,  Jared  A.,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Williamson,  Wayne  county,  Decem- 
ber 13,  1858.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  Marion  Collegiate  Institute, 
Sodus  Academy,  graduating  in  1878.  He  then  entered  Cornell  University,  taking  a 
four  years'  course,  and  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1882.  He  then  took  a  two 
years'  course  in  the  Homoeopathic  Medical  College,  New  York,  graduating  from  that 
institution  March  15,  1884.  Began  to  practice  medicine  the  same  year,  which  he  con- 
tinues with  much  success.  Dr.  Reed  is  a  member  of  the  Wayne  County  Homoeopathic 
Society,  also  of  the  State  society  of  the  same  school.  April  15,  1885,  he  married  Jennie 
E.  Trimble,  of  the  town  of  Ontario.     They  have   two  children,  Mildred  and  J.  Stuart. 


100  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

The  doctor's  father,  David  B.,  was  born  at  Fort  Ann,  Washington  county,  October  16, 
1828.  Came  to  the  town  of  Marion  with  his  parents  when  he  was  four  years  old,  was 
a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  married  Mary  Ackerson,  of  Ontario,  Wayne  county. 
They  had  five  children  :  William  B.,  Jared  A.,  Oscar,  David  S.,  who  died  in  infancy, 
and  Mary  E.  The  Dr's.  grandfather,  Fitch  Reed,  was  born  in  Vermont,  about  the 
year  1800.  He  married  twice,  second  marriage  to  Almira  Gibbs.  The  family  came  to 
the  eastern  part  of  this  State  to  Washington  county,  and  had  six  children  :  Laura, 
Jerusha,  David  B.,  as  noted  above,  John  L.,  William  E.  and  James  T.  Fitch  Reed  was 
one  of  the  minute  men  in  the  French  and  Indian  War.  He  died  in  about  the  year  1865 
or  66,  and  his  wife  in  the  year  1885. 

Stever,  Jacob  E.,  was  born  in  Newark,  this  county,  January  16,  1839,  was  educated 
in  the  Union  schools  and  Sodus  Academy,  and  his  early  years  were  spent  on  his  father's 
farm.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  taught  his  first  school,  following  this  occupation  for 
several  winters.  December  13,  1863,  he  enlisted  in  Campany  F.  2d  Mounted  Rifles,  N. 
Y.  Volunteers,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  Burnside,  Ninth  Army  Corps,  till  October, 
1864,  at  which  time  his  regiment  was  transferred  to  Sheridan's  command,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  May  13,  1865.  March  21,  1860,  he  married  Rebecca  J.  Lefurgey, 
of  Sodus,  and  they  had  five  children  :  Lettie  E.,  who  died  aged  thirty-three;  Cleon  E., 
who  died  aged  ten  ;  Frankie  J.,  who  died  aged  five  months ;  Sadie  and  Edith  M. 
Lettie  married  Emerson  D.  Warren,  of  Buffalo,  having  one  son,  Frank  S.  Mr.  Stever's 
father,  James  M.,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  July  22,  1814,  aud  came  here  with  his 
parents  when  young.  He  married  Elizabeth  Filkins,  of  his  native  county,  and  they 
had  three  children  ;  Jabob  E.,  Sarah  C.  and  an  infant  son  living  only  a  few  hours. 
Dennis  Lefurgey,  father  of  Mrs.  Stever,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  in  1805,  and 
came  to  Sodus,  where  he  married  Margaret  P.  Steegar,  and  they  had  eight  children  : 
Jac  )b,  Rebecca  J.,  Emmarette,  John  B.,  William  W.,  Dennis  W.,  Anna  P.,  and  an 
infant  daughter  living  only  two  days  Mr.  Stever  is  a  member  of  Vosburgh  Post.  No. 
99,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  has  been  commander  two  terms.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
I.  0.  O.  F.  and  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.    Mr.  Stever  is  a  manufacturer  of  flavoring  extracts. 

Ray,  William  L.,  was  born  in  Canada  September  17,  1862,  the  fifth  of  seven  children 
of  John  and  Mary  Ray,  the  former  a  native  of  Canada,  and  the  latter  of  England.  The 
father  of  John  Ray  was  Robert  Ray,  aged  84,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  Can- 
ada in  an  early  day,  where  he  died  in  1863.  The  maiden  name  of  Mary  Ray  was 
Fowler,  her  father  Walter,  aged  93,  whose  father  came  from  England  and  lived  and 
died  in  Canada.  Subject's  father  has  been  a  mill  man,  came  to  Ontario  in  1865  and 
engaged  in  the  mill  business  a  number  of  years,  where  he  has  since  resided.  Mrs.  Ray 
died  January  11,  1888,  aged  seventy  years.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and 
educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  learned  the  engineer's  trade  and  followed  it  fif- 
teen years.  He  and  his  brother  purchased  thirty-two  acres  of  land  in  Ontario,  and  in 
1889  subject  bought  his  interest  and  follows  fruit  raising,  having  four  acres  of  berries. 
He  is  a  Prohibitionist  in  politics.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Free  Methodist 
church,  and  he  has  been  trustee  and  steward,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  and 
is  now  trustee.  Mr.  Ray  married,  June  9,  1882,  Anna  E.  Willard,  a  native  of  Ontario 
and  daughter  of  George  Willard  and  Adelaide  (Gibbs)  Willard.  They  have  one  son, 
Norley  L.,  born  June  16,  1891. 

Strauss,  Jacob  was  born  in  the  provir  ce  of  the  Rhine,  Prussia,  August  22,  1822,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  in  September  1852,  and  located  in  Clyde  in  1854,  where  he 
established  a  large  clothing  store  and  merchant  tailoring  business.  He  married  Mary 
Jane,  daughter  of  David  Stoddart  and  they  had  three  children :  Saty  Theresse,  Charles 
A.,  William  S.  Mr.  Strauss  is  an  energetic  and  upright  business  man  and  has  won 
the  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  has  been  associated. 

Slocum,  Smith  JE.,  was  born  in  Macedon  February  11,  1855,  the  second  child  of  nine 
children  born  to  Benjamin  and  Catherine  P.  Slocum,  the  former  a  native  of  Perrington, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  101 

Monroe  county,  born  in  1820,  and  the  latter  a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  born  in  1827. 
Mr.  Slocum  came  to  Macedon  in  1854  and  then  to  Ontario  in  1861,  settled  two  miles 
north  of  Ontario  Center,  and  in  1864  came  on  the  farm  he  now  owns,  and  here  his  wife 
died  January  24,  1885.  Mr.  Slocum  has  been  a  Democrat,  and  was  highway  com- 
missioner. He  and  his  wife  have  for  many  years  been  members  of  the  Baptist  church, 
since  1854.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  Marion  Collegiate 
Institute.  He  followed  teaching  ten  years,  but  his  principal  occupation  has  been  farm- 
ing, and  he  now  has  charge  of  his  father's  farm  of  seventy  acres,  and  follows  general 
farming.  He  is  a  Democrat.  He  married  in  Batavia  in  1885,  Emma  Foster,  a  native  of 
South  Butler,  and  daughter  of  James  P.,  and  Carroline  Collier,  the  former  a  native  of 
New  Brunswick  and  the  latter  of  England.  He  died  August  29,  1891,  and  his  wife 
December  31,  1887.  Mr.  Slocum  and  wife  have  had  two  children,  Leon  F.,  and  Elmer 
R.  The  grandfather  of  subject,  Smith  Slocum,  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  was  one  of 
the  first  settlers  of  Macedon,  and  went  to  Monroe  county,  and  died  in  Perrington, 
October  25,  1835.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Bliss,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  died 
January  27,  1858.  He  had  a  family  of  nine  children,  three  sons  of  whom  were  in  the 
war  of  1812.  Subject  has  been  deputy  sheriff  under  Sheriff  Knowles.  The  family  is 
of  English  descent,  and  started  from  three  brothers  coming  from  England  in  1630. 

Seelye.  Jesse,  of  Savannah,  is  one  of  the  typical  old  residents,  having  occupied  his 
present  residence  on  a  farm  one-half  mile  west  of  Savannah,  since  1837.  His  parents, 
Benjamin  and  Anna,  moved  from  Queensbury  to  Galen  during  the  building  of  what  was 
then  locally  known  as  "Clinton's  Ditch."  Jesse  was  born  in  Warren  county,  came 
with  his  parents  to  Wayne  county  when  twelve  years  old,  and  has  spent  most  of  his 
life  in  farming,  although  in  earlier  life  he  acquired  and  practiced  the  trades  of  shoe- 
making  and  coopering.  November  4,  1832,  he  married  Mary  A.  Stackus  of  Savannah, 
and  their  only  child,  Ursula,  born  February  15, 1835,  died  November  6, 1854,  unmarried. 

Soule,  Harriet  B.,  of  Savannah,  is  the  widow  of  Rowland  Soule,  who  died  in  1886, 
aged  sixty-four  years.  He  was  born  in  Duanesburg.  October  30,  1855,  he  married 
Harriet  B.,  daughter  of  Orestes  and  Sally  (White)  Hubbard,  of  Butler,  and  bought  the 
farm  one-half  mile  north  of  Savannah  in  1867,  erecting  thereon  the  residence  now  occu- 
pied by  Mrs.  Soule  and  her  children.  Mrs.  Soule's  children  are :  Ella  S.,  born  September 
27,  1857 :  Herbert  O,  born  November  29,  1859,  who  married,  in  1887,  Ella,  daughter 
of  Rev.  P.  H.  Wiles,  of  Savannah,  and  has  one  son,  Harold  W.,  born  in  1891  (they 
reside  at  Rochester) ;  Carrie,  born  June  12,  1862,  who  married,  in  1891,  Milan  Sherman, 
of  Savannah,  and  has  one  daughter,  Helen  Grace,  born  in  1891 ;  and  Grace  L.,  born  in 
1868. 

Stebbins,  William  H.  H.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  May  2,  1840.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  for  the  past  thirty  years  has  been  a  farmer  and 
dealer  in  agricultural  implements  and  phosphate.  In  September,  1868,  he  married 
Phoebe  A.  Fuller,  of  his  native  town,  and  they  have  had  two  children :  Charles  A.,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  four  years  and  eight  months;  and  Ella  L.,  who  resides  with  her 
parents.  Mr.  Stebbins'  father,  Carlos  A.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Phelps,  Ontario 
county,  in  1789.  He  was  a  pioneer  farmer  He  married  Cynthia  Seargent,  of  the  town 
of  Sodus,  and  they  had  eight  children :  George,  Thomas,  William  H.  H.,  Jerome, 
James,  Ella  M.,  Carlos  A.,  and  Emily.  He  died  in  1879,  and  his  wife  resides  in  this 
village.  His  father  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812  at  Sodus  Point.  Mr.  Stebbins  was 
a  soldier  of  the  late  war  in  Company  I,  17th  Infantry,  New  York  State  Yolunteers, 
was  honorably  discharged  on  account  of  sickness.  His  business  life  has  been  successful. 
He  has  been  overseer  of  the  poor  seven  years,  and  is  town  collector.  He  is  a  member 
of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  of  Newark  Chapter  No.  17,  R.  A.  M. ;  Zenobia 
Commandery  No.  41,  K.  T.,  of  Palmyra;  Palmyra  Council  No.  26,  R.  &  S.  M. ;  and 
Knights  Templar  No.  41,  K  T. 


102  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Soule,  Mary  and  Lavinia,  are  the  daughters  of  Enos  and  Mary  Soule,  who  came  from 
Schenectady  county  in  1831,  having  a  family  of  ten  children.  Lavinia  was  born  April 
16,  1811,  and  Mary,  October  18,  1832.  Enos  Soule  lived  in  a  log  house  a  few  years, 
on  the  site  of  the  modern  residence  now  occupied  by  the  sisters,  a  mile  north  of  the 
village.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Gerrit  Smith,  then  residing  at  Peterboro,  and 
was  a  practical  and  fearless  abolitionist,  personally  assisting  the  operations  of  the  cele- 
brated "Underground  Railway,"  also  a  leader  in  the  Temperance  cause.  He  died  here 
in  1861,  and  his  wife  ten  years  later,  leaving  seven  children,  of  whom  Mary  and  Lavinia 
are  the  sole  survivors.  They  are  ladies  of  education  and  refinement,  and  their  remi- 
niscences of  the  early  times  are  of  great  interest. 

Sherman,  Stephen  D.  (deceased),  was  born  in  East  Palmyra,  September  16.  1811. 
His  father  and  grandfather  were  among  the  first  settlers  in  Palmyra.  S.  D.  Sherman 
was  educated  at  the  Cazenovia  Seminary,  and  after  leaving  school  took  up  the  profession 
of  medicine.  In  the  spring  of  1848  he  came  to  Lyons,  and  associated  with  Dr.  Samuel 
Moore  and  engaged  in  the  general  practice  of  medicine.  The  partnership  continued  up 
to  1854,  and  was  then  terminated  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Moore.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  our  subject  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Josiah  Betts,  of  Schoharie,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  four  children  :  Warren  F.,  of  Kalamazoo,  Mich. ;  Charles  E. ;  Mrs.  Mary 
E.  Darling ;  and  Frank  Sherman,  of  Lyons.  Our  subject  was  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful and  best  known  in  his  profession,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious 
matters,  having  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  from  early  boyhood.  Dr.  Sherman 
died  February  13,  1894. 

Silver,  0.  Clate,  was  born  November  10,  1867,  the  son  of  Harvey  O.  and  Fanny 
(Sergeant)  Silver.  The  elder  Silver  was  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Savannah,  where 
he  established,  in  1886,  the  business  now  conducted  by  his  son.  His  wife,  Fanny,  is 
a  daughter  of  James  Sergeant,  who  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  white  male 
child  born  in  Sodus.  0.  C.  Silver  received  his  education  chiefly  at  the  Sodus  Academy, 
and  married,  November,  29,  1887,  Kate  Verbridge,  of  Williamson,  Wayne  county. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Loraine,  born  July  28,  1891.  In  1893  he  assumed  control  of 
the  business  established  by  his  father,  that  of  furniture,  undertaking  and  embalming, 
and  has  added  a  large  line  of  general  goods  and  bakery  products.  Mr.  Silver  is  a  man 
of  enterprise,  attending  besides  his  regular  business  to  the  editorial  charge  of  the  Wayne 
County  Dispatch  (Savannah  edition),  and  acting  as  special  correspondent  for  some  of 
the  leading  dailies,  among  them  the  New  York  World.  Both  himself  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Savannah  M.  E.  Church. 

Shourds,  Daniel  S.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Macedon,  January  11,  1842.  Reuben 
Shourds,  his  father,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey.  He  went  to  Rochester  in  1826,  and 
there  learned  the  mason's  trade,  then  moved  to  the  town  of  Macedon,  where  he  worked 
both  at  his  trade  and  farming  for  a  few  years.  He  afterward  abandoned  his  trade,  and 
devoted  himself  entirely  to  farming.  He  married  Esther  Sisson,  who  was  a  native  of 
Massachusetts.  Daniel  S.  Shourds  was  their  only  child.  He  was  educated  in  district 
schools,  in  the  Union  Springs  Academy,  and  from  there  he  went  to  Poughkeepsie,  where 
he  finished.  He  entered  the  nursery  business  as  salesman,  and  in  1863  he  started  in 
that  business  for  himself.  At  the  present  time  he  is  dealing  in  all  classes  of  fruits  and 
ornamentals,  and  receives  orders  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  October  11,  1866,  he 
married  Phebe  M.  Pah^er,  and  they  have  four  children.  Mr.  Shourds  has  been  super- 
visor and  commissioner  of  the  town,  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Orthodox  branch  of  the  Friend's  Church. 

Scott,  Samuel  &  Co.,  maltsters. — This  firm  is  composed  of  Samuel  Scott  and  his  two 
sons,  William  3.,  and  Seymour  Scott.  Samuel  was  born  in  Lyons  in  1827,  and  has  led 
an  active  and  prominent  business  life,  being  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of 
his  town.    At  the  age  of  thirty  he  married  Lucy  M.,  daughter  of  Daniel  Spier,  of  Lyons. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  103 

In  1S58  he  established  a  carriage  manufactory,  which  he  continued  twenty  years.  For 
seven  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  produce  business,  and  in  1877  engaged  in  the  malt- 
ing business,  and  in  1880  the  Scott  malt  house  with  a  capacity  of  250,000  bushels  was 
erected.  The  father  of  Samuel  Scott,  for  whom  he  was  named,  came  from  Lincoln- 
shire, England,  to  Sodus,  in  1810,  and  was  called  out  to  defend  his  State  in  the  war  of 
1812.  Seymour  Scott  married  Mary  C,  daughter  of  H.  C.  Atkins,  of  Brattleboro,  Vt., 
at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  and  they  have  two  sons,  George  and  Harry.  William  S. 
Scott  married,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  Bertha  L..  daughter  of  James  Thomas,  of 
Baltimore,  and  they  have  two  children  :  William  Sebert,  and  Lucy.  The  firm  of  Samuel 
Scott  &  Co.  is  one  of  the  leading  houses  in  malting  in  Western  New  York.  Scott 
Bros,  are  dealers  in  essential  oils,  making  a  specialty  of  oil  of  peppermint,  for  which 
Wayne  county  has  a  justly  celebrated  reputation  in  the  production  of  this  particular  oil, 
which  in  amount  exceeds  one-half  of  the  total  production  in  the  United  States,  this 
firm  now  are  the  largest  dealers  in  the  county.  The  firm  has  a  deserved  reputation  for 
business  ability  and  strict  integrity. 

Saunders,  Enoch,  came  to  Palmyra  from  Litchfield,  Conn.,  and  worked  for  John 
Swift.  After  the  latter  sold  his  business,  Mr.  Saunders  received  as  compensation  for 
his  services  a  piece  of  land,  of  which  he  took  possession  immediately  after  leaving  Mr. 
Swift's  employ.  He  next  journeyed  to  Connecticut,  where  he  married  Abigail  Hilems, 
returning  with  his  wife  to  his  property  here,  and  began  farming.  He  died  in  1825,  and 
his  wife  in  1857,  their  children  are  :  Orlando  Lorenzo,  who  moved  to  Michigan  ;  Ben- 
jamin, who  also  moved  to  Michigan ;  Orson,  who  died  in  1825 ;  Malissa,  who  married 
Willard  Chase;  Alice,  who  married  James  Seely,  and  has  a  son,  Andrew,  who  now  re- 
sides in  Palmyra.  Orlando  was  born  in  1803,  and  had  four  sons,  two  of  which  are  now 
living :  Alexander,  who  lives  in  Michigan  ;  Septimius,  born  in  1834,  who  has  always 
resided  on  the  homestead  farm.  He  has  105  acres  in  Palmyra,  and  forty-five  in  Ontario 
county,  all  in  one  tract. 

Stuber,  Seymour,  was  born  in  Switzerland,  September  14,  1850,  one  of  eight  children 
of  Horace  and  Elizabeth  Stuber,  of  that  country,  who  came  to  America  and  to  Utica  in 
1853,  where  they  died,  she  in  1857,  and  he  in  1872.  Our  subject  was  three  years  of 
age  when  he  came  to  Utica,  and  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade  at  Deansville.  He  then 
went  to  Clinton,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  three  years,  then  to  Deansville,  where 
he  remained  about  six  months.  In  1872  he  came  to  Ontario  Center,  where  he  has  since 
had  a  successful  business.  He  married,  March  20,  1871,  Mary  DowDarrow,  a  native  of 
Oriskany  Falls,  by  whom  he  has  had  five  children :  Minnie,  William  B.,  Seymour,  Lizzie, 
and  Grover.     He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 

Shepard,  Albert,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  October  16,  1834.  His  father, 
Harry,  and  grandfather,  Silas  Shepard,  came  from  the  northern  part  of  Vermont,  near 
Lake  Champlain,  and  settled  three  miles  northeast  of  Clyde,  when  the  country  was  new, 
taking  up  a  farm  from  the  United  States  Government,  and  which  is  still  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  family,  known  as  Shepard's  Corners.  Albert  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  finishing  at  the  Clyde  High  School,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  married  Phoebe  McNeill,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two 
sons:  Fred  and  Harvey.  After  his  marriage  he  took  up  his  residence  on  his  farm  on 
the  Clyde  and  Rose  plank  road,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  the  year  1889,  when 
he  was  appointed  keeper  of  the  County  Poor  House,  where  he  still  remains. 

Stanford,  Daniel  J.,  was  born  in  Oneida  county  April  7,  1837,  a  son  of  Richard  and 
Sally  A.  (Thorn)  Stanford,  early  settlers  of  Oneida  county,  who  came  to  the  town  of 
Ontario,  Wayne  county,  April,  1858,  where  they  spent  the  remainder  of  their  days. 
The  father  died  October  1,  1889,  aged  81  years;  the  mother,  December  9,  1881,  aged 
68  years.  The  maternal  grandfather,  Daniel  Thorne,  was  in  the  war  of  1812,  taking 
the  place  of  his  son,  who  was  drafted.     Jonathan  Stanford,  the  father  of  Richard,  was 


104  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Oneida  county,  where  he  lived  and  died.  Daniel  J.  Stanford 
received  a  common  school  education  and  was  by  occupation  a  farmer.  In  1858  he 
came  to  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  with  his  parents,  and  in  August,  1862,  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  Company  B,  138th  N.  Y.  Volunteer  Infantry  for  three  years,  and  during  the 
war  was  in  the  battles  of  Coldharbor,  Monocacy,  Winchester  and  Cedar  Creek,  where 
he  received  a  gunshot  wound  in  the  right  leg  which  disabled  him  for  life.  He  was  dis- 
charged as  a  sergeant  of  Company  B,  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery,  from  the  Satterlee 
U.  S.  General  Hospital.  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  July  31,  1865,  by  reason  of  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  then  returned  to  Furnaceville,  Wayne  county,  and  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
Ontario  Iron  Company  as  weighmaster  for  five  years,  from  May,  1870.  From  that  time 
he  lived  a  retired  life  till  1889,  when  he  was  appointed  assistant  postmaster  under 
W.  Birdsall  at  Ontario,  and  reappointed  under  Henry  E.  Van  DerVeer  in  1893;  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  town  of  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  in  1890. 

Smith,  Horace  W.,  and  Addison  P.,  of  Savannah,  are  the  sons  of  Willis  G.  Smith, 
who  was  for  twenty  years  a  practicing  physician  at  Otisco,  Onondaga  county,  and  who 
came  to  Wayne  county  in  1864,  engaging  in  general  merchandise  business  under  the 
style  of  Stults  &  Smith,  on  the  site  of  the  Newton  House.  He  was  a  prominent  figure 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  Society,  and  for  several  years  was  postmaster  of  Savannah. 
In  1845  he  married  Almira  Whitney,  by  whom  he  had  these  children  :  Chandler  H., 
born  in  1848,  now  of  Iowa;  Horace  W.,  born  January  1, 1852;  Willis  H.,  born  in  1855, 
now  of  Pasadena,  Cal.;  Addison  P.,  born  December  30,  1866,  and  Charles  A.,  born  in 
1860,  now  of  Madera,  Cal.  Willis  G.  died  in  California  in  1891,  aged  sixty-nine  years, 
after  a  residence  of  five  years  at  Pasadena.  After  an  academic  course  in  Lyons,  Horace 
W.  Smith  attended  Grammar  School  No.  35  in  New  York  city,  and  later  the  College  of 
the  City  of  New  York  (now  New  York  University),  but  on  account  of  ill-health  did 
not  graduate.  For  twelve  years  he  practiced  telegraphy  at  Clyde,  Rochester,  Syracuse, 
and  Troy,  at  the  latter  place  being  chief  operator.  In  1864  he  formed  a  co-partnership 
with  his  brother,  Addison,  as  general  storekeepers  on  Main  street,  Savannah,  which  stil 
continues.  He  was  postmaster  from  1889  to  1894,  was  six  years  on  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, three  years  as  village  trustee,  etc.  He  is  a  Knight  Templar  of  Zenobia  Com- 
mandery,  and  for  five  years  was  master  of  Savannah  Lodge  No.  764,  F.  and  A.  M.  Mr. 
Smith  has  rare  oratorical  powers,  often  using  that  talent  as  the  exponent  of  justice  and 
right.  May  29,  1877,  he  married  Estelle  O,  daughter  of  James  Carris,  of  Tyre,  N.  Y., 
and  has  two  sons  :  Raymond  W.,  born  March  16,  1880,  and  Frederick  O,  born  Decem- 
ber 2,  1885.  The  business  career  of  Addison  P.  Smith  began  at  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  with  E.  N.  Leonard.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  management  of  a  general 
store  in  Savannah.  Five  years  later,  in  1884,  Mr.  Leonard  transferred  his  interest 
to  Horace  Smith,  thus  forming  the  present  firm  of  Smith  Brothers.  May  8,  1884,  Addi- 
son married  Cora,  daughter  of  Delos  Betts,  of  Savannah,  and  their  children  are:  Florence 
May,  born  June  12,  1885;  Anna  Whitney,  born  May  2,  1887.  Like  his  brother,  Mr. 
Smith  is  an  ardent  Republican,  at  present  representing  Savannah  in  the  County  Legisla- 
ture for  the  second  term.  Besides  the  many  minor  offices  of  trust,  which  come  un- 
sought to  the  man  of  ability  and  enterprise,  he  served  for  seven  successive  years  as 
town  clerk. 

Sampson,  Thomas,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Lyons  January  7,  1826,  being  born  and 
remaining  on  a  farm,  he  followed  that  as  an  occupation.  Thomas  Sampson,  sr.,  his 
father,  came  to  this  country  from  England  in  1806,  then  thirteen  years  old.  He  settled 
at  Lyons,  where  he  continued  to  live  up  to  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1868.  Mr. 
Sampson  married  Melinda  Clark,  of  Penfield,  September  3,  1821.  They  were  the 
parents  of  five  children,  of  which  there  are  three  living,  including  Thomas.  Thomas 
Sampson,  jr.,  married  Anna  Underbill,  September  3,  1856,  and  to  them  were  born  seven 
children,  five  of  whom  are  living.  Mr.  Sampson  is  a  farmer.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  has  served  as  assessor  twelve  years,  and  as  town  clerk.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  M.  E,  church.' 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  105 

Smith,  Menzo,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  April 
28,  1839,  a  son  of  David  Smith,  a  native  of  Ontario  county  (now  Wayne  county),  who 
was  born  in  Palmyra  June  5,  1805.  The  latter  married  Arvilla  Pratt,  a  native  of 
Madison  county,  by  whom  he  had  five  children  three  now  living.  David  was  also  a 
farmer  and  lived  in  the  town  for  thirty  years,  dying  December  24,  1893,  his  wife  having 
died  about  sixteen  years  previously.  Shubal  Smith,  the  grandfather,  conducted  a  dis- 
tillery where  the  Downing  Brothers'  malt  house  now  stands  in  the  village  of  Palmyra. 
Our  subject  has  always  followed  farming.  In  December,  1869,  he  married  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Seth  Beal,  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  this  part  of  the  county,  and  they 
have  had  five  children  :  Beal  Mj,  Frank  E.,  who  died  aged  eight  years  ;  Mary  E.,  Walter 
P.,  and  Agnes  G.,  all  residing  at  home  at  the  present  writing.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  served  in  the  late  war  for  nine  months,  in  the  111th  N.  Y.  Volunteers,  Com- 
pany A. 

Sutton,  Ezra  B.,  was  born  in  Seneca  Falls  in  1850,  and  in  1870  became  associated 
with  the  Cleveland  Base  Ball  Club,  as  third  baseman,  remaining  with  that  club  until 
1873,  when  he  joined  the  Athletic  Club  of  Philadelphia,  remaining  there  until  the  close 
of  1876.  He  was  then  with  the  doston  Base  Ball  Club  until  1890,  being  in  conninual 
service  as  third  baseman  throughout  the  seasons  of  base  ball  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  In  1886  he  bought  his  home  in  Palmyra,  and  since  1890  he  has  furnished  about 
1,200  tons  of  ice  annually  to  the  citizens  of  Palmyra,  cutting  it  all  from  his  own 
pond.  March  13,  1872,  he  married  Susie  M.  McKeg,  and  their  children  are :  Bessie, 
born  in  1874,  died  in  1881,  and  Georgia  May,  born  in  1889. 

Sawyer,  S.  N..  was  born  in  Palmyra  in  1858,  and  educated  at  the  Classical  Union 
School  here,  and  at  the  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.  He  read  law  with  S.  B. 
Mclntyre,  and  at  the  Albany  Law  School,  and  graduated  in  1883.  He  then  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  partnership  with  David  S.  Aldrich,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Aldrich  &  Sawyer,  which  firm  continued  till  January  1,  1889,  from  which  time  he  was 
alone  until  July,  1893,  when  he  took  a  partner,  and  the  firm  became  Sawyer  &  Tinkle- 
paugh.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace  one  term,  village  clerk  from  September,  1884,  till 
April,  1893,  when  he  was  elected  president  of  the  village,  and  re-elected  in  1894.  He 
has  been  district  attorney  since  1889,  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican.  He  is  also  promi- 
nent in  Masonic  orders,  being  past  master  of  Palmyra  Lodge,  No.  248;  F.  &  A.  M., 
past  high  priest  of  Palmyra  Eagle  Chapter,  No.  79,  R.  A.  M.;  past  master  of  Palmyra 
Council,  No.  21,  R.  &  S.  M.;  past  commander  Zenobia  Commandery,  K.  T.,  No.  41  ; 
past  district  deputy  grand  master  of  Grand  Lodge,  of  the  State  of  New  York.  He  is 
at  present  member  of  the  Commission  of  Appeals,  of  Grand  Lodge,  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  He  was  for  three  years  secretary  of  the  New  York  State  League  Building  and 
Loan  Association.  October  20,  1885,  he  married  Augusta,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  G. 
Webster,  of  Palmyra,  and  they  have  two  daughters.  Samuel  W.,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Camden  in  1821,  and  moved  to  Macedon  in  childhood.  He  came  to  Pal- 
myra about  1840,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  has  served  as  assessor,  trustee  and 
president  of  the  village. 

Sweeting,  William  H'.,  M.D.,  was  born  September  22,  1851,  at  Victory,  Cayuga 
county.  His  father  is  Mortimer  F.  Sweeting,  M.D.,  a  native  of  Oneida  county,  who 
came  into  Wayne  in  1853,  being  still  a  practicing  physician  at  South  Butler.  His 
mother  is  Colan,  daughter  of  Israel  J.  Clapp  and  Betsey  (Swain)  Clapp,  of  Butler,  both 
deceased  recently,  at  the  advanced  ages  of  ninety-seven  and  ninety-five,  respectively. 
William  H.  Sweeting  received  the  basis  of  his  education  in  South  Butler,  and  at  nine- 
teen years  of  age  entered  Cornell  University,  taking  a  scientific  course.  At  twenty- 
three  he  entered  the  office  of  the  Deputy  Secretary-of- State  Anson  S.  Wood,  as  clerk  of 
criminal  statistics.  In  1878  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  his  father,  and  a  year 
later  entered  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  at  Chicago,  remaining  two  years,  and  re- 


106  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

ceiving  his  diploma  in  1881.  He  began  practice  in  Lyons,  removing  to  Savannah  in 
1882,  where  he  has  since  resided.  January  15,  1885,  he  married  Mary  E.  Van  Wickle, 
daughter  of  Simon  and  Maria  (Lloyd)  Van  Wickle,  of  Savannah,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children:  Charles  Lloyd,  born  May  16,  1890,  and  Marjory  Amelia,  born  May  14,  1893. 
Dr.  Sweeting  has  a  large  practice,  and  is  very  popular  among  his  townspeople. 

Sweeting,  Volney  K.,  was  born  in  Camillus,  Onondaga  county,  September  19,  1840, 
a  son  of  Mortimer  F.  Sweeting;  remained  there  until  about  ten  years  of  age,  when  he 
removed  to  South  Butler,  Wayne  county,  was  educated  in  the  common  and  classical 
schools  at  that  place.  In  September,  1861,  he  left  school  and  enlisted  in  Company  E, 
75th  N.  Y.  Volunteers  as  a  private,  and  continued  with  said  regiment  until  the  close  of 
the  war  in  1865,  receiving  promotions  to  sergeant,  first  sergeant  and  second  lieutenant. 
While  second  lieutenant  had  command  of  Company  C;  was  with  his  regiment  in  the 
various  engagements  on  Bayous  La  Fourche  and  Teche,  and  the  Red  River  in  Louisi- 
ana, and  on  the  14th  of  June,  1863,  received  a  severe  wound  in  the  charge  on  Port 
Hudson  on  the  Mississippi,  from  which  he  has  never  fully  recovered.  Also  served  on 
the  James  River,  and  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  in  Virginia,  and  after  the  battle  of 
Cedar  Creek  left  the  Shenandoah  Valley  with  his  regiment,  and  proceeded  to  Savannah, 
Ga.,  where  the  regiment  acted  as  a  provost  guard  after  its  capture  by  General  Sherman. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  returned  to  South  Butler,  and  January  1,  1867,  accepted  the 
position  of  deputy  county  clerk  with  Judge  T  W.  Collins,  was  also  deputy  clerk  with 
A.  H.  Gates,  and  in  the  fall  of  1875  was  elected  county  clerk  for  a  term  of  three  years. 
In  1888  was  elected  county  treasurer,  and  re-elected  in  1891.  In  1870  he  married  Anna 
E.  Dratt,  of  South  Butler,  who  lived  but  two  years,  and  in  1876  he  married  H.  Louise, 
daughter  of  Morton  Brownson,  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  had  two  daughters,  one  of 
whom,  Mary  L.  survives.     Harriet  T.  died  in  1893,  aged  thirteen  years.     • 

Taft,  Newell,  was  born  in  Goshen,  Mass.,  April  4,  1794,  came  to  Wayne  county,  and 
settled  in  Lyons  in  1816,  where  he  established  a  manufacturing  business,  and  as  con- 
tractor and  builder  erected  several  dwellings  and  other  buildings,  and  later  established 
the  first  iron  foundry  in  Wpyne  county,  where  he  put  in  practical  operation  the  first 
steam  engine  ever  used  in  the  community.  This  foundry  became  justly  celebrated 
throughout  the  State,  and  its  products  were  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  He  married  Jane  Sterrett,  who  was  born  in  Elmira,  and  they  had  twelve 
children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living.  He  was  a  prominent  business  man  of  his  town 
for  over  forty  years,  always  interested  in  promoting  its  best  interests,  and  particularly 
identified  with  the  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  he  was  an  elder  and  liberal  supporter 
for  more  than  fifty  years.  He  died  in  December,  1874,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  after 
a  life  which  commanded  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  His  son,  Col.  Edward  F. 
Taft,  served  in  the  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery,  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Monocacy, 
and  lost  a  leg.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  appointed  United  States  consul  to  Nica- 
ragua, but  the  climate  aggravated  the  enfeebled  condition  of  his  health,  and  he  was  ob- 
liged to  return  to  his  home  in  Lyons,  where  he  died  January  20,  1867.  The  youngest 
son,  James  N.,  was  also  in  the  9th  Artillery,  leaving  college  to  enlist  after  his  brother 
Edward  was  wounded.  He  also  gave  up  his  life  at  the  call  of  duty,  his  death  resulting 
from  exposure  while  in  the  service  of  his  country.  Morton  Brownson,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Montgomery,  Orange  county,  N.  Y.,  December  15,  1816.  Early  in  life  he  mani- 
fested a  preference  for  mercantile  pursuits,  and  while  yet  a  young  man  was  so  fortunate 
as  to  accumulate  a  sum  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  embark  in  business  on  his  own  ac- 
couut.  He  came  to  Lyons  in  1840  and  established  himself  in  the  dry  goods  business. 
In  1842  he  married  Harriet  J.,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Deacon  Newell  Taft,  who  sur- 
vives him.  Soon  after  he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  dry  goods  trade  and  en- 
tered into  partnership  with  his  father-in-law,  who  at  that  time  was  owner  of  the  iron 
foundry  on  Broad  street.  For  several  years  prior  to  his  death  he  was  not  engaged  in 
any  active  business.     His  family  consisted  of  his  wife  and  five  children :  Newell  T., 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  107 

who  died  in  1874 ;  Willard  EL,  now  commander  in  the  United  States  navy  ;  Mrs.  Vol. 
ney  H.  Sweeting;  Albert  M.,  who  died  in  1882;  and  Jennie  T.  Mr.  Brownson  was 
prominent  and  interested  in  all  the  leading  events  of  the  town.     He  died  May  30,  1891, 

Sprague,  John  A.,  M.D.,  was  born  August  28,  1852,  the  only  son  of  Dr.  L.  L.  Sprague 
mentioned  in  this  work.  He  was  educated  at  Union  Springs  Academy,  and  studied 
medicine  with  his  father  for  about  four  years,  and  graduated  from  the  Medical  Univer- 
sity of  New  York  city  in  1879.  He  located  in  his  native  village,  where  he  has  since  had 
a  successful  practice.  He  has  been  coroner  of  Wayne  county  for  three  years,  and  health 
officer  of  Williamson  from  1882  to  March,  1893.  Dr.  Sprague  is  a  member  of  Pultney- 
ville  Lodge  No.  159,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  A.  0.  U.  W.,  and  also  of  the  Select  Knights. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Wayne  County  Medical  Society,  and  of  the  New  York  State 
Medical  Association.  On  October  2,  1879,  he  married  Maud  A.  Stevens,  of  New  York 
city,  but  a  native  of  Ohio.  Her  mother  was  Harriet  Giberson,  and  resides  in  William- 
son. Dr.  Sprague  and  his  wife  have  three  children:  Edward  A.,  Georgia M.,  andLa- 
throp  S. 

Smith,  F.  B.,  was  born  in  East  Rush,  Monroe  county,  January  1,  1845.  His  father, 
Isaac  O,  was  a  native  of  the  same  county,  the  family  originally  coming  from  New 
Haven,  Conn.  Isaac  0.  was  a  prominent  farmer  in  his  town,  and  died  in  1884,  aged 
sixty-nine  years.  F.  B.  Smith  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has 
added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation;  after  which  he  returned  to  his 
father's  farm,  and  in  1865  engaged  in  the  livery  business.  In  1876  he  engaged  in  the 
milling  business,  remaining  there  until  burned  out  May  30,  1885,  then,  in  1886,  came  to 
Clyde  and  purchased  the  Clyde  hotel  property,  one  of  the  leading  hotels  in  Central 
New  York.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  married  Adrienne  C,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Young,  of  Honeoye  Falls,  and  they  have  three  children:  Charles  M.,  F.  Vernon,  and 
Mrs.  Lelia  M.  Cornwell,  of  Palmyra.  Subject  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  town. 

Spencer,  John  M.,  was  born  in  Hillsdale,  Columbia  county,  October  11,  1828.  His 
father,  Truman  P.,  was  a  native  of  Columbia  county.  The  family  is  of  English  descent, 
four  brothers  having  come  from  England  at  the  same  time.  John  M.  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observa- 
tion. In  1844  he  came  to  Clyde  and  entered  the  employ  of  John  S.  Gay,  and  in  1850 
established  the  firm  of  Terry  &  Spencer,  lumber  dealers  and  builders.  In  1852  he  sold 
out  and  engaged  ir  the  manufacturing  of  sash  and  blinds.  After  1856  he  made  a  spe- 
cialty of  building  and  contract  work.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  married  Wealthy 
R.,  daughter  of  Peter  Knapp,  of  East  Newark,  and  they  have  had  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  now  living,  Ford  A.,  and  Mrs.  Christiana  T.  Brooks,  of  Clyde.  Subject  is 
one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  town. 

Sherman,  Durfee  A.,  was  born  in  East  Palmyra  June  24,  1815,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  and  succeeded  his  father  in  the  distillery  business.  When  he  attained 
the  age  of  twenty-one  he  sold  the  business  and  became  a  drover  for  twenty  years.  In 
1851  he  moved  to  Newark,  where  he  has  since  lived.  He  bought  a  warehouse  where 
the  opera  house  now  stands,  and  became  a  dealer  in  produce  and  coal.  In  1884  he 
erected  the  Sherman  Opera  House  Block.  February  9,  1837,  he  married  Susan  H. 
Fish,  of  Pultneyville,  and  they  have  five  living  children :  Helen  A.,  Francis  A.,  Ste- 
phen F.,  Wilson  H.  and  Julia.  Mr.  Sherman's  father,  Alexander,  was  born  in  Cam- 
bridge, New  York,  May  28,  1790,  and  came  to  this  State  with  his  parents  when  an  in- 
fant, where  they  located  in  Palmyra.  He  married  Amy  Sherman,  of  this  county,  and 
they  had  six  children:  Ira  D.,  Durfee  A.,  Erastus,  Abigail,  Wilson  O.  and  Myron,  all 
deceased  except  our  subject.  Alexander  died  August  1,  1823,  and  his  wife  in  1832. 
Humphrey,  the  father  of  Alexander,  was  born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1758  and  married 
Mary  Durfee,  of  his  native  place.     They  had  fourteen  children,  and  settled  in  East  Pal- 


los  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

myra,  where  they  purchased  from  Phelps  &  Gorham  1,000  acres.  Our  subject's  ma- 
ternal grandfather  was  a  cousin  of  Roger  Sherman,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  Mr.  Sherman's  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sherman  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  February  9,  1887. 

Siegrist,  Dr.  Alois,  was  born  in  Meisterschwanden,  Switzerland,  October  5,  1823,  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  studied  surgery  with  his  father,  practicing  three 
years.  He  then  began  the  study  of  medicine  and  practiced  both,  doing  military 
service  on  the  German  frontiers  on  the  Rhine  in  1848,  and  was  assistant  surgeon  at  the 
hospital.  In  1S51  he  came  to  this  country,  first  locating  in  Rochester  at  the  time  of 
the  cholera.  In  the  fall  of  1853  he  came  to  Newark,  having  practiced  with  much  suc- 
cess since.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Taeschler,  of  his  native  country,  and  they  have  one 
son,  who  was  educated  in  the  Union  Schools  and  Academy.  He  married  Mary  An- 
drews, of  Newark,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  Ella  and  Marie.  He  is  agent  for  his 
father  in  caring  for  his  property.  Dr.  Siegrist  is  one  of  the  foremost  real  estate  owners 
in  Newark.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  No.  250,  of  Newark,  and  a  member  of 
Wayne  Encampment  85,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  his  father  was  town  clerk  and  surgeon  in  the 
old  home  in  Switzerland  twenty-five  years.  His  grandfather,  Jacob  Siegrist,  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  French  army  under  Napoleon  I. 

Stow,  De  L.,  was  born  in  Clyde  September  4,  1841.  His  father,  William  S.  Stow, 
was  a  native  of  Middletown,  Vt.,  and  came  to  Clyde  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
law,  building  the  office  now  occupied  by  his  son,  and  which  has  been  the  place  of  busi- 
ness of  father  and  son  for  seventy  years  as  a  law  and  insurance  office,  and  is  claimed  to 
be  the  oldest  insurance  office  in  the  United  States.  He  married  Maria  A.  De  Zeng, 
daughter  of  Mayor  Frederick  A.  De  Zeng,  who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Clyde, 
and  who  was  one  of  the  nobility  of  Germany.  Mr.  De  Zeng  was  born  at  Dresden  and 
came  to  America  during  the  Revolution  as  major  of  one  of  the  German  regiments. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  largely  interested  in  public  enterprises  for  the  devel- 
opment of  Western  New  York,  and  was  the  father  of  the  glass  industry  of  the  United 
States.  De  L.  Stow  was  educated  at  the  Yates  Polytechnic  Institute  and  at  Hobart 
College,  Geneva.  He  read  law  with  his  father  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  December, 
1862,  and  engaged  in  general  practice.  He  married  Miss  Eunice  S.  Scott,  daughter  of 
Jacob  Scott,  and  to  them  the  following  children  were  born  :  William  S.  Stow,  who  died 
in  1884;  Alice,  Agnes  and  Edith.  Mr.  Snow  has  been  police  justice  of  his  town  for 
twenty  years. 

Selby,  Amos  E.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Nelson,  near  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  April 
1850.  He  is  the  oldest  son  of  Stephen  F.  Selby,  was  educated  at  Shaw  Academy,  East 
Cleveland,  and  spent  two  years  at  the  Western  Reserve  University  at  Hudson,  O.  He 
commenced  his  business  career  as  builder  and  architect,  which  he  followed  for  a  number 
of  years.  He  married,  in  1883,  Evalyn  Warren,  of  Cleveland,  who  was  born  at  Warren, 
O.,  and  daughter  of  D.  H.  and  Martha  (Robinson)  Warren.  Mr.  Warren  was  a  shoe 
merchant.  He  died  in  1868,  and  his  wife  resides  in  Cleveland.  They  are  the  direct 
descendants  from  the  Joseph  E.  Warren  of  Revolutionary  fame,  and  trace  their  ancestry 
to  one  of  three  brothers,  who  came  to  Massachusetts  in  the  Mayflower.  Mr.  Selby 
came  to  the  town  of  Williamson  in  the  spring  of  1883,  and  purchased  the  farm  where  he 
has  since  resided  and  is  largely  engaged  in  fruit  growing  and  evaporting.  Mrs.  Selby  is 
a  member  of  the  Disciple  Church,  but  they  attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  Church  at 
Pultneyville. 

Sansbury,  Alfred  W.,  of  Palmyra,  was  born  in  Princeton,  N.  J.,  in  1820,  and  came  to 
Palmyra  when  about  twenty-four  years  old.  He  clerked  for  Lovett  &  Scotten  a  few 
years,  then  for  J.  C.  Lovett,  who  succeeded  the  above  named  firm,  where  he  remained 
till  the  closing  of  the  business.  Mr.  Sansbury  then  embarked  in  the  furniture  trade 
several  years,   but  at  the  present  time  is  not  engaged  actively  in  business.     June  21, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  100 

1854,  he  married  Margaret  A.  Heminway.of  Palmyra,  the  youngest  of  four  children  of 
Truman  Heminway,  of  Palmyra,  who  died  August  28,1863.  Mrs.  Sansbury's  mother 
Mary  (Aldrich)  Heminway,  died  January  21,  1861.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sansbury  have  had 
these  children:  Alfred  H.,  born  February  8,  1857,  died  March  15,  1862;  Mary  Louise, 
born  April  28, 1863,  now  Mrs.  H.  E.  Milles,  and  Albert  Truman,  born  June  18,  1866. 

Sherman,  the  late  Wilson  0.,  was  born  in  East  Palmyra,  Wayne  county,  April  16 
1821.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  his  early  life  was  spent  in  that  town. 
January  3,  1850,  he  married  LydiaA.,  youngest  child  of  Stephen  and  Lydia  Fish,  of 
Newark,  and  moved  to  Newark,  N.  Y.,  in  1853,  and  they  had  one  son,  Charles  W.,  who 
was  well  educated.  On  account  of  ill  health  he  had  to  abandon  a  college  course.  He 
became  a  coal  merchant  and  died  when  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old.  Mr.  Sherman 
was  a  farmer  and  produce  dealer.  He  died  March  4,  1870.  Mrs.  Sherman's  father, 
Stephen  Fish,  was  born  in  Middlebury,  Mass.,  May  19,  1778.  April  18,  1805,  he  mar- 
ried Lydia  Bowman,  of  Leverett,  Mass.,  who  was  born  July  5,  1784.  They  had  these 
children :  Henry,  William  B.,  Emeline,  Mary  M.,  Henry  L.,  who  was  mayor  of  Ro- 
chester, where  he  resides ;  Susanah  H.  and  Lydia  A.  He  died  February  1,  1849.  Mrs. 
Sherman's  grandfather,  William  Bowman,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
and  was  a  surveyor  by  occupation.  He  surveyed  Montreal  and  Quebec.  Her  grand- 
mother lived  until  she  was  over  one  hundred  years  of  age.  They  came  here  all  the 
way  from  Massachusetts  with  ox  teams.  Mrs.  Sherman  has  recently  opened  three  new 
avenues,  and  within  a  year  has  sold  nine  building  lots. 

Smith,  Rufus,  was  born  in  the  town  Arcadia  April  2, 1838.  His  early  life  was  spent  on 
a  farm,  and  his  education  obtained  in  the  common  schools.  He  learned  the  trade  of  car- 
penter and  joiner  and  was  an  efficient  workman.  He  followed  his  trade  until  1864, 
when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  111th  Infantry,  N.  Y.  Volunteers.  He  was  in  two  general 
engagements  and  skirmishes,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
Mr.  Smith  is  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post,  No.  99,  G-.  A.  R.,  department  of  New  York, 
and  has  filled  the  position  of  senior  vice-commander.  Mr.  Smith's  father,  Tunis  M. 
Smith,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  January  30,  1798.  He  married  Catherine 
Fosmire,  who  was  born  July  30,  1807.  They  came  to  Bethel  soon  after  marriage. 
They  had  ten  children  as  follows:  Stephen,  James,  Andrew,  Charlotte,  Julia  A., 
Francis,  Rufus,  Eliza  E.,  Celesta  and  Edwin,  only  four  now  living.  He  died  March  24. 
1874,  and  his  wife  January  20,  1883.  The  ancestry  of  this  family  is  German  and 
Dutch.  They  came  to  Western  New  York  about  the  year  1820,  and  when  they  located 
in  the  town  of  Arcadia  soon  after,  it  was  little  more  than  a  wilderness,  the  family  were 
identified  with  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  town.  Wild  beasts  were  plenty, 
flocks  of  deer  used  to  roam  in  the  woods,  with  plenty  of  wild  game. 

Sands,  Edwin,  was  born  in  Elbridge,  Onondaga  county,  September  12,  1836.  His 
father,  Daniel  Sands,  was  a  native  of  Maine,  and  came  to  Jordan  in  1816,  where  he 
was  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  of  the  town,  and  died  in  1872  at  seventy  years  of 
age.  Edwin  Sands  was  educated  at  Jordan  Academy,  after  which  he  returned  to  his 
father's  farm.  In  1865  he  leased  the  Franklin  House  in  Clyde,  and  in  1866  he  pur- 
chased the  well-known  Sands  farm  of  ninety  acres.  Five  years  later  Mr.  Sands 
established  a  flour  and  feed  business,  to  which  he  added  a  large  line  of  fine  groceries 
and  crockery,  also  provisions.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Emily  Abrams, 
daughter  of  Harvey  Abrams,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Herbert  and 
Mrs.  Laura  Corrin.  Mr.  Sands  has  held  office  as  trustee  and  has  been  elected  super- 
visor. 

Skinner,  Salmon  H.,  was  born  in  Ballston,  Saratoga  county,  January  9,  1816.  His 
father,  Major  Adonijah  Skinner,  cavalry  commander,  was  a,  native  of  Connecticut,  and 
also  a  prominent  farmer  in  Cambridge,  N  Y.  He  afterwards  moved  to  Monroe  county, 
and  died  there  on  September  13,  1833,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.     Salmon  H.  was 


110  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

educated  in  the  common  schools,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm.  At  the 
age  of  twenty -four  he  married  Sarah  H.,  daughter  of  Joseph  Sanford,  and  they  have 
six  children,  four  of  whom  are  now  living,  one  son,  Charles  S.,  and  three  daughters: 
Mrs.  Alice  McCutcheon,  Sarah  and  Mary.  In  1854  he  came  to  Clyde  and  purchased  the 
Clyde  hotel  property,  which  he  exchanged  for  mill  property  in  1850.  The  same  year 
he  purchased  a  farm  of  107  acres,  which  he  now  owns,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and 
stock.  His  family  was  of  English  extraction,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war. 

Stuart,  Charles  W.,  was  born  in  Greene  county,  September  21.  1837.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools  in  that  county  until  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  when  the 
family  moved  to  Syracuse,  where  he  finished  his  education  He  learned  the  jeweler's 
trade,  and  manufactured  it  ten  years.  In  1804  he  came  to  Newark  and  began  the 
nursery  business,  purchasing  of  parties  who  were  in  the  business  in  a  small  way.  In  a 
short  time  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  his  brother,  John  E.,  under  the  firm  name 
of  C.  W.  Stuart  Bros.  May  9,  1800,  he  married  Caroline  Emmons,  of  Greenwich, 
Fairfield  county,  Conn.,  and  they  have  five  children  :  Mary  A.,  Charles  H.,  Carolina  M., 
Sarah  R.  and  Kenneth  E.  Mary  A.  married  E.  V.  Pierson,  of  Newark ;  Caroline  M. 
married  George  H.  Perkins,  of  Newark;  Charles  H.  is  in  partnership  with  his  father,  in 
the  retail  department  of  the  business.  He  was  educated  in  Cornell  University,  where 
the  youngest  son  is  pursuing  his  studies  at  the  present  time.  Mr.  Stuart's  father.  Wil- 
liam Harvey,  was  born  in  Greene  county,  January  7,  1810.  In  1835  he  married  Adeline 
Boardman,  of  Westerlo,  Albany  county,  and  they  had  four  children,  one  died  in  in- 
fancy :  Charles  W.,  Silas  B.  and  John  E.  He  died  by  accident  at  a  political  gathering, 
A  heavy  wagon,  drawn  by  forty-six  yoke  of  oxen,  ran  over  him.  His  wife  resides  with 
Charles  W.  Mrs.  Stuart's  father.  Isaac  Emmons,  was  born  in  New  York,  September  10, 
1799,  was  educated  in  that  city,  and  in  early  life  was  a  grocer.  Afterwards  he  re- 
moved to  Connecticut.  June  12,  1827,  he  married  Mary  E.  Smith,  who  was  born  in 
Brooklyn,  and  they  had  ten  children,  seven  survive:  Henry  O.,  Mary  L.,  Francis, 
Amelia,  Caroline,  Virginia  and  Eliza.  He  died  February  15,  1881,  and  his  wife  No- 
vember 5,  1880.  Mrs.  Stuart's  father,  Obed  Smith,  ran  the  first  steamer  up  the  North 
river.  He  was  a  sea  man,  who  sailed  all  over  the  globe.  This  Smith  family  can  be 
traced  to  the  Mayflower,  to  John  and  Priscilla  Alden.  The  ancestry  of  this  family  are 
Scotch  and  English. 

Sands,  Alexander,  was  born  in  Westchester  county,  September  25,  1822.  His  father 
was  Stephen,  son  of  Samuel,  who  was  a  pioneer  of  Westchester  county.  The  father  of 
Samuel  was  .lames,  who  came  from  England  in  an  early  day.  lie  purchased  Block 
Island  of  the  natives  and  some  of  the  family  are  still  on  the  island.  The  grandfather 
of  subject,  Samuel,  was  a  farmer  in  Westchester  county,  and  the  homestead  is  still  in 
the  family.  He  and  wife  were  Quakers.  Stephen  and  family  came  to  Cayuga  county, 
in  1823,  and  bought  a  farm  where  they  lived  and  died,  he  in  1805,  aged  seventy-four 
years.  His  wife  was  Charity  Piatt,  and  they  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  now 
living.  She  died  in  1890,  aged  ninety- five  years.  Subject  was  reared  on  the  farm,  has 
been  wool  speculator  about  twenty  years,  and  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Lakeside  a 
while  where  he  built  a  store  building.  He  noAV  has  225  acres  mostley  bought  and  set- 
tled on  in  1840,  of  which  about  140  acres  is  set  to  large  fruits  of  all  kinds.  In  1845  he 
married  Abigail  I.  Bates,  born  in  1824,  and  daughter  of  Orlando  and  Irene  D.  Bates, 
of  Orleans  county.  Mrs.  Bates  was  a  Durfee,  and  died  in  1829.  Mr.  Bates  was  a 
farmer  and  miller,  and  died  March  15,  1870.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sands  have  no  children,  but 
they  reared  a  boy,  John  Scott,  who  studied  law  with  Judge  Cowles.  He  raised  a  com- 
pany of  volunteers  in  Wisconsin,  who  chose  him  captain,  but  he  took  sick  and  died  at 
Mound  City,  111.  Mr.  Sands  is  a  Republican,  has  been  twenty-five  years  postmaster  at 
Lakeside,  was  provost  marshal  and  enroling  officer  of  the  town  during  the  war.  They 
attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  church. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  Ill 

Smith,  J.  E.,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Hartwick,  Otsego  county,  August  3,  1829.  His 
father,  Chester,  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  that  town  and  married  Mary  Ann,  daughter 
of  Dr.  George  W.  Arnold,  and  sister  of  the  late  Hon.  I.  N.  Arnold  of  Chicago.  Both 
families  came  from  Rhode  Island.  His  mother  died  at  New  Rochelle,  in  October,  1859. 
His  father  died  at  Clyde,  September  9,  1892,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-two.  Dr. 
Smith  was  educated  at  Franklin  Institute,  Delaware  county,  and  at  Hartwick  Seminary, 
and  graduated  in  medicine  at  the  College  of  Physicians  &  Surgeons,  New  York  in  1854. 
He  first  located  at  Corning,  N.  Y.,  forming  a  co-partnership  with  Dr.  Rufus  H.  Gilbert 
of  that  place,  but  after  a  few  months  moved  to  Waterloo,  N.  Y.,  purchasing  the  prop- 
erty and  practice  of  Dr.  0.  S.  Patterson,  where  he  remained  nearly  two  years  till  failing 
health  obliged  him  to  give  up  a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  He  came  to  Clyde  in  the 
fall  of  1856,  purchasing  the  drug  store  owned  by  Charles  E.  Piatt  which  he  conducted 
till  the  fall  of  1860,  when  he  again  attended  a  course  of  medical  lectures  at  the  Jeffer- 
son Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  resuming  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  spring 
of  1861,  making  a  specialty  of  chronic  diseases.  He  has  since  frequently  spent  several 
weeks  in  New  York  at  hospital  and  dispensary  clinics,  in  order  to  keep  himself  abreast 
of  the  progress  of  his  profession  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Mary  E., 
daughter  of  George  H.  Derbyshire  of  Hartwick  Seminary.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the 
oldest  and  leading  members  of  his  profession  to  which  his  life  work  has  been  devoted, 
caring  little  for  social  distinction  or  the  emoluments  of  political  life,  but  finding  more 
congenial  work  in  the  line  of  his  profession. 

Seavey,  Alvah  H.,  was  born  in  Galen,  September  23,  1843,  son  of  John  Seavey  born 
in  Conway,  N.  H.,  in  1807,  who  was  first  a  school  teacher,  later  a  dry  goods  clerk, 
then  a  sailor,  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1840  and  followed  farming.  He  came  to 
Huron  in  1854,  served  in  various  town  offices,  and  died  in  1881.  His  wife  was  Amanda 
Gunn  and  their  children  were:  Joseph,  Josiah,  Alvah  H.,  Mary  and  Helena,  wife  of 
D.  M.  Otis  of  Wolcott.  Our  subject  began  for  himself  early  in  life  and  for  many  years 
devoted  himself  to  saw-milling.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  75th  N.  Y.  Volunteers,  and 
was  discharged  on  account  of  disability.  In  1864  here-enlisted  in  the  22d  N.  Y. 
Cavalry,  and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war,  and  went  through  the  campaign  of  the 
Shenandoah  Valley.  In  1865  he  engaged  in  farming  and  threshing,  in  1875  engaged 
in  the  cooperage  business,  since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  fruit  growing.  In 
1867  he  married  Emily  H.,  daughter  of  Roswell  E.  Reed,  of  Huron,  born  in  1848. 
They  have  one  adopted  child,  Grace  L.  Subject  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  Keesler 
Post  No.  55,  of  Wolcott. 

Smith,  Hastings  B.,  was  born  in  Marion,  June  2,  1852,  son  of  Dwight  and  Susan 
(Burred)  Smith,  he  a  native  of  Amherst,  Mass.,  born  September  3,  1813,  and  she  a  native 
of  England.  The  grandparents  were  Samuel  and  Mary  (Hastings)  Smith,  of  Amherst, 
Mass.,  who  came  to  Marion  in  1828,  where  the  father  died,  aged  sixty-one.  The  mother 
spent  her  last  days  with  her  son  in  Tioga  county.  Pa.,  where  she  died,  aged  ninety-one. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  Dwight  Smith  went  to  live  with  Joseph  Colwell,  brother-in-law, 
and  has  always  followed  farming.  His  first  wife  was  Mary  Rice,  by  whom  he  had  one 
daughter,  Harriet,  wife  of  Peter  De  Wolf,  of  Marion.  He  bought  the  farm  where  he 
now  resides  in  1839.  He  built  a  saw-mill  on  the  farm,  and  was  for  many  years  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  He  has  been  supervisor  of  Marion  five  years. 
Hastings  B.,  was  educated  in  Marion  Collegiate  Institute.  He  spent  five  years  of  his 
younger  days  traveling  in  the  west.  He  returned  to  Marion,  and  in  1880  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Abigail  (Howell)  Negus,  and  they  have  seven 
daughters  :  Carrie,Cassie,  Eva,  Leah,  Mabel,  Annie  and  Mildred.  In  1887  Mr.  Smith  took 
charge  of  the  homestead  farm,  which  he  still  carries  on.  He  is  also  an  ice  dealer,  and 
furnishes  ice  for  the  village  of  Marion.  He  is  a  member  of  the  K.  0.  T.  M.,  Security 
Tent,  No.  137. 


112  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Sprague,  L.  S.,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Bristol,  Ontario  county,  April  22,  1820,  one  of  eight 
children  of  Dr.  Philetus  and  Laura  Seymour  Sprague,  the  former  born  in  1780,  and  the 
latter  in  1783.  They  came  to  Bristol  from  Connecticut  in  an  early  day  and  went  to 
Cayuga  county  in  1822,  and  in  1850  they  removed  to  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  and  there  Dr. 
Sprague  died  in  1853,  and  his  wife  in  1858.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Medical  Society 
of  Cayuga  county.  L.  S.  Sprague  was  reared  on  a  farm  until  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
was  educated  in  Mexicoville  and  Skaneateles  Academies.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he 
went  to  Kenosha,  Wis.,  and  read  medicine  for  two  years  with  Dr.  E.  C.  Mygatt,  and 
then  one  year  with  his  father ;  also  spent  one  year  with  Dr.  E.  W.  Bottum  in  Huron, 
Wayne  county.  He  next  took  a  course  at  Geneva  Medical  College,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1845,  and  began  his  practice  in  South  Sodus,  where  he  remained  four 
years.  He  came  to  Williamson  in  1849,  where  he  has  a  very  successful  practice.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Wayne  county  Medical  Society,  and  an  honorary  member  of  the 
New  York  State  Medical  Society ;  also  a  fellow  of  the  New  York  State  Medical  Asso- 
ciation. Dr.  Spragne  married.  June  29,  1849,  Mary,  daughter  of  Dr.  Josiah  Bennett, 
and  she  died,  August,  1877.  Dr.  Sprague  and  wife  have  had  two  children,  Dr.  J.  A. 
Sprague,  and  Ellen  J.,  born  in  1858,  and  now  wife  of  Jacob  Collier,  of  Williamson,  and 
they  have  also  an  adopted  daughter,  Mary  C,  born  in  1870. 

Towar,  Alex.  H.,  was  born  in  Alloway,  August  14,  1836.  His  father  was  among  the 
earliest  settlers  in  the  town.  A.  H.  Towar  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School, 
after  which  he  learned  the  jewelers'  trade  with  W.  D.  Perrine.  and  remained  ten  years, 
In  1861  he  entered  the  service  of  the  United  States  as  purveyor  to  Jefferson  county 
35th  Regiment,  in  connection  with  E.  A.  Dickerson,  and  re-entered  the  service  at  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  two  years  with  the  50th  Engineer  Corps  and  remained  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  then  returned  to  Lyons  and  bought  a  farm,  making  a  specialty 
of  coach  and  road  horses.  In  1892  he  established  the  New  Haven  Silver  Plate  Com- 
pany, which  he  still  carries  on.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  married  Harriet  E., 
daughter  of  Alexander  B.  Williams,  of  Lyons,  and  has  one  daughter,  Frederica  Towar. 
Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  active  business  men  in  his  town,  taking  an  interest  in  all 
educational  and  religious  matters. 

Towar,  H.  T.,  was  born  in  Lyons  September  2,  1832.  His  father,  James,  born  in 
1806,  was  also  a  native  of  the  town.  The  grandfather  was  Henry  Towar,  and  came  to 
Wayne  county  with  Charles  Williamson,  agent  of  the  Pultney  estate,  and  settled  in 
Alloway,  where  he  was  prominently  known,  erecting  the  mills  and  dug  the  raceway 
at  that  place.  He  came  from  Alloa,  Scotland,  and  gave  the  name  of  Alloway  to  that 
place,  where  he  settled.  The  family  were  among  the  French  Huguenots  that  were 
driven  out  of  France  by  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  and  went  to  Scotland, 
and  came  from  there  to  the  United  States.  Henry  Towar  conveyed  Louis  Phillippe, 
King  of  France  (in  exile),  from  Newtown  (now  Elmira)  to  Harrisburg  on  a  flat  boat. 
H.  T.  Towar  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School,  after  leaving  which  he  chose 
the  profession  of  dentistry,  studying  under  E.  W.  Sylvester,  of  Lyons,  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  business  in  1855,  and  which  he  now  carries  on.  At  the  age  of 
thirty-one  he  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Hon.  Alexander  B.  Williams.  Our  sub- 
ject is  one  of  the  leading  men  in  his  profession  in  Lyons,  identified  in  advancing  the 
best  interests  of  his  town  also  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  and  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  Grace  church  of  Lyons  since  1852,  and  is  now  senior  warden. 

Taylor,  William,  was  born  in  Sodus,  Wayne  county,  July  26,  1844.  His  father,  E.  P. 
Taylor,  came  from  Northampton,  Mass.,  to  Lyons  in  1805,  and  was  one  of  the  first 
tanner  and  curriers  in  Wayne  county,  and  the  business  is  still  continued  by  his  son, 
who  makes  a  specialty  of  rough  and  sole  leather.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  Lyons 
Union  School,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  Alfred  Underhill,  of 
New  York,  and  they  have  three  children :  Willard  U.,  Morgan  D.,  and  Myron  C.     He 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  II'! 

takes  an  active  intelligent  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  and  is  identified 
in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  high  business 
ability  and  sterling  worth. 

Warner,  John  A.,  was  born  in  Ontario  August  12,  1835,  the  third  child  of  eleven 
children  born  to  Alanson  and  Catharine  (Albright)  Warner,  natives  of  Worthington 
Mass.,  and  Holland  respectively,  she  being  five  years  old  when  she  came  to  America! 
In  1816  Alanson  Warner  came  to  Ontario  with  his  parents,  Andrew  and  Chloe  (Fair- 
man)  Warner.  Andrew  Warner  was  born  in  Mansfield,  Conn.,  in  the  year  1778,  the 
son  of  Matthew  and  Eunice  (Stowel)  Warner.  Matthew  Warner's  paternal  ancestor 
was  one  of  those  brothers,  who  came  from  England  at  an  early  day  previous  to  the 
Revolutionary  War.  Matthew  Warner  had  a  brother  named  Andrew,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  who  had  a  powder  horn  made  for  him  and  carved 
with  his  name  and  a  picture  of  the  first  liberty  pole  ever  raised  in  America.  This 
powder  horn  descended  to  his  nephew,  Andrew  Warner,  who  was  a  teamster  in  the 
War  of  1812,  and  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family  of  our  subject.  Alanson 
Warner  was  a  farmer  and  spent  his  days  in  Ontario.  He  died  November  3,  1883,  and 
his  wife  now  lives  in  Ontario  at  the  age  of  83.  His  father  died  in  Ontario  in  1871  and 
his  mother  in  1867.  John  A,  Warner  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  Walworth  and  Macedon  Academies,  is  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  followed  it 
thirty-three  years.  He  also  owns  a  farm  of  ninety-seven  acres,  follows  general  farming 
and  fruit  raising  and  has  fifteen  acres  of  orchard  and  six  acres  of  berries.  Mr.  Warner 
is  a  Republican,  and  he  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Second  Advent  church.  He 
married  in  1860  Harriet  Morris,  a  native  of  Springwater,  Livingston  county,  N.  Y., 
born  July  10,  1838,  daughter  of  Lyman  and  Anna  (Millet)  Morris.  He  is  a  native  of 
Cazenovia,  Madison  county,  and  she  of  Williamson,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.  They  had 
ten  children  and  died  in  Livingston  county,  he  April  18,  1865,  and  she  May  11,  1874. 
Subject  and  wife  have  had  six  children  :  Clarence  M.,  Rosco  D.,  deceased ;  S.  Edith,  A. 
Emma,  deceased ;  Francis  L.  and  Arthur  A. 

Waldorf,  Reuben,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1840.  His  father,  Peter 
Waldorf,  now  eighty-two  years  of  age,  is  a  resident  of  Clyde.  His  mother,  Hannah 
died  in  1884,  leaving  a  family  of  ten  children,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the  sole  represen- 
tative in  Wolcott.  Until  1870  he  remained  at  Clyde  with  his  parents,  purchasing  at 
that  time  the  farm,  where  he  has  since^resided.  February  16,  1869,  he  married  Lottie, 
daughter  of  Henry  Sheldon,  and  of  their  four  children,  two  are  now  living:  Harry, 
born  March  11,  1872,  and  Frank,  born  February  11,  1877.  Lena,  born  June  26,  1870^ 
died  in  infancy,  and  Mae,  born  November  4,  1873,  died  when  18  years. old.  The  eldest 
son,  Harry,  is  a  graduate  of  the  0.  C.  Seminary  at  Cazenovia,  N.  Y.,  and  now  occupies 
a  position  as  teacher  at  Leavenworth  Institute,  Wolcott,  N.  Y. 

Wood,  Sidney  W.,  was  born  in  Kingston,  Ulster  county,  April  10,  1829.  His 
father,  Israel  Wood,  a  native  of  G-oshen,  N.  Y.,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1830,  and 
purchased  a  farm  in  the  southwest  part  of  Galen.  He  died  in  1834,  aged  44  years.  S. 
W.  Wood  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  after  which  he  learned  the  machinist's 
trade  at  Geneva.  In  1866  he  came  to  Clyde  and  established  the  machine  works,  in 
connection  with  his  brother,  Seth  H.,  which  is  now  carried  on  under  the  firm  name  of 
S.  W.  Wood  &  Son,  manufacturers  of  portable  and  stationary  steam  engines  and 
boilers,  and  for  which  they  have  received  awards  from  all  parts  of  the  States  of  New 
York,  Pennsvlvania,  Michigan  and  Maryland.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married 
Catherine  Whitmore,  who  died  in  1868,  and  in  1876  he  married  second  Catherine 
Queeman.     By  his  first  wife  he  had  three  children  :    Henry  S.,  Ray  G.  and  Ella. 

Taintor,  C.  A.  L,,  was  born  in  Butler,  where  he  now  resides,  January  24,  1845.  He 
is  the  youngest  son  of  the  late  John  R.   Taintor,  M.   D.,  who  died  in  1879,    aged 


114  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

eventy-five.     John  R.  Taintor  wasjoneof  the  early  settlers  of  Butler/erecting  amidHis 
primeval  forest  a  frame  house,  which  is  now  the  home  of  his  son,  C.  A.  Taintor.        in 
wife,  Roxana,  was  the  mother  of  eight    children,  and  died  in   1879.     John   R.  died 
1866,  aged  about  seventy-five  years. 

Ellenwood,  Ensign  W.  (deceased),  was  born  October  26,  1818,  in  the  town  of  Butler 
and  early  in  life  removed  to  the  town  of  Rose.  At  the  age  of  twenty- three  he  married 
Catherine,  the  adopted  daughter  of  Benjamin  Fisk,  who  died  in  1887.  Mr.  Illenwood 
married  in  1889  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Brant,  daughter  of  John  Holmes,  of  Salisbury,  Conn. 
Our  subject  was  a  prominent  man  in  his  town  and  county,  was  banker  fifteen  years  at 
Wolcott,  and  a  large  dealer  in  real  estate  in  different  parts  of  the  county.  Highly 
educated  and  intelligent,  he  was  a  passionate  lover  of  music,  and  was  for  some  years 
teacher  throughout  his  county.  He  was  killed  in  crossing  the  railroad  track  at  New- 
ark. He  was  seventy- one  years  of  age  on  the  day  of  the  accident.  Egbert  Brant 
(deceased),  was  born  in  Dutchess  county  in  1821,  came  to  Wayne  county  in 
1826,  and  settled  in  Sodus.  He  followed  farming,  and  buying  and  shipping  cat- 
tle. At  the  age  of  twenty  he  married  Sarah  J.  Holmes.  He  was  prominently 
identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
formation  of  the  militia  of  his  county  in  1839,  holding  the  rank  of  sergeant,  lieutenant 
and  captain,  and  quartermaster,  till  they  disbanded.  In  the  fall  of  1862  he  was  taken 
ill,  confined  to  the  house  all  winter,  and  continued  in  gradually  weakening  health  till 
his  death,  April  2,  1875,  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  bore  his  sufferings  with 
the  greatest  patience,  and  those  who  knew  him  best  loved  him  most. 

Bumpus,  E.  D.,  was  born  in  Madison  county,  January  30,  1831,  son  of  James  and 
Eliza  A.  (Caswell)  Bumpus,  he  a  native  of  Nelson.  Madison  county,  born  in  1798,  and 
she  a  native  of  Fenner,  same  county,  born  in  1801.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Salathiel 
Bumpus,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  came  to  Nelson,  Madison  county  in  1794, 
where  he  died.  The  maternal  grandfather  was  Zelotus  Caswell,  who  died  in  Fenner 
Madison  county.  The  father  of  subject  died  in  Fenner  July  5,  1871,  and  his  wife  in 
1876.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  went, 
to  California  in  1859,  engaged  in  mining  for  seven  years,  and  in  1869  settled  on  the 
farm  he  now  owns  of  150  acres,  and  follows  general  farming.  He  married  in  1865 
Charlotte  Whipple,  a  native  of  Fenner,  Madison  county,  and  daughter  of  Elisha  and 
Lucy  Whipple,  who  died  in  Nelson,  Madison  county.  He  attends  and  supports  the 
M.  E.  Church. 

Stalker,  Robert,  a  native  of  Rochester  was  born  September  19,  1843,  son  of  Isaac 
and  Esther  (Clague)  Stalker,  he  a  native  of  Isle  of  Man,  born  in  1813,  and  she  a  native 
of  the  same  place,  born  in  1809.  The  paternal  grandfather  was  Thomas  Stalker  a 
native  of  England,  who  emigrated  from  the  Isle  of  Man  to  Rochester  in  1828,  where  he 
died  in  1857.  His  wife  was  Catharine  Lord,  a  native  of  Isle  of  Man  and  of  Scotch  de- 
scent. She  died  in  Rochester  in  1856.  The  father  of  subject  was  a  wool  sorter  by 
occupation,  and  came  to  Rochester  in  1826  where  he  died  in  1885.  He  was  secretary 
of  the  old  volunteer  fire  department  in  Rochester,  was  an  exempt  fireman  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  and  a  member  of  the  police  force  for  a  number  of  years.  His  wife  died  in 
1887.  Subject  was  reared  in  Rochester,  was  a  wool  sorter  twenty  years,  and  was  on 
the  police  force  from  1873  to  1877.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  old  volunteer  fire 
•  department  a  number  of  years.  He  came  in  1878  to  Walworth  and  purchased  forty 
acres,  but  now  owns  seventy  acres.  He  married,  July  5,  1869,  Henrietta  Deane,  a 
native  of  East  Walworth  and  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Mercer)  Deane,  natives  of 
England  who  came  to  Walworth  in  an  early  day,  and  died  in  Macedon.  Mr.  Stalker 
and  wife  have  four  children:  Charles  A.,  born  March  11,  1870,  in  Rochester,  and  educated 
in  the  Walworth  and  Macedon  Academies.  He  has  followed  farming  and  also  was  a 
book-keeper  for  William  Stalker  of  Rochester,  and  was  in  the  hospital  one  year,  where 
he  had  his  right  leg  amputated.     He  is  a  regular  correspondent  for  the   Wayne  County 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  115 

Dispatch.  He  now  holds  the  office  of  collector  for  the  second  time,  and  is  secretary 
of  the  Phoenix  Lodge  No.  276,  I.  0.  G.  T.  ;  Eobert  W.,  born  March  27,  1872,  who 
resides  at  hcne  and  has  charge  of  the  farm;  Harriet  E.,  born  August  29,  1874,  and 
died  October  15,  1883;  and  LillieB.,  born  August  26,  1884. 

Hoyt,  Daniel,  was  born  in  Marion  August  22,  1821,  son  of  George  and  Harriet 
(Skinner)  Hoyt,  he  a  native  of  Poinpey,  Onondaga  county,  born  June  29,  1796,  and 
she  a  native  of  New  York,  born  in  Marion  April  8,  1800.  George  Hoyt  came  to 
Marion  with  his  parents,  Asahel  and  Rhoda  Hoyt,  who  lived  and  died  in  Marion.  He 
was  a  butcher  by  trade  and  died  November  13,  1848,  and  his  wife  in  Walworth  March 
7,  1871.  In  1850  Mrs.  Hoyt  married  a  second  time  John  McCall,  born  in  1798,  justice 
of  the  Peace  in  Walworth.  He  came  from  Monroe  county  previous  to  the  war.  and 
died  September  9,  1870.  Our  subject  learned  the  blacksmith  and  carriagemaker's  trade, 
followed  it  twenty-eight  years  and  then  purchased  in  1861  the  farm  he  owns  at  present 
of  sixty-five  acres,  He  is  a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  He  married  twice, 
first  in  February,  1853,  Mariett  Cogswell,  a  native  of  Marion  and  daughter  of  Joseph 
Cogswell,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Egeron  E.,  born  January  5,  1854,  wife  of 
George  L.  Lee,  a  merchant  of  Walworth.  They  have  three  children,  Clinton,  Marietta, 
and  Daniel  H. ;  Frank  M.,  born  June  21,  1855,  who  graduated  from  Bellevue  Medical 
Colleee  in  1878  and  practiced  medicine  in  Brookline  until  his  death  July  15,  1887.  His 
wife  was  Isabelle  Sinn,  a  native  of  Maryland,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Frank  M. 
and  Walter  S.  Mrs.  Hoyt  died  April  15,  1870,  and  in  December,  1871,  he  married 
Esther  G.  Chase,  a  native  of  Walworth,  born  in  March,  1836,  a  daughter  of  Lyman 
and  Martha  A.  (Andrews)  Chase,  natives  of  Massachusetts,  he  coming  to  Walworth  in 
1819,  where  he  died.  He  was  a  cooper  by  trade  and  farmer,  and  they  had  nine  chil- 
dren. By  a  previous  marriage  to  Comfort  Green  he  had  five  children.  Mr.  Chase  died 
in  1864  and  his  wife  in  1884. 

Baker,  J.  W.,  born  in  Kent  county,  England,  July  16,  1825,  is  the  only  child  of 
William  W.  and  Charlotte  (Eves)  Baker,  natives  of  England.  He  was  born  in  1803 
and  his  wife  in  1806.  They  came  to  Rochester  in  1837,  settled  in  Rochester,  where  Mr. 
Baker  died  in  1862  and  his  wife  in  March,  1878.  Our  subject  was  raised  in  Rochester, 
coming  there  at  the  age  of  twelve.  He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  at  twenty-four, 
went  to  Marion  and  there  resided  four  years,  when  he  came  to  Walworth,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  He  worked  at  his  trade  a  short  time,  when  in  1859  he  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business,  in  which  he  has  been  successful.  Mr.  Baker  has  been  post- 
master thirty-one  years,  first  appointed  in  1861.  He  married  September  10,  1846, 
Lucy  A.  Potter,  a  native  of  Marion,  born  April  20,  1825,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Rowena  (Hill)  Potter.  Mr.  Baker  and  wife  have  had  three  children:  William  A., 
born  October  1,  1847,  who  was  educated  in  Walworth  Academy  and  Rochester  Uni- 
versity, from  which  he  graduated.  He  married  Catharine  Kane,  a  native  of  Roches- 
ter, by  whom  he  has  had  two  children :  George  W.,  who  died  aged  nine  months,  and 
Minnie  A.,  bom  September  9,  1874 ;  Charles  H.,  born  November  30,  1849,  who  was 
educated  in  Walworth  Academy.  He  married  in  1883  Emily  Parker,  by  whom  he  had 
one  son,  John  E.,  who  died  in  infancy ;  and  Laura  E.,  born  August  10,  1851,  educated 
in  Walworth  Academy.  She  married  Dr.  H.  L.  Chase,  of  Palmyra,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Hattie  and  Willie. 

Hoag,  Myron  L.,  Macedon  Center,  was  born  May  17,  1840,  in  Walworth.  Humphrey 
H.,  his  father,  was  born  in  Macedon  December  22,  1810,  always  followed  farming,  and 
is  still  living  in  Macedon.  Benjamin  Hoag,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  one  of 
the  pioneer  settlers.  Humphrey  Hoag  held  the  office  of  supervisor  and  highway  com- 
missioner several  years.  He  married  in  March,  1836,  Rachel  L.  Briggs,  and  they  had 
four  children  :  Isaac  R.,  Henry  C,  Lindley  M.  and  our  subject,  Myron  L.  Our  subject 
is  a  farmer,  and  at  present  is  an  extensive  landowner  in'Madecon.     He  married,  Febru- 


116  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

ary  8,  1866,  Alice  Smith,  daughter  of  A.  C.  Smith,  and  they  have  had  four  children  : 
Nora  E.,  Lena  A.,  Willard  S.  (deceased)  and  Marian  E.  The  family  are  devout  mem- 
bers of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

John  E.  Baker  was  born  on  his  present  farm  in  1836.  His  father,  John  Baker,  was 
born  in  England,  came  to  this  country  in  1832,  returned  to  England  and  married  Eliz- 
abeth Hall,  and  in  1883  settled  here  and  bought  the  farm  now  owned  by  our  subject. 
In  his  family  there  were  seven  children  including  John  E.  Baker,  who  married  Mary  J. 
Park  in  1868,  she  a  resident  of  Gates,  Monroe  county,  and  daughter  of  John  and  Rachel 
Park.  They  are  the  parents  of  five  children:  Emma  B.  Everett,  Fred  D.  of  Rochester, 
E.  Percy,  Albert  M.,  and  John,  at  home,  the  latter  being  the  fifth  John  Baker  by  direct 
descent.  Mr.  Baker  is  now  justice  of  the  peace  in  his  third  year.  He  is  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Producers'  Milk  Company  of  Rochester,  which  has  thirteen  wagons  now 
running  in  the  city,  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican. 

Darling,  Martin,  was  born  in  Milan,  Dutchess  county,  February  28,  1840,  son  of  the 
late  Peter  Darling,  who  died  December  27,  1891,  aged  eighty-two.  Martin,  educated 
at  Leavenworth  Institute  at  Wolcott,  taught  a  select  school  at  Rose  for  a  time,  also  in 
the  public  schools.  Some  years  of  his  earlier  life  were  spent  in  Lowell,  Mich.,  in  a 
wholesale  grocery.  Returning  to  Wayne  county  he  traveled  with  tinware  and  house- 
hold utensils  until  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War,  when  he  went  to  the  front  with  Co. 
D,  of  the  9th  Artillery,  a  participant  in  their  hard  fought  battles-  until  disabled  while  in 
the  hands  of  Mosby's  guerrillas.  January  11,  1866,  he  married  Phoebe,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Lovejoy  of  Rose.  Mr.  Darling  is  a  Republican,  and  while  in  Michigan  was  a  deputy 
sheriff.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Tator,  Jacob,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  September  12,  1816.  He  was  educated 
in  the  district  schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  January  30,  1845,  he  mar- 
ried Phoebe  T.  Shumway  of  his  own  county,  and  they  have  one  son,  Cyrus  A.,  who  is 
a  business  man  in  the  gents  furnishing  goods  business  in  Newark.  The  family  came  to 
Phelps,  Ontario  county  in  1859,  where  they  resided  until  1883  when  he  retired,  but  still 
owns  the  farm.  The  son,  Cyrus  A.,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Columbia  county  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1847.  He  has  married  twice,  first  October  12,  1870,  Mary  J.  Burgess  of 
Phelps,  and  they  had  one  son  Oay  E.,  born  November  3,  1879.  She  died  November 
27,  1880,  and  he  married  second  October  5,  1887,  Estella  Cline,  by  whom  he  has  one 
daughter.  Bertha  C.  Mr.  Tator's  father,  George  A.,  was  born  in  Columbia  county 
March  8,  1877.  He  married  twice,  first  to  Gertrude  Groat,  by  whom  he  had  eleven 
children:  Henry,  died  young;  George,  Mary,  Gustina,  Catherine,  William,  Hannah, 
Peter,  John,  Jacob,  and  Gertrude.  Mrs.  Tator  died  November  30,  1818.  He  married 
second  Mrs.  Rebecca  Miller,  by  whom  he  had  six  children  :  Margaret,  Sophia,  Harriet, 
David,  Sarah,  and  Henry  second.  Mr.  Tator  died  irt  1832  and  his  wife  in  1862.  Mrs. 
Jacob  Tator's  father,  Iaaac  Shumway,  was  born  in  Ohio  September  6,  1786,  and  died 
January  22,  1865.  He  married  Mary  Evans,  born  April  29,  1787,  died  October  23, 
1861.  They  had  eleven  children.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812.  The  family 
came  to  reside  here  in  1848, 

Clasby,  Patrick  W.,  was  born  in  the  province  of  Minster,  Ireland,  March  15,  1827, 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1848  and  in  1856  to  Clyde.  At  the  age  of  thirty-two  he 
married  Bridget  Mulligan,  daughter  of  Michael  Mulligan,  by  whom  he  has  three  sons: 
William  J.,  Francis  P.,  and  James  H.,  also  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Maria  Crawley.  In  1862 
he  bought  the  Darius  Cole  property  of  fifty  acres,  and  in  1870  he  bought  the  Sigmund 
property  of  fifty  acres.  In  1872  he  added  fifty  acres  of  the  Abraham  Ferguson  farm, 
and  in  1887  bought  fourteen  acres  of  L.  Malchoff,  having  nearly  165  acres  in  all,  on 
which  he  raises  fruit,  hay,  grain  and,  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  representative 
farmers  of  Wayne  county,  taking  an  active  interest  in  school  and  church  matters. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  117 

Smith,  Gideon,  of  Macedon,  was  born  here  February  16,  1820,  a  son  of  Asa  Smith  a 
native  of  Farmington,  Ontario  county,  and  a  son  of  Jonathan  Smith,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  the  town  of  Farmington,  and  a  native  of  Massachusetts.  The  latter  took 
up  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Farmington,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  build  a  dam  at 
Manchester.  He  was  killed  at  an  early  age,  while  raising  a  new  building.  Asa  was  a 
mechanic,  and  also  followed  farming.  He  married  Anna  Herendeen,  daughter  of  Wel- 
come Herendeen.  The  mother  of  Anna  was  a  member  of  the  Durfee  family  of  Pal- 
myra. Asa  and  wife  had  these  children:  Elizabeth  D.,  a  namesake  of  her  grand- 
mother Durfee;  Gideon  H.,  Addison  C,  who  died  at  an  early  age;  George  W.,  now  in 
California;  Hulda  Peacock  (deceased),  and  Martha  J.  Appleby  (deceased).  Our  sub- 
ject worked  at  home  until  May,  1841,  when  he  married  Mary  S.,  daughter  of  William 
and  Anna  Clark,  of  Dutchess  county,  and  settled  on  the  farm  he  now  owns  in  Mace- 
don, comprising  114  acres.  To  this  place  he  has  added  until  he  now  owns  290  acres. 
He  has  also  just  bought  another  of  thirty  acres,  part  of  the  old  Colvin  farm.  Mr. 
Smith  is  the  oldest  man  living  in  the  town  who  was  born  here,  and  has  resided  con- 
tinually, a  strict  attendant  at  the  Friends'  church,  of  which  Mrs.  Smith  has  been  a  life 
member,  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican. 

Palmer,  William  A.,  was  born  in  Argyle,  Washington  county,  May  22,  1847,  son  of 
Levi  H.  Palmer,  born  in  Butler,  Wayne  county,  in  1826.  The  grandfather  was  William 
Palmer.  Levi  married  Eleenor  Sebring,  of  Wolcott,  and  their  children  are:  William 
A.,  Mrs.  Amanda  To'ungs,  Levi  and  John.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  subject  began  life 
for  himself,  has  always  been  industrious  and  upright,  and  built  a  home  for  and  sup- 
ported his  parents  in  their  old  age.  In  1885  he  purchased  his  present  farm  near  the 
village  of  Wolcott,  and  from  1877  to  1880  was  interested  as  traveling  salesman  in  the 
nursery  business.  In  1880  he  married  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  Elias  Lasher,  of  Mont- 
gomery county.     Subject  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Wolcott  Grange. 

Watkins,  R.  H,  M.D.,  only  son  of  Ralph  and  Emily  Watkins,  of  Camillus,  Onondasra 
county,  was  born  January  5,  1861.  His  father  was  a  civil  engineer  and  died  in  the 
vicinity  of  Pike's  Peak  in  1860,  while  engaged  in  the  United  States  geodetic  survey. 
His  fate  was  never  definitely  ascertained.  Mrs.  Watkins  thenceforward  devoted  her 
life  and  energies  to  the  education  and  advancement  of  her  son.  She  died  at  her  home 
in  Wolcott  June  8,  1890,  aged  sixty-two  years.  Dr.  Watkins  was  graduated  from 
Syracuse  University  in  1883,  and  after  a  year  of  practice  at  St.  Joseph's  Hospital, 
Syracuse,  he  assumed  medical  direction  of  the  Onondaga  county  insane.  In  1888  he 
came  to  Wolcott.  He  married,  July  15,  1891,  M.  Addie,  daughter  of  H.  E.  Cornwell, 
of  Wolcott. 

Wheeler,  Hiland  Hill,  was  born  at  Cairo,  Greene  county,  November  23,  1808, 
the  offspring  of  three  of  the  early  and  iufluential  families  of  Connecticut,  his  mother, 
Grizel  Osborn,  his  grandmother,  Sally  Burr.  His  father,  Eli  Wheeler,  who  had  emi- 
grated from  New  England,  came  to  Butler  in  1810  with  his  aged  parent,  Jedediah 
Wheeler,  who,  dying  soon  after,  was  the  first  white  man  known  to  be  buried  in  that 
town.  Reared  in  the  wilderness,  scholastic  advantages  were  rare  ;  but  native  talent 
and  a  desire  for  mental  development  and  knowledge  made  up  for  the  lack.  A  few 
months'  attendance  in  the  common  schools  and  a  short  course  with  Dr.  Ostrander  at  his 
academy  in  Lyons  supplementing  a  habit  of  assimilating  whatever  came  under  his  ob- 
servation, keen  at  all  times,  made  him  a  more  than  ordinary  scholar — an  educated  man. 
In  early  manhood  he  went  West  in  search  of  fortune,  and  spent  a  season  in  Cincinnati, 
but  ill-health  compelled  his  return.  He  went  to  New  York  city,  studied  law,  and 
practiced  successfully  till  about  the  year  1860.  Financial  reverses,  the  loss  of  three 
children  in  quick  succession,  the  disappointments  incident  to  his  life,  a  retiring  disposi- 
tion, a  love  of  quiet  study  and  attachment  for  the  home  of  his  childhood  brought  him 
back  to  his  country  residence,  where  he  passed  his  days  until  his  death,  July  1,  1894. 
In  1842  he  was  married  to  Margaret,  the  daughter  of  Robert  Mathison,  a  merchant  of 


118  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

New  York  city,  and  Sarah  Nelson,  his  wife,  of  Scotch-Irish  and  English  parentage. 
She  died  in  the  year  1865.  They  had  eight  children  :  Annie,  Hiland  H.,  Robert  M., 
Margaret,  Lauder  M,,  Thurlow  W.,  Claude  H.,  and  Stella,  of  whom  the  former  two 
and  the  latter  two  survive.  He  was  a  mettlesome  boy,  full  of  life  and  activity, 
physically  and  mentally  ;  a  business  man,  prompt,  thorough,  clear-headed,  painstaking, 
and  capable  of  great  endurance  ;  a  citizen,  quiet,  law-abiding,  patriotic,  honorable;  a 
husband  and  father,  generous,  indulgent,  and  loving  ;  a  friend  and  neighbor,  kind, 
sympathetic,  self-denying,  and  benevolent;  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  courteous 
and  reserved  ;  a  Christian,  pure,  devout,  and  consistent ;  a  man  of  rare  exactness  and 
patient  persistence,  in  intellectual  acquisition,  and  in  the  proper  conduct  of  life  accord- 
ing to  the  standard  of  principles  adopted  in  early  life,  maintained  unflinchingly.  His 
motto  was,  "  Be  calm,"  and  his  self-control  was  remarkable.  He  took  a  deep  and 
lively  interest  in  the  affairs  and  progress  of  the  whole  world,  reading,  thinking,  and 
writing  about  them  almost  to  the  day  of  his  death.  Extreme  diffidence  and  a  too 
great  confidence  in  the  rectitude  of  humanity  interfered  with  the  obtaining  of  such  a 
measure  of  what  men  call  success  in  life,  as  his  talents  unquestionably  entitled  him,  and 
as  he  doubtless  desired.  But  his  life  was  successful  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  wish 
he  often  expressed.     The  world  is  the  better  off  for  his  having  lived  in  it. 

Fisher,  John  N.,  was  born  in  Williamson  November  16,  1857.  He  is  the  youngest  of 
four  children  of  James  and  Diana  (Laco)  Fisher,  who  settled  in  Williamson  in  1844, 
where  he  died  in  1866,  and  his  wife  in  1893.  Mr.  Fisher  was  always  a  farmer,  and  was 
a  Republican.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools. 
He  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world,  owns  thirty-seven  and  one-half  acres  of  land, 
and  follows  general  farming  and  fruit  growing.  He  was  a  Republican.  He  married  in 
February,  1887,  Jennie  Wemesfelder,  a  native  of  Walworth,  and  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Mary  Wemesfelder,  and  they  have  had  one  child,  Mervyn,  born  November  11,  1887. 

Garlock,  Frank,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  October  4,  1852. 
He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  in  the  town  of  Manchester,  came  to  Newark 
and  attended  the  Union  school  and  Academy.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  became  a 
clerk  in  the  post-office  and  was  a  clerk  for  two  years.  He  then  came  to  the  store  he 
now  occupies  and  owns,  as  clerk  for  J.  S.  Cronise  &  Co.,  eight  years;  then  became  a 
partner  as  junior  member  of  the  firm.  In  1886  Mr.  Cronise  retired  from  the  business, 
and  Mr.  Garlock  bought  the  entire  stock  of  hardware  and  building  supplies,  and  is  still 
conducting  it  with  success.  The  Reed  Manufacturing  Co.  was  organized  October  1, 
1890,  for  making  anti-rust  tinware  and  specialties.  He  is  its  manager,  director  and  stock- 
holder. September  15,  1875,  he  married  Alida  Brown  of  Port  Gibson,  N.  Y,,  and  they 
had  five  children  :  Frank  F.,  Mabel  F.,  Alida  M.,  Harriet  E.,  and  Jennie  E.  Mr.  Garlock's 
father,  James,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Phelps  June  1,  182S.  He  was  educated  in  the 
Union  school  at  Phelps,  and  is  a  machinist  and  pattern  maker.  February  6,  1851,  he 
married  Elizabeth  Van  Dusen  of  his  native  place,  and  they  had  two  children,  Frank,  as 
above  noted,  and  Jennie  E.,  now  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Welcher,  of  Newark.  The  ancestry 
of  this  family  is  German  and  Dutch. 

Campbell,  W.  P.,  was  born  October  3,  1853,  at  Adams,  Jefferson  county.  His  father, 
Alexander,  who  died  in  1889,  was  a  Seventh  Day  Baptist  clergyman  and  evangelist, 
and  during  a  public  life  of  fifty  years  and  the  founder  of  the  De  Ruyter  Institute  in 
Madison  county,  known  as  the  first  high  school  of  that  denomination.  William  was 
educated  at  Verona,  Madison  county,  and  at  seventeen  years  of  age  was  placed  in 
charge  of  a  large  merchant  milling  business.  September  28,  1874,  he  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  H.  C.  Coon,  of  De  Ruyter,  and  their  children  are :  Glennie  M.,who  died  in 
1887,  when  six  years  four  months  old ;  Alexander,  born  September  4,  1884 ;  and  Wil- 
liam P.,  born  March  8,  1893.  In  1875  Mr.  Campbell  engaged  in  the  clothing  business  in 
Wolcott  in  partnership  with  Delos  Whitford,  conducting  the  same  until  his  appointment 
as  postmaster  in  1890. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  110 

Pritcbard,  John,  youngest  son  of  William  and  Lydia  Pritchard,  was  born  in  Butler  in 
1843.  The  elder  Pritchard,  born  in  Albany  in  1810,  came  to  Butler  when  eleven  years 
of  age,  driving  an  ox  team  to  Albany,  a  prodigy  of  youthful  endurance  and  resolution. 
He  became  a  citizen  of  prominence,  and  was  at  various  times  assessor  and  overseer  of 
the  poor,  and  died  in  1884.  His  wife,  Lydia,  surviving  him  four  years,  and  reaching 
the  age  of  eighty-one  years.  Our  subject  enlisted  in  1862  in  the  Ninth  Artillery,  and 
experienced  all  the  vicissitudes  of  a'  soldier's  life  until  the  close  of  the  war.  A  brother, 
Chester  B.  Pritchard,  enlisted  August  22,  1861,  in  the  75th  N.  Y.  Vol.,  re-enlisted  in 
January,  1864,  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Winchester  September  19,  1864.  His  wife  is 
Mary,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Eliza  Hollenbeck  of  Butler.  They  were  maried  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1868,  and  have  no  children. 

Rosenberg,  M.  M.,  was  born  in  Seneca  Falls  September  28,  1847,  was  married  to 
Cora,  daughter  of  Joshua  Lautenschlager,  February  8,  1832.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Myrta  Mae,  born  November  19,  1884.  His  father,  the  late  Andrew  Rosenberg,  moved 
from  Seneca  Falls  thirty  years  ago  to  the  town  of  Butler,  his  occupation  being  carpen- 
ter and  joiner.  He  followed  his  occupation  until  his  death,  which  occurred  July  2, 
1887. 

Hamm,  Andrew  J.,  was  born  in  Walworth  November  27,  1861,  the  only  child  of 
Jacob  and  Margaret  (Smith)  Hamm,  the  former  a  native  of  Columbia  county,  whose 
parents  were  Andrew  and  Hannah  Hamm,  also  of  that  county,  who  in  1854  came  to 
this  town.  Jacob  was  a  farmer,  and  the  first  hop  grower  in  Wayne  county.  His 
widow  now  resides  on  the  homestead,  where  his  death  occurred  January  3,  1892.  Our 
subject  was  educated  in  Walworth  and  Macedon  Academies  and  Lima  Seminary.  He 
is  a  farmer,  and  in  partnership  with  his  cousin,  Edward  Hamm,  (who  was  reared  by 
Jacob),  owns  seventy-six  acres  of  land  and  makes  a  specialty  of  hop  growing,  having 
seventeen  acres.  He  has  also  engaged  in  evaporating  apples.  In  1883  he  married 
Emma  L.  Butler,  daughter  of  William  Butler,  by  whom  he  has  three  children  :  Libbie, 
Fanny  and  Bert.  William  M.  Butler  was  born  in  Ontario,  September  21,  1820,  a  son 
of  Orman  and  Lydia  (Reed)  Butler,  and  a  grandson  of  Israel  Butler,  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
born  in  1761,  who  was  one  of  nine  brothers  who  all  served  in  the  Revolutinary  war. 

Lamb,  Chauncey  B.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  October  7,  1819.  His  father, 
Joseph  Lamb,  came  from  Connecticut  to  Wayne  county  in  1800,  and  there  raised  a 
family  of  eleven  children,  of  whom  Chauncey  B.  is  the  only  one  now  living.  He  was 
educated  in  the  old  log  school  house,  and  is  practically  a  self-made  man.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-three  he  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Vandemark,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  three  children,  two  of  whom  are  now  living:  Eugene  Lamb  and  Mrs. 
Catherine  E.  Hopkins.  Eugene  married  Stella  A.,  daughter  of  Charles  Servis,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Charles,  and  one  daughter,  Grace.  Alonzo  married 
Addie,  daughter  of  Jacob  Carven,  and  they  have  one  son,  Clarence.  Our  subject  is  one 
of  the  oldest  farmers  in  Wayne  county,  having  112  acres  of  land  and  raising  fruit,  hay, 
grain  and  stock. 

Fisher,  Charles,  was  born  in  Alloway,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  June  2,  1864.  His 
father  came  from  Bakern,  Glenminster,  Germany,  in  1858,  settled  in  Alloway  and  fol- 
lowed the  blacksmith  trade,  which  was  his  trade  in  Germany.  Leaving  school  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  Charles  worked  one  year  as  a  farm  laborer.  In  1881  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  Tomas  &  Collier  in  Rose  Valley,  N.  Y.,  learning  the  trade  of  his  father  before 
him,  returning  to  Alloway  in  1884  and  starting  in  business  for  himself  in  the  small 
shop  owned  by  M.  M.  Rogers.  Two  years  later  finding  his  work  increasing  he  built 
two  shops  in  that  place.  In  1893  sold  out  to  William  Kiser,  came  to  Lyons  and  built 
the  block  now  occupied  by  him  on  Water  street,  as  a  carriage  and  sleigh  repository  and 
a  first-class  horse  shoeing  shop,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  furnished  and  largest  in  the 


120  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

State.  Being  an  expert  at  his  business,  and  one  of  the  best  informed  men  on  the 
structure  of  the  foot  of  a  horse  in  Central  New  York,  horses  are  sent  him  from  all  parts 
of  the  country.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Martha  Whitlock,  who  lived 
less  than  a  year,  and  in  1894  married  Anna,  second  daughter  of  the  late  Chauncey  Mus- 
selman  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.  Our  subject  is  the  leading  man  in  his  business 
in  Wayne  county  and  surrounding  counties,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  worth 
and  integrity. 

Curtis,  Daniel,  was  born  in  Marion  November  1,  1808.  He  was  reared  on  the  farm 
he  owns,  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer  and  owns 
150  acres  of  land,  the  farm  his  father  settled.  He  has  been  highway  commissioner  and 
poormaster.  He  married  May  33,  1833,  Harriet  D.  Peckham,  a  native  of  Palmyra, 
born  November  16.  1812  (died  August  20,  1877),  and  daughter  of  Charles  Peckham,  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Palmyra  where  he  lived  and  died.  He  was  a  merchant  of  that 
placp.  They  had  three  children  :  Mary  A.  J.,  wife  of  Thomas  Clark  of  Marion,  who 
has  four  children  ;  Charles  D.,  born  in  1839,  who  was  raised  on  a  farm  and  educated  in 
Marion  Collegiate  Institute.  He  married  Mary  A.  Dean  January  2,  1861,  a  native  of 
Marion,  born  April  2,  1841,  daughter  of  Daniel  Dean  of  Marion,  where  he  died.  Mrs. 
Curtis  died  January  25,  1893,  and  Mr.  Curtis  has  always  resided  on  the  homeatead. 
Daniel  F.,  born  Sep'ember  12,  1852,  physician  of  Rochester,  who  was  educated  in 
Marion  Institute,  and  graduated  from  Bellevue  Medical  College  in  1878.  The  father 
of  Daniel  was  Seth,  born  in  Connecticut  November  24,  1878.  He  was  a  son  of  Daniel, 
born  May  15,  1735,  whose  father,  Caleb  Curtis,  was  born  October  26,  1703  and  died 
November  25,  177S.  Daniel  died  July  18.  1817.  Seth  Curtis  married  Mary  A.  Case, 
born  January  23,  1780.     He  died  May  31,  1861,  and  his  wife  died  October  8,  1834. 

Powers,  Israel,  was  born  in  Galen  on  the  old  Powers  homestead  March  26,  1836.  His 
father,  Edwin  Powers,  was  a  native  of  Herkimer  county,  and  came  to  Wayne  county 
in  1815,  settling  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  his  descendants.  Edwin  Powers  died 
in  1844,  aged  forty-four  years,  a  man  who  was  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  Israel 
Powers  was  educated  in  the  district  school  house  standing  on  the  Powers  estate.  At  the 
age  of  thirty  he  married  Phoebe  A.  Cooper,  who  died  in  1879.  He  married  second  in 
1882  Pauline  L.  Nichols,  and  they  have  two  children:  Porter  I.,  and  Lina  E.  In  1862 
he  purchased  the  homestead  property  of  seventy  acres,  in  1886  purchased  part  of  the 
Israel  Wise  estate  of  forty  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock  and  making  a 
specialty  of  butter  making.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  representative  men  of  his  town, 
taking  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Gates,  Joseph  J.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  N.  Y.,  in  1844,  and  he  is  the  third  of  the  six 
children  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Gates.  He  is  a  native  of  Yorkshire,  England.  In  1831 
he  came  to  Sodus  and  died  in  1886,  and  his  wife  in  1885.  He  was  a  farmer  and  owned 
180  acres.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and 
has  always  been  a  farmer.  He  owned  a  farm  in  Williamson  and  traded  it  for  the  farm 
he  now  owns,  and  has  124  acres.  Mr.  Gates  is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the 
Williamson  Grange.  December  15,1880,  he  married  Mary  A.  Hall,  a  native  of  Sodus 
and  daughter  of  John  and  Anna  Hall.     They  have  one  son,  William  J. 

Wood,  Rose  E.,  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  late  Cornelius  and  Elizabeth  Foster 
Wood,  has  her  home  among  the  historic  associations  clus'ering  about  the  old  homestead, 
where  her  parents  settled  nearly  seventy  years  ago,  and  where  they  lived  and  died. 
They  came  from  Saratoga  county  and  into  a  wilderness  almost  unbroken.  Six  children 
were  the  fruit  of  their  marriage  :  Byron  B.,  Eveington  D.,  Francis  A.,  Euphama  E., 
Harriet  E.  and  Rose  E.     Five  children  still  survive  their  parents. 

Russell,  Darius  F.,  was  born  in  Williamson  January  24,  1839,  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and 
Rachael  W.  (Prescott)  Russell,  he  a  native   of  Williamson,  born  in   1804,  and  she  born 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  121 

in  Vermont  in  1803.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Zacheus  Prescott,  of  the  Vermont 
militia,  and  her  grandfather  and  two  uncles  were  Revolutionary  soldiers  from  Vermont. 
Nathaniel  was  a  son  of  Daniel  Russell,  who  owned  the  farm  now  in  possession  of  our 
subject.  Darius  F.  was  reared  on  the  farm,  educated  in  the  common  schools  arid  in  the 
Marion  Collegiate  Institute,  and  began  teaching  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  continuing  for 
seven  winters.  He  was  the  first  man  to  enlist  in  the  first  war  meeting  in  the  town  of 
Williamson,  enlisting  September  11, 1861,  in  Company],  17th  N.  Y.  Vols.  He  served 
three  years  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was  in  the  seven  days  fight  before  Rich- 
mond, second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  other  engagements.  He  enlisted  for  eleven  dol- 
lars a  month  when  he  could  readily  get  twenty  dollars  for  teaching.  He  is  a  Prohibi- 
tionist and  has  been  chairman  of  the  Wayne  County  Prohibition  Committee  seven 
years.  For  several  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Prohibition  State  Committee,  and 
has  served  as  delegate  to  their  State  Conventions  several  times.  In  1888  he  was  a  del- 
gate  to  the  National  Prohibition  Convention  at  Indianapolis,  representing  his  congres- 
sional district;  and  he  voted  for  Clinton  B.  Fisk  a?  the  nominee  for  president.  He  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace  twice  while  residing  in  Marion.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
grange  and  was  master  one  year,  and  has  also  been  chief  of  the  lodge  of  Good  Tem- 
plars. He  organized  the  Town  Sunday  School  Association,  of  which  he  was  president 
seven  years,  leaving  it  in  a  flourishing  condition.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
M.  E.  Church  and  he  has  taught  the  young  people's  class  in  the  Sunday-school  for 
eighteen  years,  being  also  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school  a  portion  of  the  time. 
March  9,  1865,  Mr.  Russell  married  Maria  Van  Ostrand,  a  native  of  Marion,  and  they 
had  two  children,  Fred.  D.,  a  real  estate  dealer,  and  Katie  L.,  both  residing  in  Buffalo. 
His  second  wife  was  Dora  V.  Tuttle,  a  native  of  Steuben  county,  and  they  have  three 
children,  Charles  Prescott,  Rachael  E.,  and  Mildred  C.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  a 
strong  anti-slavery,  anti-whisky  and  anti-tobacco  man,  precepts  which  Mr.  Russell  has 
followed  strictly.  He  is  now  extensively  engaged  in  fruit  growing,  cultivating  four- 
teen different  kinds  of  fruit. 

Burghdorf,  Adonijah,  was  born  in  Huron  in  1847,  and  is  next  to  the  youngest  son  of 
the  late  Jacob  and  Miranda  Burghdorf.  Educated  chiefly  at  Wolcott,  he  began  farming 
in  Wolcott  in  1867,  coming  to  his  present  locality  in  1894,  after  a  residence  of  three  years 
in  Victory.  He  married,  January  1,  1870,  Catharine,  daughter  of  John  Bloommgdale,  of 
Fairhaven,  and  their  only  child  living  is  Harry,  born  in  1879.  An  elder  son,  Howard, 
died  May  7,  1891,  when  twenty  years  of  age.  From  the  residence  of  Mr.  Burghdorf  a 
view  of  Lake  Ontario  may  be  obtained,  this  being  the  highest  point  of  land  in  Wayne 
county. 

Pangburn,  George  W.,  who  in  July,  1893,  first  assumed  his  duties  as  postmaster  at 
at  South  Butler,  was  born  May  2,  1865  near  the  village  of  Clyde,  in  the  town  of  Galen. 
He  was  deputy  postmaster  during  the  latter  part  of  Cleveland's  first  administration  and 
so  well  did  he  execute  his  official  duties  that  his  friends  vigorously  pushed  his  name  to 
the  front  for  the  postmastership  at  the  beginning  of  President  Cleveland's  second  term 
which  resulted,  after  a  decidedly  warm  fight,  in  his  being  appointed.  He  is  considered 
an  eminently  capable  and  acceptacle  official.  He  is  the  youngest  son  of  William  Pang- 
burn,  who  is  general  traveling  agent  for  A.  W.  Stevens  &  Son,  of  Auburn,  N.  Y.  On 
March  28,  1888  he  married  Minnie  Draft  the  youngest  daughter  of  Abram  and  Sarah 
Dratt,  of  South  Butler,  N.  Y.  In  connection  with  the  post-office,  Mr.  Pangburn  carries 
a  choice  stock  of  cigars,  tobaccos,  stationery  and  confectionery. 

York,  Dr.  George  Dauson,  was  born  in  Huron,  August  17,  1857,  and  is  the  son  of  the 
Rev.  George  P.  York,  born  January,  1831,  whose  father  was  John  York  born  Decem- 
ber, 1798,  a  native  of  Maine,  of  English  ancestry,  who  came  to  Huron  in  1819.  His 
wife  was  Mary  H.  Dawson,  born  May,  1799,  and  they  had  eight  children,  of  whom 
George  P.,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  the  fourth,  reared  on  a  farm.  Later  he 
p 


122  LANDMARKS   OF    WAYNE   COUNTY. 

studied  for  the  ministry  and  is  now  a  pastor  of  a  Methodist  Protestant  church.  He 
maried  first  Elizabeth  J.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Tooker,  of  Huron,  and  they  had  two 
children,  George  D.,  and  Ella,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  His  first  wife  died 
in  October,  1876,  and  in  1882  he  married  Ella  J.  Cole,  of  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.  Rev. 
George  P.  York,  is  now  president  of  the  Onondaga  Conference.  Our  subject's  prelim- 
inary education  was  received  in  the  Wolcott  and  Sodus  academies,  and  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  commenced  studying  medicine  wi}h  Dr.  E.  W.  Bottom,  of  Lyons,  where  he 
remained  four  years.  In  1881  he  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the  Buffalo 
University,  and  in  1889  he  took  a  course  in  the  New  York  Post-graduate  Medical  Hos- 
pital and  has  been  in  practice  in  Huron  for  thirteen  years,  enjoying  a  large  and  exten- 
sive practice.  In  April,  1882,  he  married  Minnie  H,  daughter  of  William  W.  and 
Louisa  Gatchell,  of  Huron  and  their  children  are  :  Louise  E.,  born  April,  1883  ;  Edwin 
Whittier,  October,  1892.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Wayne  County  Medical 
Society  (of  which  he  has  also  been  president)  and  the  Masonic  order,  Rose  Lodge,  No. 
590,  and  has  been  county  coroner. 

York,  Thomas,  was  born  in  Lyons  November  21,  1830.  His  father,  Thomas,  came 
from  Maine  with  Robert  York,  who  took  part  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers  in  the  county.  Thomas  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to 
which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  Afterward  he 
returned  to  his  father's  farm.  At  the  age  of  forty  he  married  Cephese,  daughter  of 
Abraham  Barclay,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children  :  Edwin  E.,  Albert  T., 
and  Sadie  C.  In  1860  he  inherited  the  York  homestead  of  seventy-five  acres,  which 
has  been  in  the  possession  of  the  family  for  ninety  years,  raising  hay,  grain  and  stock. 
In  August,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  the  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery,  being  one  of  the  non- 
commissioned officers  of  that  regiment,  and  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Monocacy  Junc- 
tion, Cold  Harbor  and  other  engagements,  and  received  an  honorable  discharge  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  conservative  men  of  the  town,  identified  in 
advancing  its  best  interests,  and  the  leading  events  of  the  day. 

Ellison,  Richard  T.,  a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  born  in  1834,  it  the  only  son  of 
Tripp  and  Mary  Ann  (Arnold)  Ellison,  natives  of  New  York,  he  born  August  6,  1792, 
and  she  June  4,  1798.  The  grandparents  were  Thomas  and  Amy  Ellison,  natives  of 
Long  Island,  but  early  settlers  of  Dutchess  county,  where  they  died.  Tripp  Ellison  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  but  learned  the  trade  of  tailor,  at  which  he  worked  in  Poughkeepsie. 
He  spent  about  fifteen  years  on  a  farm  in  Palmyra,  Wayne  county,  and  died  in  Palmyra, 
Wayne  county,  March  8,  1853.  His  wife  died  November  12,  1841.  Subject  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  He  came  to  Walworth  in  1856, 
and  bought  the  farm  where  he  now  resides  in  1860.  January  6,  1860,  he  married 
Phoebe  A.  Parker,  born  in  1834,  and  daughter  of  John  and  Eleanor  (Fields)  Parker  of 
Walworth.  John  Parker  died  in  1873,  and  his  widow  survives  him  in  Walworth. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ellison  have  had  one  daughter,  Celia  E.,  wife  of  Leon  M.  Sherburne,  of 
Walworth.  He  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  since  1869,  and  eight  years  supervisor  of 
Walworth.     He  and  wife  attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Walworth. 

Harrison,  George,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Palmyra  November  19,  1819.  His  father, 
Luman  Harrison,  was  born  in  Cornwall,  Litchfield  county,  Conn.,  in  1776,  and  came  to 
Palmyra  in  the  spring  of  1797.  In  1811  he  was  married  to  Phebe  Culver,  who  was 
born  at  Southampton,  L.  I.,  August  5,  1793,  and  came  to  Palmyra  in  1796  with  her 
parents,  George  and  Ruth  Culver,  and  the  grandfather  Moses  Culver  and  family,  travel- 
ing by  the  inland  water  route,  and  landing  near  the  east  line  of  the  town.  In  the  spring 
of  1811  Luman  Harrison  purchased  of  John  Swift  and  James  Galloway  the  grist  mill, 
and  one  acre  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  Mud  Creek,  together  with  about  four  acres  on 
the  north  side  from  Stephen  Post,  of  Southampton,  L.  I.,  and  Joel  Foster,  of  Palmyra; 
upon  this  he  built  a  house,  moving  into  it  the  same  year.     There  they  lived  during  their 


FAMILY    SKETCHES.  123 

entire  married  life.  As  a  farmer,  miller  and  distiller  Mr.  Harrison  was  a  successful  busi- 
ness man.  Buying  land  as  opportunity  offered,  he  owned,  at  the  time  of  his  death  in 
1831,  a  farm  of  about  160  acres  adjoining  his  first  purchase.  George  Harrison  has  re- 
sided from  his  birth  on  the  premises  purchased  by  his  father  in  1811.  From  1839  to 
1882  he  carried  on  the  farming  and  milling  business  with  energy  and  success.  At  the 
latter  date  his  sons  took  charge  under  the  firm  name  of  Harrison  Brothers.  On  the 
19th  of  May,  1846,  he  married  Susan  Reeves  of  the  same  town,  the  only  daughter  of 
Lyman  and  Hannah  Arrilla  Reeves,  and  to  them  were  born  three  children  :  James  L., 
born  February  27,  1847  ;  Jane  Arrilla,  now  the  wife  of  Rev.  Willard  K.  Spencer,  of 
Adrian,  Mich.,  born  May  4,  1854,  and  Charles  Reeves,  born  September  4,  1856.  '  At 
the  age  of  twenty  he  received  a  commission  from  Gov.  William  H.  Seward  as  aid-de- 
camp to  the  brigadier-general  of  the  24th  Brigade,  N.  Y.  State  Militia,  and  served  as 
such  until  the  disbanding  of  the  brigade  in  1844.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  In  1875, 
after  having  filled  several  minor  offices,  he  was  elected  supervisor  of  the  town,  and 
held  the  office  for  five  successive  terms,  ranking  as  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  the 
board.  In  1875  the  old  house  which  had  been  the  birthplace  of  his  father's  children 
and  his  own,  was  removed  and  a  commodious  new  house  was  erected  on  the  same  site 
in  which  he  still  lives. 

Gilbert,  N.  B.,  was  born  near  Canaan  Four  Corners,  Columbia  county,  on  a  farm 
February  9,  1802.  He  was  the  oldest  of  seven  children,  and  at  the  age  of  about  four- 
teen his  father  died.  From  that  time  he  assisted  his  mother  in  rearing  the  family,  and 
about  six  years  later  they  removed  to  Troy,  where  Mr.  Gilbert  learned  the  carpenter  and 
joiner's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  summers,  teaching  school  in  the  winter.  He  had  a 
select  school  at  the  Townsend  Nail  Works  (now  the  Burden  Iron  Works).  March  29, 
1829,  he  married  Mary  Ann  Swartwout  in  Troy  and  soon  after  removed  to  the  old  home- 
stead, conducting  the  farm  and  also  engaging  in  carpentry  at  which  he  employed  sev- 
eral men.  In  1837  he  came  with  his  family  to  Lock  Berlin,  Wayne  county,  and  en- 
gaged at  his  trade.  In  the  summer  of  1838  he  built  the  church  at  Lock  Berlin  and  soon 
after  one  at  Fairville  and  another  at  Junius,  Seneca  county.  He  was  elected  superin- 
tendent of  schools  of  the  town  of  Galen,  serving  a  number  of  terms,  and  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace  in  1841.  In  1849  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  carriages,  em- 
ploying from  eight  to  twelve  men,  continuing  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  December, 
1875,  aged  seventy-three  years.  His  wife  died  in  June,  1889,  aged  eighty-one.  He 
was  a  Whig  and  later  a  Republican  on  the  formation  of  that  party,  and  was  an  active 
politician.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  and  active  in  the  cause 
of  temperance.  He  left  two  children :  W.  H.,  who  now  resides  in  Lock  Berlin,  and 
Mary  Antoinette  of  Syracuse.  William  H.  was  educated  in  Lock  Berlin,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-nine  married  Martha  L.,  daughter  of  Absalon  Tyndall,  by  whom  he  has  one 
son,  Loring  H.  In  1880  Mr.  Gilbert  bought  part  of  the  Cookingham  estate,  and  also 
now  owns  his  father's  estate.  He  is  a  prominent  man  in  his  town,  having  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace  twelve  years.     He  is  a  steward  and  trustee  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Morse,  John  J.,  was  born  in  Walworth,  January  9,  1848,  a  son  of  Amos  and  Lucina 
(Finley)  Morse,  natives  of  Walworth.  The  father  of  Amos  was  Jedediah,  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Walworth,  who  first  settled  in  Connecticut,  then  came  to  Walworth, 
where  he  died.  The  father  of  Lucina  was  John  Finley,  son  of  Charles,  a  native  of 
Ireland,  who  was  also  one  of  the  early  settlers  who  owned  at  time  of  his  death  about 
240  acres  of  land  in  Walworth,  where  he  died.  Amos  Morse  is  a  farmer,  owning  100 
acres  in  Walworth,  where  he  now  lives.  Mrs.  Morse  died  in  1867.  John  J.  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  and  Walworth  Academy  and  has  followed  farming  chiefly, 
though  he  has  been  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  both  in  Michigan  and  New  York 
and  has  also  acted  as  traveling  salesman  for  the  Buffalo  and  Syracuse  Fertilizing  Co's.; 
now  the  Crockers  of  Buffalo.  He  now  owns  the  place  known  as  the  Joel  Pratt  farm, 
which  comprises  125  acres,  in  which  he  has  a  beautiful  residence,  and   the  place  is  con- 


124  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

sidered  one  of  the  best  in  the  county.  Mr.  Morse  also  owns  a  fine  residence  in  the 
village  of  Ontario,  where  the  family  now  reside.  He  has  served  as  assessor  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Wayne  County  Lodge  No.  416,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  the  K.  0.  T.  M.,  Cyrene 
Tent  No.  203  and  is  a  charter  member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W,  of  Ontario,  also  a  Granger. 
February  1,  1871,  he  married  Celia  M.  Griswold,  a  native  of  Afton,  Chenango  county,  and 
a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Lydia  (Colburn)  G-riswold,  natives  of  Rose,  this  county,  the 
father  of  Charles  having  been  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Rose.  Mr.  Griswold  died 
January  12,  1893,  and  his  widow  resides  in  Palmyra.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morse  have  had  two 
children  ;  Nellie  L.  wife  of  F.  L.  Pollock  of  Geneva,  manager  of  the  Singer  Sewing 
Machine  Co.  and  Myrta  E.,  who  resides  at  home. 

Bills,  William,  was  born  in  Kent  county,  England,  May  28,  1827,  son  of  Richard  and 
Mary  Bills,  natives  of  England  who  came  to  Palmyra  in  1832  and  thence  to  Penfield  and 
finally  to  Walworth,  where  Mr.  Bills  died  in  1879  and  where  Mrs.  Bills  still  resides. 
The  grandfather  was  Richard  Bills  of  England,  who  came  to  Palmyra  in  1833  and  died 
in  Walworth  in  1858.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Bills  who  died  in  Walworth  in  1854. 
Father  of  our  subject  was  a  mason  by  trade,  spent  his  last  days  as  a  farmer  and  owned 
a  small  farm  in  Walworth.  Subject  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Penfield, 
started  in  life  as  clerk  in  West  Walworth,  carried  mail  from  here  to  Palmyra  by  East 
Walworth  two  years,  and  was  there  on  a  farm  and  also  clerking  for  Mr.  S.  L.  Miller, 
his  father-in-law.  He  then  purchased  a  small  farm  about  1850,  followed  farming  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  was  also  connected  with  the  mercantile  business.  In  1892  he 
purchased  the  store,  a  two  story  building  24x30  ft,  where  he  has  since  been  in  business, 
carrying  a  general  stock.  Mr.  Bills  has  been  constable,  collector  one  term,  commis- 
sioner of  highways  eighteen  years,  which  office  he  still  holds.  He  married  in  1849 
Caroline  A.  Miller  a  native  of  Walworth,  and  daughter  of  S.  L.,  and  Charlotte  (Chase) 
Miller.  Subject  and  wife  have  had  four  children :  George  W.,  W.  J.,  Charles  L.  and 
and  Burtus  H.,  all  of  whom  live  in  Walworth,  W.J.  being  in  the  store  with  his  father 
and  the  other  engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  Bills  owns  a  farm  of  140  acres,  and  follows  gen- 
eral farming  and  fruit  raising.  He  was  postmaster  from  November  26,  1875,  to  April 
16,  1887. 

Brinkerhoff,  Hon.  George  W.,  was  born  in  Wolcott,  October  23,  1838.  Called  from 
the  plow,  like  Cincinnatus,  to  serve  his  country  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  and  upon  the 
field  of  battle,  he  achieved  renown  as  a  soldier  and  a  statesmen.  He  went  into  the  field 
as  a  private  soldier,  of  the  famous  Ninth  Heavy  Artillery,  participating  in  all  of  the  most 
important  battles,  and  by  personal  bravery  gained  rapid  promotion,  soon  becoming 
captain  of  his  own  company.  He  was  also  brevetted  major  for  gallant  service  by  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  In  1891  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  by  nearly  one  thousand  ma- 
jority and  at  Albany  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  passage  of  measures  of  great  im- 
portance. One  of  these  was  a  bill  providing  for  the  abolition  of  county  clerk's  or  sheriff's 
fees,  the  beneficent  effects  of  which  are  now  appreciated  by  the  tax  paying  people.  In 
October,  1860,  he  married  Marie  Frost  of  Wolcott,  and  they  have  four  children,  Leslie, 
Ernest,  Eliza  and  Delia.  In  his  present  retirement  to  his  pleasant  home  upon  a  farm  of 
200  acres  he  needs  not  title  save  that  which  is  his  by  inheritance,  the  grand  old  name  of 
"  gentleman." 

Bockoven,  W.  H.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  January  23,  1832.  His  father, 
Samuel,  came  from  New  Jersey  with  his  parents,  who  were  among  the  early  settlers  in 
Wayne  county.  Samuel  learned  the  blacksmith  trade,  and  moved  into  the  village  of 
Clyde.  W.  H.  Bockoven  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  in  1868  bought  the 
VanAmburgh  property  of  100  acres,  and  in  1892  the  Alfred  Griswold  property  of  100 
acres,  now  raising  a  large  amount  of  fruit  and  peppermint.  He  married  Elizabeth  Roy, 
daughter  of  Israel  Roy,  and  they  have  one  son,  Elmer  R.  Mrs.  Bockoven  died  in  1890 
at  the  age  of  fifty-two.     Onr  subject  is  prominent  in  town  affairs,  and  has  served  as 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  ^5 

commissioner  of  highways  for  two  terms.  W.  H.  was  for  thirteen  years  interested  in 
blacksmithing  and  carriage  making.  Elmer  R.,  son  of  our  subject,  is  the  owner  of  a 
farm  of  100  acres  willed  him  by  his  grandfather,  Israel  Roy,  who  died  in  1892  and 
since  coming  of  age  has  been  interested  in  the  grocery  and  glass  business  Samuel 
Bockoven  carried  on  the  blacksmi thing  and  carriage  making  trade  at  Lock  Berlin  for  a 
great  many  years,  moving  into  Clyde  in  his  old  age.  He  was  born  in  1800  dyincr  in 
1876.     Elmer  R.  is  also  interested  in  Western  real  estate.  '  ° 

Frawley,  Jacob,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France,  April  1,  1837.  He  was  the  second  of 
two  children  of  Henry  and  Eve  Frawley  natives  of  Alsace,  France,  where  they  died 
Our  subject  was  only  two  years  of  age  when  his  father  died,  and  he  was  brought  up  by 
an  uncle,  Jacob  Frawley.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  came  to  Oneida  county  and 
there  lived  until  1869  when  he  came  lo  Walworth  and  settled  on  the  farm  he  owns  of 
130  acres.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  He  married  in  1850 
Hannah  Hartman,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  came  to  the  United  States  when  a  child 
with  her  parents,  Frederick  and  Hannah  Hartman.  He  died  in  Fond  du  Lac  Wis 
where  his  wife  resides.  Subject  and  wife  had  two  children :  George,  who  married  Lena 
Kuttruff  in  1882,  by  whom  he  has  one  daughter,  Clara  ;  and  Charles,  who  married  Lena 
Wagner  of  New  York  in  1891. 

Van  Eenwyk,  John,  a  native  of  Williamson,  was  born  June  14,  1854,  and  is  the  old- 
est child  of  Henry  and  Maria  Van  Eenwyk,  natives  of  Holland,  and  who  came  to  Wil- 
liamson in  1850.  His  wife  was  the  widow  of  Phillip  Brezine,  elsewhere  mentioned  in 
this  work.  Our  subject  is  a  farmer  and  owns  fifty-two  acres  and  is  a  Republican  He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  East  Williamson.  In  1876  he 
married  Cornelia  Cuvelier,  of  Williamson,  and  they  have  four  children  ;  Ma°-o-ie  M 
Frank,  Henry  and  Bertha.  bb 

Catchpole,  Robert,  an  enterprising  man,  was  born  in  England  in  1823,  son  of  Robert 
Catchpole ,  a  farmer,  and  a  grandson  of  Daniel  Catchpole,  both  natives  of  England 
When  fourteen  yerrs  of  age  our  subject  went  to  sea  and  sailed  five  years  when  he 
shipped  an  American  vessel,  landed  in  New  York  City,  thence  to  Albany  on  boat  via 
canal  to  Montezuma,  thence  to  Geneva,  where  he  spent  manv  years  in  farming  and 
threshing.  He  came  to  Huron  in  1848  and  purchased  a  farm.  He  soon  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  was  the  first  one  to  ship  sawed  cord  wood  to  Toronto 
across  the  lake.  In  1854  he  purchased  a  schooner  and  shipped  freight  from  Sodus 
Bay  to  Genesee  river,  and  followed  this  business  four  years.  In  1858  he  purchased  his 
present  farm  consisting  of  140  acres,  on  which  he  erected  commodious  and  modern 
buildings.  He  has  also  built  and  sold  many  yachts,  and  in  1894  erected  for  his  own  use 
the  handsome  yacht  "  Resort  Belle."  He  married  ;in  1848  Elizabeth  Bond  of  England 
Mr.  Catchpole  served  three  ypars  as  poormaster.  Mr.  Catchpole  has  on  the  stocks  two 
fine  yachts,  one  to  be  called  "  Resort  Belle  "  and  to  be  run  on  Great  Sodus  Bay  the 
other  being  built  to  run  on  the  Great  Lakes.  ' 

Brundedge,  Philip,  was  born  in  Oneida,  June  20,  1828,  the  oldest  of  two  children  of 
Hiram  and  Parmeha  (Louk)  Brundedge,  natives  of  Oneida  county,  the  former  born  in 
Weston,  October  4,  1803,  and  the  latter  Januarv  27,  1808.  Thev  came  to  Penfield  in 
1831.  He  died  in  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1860,  and  his  wife  in  1870 
Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has  always 
been  a  farmer  and  owns  a  farm  of  110  acres,  on  which  he  has  resided  since  1853.  He 
married  in  1848  Malora  Sherman,  a  native  of  Ontario,  Wavne  county,  and  daughter  of 
Henry  J.,  and  Fanny  (Scott)  Sherman,  he  a  native  of  Bedford,  Mass.,  and  she  of 
Covington,  Vt.,  and  early  settlers  of  Webster,  coming  there  in  1813  and  he  was  in  the 
war  of  1812.  They  had  seven  children,  two  of  whom  were  killed  in  the  Civil  War 
William  A.,  and  Daniel  J.,  the  former  killed  at  Antietam,  the  latter  lost  an  arm  at  Bull 
Run,  and  died  of  his  injuries  soon  after  reaching  home.     Subject  and  his  wife  have  had 


126  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

five  children  :  Calvin  S.,  who  married  Emma  Crandall,  and  has  one  son,  Edgar  L. ;  H. 
Duane,  who  married  twice,  first  Annett  Ray  and  they  had  four  children  :  Winnie  M., 
Eva  H.,  Stanley,  and  Bessie  R. ;  H.  Lafayette,  who  married  Alice  Cary,  by  whom  he 
had  one  child,  Ada  M. ;  Carrie  M.,  wife  of  George  Woodhams,  by  whom  she  had  one 
child,  Norma  C,  Mrs.  Woodhams  died  in  1892  ;  and  Alberton  P.  The  mother  of 
Malora  Brundedge  taught  the  first  school  in  District  No.  11  of  Ontario. 

Ramsdell,  Frank  G.,  Macedon  Center,  was  born  November  21,  1866.  William  II., 
his  father,  was  born  in  January,  1840.  The  grandfather  was  Gideon  Ramsdell,  whose 
occupation  was  farming  and  contracting,  as  was  also  William  H.,  the  father.  He  atone 
time  was  a  noted  man  in  this  line,  owning  some  very  valuable  timber  land  in  Savannah, 
Wayne  county.  He  married  Emma  G.  Westover,  and  they  had  three  children:  Louisa 
M.,  George,  and  our  subject,  Frank  G.  He  is  at  present  situated  on  the  homestead  in 
Macedon  Center.  Although  quite  a  young  man  he  is  prominent  in  the  line  of  work, 
and  looked  upon  as  a  first-class  farmer,  having  a  large  dairy  connected  with  his  farm, 
makes  it  a  very  profitable  business.  Subject  married,  January  18,  1893,  Sarah  Emma 
Webster.     He  it  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  also  of  the  Grange. 

Viele,  Lucius  H.,  representative  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  of  the  leading 
families  of  Butler,  was  born  in  a  log  home,  near  the  site  of  his  present  handsome  home, 
December  26,  1838.  His  father  is  Charles  J.  Viele,  a  pioneer  in  the  business  interests  of 
Butler  and  of  Wolcott,  and  now  retired  from  active  life.  His  mother,  Angeline,  died 
JanuaryS,  1889.  Lucius  Viele  received  a  liberal  education  at  Falley  Seminary.  Mr. 
Viele  has  large  farming  interests  in  Central  Butler,  which  engross  most  of  his  attention. 
He  married,  January  8,  1868,  Emily  L.,  daughter  of  Webster  Mackin,  of  Eaton,  N.Y. 
They  have  two  children :  Charles  W.  and  Harriet  E.,  both  of  whom  are  graduates  of 
the  Leavenworth  Institute  at  Wolcott,  and  Charles,  of  the  Rochester  Business  Uni- 
versity, and  Harriet,  also  a  graduate  of  Cazenovia  Seminary.  In  the  center  of  one  of 
Mr.  Viele's  cultivated  fields,  but  as  sacred  as  if  enclosed,  is  a  grave  of  antique  interest 
bearing  this  inscription  :  "  Sarah  Mills.  Departed  this  life  December  9,  1809,  in  the 
sixty-fifth  year  of  her  age."  She  was  the  widow  of  Captain  Mills,  of  Revolutionary 
fame. 

Snyder,  William  Henry,  a  native  of  Herkimer  county,  was  born  September  24,  1844, 
a  son  of  Martin  Snyder,  whose  father  was  also  Martin  Snyder,  and  born  in  the  same 
county.  His  wife  was  Tina  Archer,  whose  mother  lived  in  Oneida  county,  for  one 
hundred  and  four  years.  Our  subject's  father  was  a  farmer,  who  came  to  Huron  in 
1865,  with  his  wife,  who  was  Catherine  Peeler.  Their  children  were  Reuben,  Calvin, 
and  William  H.  Our  subject  came  to  Huron  in  1865,  and  in  1862  enlisted  in  Co.  K., 
9th  Heavy  Artillery  and  participated  in  all  the  battles  of  that  regiment.  He  was 
wounded  at  Cold  Harbor  in  a  hand-to-hand  conflict  in  the  Confederate  lines,  returned 
to  his  regiment  and  participated  in  the  following  battles :  Ocequan  Creek,  September 
19,  1864,  Cedar  Creek,  October  19th,  Fisher's  Hill,  Petersburg  and  Richmond  and  Sail- 
or's Creek.  Was  captured  on  picket  line  in  front  of  Petersburg  at  night  and  escaped 
by  crawling  under  a  brush  pile.  His  rank  was  sergeant  and  he  served  three  years.  His 
brother,  Calvin,  joined  the  same  company,  and  was  wounded  in  1864  and  died  later  at 
City  Point.  In  1865  William  purchased  his  farm  and  has  made  tobacco  his  special  crop. 
In  1867  he  married  Eliza  E.,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Charlotte  Thomas  of  Huron.  Their 
children  are  Flora  A.,  widow  of  Edwin  Cleveland  of  Rose,  born  in  1870  and  Horace  O, 
1873.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of  G.  A.  R.  Keeslar  Post,  No.  55,  and  a  Democrat,  and 
has  served  as  inspector  several  terms. 

Seeber,  James  W.,  was  born  in  Huron,  February  10,  1850,  a  son  of  Jacob  W.,  and 
Alvira  (Chase)  Seeber,  the  other  children  being:  Anna  M. ;  Mason;  Smith,  who  en- 
listed in  the  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery,  and  died  at  Martinsbur^  during  service  of 
fever;    William,  a  sailor,  who  was  drowned  in    Lake  Ontario  on  June  17,  1871  ;  and 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  127 

Frances.  Jacob,  the  father,  was  a  native  of  Madison  county,  born  in  1808,  and  was  a 
son  of  William  Seeber,  also  of  this  State.  Jacob  came  to  Huron  about  1841,  and  died 
here  in  1800.  His  widow  now  lives  with  James  W.,  and  is  in  her  eightieth  year.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Jane  Servis  Chase,  a  native  of  Minden,  Mass.,  who  died  in 
1874.  aged  ninety-nine  years,  nine  months  and  fifteen  days.  After  the  death  of  her 
husband  Mrs.  Seeber  and  her  son  Smith  conducted  the  farm  until  1861,  and  after  the 
death  of  Smith  the  farm  was  conducted  by  her  alone  until  in  1882  our  subject  purchased 
it.  He  lost  his  house  by  fire,  but  has  replaced  it  with  a  larger  and  more  commodious 
one.  The  place  consists  of  eighty-six  acres.  In  1871  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Martin  and  Abida  McLanglan  ot:  Huron,  who  was  born  in  this  town  March  8,  1851. 
They  have  had  three  children:  M.  Dewey,  born  October  14,  1879,  and  died  June  19, 
1894;  Willie  F.,  born  February  8,  1876;  who  died  aged  eighteen  months;  and  J.Clay- 
ton, born  May  29,  1884.  Mr.  Seeber  is  an  Odd  Fellow  and  a  Eepublican,  who  cast  his 
first  ballot  for  U.  S.  Grant.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seeber  are  members  of  the  Huron  Grange 
No.  124. 

Cahoon,  William  Reynolds,  was  born  in  Little  Falls,  Herkimer  county,  February  14, 
1823,  a  son  of  Reynolds  Cahoon,  born  about  1786  in  Salisbury,  the  same  county,  and 
he  was  a  son  of  Benjamin,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  and  a  ship  carpenter  by  trade,  who 
died  at  Middleville.  In  1844  Reynolds  came  to  Huron,  where  he  bought  the  farm  now 
occupied  by  William  R.  He  married  Bathania  Whitoomb,  and  had  six  children  :  Salome 
S.,  Benjamin  S.,  William  R..  Lyman,  Emily  J.,  and  Mary  A.  He  died  in  1879,  aged 
ninety-three  years,  and  his  wife  in  1874,  aged  seventy-five.  William  R.  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  about  forty  years,  and  in  1892  he  and  his  son 
bought  the  homestead  farm,  of  eighty- three  acres.  In  May,  1847,  he  married  Jane 
Utter,  of  Sodus,  daughter  of  John  M.  Utter.  She  was  born  in  January,  1824,  and  their 
children  are :  Charley  E.  and  Clara  J.,  who  died  aged  six  years.  The  former  married 
Imogene  Nichols,  and  has  one  child,  William,  born  May  5,  1881.  They  also  live  on  the 
homestead  farm.  Mr.  Cahoon  is  a  Masor,  and  a  Republican,  and  has  served  as  excise 
commissioner  in  Sodus. 

Terbush,  Mrs.  Sophronia  (Tory)  was  born  in  Madison  county  in  1831,  daughter  of 
John  and  Lany  (Adle)  Tory.  Subject's  mother  died  when  she  was  young  and  she  was 
adopted  by  Jacob  and  Alvira  (Chase)  Seeber,  and  came  with  them  to  Huron  in  1841. 
In  1855  she  married  George  Walker  a  native  of  Butler,  whose  father  was  John  Walker, 
by  whom  she  had  two  children,  Edward  F.,  born  in  1856,  and  Clarence,  born  1861,  who 
died  when  twelve  years  of  age.  Mr.  Walker  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  25th  N.  Y.  Infantry, 
and  died  in  Tennessee  in  1862.  In  January,  1877,  she  married  William  Terbush  a 
farmer  of  Huron,  born  in  Rockland  county,  who  died  in  1889  aged  eighty-four.  Mrs. 
Terbush  is  a  member  of  the  Huron  Grange,  and  since  her  husband's  death  has  conducted 
her  farm  of  fifty  acres  very  creditably. 

Trowbridge,  Noble  P.  (deceased),  was  born  in  Arcadia  September  21,  1830,  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  Newark  Academy.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four 
he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Gideon  Robinson  of  Lyons.  In  1870  he  gave  up  his  farm 
and  bought  a  residence  in  Newark.  He  was  one  of  the  substantial  men  of  his  town, 
identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests,  his  aid  was  freely  given  to  all  worthy  enter- 
prises. At  his  death  February  22,  1883,  at  fifty- three  years  of  age,  his  loss  was  felt 
among  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  relatives.  Alfred  Dunn  (deceased),  was  born  in 
Narrowsburg,  Pa.,  November  4,  1836,  with  his  parents,  James  Dunn  and  wife  and  pur- 
chased the  Dorsey  property  south  of  Lyons.  Alfred  was  educated  at  the  Lyons  Union 
School,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Gideon  Robin- 
son of  Lyons.  Our  subject  was  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  and  builders  in  his  town, 
erecting  a  number  of  private  residences.  He  was  a  large  producer  of  tobacco  and  pep- 
permint, and  after  erecting  a  still,  produced  essential  oils.  He  took  an  intelligent  in- 
terest in  educational  and  religious  matters,  being  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Ly- 


128  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

ons.     He  died  in  July,  1886,  in  his  fifty-fourth  year,  leaving  a  wife  and  large  circle  of 
friends  to  mourn  him. 

Wilson,  Eoyal  P.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  N.  Y.,  June  19,  1853.  He  is  the  only 
grandchild  of  Ralph  and  Rebecca  Sheffield  Wilson,  natives  of  Middlesex,  Conn.,  who 
came  to  Williamson  about  1810  and  settled  near  Pultneyville  and  there  lived  and  died. 
Mr.  Wilson  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  died  in  1886  and  his  wife  in  1873.  Our 
subject  learned  the  miller's  trade  and  followed  it  for  ten  years  at  Pultneyville,  and  pre- 
vious to  this  was  a  sailor  on  the  lakes.  He  engaged  in  farming  near  Pultneyville, 
which  he  sold  in  1889  and  purchased  the  farm  he  now  owns  of  125  acres,  on  which  he 
follows  general  farming  and  fruit  growing.  Mr.  Wilson  is  a  Democrat.  June  20,  1878, 
he  married  Nettie,  daughter  of  Jacob  De  May  of  Holland,  who  came  to  Williamson  in 
1871.  Her  father  died  in  Holland  in  1868  and  her  mother  in  Williamson  in  1871.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wilson  have  seven  children :  Royal  F.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  five,  Leland  A., 
Claude  R  ,  Roy  A.,  Ella  M.,  Stanley  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Ruth. 

Hurlburt,  John,  of  Macedon,  was  born  the  town  of  Ontario,  February  23,  1835.  His 
father  was  Charles  Hurlburt,  born  May  29,  1807,  who  died  January  26,  1884.  aged 
seventy-six  years.  January  29,  1834,  be  married  Margaret  Gregory.  Of  this  mar- 
riage our  subject  was  the  eldest  son.  The  others  were:  Lyman,  born  March  30,  1836, 
died  April  30,  1892,  aged  fifty-seven  ;  Charles,  born  November  17,  1837,  died  October 
16,  1874,  aged  thirty-seven  years;  he  left  a  widow  who  resides  in  Manchester;  Theron, 
born  January  38,  1846,  died  September  25,  1883,  aged  thirty-seven  years.  Charles 
Hurlburt,  the  father,  came  to  this  town  in  1862,  where  he  died.  In  politics  our  sub- 
ject is  a  Democrat. 

Wood,  Mason  Garton,  born  in  Lyons  August  7,  1849,  was  a  son  of  Richard  and 
Rebecca  (Garton)  Wood,  natives  of  England.  Richard  was  a  farmer,  came  to  America 
in  1843,  and  settled  in  Wayne  county.  Their  children  were:  Louise,  Percilla,  and 
Ann,  who  were  born  in  England;  Sophia,  William  W.,  Mason  G.,  Phoebe,  and  James 
R.  Mr.  Wood  has  followed  the  vocation  of  farming  throughout,  and  came  to  Huron, 
Wayne  county,  in  1879.  In  187S  he  married  Eliza  Blanchard,  born  in  1851  and 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Blanchard,  who  came  to  Huron  about  1834  with  his  parents, 
Elijah  and  Roxina  (Mitchell)  Blanchard.  Elijah  was  prominent  in  the  early  days,  and 
was  foreman  many  years  on  the  large  farm  owned  by  the  Shaker  Colony  in  Huron.  He 
raised  two  children :  Benjamin  (deceased)  and  Anna  E.  He  was  an  active  business 
man,  for  many  years  engaged  in  buying  and  shipping  wood  to  Toronto.  He  died  in 
April,  1890,  aged  seventy-one  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  have  one  child,  Benjamin 
Blanchard,  born  in  March,  1888.  Mr.  Wood  has  acted  as  agent  for  the  Lummis  and 
Purdy  estates  for  several  years  and  is  at  present  their  confidential  agent. 

Thatcher,  Cyrus,  was  bom  in  Ontario  June  12,  1812,  the  third  of  thirteen  children  of 
Peter  antl  Phoebe  Thatcher,  he  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  born  July  13,  1783,  and  she  a 
native  of  New  York,  born  November  24,  1785.  They  came  to  Ontario  in  1810,  and 
here  Mr.  Thatcher  died  February  1,  1847,  and  his  wife  April  30.  1866.  Cyrus  married, 
in  1837,  Mercy  Gage,  born  in  1815,  and  daughter  of  John  and  Abigail  (Harrington) 
Gage,  he  a  native  of  Chesterfield,  N.  H.,  born  May  17,  1789,  and  she  a  native  of  Rhode 
Island,  born  August  4,  1786.  After  living  in  Walworth  two  years  they  came  to  On- 
tario in  1819.  Mr.  Gage  died  October  12,  1869,  and  his  wife  December  14,  1863.  Mr. 
Thatcher  and  wife  have  had  five  children  :  E.  Sophronia,  James  H.,  Riley  L.,  died  in 
the  late  war  in  1865;  E.  Lurissa,  and  Frank,  who  died  in  1884.  Mr.  Thatcher  was 
originally  a  Democrat,  but  a  Republican  after  the  organization  of  the  party.  Mrs. 
Thatcher  is  a  member  of  the  Second  Advents.  Mr.  Thatcher  was  captain  of  State 
militia,  and  his  father  was  captain  in  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Gage  was  also  in  the  war 
of  1812.  E.  Lurissa  married  Albert  W.  Hathaway  a  native  of  Macedon,  born  July  17, 
1841,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children.     Mr.  Hathaway  was  a  son  of  Abram  Hathaway, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  t3g 

a  native  of  Cattaraugus  county.  His  wife  was  Deborah  Barnura,  a  relative  of  P  T 
Barnura.  They  came  to  Macedon  at  an  early  date,  where  he  died  in  1842,  and  his  wife 
resides  in  Dunkirk,  N.Y.     Frank  died  in  1884.     E.  Lurissa  is  living. 

T.SiT n'  J8Ii«V,b0r^n  ?0liand  April  4'  1859>  is  the  youngest  of  nine  children  of 
James  born  in  1814  and  Sarah  (Cappon)  Goossen,  born  in  1817,  natives  of  Holland  who 
came  to  Rochester  in  August,  1862.  He  afterward  came  to  Marion  and  engaged^n 
farming  on  fifty  acres,  winch  he  sold  after  three  years  and  rented  a  350  acre  farm  on 
£  J!,re7injd  th!'ee  ^ears-  ?e  went  t0  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  and  purchased  a  farm 
which  he  traded  for  city  property  there,  later  went  to  Oshtemo  and  engaged  in  farming 
and  then  traded  for  the  farm  he  settled  in  Marion  when  he  came  from  Holland  which 
he  now  owns.  He  now  lives  retired,  aged  eighty,  and  his  wife  aged  seventy-seven!  Sub- 
ject was  educated  m  the  common  schools  of  Marion  and  Kalamazoo.  He  started  selling 
fl°  ^  Z™*?*'  firSt°n  f°0t  ^  afterward  with  a  wagon;  and  in  1879  commenced  in 
q  !  «ql  Sg  f  p°W  0wns'/"d  ,carries  the  largest  stock  in  Marion.  He  married,  May 
°'/B  Sarah  Goossen  of  Kalamazoo,  a  native  of  Marion  and  daughter  of  Abraham 
and  Catharine  (Farmeau)  Goossen,  natives  of  Holland. 

Warner,  Erotus,  born  in  Madison  county  September-12,  1850,  oldest  of  five  children 
of  R.  K.,  and  Ramoma  (Vai  Warner.  He  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  educated  in 
TrS^W J  ,andKhaS  always  followed  farming  and  evaporating  fruit.  He  married  in  1872 
Ellen  Wake,  born  in  18o3  and  daughter  of  John  and  Marietta  rRice)  Wake.  Mrs. 
Wake  died  in  1853.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Warner  have  two  sons  and  one^  daughter:  Melville 
E  Oscar  Czar  and  Florence  May.  Mr.  Warner  now  has  105  acres,  and  makes  a  specialty 
W  oUf  mE^  g*     ^  ^  member  of  the  Grange  and  of  *he  A  O.  U. 

Tv^A^^  Ma^  27'   1M8>   a  son  of  James  and 

Si^fl  Tt  TwS  thel0Tm^  a  Dative  0f  0neida  county  born  January  31, 
1815,  and  the  latter  of  Walworth.  The  parents  of  James  were  James  and  Gertrude 
Peacock  who  m  1816  came  to  Wayne  county.  The  great-grandparents  of  our  subiec! 
were  Jonathan  and  Ann  Peacock,  of  England,  who  came  to  this  country  A  J  Pea- 
cock was  educated  in  Walworth  Academy.  He  owns  a  farm  of  114  acres  of  land  with 
as  fine  buildings  as  can  be  found  in  the  locality.  In  1873  he  married  Mercy  M 
daughter  of  Joseph  Gould,  who  was  a  son  of  Daniel  mentioned  in  this  work.  Joseph 
was  born  in  this  town  March  12,  1819,  and  has  been  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the 
S'^f  he  now  resides  on  Long  Island.  He  married  Julia  T.  Bancroft,  born  in 
1823  by  whom  he  had  five  children.  She  died  March  17,  1876.  Mr.  and  Mrs  Pea- 
cock have  had  one  son,  Ora  S.,  who  resides  at  home. 

anSvGrP^°wm^ari°n  ?ae  IV816'"  the  third  of  seven  children  of  Garner 
r!lW  ^  ISi '  i  \  n1tlVe  °f  Massachusetts  and  she  of  Rhode  Island.  They 
came  to  Marion  in  1811,  lived  there  until  1836,  and  then  moved  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  subject,  where  Mr.  Wait  died  April  5,'  1858,  and  his  wife  January  6  1874 
He  was  assessor  and  commissioner  of  highways  in  Marion.  He  was  in  the  war  of 
1812.  Subject  was  educated  ra  the  common  schools,  owns  the  old  homestead  of  ninety- 
nine  acres,  and  follows  general  farming.     He  has  been  trustee  of  schools  of  Walworth 

yZ  1%TS-  "T16/  ?  1843  (°Ct0ber  18)  EmiJy  J-  Sweezey  of  Palmyra/daughter 

of  Isaac  Sweezey  who  died  when  she  was  an  infant.  Mr.  Wait  and  wife  had  two 
children,  Winfield  S    who  is  a  traveling  salesman  for  the  Anti-Rust  Tin   Works  of 

leZ*MoK  /S  W1/nS  ^?hnda  Pulver'  ^  Wh0m  he  has  °ne  child,  Elnora,  wife  of 
Irvm  McKinley  of  Onondaga  county;  and  Minnie  E,  wife  of  Alex  F.  Estey  of  Wal- 
worth, by  whom  she  has  two  children  Glenn  W.,  and  Floyd  J.     He  is  a  traveling  sales- 


130  LANDMARKS   OF    WAYNE    COUNTY. 

Payne.  George,  a  native  of  England,  born  July  20,  1840,  is  the  youngest  of  six 
children  of  John  and  Sophia  Payne.  My  mother's  maiden  name  being  Reader,  natives  of 
England,  and  there  they  died.  Subject  was  reared  in  the  town  of  Sheerness,  county 
of  Kent,  England.  In  the  year  of  1866  he  came  to  this  county.  While  in  England  he 
worked  eleven  years  in  London  at  iron  ship  building,  he  worked  on  the  Great  Eastern 
after  the  laying  of  the  Atlantic  cable,  also  on  the  Rapanhance,  when  being  fitted  for 
the  Confederate  service.  After  crossing  to  America  he  worked  in  New  York  in  a 
boiler  shop  on  Cherry  street.  He  soon  came  to  town  of  Macedon  and  engaged  in  farm  - 
ing  and  there  became  interested  in  concrecting  wood  for  the  railroad  company  with 
George  Glover  and  after  four  years  in  the  wood  business  came  to  Walworth,  pur- 
chased a  small  farm  of  fifty-seven  acres,  where  he  now  lives ;  he  has  added  103  acres  to 
it  known  as  Philites  Miller  farm.  He  has  been  highway  commissioner  and  super- 
visor of  the  town.  Mr.  Payne  married  August  4,  1860,  Charlotte  Copping  of  Eng- 
land, by  whom  he  has  ten  children,  John,  Lottie,  Annie  R.,  Flora,  who  were  born  in 
England,  and  George  J.,  Willie  W.,  Walter  J.,  John  W.,  Nellie  E.,  Guy,  were  born  in 
this  country.     Six  are  now  living. 

Johnson,  Samuel  J.,  was  born  in  Waterloo,  Seneca  county,  November  7,  1853,  son 
of  George  and  Margaret  Scott,  natives  of  Ireland,  he  born  December  25,  1811,  and 
she  born  in  1821.  He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1836,  and  his  wife  soon  after.  He 
was  a  gardener,  a  resident  of  Waterloo  fifty-seven  years,  and  died  December  24,  1893, 
and  his  wife  February  10,  1886.  They  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Subject  was  reared  in  Waterloo,  N.  Y. ,  and  educated  in  the  common  scl  ools.  He 
started  in  life  working  for  Sidney  Warner  taking  care  of  a  carriage  horse,  learned  the 
tinner's  trade  of  Julius  Smith  of  Waterloo,  and  in  June,  1878,  came  to  West  Walworth 
and  has  since  had  a  successful  business.  He  owns  a  building  24x50  ft.  which  he  oc- 
cupies. 

Brandt,  George,  a  native  of  Walworth,  born  January  27,  1832,  is  a  son  of  Joshua  and 
Susan  Brandt.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  has  al- 
ways followed  farming.  He  now  owns  two  farms  consisting  of  140  acres.  Mr. 
Brandt  married  in  1855  Louisa  L.  Aldrich,  a  native  of  Henrietta,  N.  Y.,  born  July  7, 
1836,  a  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Oliva  (Perry)  Aldrich,  who  spent  most  of  their  life  in 
Wayne  county.  The  father  of  Nathan  Aldrich  was  Brice,  a  native  of  Massachusetts 
and  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Farmington,  Ontario  county.  The  father  of  Oliva  was 
Elnathan  Perrv.  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  was  seven  years  in  the  Revolutinary 
war,  being  captain  part  of  the  time.  He  fought  at  Bennington,  Saratoga,  Monmouth, 
Ontario,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallus.  He  served  three  years  under 
Lafayette,  came  to  Rush,  Monroe  county  in  1806,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  enlist  in 
the  war  of  1812.  He  died  July  5,  1849,  aged  ninety-one  years.  Mr.  Brandt  and 
wife  have  three  children,  Emma  J.,  wife  of  Gardner  L.  Tiffany  of  Walworth,  and  they 
have  two  children  Fred  E.  and  Hattie  L.;  Nathan  G.,  who  married  M.  Albertie  Allen, 
of  Penfield,  and  has  two  children  George  A.  and  Calla  B.  He  is  postmaster  at  Lin- 
coln; and  Hattie,  who  died  aged  twelve.  Our  subject  represented  Lyon  &  Fisk, 
nurserymen  in  Rochester,  and  also  traveled  in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  Michigan. 

Bixby,  John  H.,  is  a  son  of  Nathan  Bixby,  who  was  born  in  the  town  of  Green- 
field, Saratoga  county,  in  1808  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1836.  He  bought  a  farm 
of  100  acres,  a  mile  and  a  half  northeast  of  Savannah,  the  birthplace  and  present  home 
of  our  subject.  Nathan  was  twice  married,  the  first  time  to  Mary,  the  daughter  of  J. 
J.  Klock  of  Montgomery  county,  December  19,  1832,  and  there  were  born  to  them 
seven  children,  -namely :  Sally  A.,  Caroline,  Andrew,  Jerome,  Alphonso,  Joshua  K., 
John  H.  Mary  died  August  6,  1850.  His  second  wife  was  Mary  Deuel  of  Saratoga 
county.  He  was  a  patriotic  citizen,  and  in  politics  a  strong  Republican.  The  three 
oldest  sons,  Andrew,  Jerome  and  Alphonso,  enlisted  and  served  their  time  in  the  Union 
army.     Andrew  was  taken  prisoner  at  the   battle   of  Monocacy,  and  died   in   the  rebel 


FAMILY    SKETCHES.  131 

prison  at  Danville,  Va.  There  are  only  two  surviving  members  of  the  family,  Jerome 
of  Castalia,  Ohio,  who  is  a  general  merchant  and  farmer,  and  John  K.,  the  subject  of 
the  present  sketch.  John  H.  was  born  June  3,  1848,  and  married  May  2,  1877,  to 
Mattie  M.,  daughter  of  Abijah  Spoor  of  Savannah.  They  have  two  children,  namely  : 
J.  Howard,  born  May  12,  1879,  and  George  Raymond,  born  July  4,  1886.  Mr.  Bixby 
is  a  prosperous  farmer  making  a  specialty  of  shipping  dairy  produce  to  Rochester.  For 
six  years  he  has  been  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  elected  again  to  that  office  last  spring 
for  a  term  of  four  years  more. 

Boynton,  Lorenzo  R.,  born  in  Walworth,  May  12,  1815,  was  a  son  of  George  and 
Annie  (Twitchel)  Boynton,  he  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  she  of  Wayne  county. 
George  came  to  Walworth  at  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  there  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  dying  at  the  age  of  sixty.  His  parents  were  Mary  and  Samuel  (Robinson) 
Boynton.  Mary  Robinson  lived  with  Robert  Treat  Payne,  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  spent  her  last  days  with  her  son,  George.  The  family 
are  of  English  descent.  George  Boynton  was  a  pioneer  of  Walworth  and  followed 
farming.  He  had  four  sons  and  six  daughters,  of  whom  one  son  and  four  daughters 
still  survive.  His  wife  died  in  1834,  and  in  1835  he  married,  second,  Sarah  Hibner  of 
Penfield,  who  died  in  1857.  He  was  a  Republican,  and  was  justice  many  years.  He 
died  in  1854.  L.  R.  Boynton  was  a  well  informed  man  and  before  his  death  was  pos- 
sessed of  230  acres,  on  which  he  made  many  improvements  and  built  a  fine  brick  resi- 
dence. He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Mary  Hopkins,  by  whom  he  had  one  son  and 
one  daughter,  Frank  H.,  an  oculist  in  New  York,  and  Mary,  widow  of  Oliver 
H.  Palmer.  Mrs.  Boynton  died  October  7,  1854,  and  Mr.  Boynton  married  second, 
April  5,  1855,  Harriet,  daughter  of  Ransom  and  Eunice  Northrup  of  Webster.  Mr. 
Northrup  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  died  January  14,  1875,  aged  sixty-eight 
years,  and  his  widow  lives  with  her  children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boynton  have  had  four 
sons :  Charles  H.,  graduate  of  Brockport  and  Rochester  Colleges,  three  years  in  New 
York  Seminary,  and  is  rector  and  pastor  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Geneseo,  N.  Y. ; 
George  E.,  graduate  of  Brockport,  two  years  in  Rochester  College,  and  is  attending 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore ;  Willis,  graduate  of  Brockport  and  New  York 
Medical  College,  is  practicing  in  New  York  ;  L.  R.,  graduate  of  Brockport  and  at  the 
death  of  his  father  came  home,  and  has  since  had  charge  of  the  farm.  The  sons  have  all 
been  engaged  in  teaching,  Mr.  Boynton  died  August  16,  1890,  was  killed  by  a  train  at 
Webster.  Mrs.  Boynton  still  resides  on  the  farm.  Mr.  Boynton  was  a  Republican  and 
served  twelve  years  as  magistrate. 

Allyn,  John  L.,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  this  town  January  13,  1846,  a  son  of  Rus- 
sell Allyn,  who  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  came  to  New  York  State  in  an  early 
day.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  took  up  farming  later.  He  was  at  one  time  the 
owner  of  the  Macedon  Mills.  He  was  the  father  of  seven  children  by  his 
first  wife.  His  second  wife  was  a  Miss  Servoss  by  whom  he  had  five  children. 
He  died  in  1876  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years,  and  the  mother  of  our  subject 
died  in  1876.  Our  subject,  John  L.,  came  from  the  old  pioneer  family  of  Laphams, 
so  widely  known  in  this  section,  has  been  a  farmer  all  his  life,  and  connected 
with  his  farm  is  a  small  dairy  from  which  he  ships  quite  a  quantity  of  milk.  He  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Lapham  by  whom  he  had  four  children,  of  whom  Nettie  died  September 
17,  1892,  aged  twenty-three.  His  wife  died  and  he  married,  second,  Florence,  daughter 
of  DeWitt  C.  Beal,  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  this  section. 

Hogan,  Sarah  A.,  was  before  marriage  Sarah  McWithy,  daughter  of  the  late  Timothy 
Mc  Withy,  of  Savannah.  She  is  the  widow  of  Augustus  Horton  Hogan,  a  well-known 
resident  of  Savannah,  to  whom  she  was  married  October  2,  1850,  and  who  left  but  one 
child  ;  Eva  J.,  born  October  29,  1855.  In  1877  Eva  married  F.  E.  Davis,  then  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  at  Conquest,  Cayuga  county.  He  removed  to  South  Butler  in  1880, 
erected  a  new  and  moderate  building,  and  conducting  a  general  store  business.     The 


L32  LANDMARKS   OP   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

children  of  Frank  and  Eva  Davis  are  :     Charles,  born  1878,    and  Raymond,  born  1 880. 
Augustus  Horton  was  a  staunch  Republican,  and  an  active  worker  for  his  party. 

Eddy,  Charles  W.,  was  born  at  Manchester,  Vt.,  September  9,  1827,  the  son  of 
Stephen  Eddy,  who  settled  near  Buskirk's  Bridge,  Rensselaer  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1829, 
and  who  reared  a  family  of  nine  children.  Of  that  family  but  three  now  survive,  and 
our  subject  is  the  oniy  one  in  Wayne  county.  Charles  bought  a  farm  here  in  1864,  came 
here  in  1864,  and  by  his  industry  and  business  ability  has  achieved  an  unusual  degree  of 
success  in  his  chosen  calling,  now  operating  nearly  275  acres.  He  has  been  honored 
with  many  positions  of  trust,  has  served  as  commissioner  of  highways,  and  of  excise, 
and  was  for  nine  years  an  assessor.  In  1868  he  married  Asenath  Sprague,  of  Butler, 
and  they  have  four  children:     Sarah,  Jennie,  Mary,  and  Sprague. 

Spurr,  John,  was  born  in  England  July  23,  1835,  emigrating  to  America  in  1836  with 
his  parents,  Edward  and  Eliza  Spurr,  who  settled  at  Burlington,  Yt.  During  his  boy- 
hood, his  father  was  engaged  in  business  at  Chittenango,  as  overseer  in  a  woolen  mill 
and  at  Canaseraga,  where  he  conducted  a  grocery.  Edward  and  Eliza  now  live  at 
Yictory,  Cayusra  county,  aged  eighty-six  and  eighty-two  years  respectively.  John 
Spurr  came  to  Wolcott  in  1866,  and  has  for  twenty-eight  jears  been  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. He  has  four  sons :  Edward  H.,  Macy,  Clayton  and  Harrison.  Edward,  a 
machinist  is  married  and  lives  at  Kalamazoo,  Mich.  During  the  war,  our  subject  was  a 
soldier  of  Co.  F,  160th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  suffering  imprisonment  and  sickness.  He  was  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  war  a  wardmaster  in  the  hospital  at  New  Orleans,  having 
developed  a  valuable  capacity  as  a  nurse.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  M.  P.  Church 
of  Y/ olcott,  holding  the  office  of  steward  and  trustee. 

Worthy,  Henry,  son  of  William  and  Rachel  Worthy,  of  Williamstown,  Mass.,  was 
born  at  that  place,  September  19,  1825.  William  Worthy  was  a  prominent  farmer, 
operating  300  acres  of  land.  Henry  and  Elisha,  of  Williamstown,  are  the  sole  survivors 
of  a  family  of  twelve  children.  Henry  has  been  for  twenty-one  years  a  suburban  resi- 
dent of  Wolcott,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  in  1873.  His  early  life  was  spent  as  a 
builder,  erecting  factories  and  mills  at  North  Adams,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  fourteen 
years.  November  25,  1852  he  married  Hannah  Larrabee,  of  Adams,  Mass.,  and  they 
have  five  children  :  Abbott,  Arthur,  Charles,  Leila,  and  Nellie.  Leila  is  now  Mrs. 
George  H.  Green,  of  Port  Byron,  N.  Y.,  and  Nellie  is  Mrs.  C.  G.  Walker,  of  Lyons, 
N.  Y. 

Hendee,  Alpheus  (deceased),  was  born  September  19,  1809,  at  Cazenovia,  N.  Y., 
came  to  Lyons  in  1832,  and  engaged  in  the  livery  stable  business.  At  the  age  of  thirty 
he  married  Rosetta,  daughter  of  James  Dunn,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  daughters  : 
Addie  (Mrs.  Kate  Goodman) ;  Mrs.  Hittie  Barton,  and  Eliza  Hendee.  In  1859  he 
bought  the  George  Gee  property  of  fifty  acres,  in  1866  bought  part  of  the  Elisha  Barton 
property  of  thirty-three  acres,  and  which  is  now  carried  on  by  the  heirs  in  connection 
with  his  son-in-law,  Israel  Goodman,  who  was  a  native  of  Bedfordshire,  England,  who 
married  Kate  Hendee  in  1878,  and  who  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Rosa,  having 
115  acres  of  some  of  the  best  farm  lands  in  Wayne  county,  raising  large  amounts  of 
mint,  hay,  grain  and  stock,  making  a  specialty  of  small  fruits.  Alpheus  Hendee  died  in 
1893.  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years,  respected  and  regretted  by  all  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.     He  was  always  foremost  in  the  furtherance  of  all  good  works. 

Viele,  Charles  J.,  was  born  January  2,  1812,  at  Saratoga,  came  with  his  people  to  the 
town  of  Wolcott  when  six  years  of  age.  His  parents  were  pioneer  farmers  here,  and 
he  has  always  followed  the  same  vocation,  besides  dealing  largely  in  Jive  stock.  He 
married  in  1834,  Angeline  Hibbard  of  Butler,  who  died  January  8,  1889.  Of  their 
three  children  one  now  survives,  Lucius  H.,  who  married  Emily  Mackin,  and  now  re- 
sides on  the  homestead  farm.     Sarah  E.,  who  become  the   wife  of  H.  A.  Graves  of 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  133 

Wolcott,  died  in  1870,  and  Columbus  J.,  the  youngest  son,  died  in  1874.  The  latter 
was  a  young  man  of  much  intellectual  promise,  and  a  practicing  lawyer  at  the  time  of 
his  decease.  He  left  a  wife  and  one  daughter.  At  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-two  our 
subject  is  still  hale  and  vigorous;  a  genial  gentleman,  full  of  reminiscences  of  early 
days. 

Scott,  Irving,  son  of  Lewis  and  Evelyn  (Brooks)  Scott,  was  born  at  Cato,  Cayuga 
county,  June  25,  1841.  Lewis  Scott  died  in  1887  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven,  and  his 
wife  in  1894,  aged  eighty-seven  years.  Irving  has  been  a  resident  of  Wolcott  fifty 
years,  and  has  spent  most  of  that  period  at  home.  He  was  a  soldier  of  Gompany  G-,  in 
the  9th  Heavy  Artillery.  His  wife  was  Fanny  Scott,  of  Clay,  Onondaga  county, 
daughter  of  William  and  Ellen  Scott,  whom  he  married  November  25,  1886.  They 
have  one  child,  Ella,  wife  of  George  L.  Baker  of  Oswego.  Mr.  Scott  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Westcott,  Horace  T.,  was  born  in  Oneida  county  November  22, 1838.  His  father,  J.  H. 
Westcott,  was  a  farmer  of  Oneida  county.  Horace  T.  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Algenia  daughter  of  Frederick  Petrie  of  Vienna,  Oneida 
county,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children  :  Edgar  T.,  Arthur  H.,  and  Nora  E. 
In  1872  he  came  to  Lyons  and  purchased  the  grocery  on  lot  No.  56,  which  he  has  con- 
tinued for  the  past  twenty-three  years.  In  1883  he  bought  the  Prime  property  of 
seventy-eight  acres,  raising  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Subject  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
Church. 

Killick,  Henry,  was  born  in  Huntington,  county  of  Kent,  England,  March  22,  1845. 
His  father,  Henry,  came  to  the  United  States  in  1854,  settled  in  Lockport,  N.  T.,  and 
was  a  miller  by  trade,  which  was  the  business  pursued  by  the  family  in  England  for  the 
past  200  years.  Henry  Killick  married  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  Mary  Alice,  daughter 
of  Clark  J.  Munger,  and  they  are  the  parents  four  sons:  Harry  O,  Frank  R.,  Wilfred 
M.  and  Charlie  E.  In  May,' 1885,  he  bought  the  Alloway  Roller  Flour  Mills,  making  a 
specialty  of  patent  and  fine  pastry  flour.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  prominent  business 
men  in  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Hammond,  Burton,  was  born  at  Dover  Plains  October  18,  1856,  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  finished  at  Willeston  Seminary,  East  Hampton,  Mass.,  after  leaving 
which  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  as  clerk  for  three  years,  then  read  law  with 
G.  &  H.  D.  Hufcut,  at  Dover  Plains,  then  read  with  Hon.  D.  W.  Gurnsey,  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  May,  1878.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  mar- 
ried Sophia  A.,  daughter  of  William  Van  Marter,  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  five  daughters. 
In  March,  1880,  he  came  to  Lyons  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  in  1886  entered 
the  surrogate's  office  and  carries  on  a  general  law  practice,  making  a  specialty  of  cases 
before  surrogate's  court.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  was  chairman  of  the  Republican 
County  Committee  for  seven  years,  and  is  now  president  of  the  Board  of  Education  of 
Lyons.  Our  subject  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town,  taking  a 
deep  interest  in  educational  and  leading  matters  of  the  day. 

O'Dell,  Margaret,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Rose.  Her  father,  Russell  Winchell,  came 
to  that  town  in  1821  when  it  was  but  a  wilderness  without  roads,  making  their  way  by 
marked  trees.  He  married  Lucinda,  daughter  of  David  Ackerman,  by  whom  he  had 
four  children:  Margaret,  David  A.,  Clarissa,  and  Betsey.  He  died  in  1858  aged  forty- 
seven,  and  his  wife  in  1879  aged  sixty-four  years.  Margaret,  our  subject,  married 
Alexander  Harper,  and  in  1855  came  to"  the  town  of  Galen  to  reside.  They  had  three 
children:  Lydia  S.,  Bud  A.,  and  Lucinda,  Lydia  S.  Kelsey  being  the  only  one  now 
living.  Alexander  Harper  died  in  1871,  and  Mrs.  Harper  married  in  1884  Ebenezer 
O'Dell,  who  died  in  1889.     Our  subject  has  one  of  the  model  farms  of  Wayne  county, 


134  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock,  and  through  life  has  been  a  member  and  liberal  sup- 
porter of  the  M.  E.  church  of  Clyde. 

Syron,  M.  Barton,  was  born  in  Romulus,  Seneca  county,  June  10,  1826.  His  father, 
Jacob  P.  Syron,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  came  to  Seneca  county  in  1823.  In 
1837  he  moved  to  the  town  of  Galen,  Wayne  county,  where  he  died  in  1853  at  the  age 
of  sixty- one.  M.  Barton  Syron  laid  the  foundation  of  his  education  in  the  old  log  school 
house  of  his  district  and  also  attended  the  high  school  at  Clyde  for  two  winters.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Lucinda,  daughter  of  Ethan  Angell,  and  they  have 
three  sons  and  one  daughter:  Augustus  C,  William  A.,  Fenton,  and  Mrs.  Emma  Foist. 
In  1852  he  bought  the  Waldraff  property  of  fifty-three  acres,  and  in  1863  he  bought  the 
Peleg  Meade  property  of  100  acres,  having  in  all  140  acres,  and  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain 
and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  his  town,  and  takes  an 
intelligent  interest  in  town  affairs. 

Luffman,  William,  was  born  in  Elbridge  December  4,  1823.  His  father.  Abram,  was 
a  native  of  Massachusetts.  He  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1827,  settled  in  the  town  of 
Wolcott,  where  he  died  in  1882  aged  eighty-four.  William  Luffman  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  married  Amelia,  daughter  of  John 
W.  Hendrick,  a  native  of  Vermont,  who  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1814  and  was  among 
the  earliest  settlers  in  Wolcott.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Luffman  have  had  eight  children,  seven 
of  whom  are  now  living:  Mrs.  Arvilla  Andrus,  Mrs.  Nellie  Sanford,  Mrs.  William 
Stetler,  Frank  E.,  and  Mrs.  Cornelius  Stell,  Edwin  and  Mrs.  Carrie  Roberts.  In  1869 
they  came  to  the  town  of  Galen  and  bought  the  David  Ferguson  property  of  100  acres 
raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of 
his  town,    taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Ely,  Charles  H.,  was  born  in  Williamstown,  Mass.,  June  1,  1837.  His  father,  Henry 
L.  was  born  in  town  of  Lyme,  of  New  London  county,  Conn.  The  family  originally 
came  from  England.  Henry  L.  came  to  Clyde  in  1870,  and  is  a  carriage  maker  by  trade. 
Charles  H.  was  educated  at  Williamstown  and  finished  at  the  Wilbraham  Seminary  in 
Massachusetts ;  then  learned  the  carriage  maker's  trade  with  his  father,  came  to  Clyde 
in  1872  and  entered  the  employ  of  his  father,  and  in  1882  established  himself  in  busi- 
ness and  is  a  well-known  manufacturer  of  fine  carriages  and  sleighs.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-five  he  married  Abbie  M.,  daughter  of  J.  P.  Bliss,  and  they  have  had  five  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  are  now  living:  Charles  H.,  jr.,  Grace  G.,  and  Alice  B.  Our  sub- 
ject is  prominently  identified  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Howard,  Frank,  was  born  in  Galen  July  10,  1857.  His  father,  William,  came  to 
Wayne  county  from  Lowville,  Lewis  county  in  1836.  He  married  Eliza  A.,  daughter 
of  Allen  Kennedy,  of  Dover  Station,  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.  They  have  had 
five  children,  two  of  whom  are  now  living:  Mrs.  Ella  Hoard  and  Frank.  He  died 
in  1891,  aged  ninety-three.  Frank  Howard  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to 
which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-three  he  married  Carrie  B.,  daughter  of  William  B.  Sears,  and  they  have  four 
children  :  William  S.,  Stella  N.,  May  and  Howard.  In  1891  he  took  charge  of  his 
father's  estate  of  200  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain,  and  stock,  and  making  a  specialty 
of  dairying,  producing  from  225  to  250  quarts  of  milk  per  day.  Our  subject  takes  an 
active  interest  in  school  and  church  matters. 

Porter,  Ellory  J.,  was  born  in  Junius,  Seneca  county,  January  2,  1848.  His  father, 
George  W.,  was  a  native  of  that  town,  the  family  coming  from  the  Mohawk  Valley. 
Ellory  J.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by 
reading  and  close  observation  ;  after  which  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm.  At  the 
age  of  twenty.two  he  married  Buelah,  daughter  of  Isaac  Thorn,  and  they  have  four 
children:  George  S.,  Lottie  M.,  Mabel  and  Maud.     In  1870  he  came  to  Wayne  county 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  135 

and  settled  in  the  town  of  Huron,  and  in  1875  removed  to  the  town  of  Galen  and  pur- 
chased the  Furlong  property  of  108  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  sub- 
ject is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  his  town,  identified  in  educational  and 
religious  matters. 

Graham,  Albert  G.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Huron,  near  the  head  of  Great  Sodus 
Bay,  August  30,  1831.  His  father,  Henry,  and  mother,  Roxana.  were  natives  of  Port 
Byron.  The  family  were  among  the  early  settlers  in  the  Mohawk  Valley.  His  educa- 
tion was  obtained  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading 
and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Eliza  L.,  daughter  of 
Solomon  Smith,  who  died  in  1866,  and  he  married  second  in  1867  Theresa,  daughter  of 
David  Waldur.  He  has  two  children,  both  by  his  first  wife:  Charles  H.,  and  Emma  J., 
wife  of  Edward  C.  Delano,  of  Sodus  Centre,  N.  Y.  In  1864  he  bought  the  A.  F.  Red- 
field  property  of  100  acres;  in  1876,  the  Grimsha  property  of  eighty  acres;  in  1882,  the 
Edwin  Gilderleve  property  of  102  acres,  and  now  has  265  acres  of  some  of  the  best 
land  in  Wayne  county,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock,  and  making  a  specialty  of 
milk,  producing  450  quarts  per  day.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  farmers 
in  his  town. 

Cosad,  Frank,  was  born  in  Junius,  Seneca  county  October  6,  1853,  son  of  James 
Madison  Cosad,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born  in  1810.  The  grandfather  was  Samuel 
Cosad,  who  came  with  his  family  to  Seneca  county  in  1820.  James  M.  came  to  Huron 
in  1838,  and  conducted  a  hotel  at  Port  Glascow.  He  went  to  California  in  1848,  five 
years  later  returned  to  Huron  and  settled  where  our  subject  now  resides.  Later  he 
owned  the  farm  now  owned  by  William  Robinson,  where  he  died  in  1893.  His  first 
wife  was  Elizabeth  Stout  of  Wayne  county,  by  whom  he  had  two  children :  Cassie 
Robinson,  of  Huron,  and  George  Combe.  His  second  wife  was  Catherine  Stout,  born 
in  Arcadia  in  1818,  by  whom  he  had  two  children  :  Farnk  and  Samuel.  Subject  has 
devoted  his  time  to  farming,  was  educated  in  the  Wolcott  and  Sodus  Academies,  and  in 
1876  came  to  the  farm  he  now  owns,  consisting  of  200  acres  on  which  he  has  erected  a 
large  and  handsome  dwelling;  also  a  large  and  commodious  barn  suitable  to  such  a  farm. 
He  married  in  1875  Mariam,  daughter  of  Hiram  Woodruff,  of  Huron,  and  their  children 
are  Willis,  born  November,  1876,  and  James  M.,  born  in  March,  1879.  Mr.  Cosad  is  a 
member  of  the  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  of  Wolcott,  and  has  served  as  assessor  three 
years. 

Turner,  Albert,  was  born  in  Ontario  July  4,  1860.  He  is  the  youngest  of  seven  chil- 
dren of  Thomas  and  Sarsh  J.(Osborn)  Turner,  natives  of  England  and  came  to  Ontario 
in  1852.  Mrs.  Turner  died  June  17,  1891,  and  the  father  resides  with  his  son,  Orrin. 
Our  subject  was  reared  on  the  farm  he  owns,  and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools. 
He  has  a  place  of  twenty-fonr  acres,  and  follows  gardening  and  fruit  raising.  He  is  a 
Republican,  and  he  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Free  Methodist  Church.  He  married 
in  1884  Delle,  daughter  of  John  Pye,  of  Rochester.  Mr.  Turner  and  wife  have  two 
daughters,  Mabel  and  Bertha. 

Berzine  Family,  The. — Philip  Bruyzine,  (the  name  was  afterward  changed  to  Ber- 
zine),  was  a  Frenchman,  he  emigrated  to  Holland,  where  he  married  a  Holland  lady,  to 
them  was  born  one  son.  Philip,  whose  parents  died  when  he  was  but  eight  years  old. 
He  married  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and  had  three  children,  Philip,  Susan  and  Mary.  In 
1848  they  emigrated  to  America,  where  his  son  Philip  married  Mary  DeCan.  After  be- 
ing here  about  three  years  he  and  Henry  Van  Eenyck  bought  a  farm  of  sixty  acres  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  town  of  Williamson.  This  farm  was  all  heavy  timber, 
except  a  few  acres  next  to  the  road,  but  by  hard  labor  they  soon  cleared  more  of  the 
land.  There  was  a  log  house  on  the  place  and  here  they  enjoyed  life  for  a  time,  father 
and  son  being  loved  by  all  the  neighbors.  The  son  could  adapt  himself  to  any  and  all 
kinds  of  work,  and  was  an  American  from  the  time  he  landed  on  these  shores  until  he 


136  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY^ 

died  ;  he  took  great  pride  in  learning  the  English  language,  and  winter  evenings  he 
spent  with  his  American  neighbors,  and  attending  all  religious  and  public  meetings  for 
the  purpose  of  being  able  to  write  and  read  the  English  language.  As  he  was  known 
by  all  his  neighbors  for  his  ingenious  qualities,  he  was  once  called  upon  by  one  of  them 
to  superintend  a  bee  to  raise  a  log  barn ;  in  some  way  the  men  let  go  of  a  log  which 
fell  on  him ;  after  suffering  one  day  and  night  he  died  at  the  age  of  thirty  years,  four 
months  and  twenty  days,  leaving  a  wife,  and  aged  mother  and  three  small  children  too 
young  to  realize  their  loss.  All  that  knew  him  felt  that  they  had  lost  a  friend  and  kind 
neighbor.  April  4,  1860,  the  father  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years.  The  three 
children  born  to  Philip  and  Mary  De  Can  Berzine  were  Lucinda,  James  C.  and  Philip. 
James  C.  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  and  followed  it  sixteen  years.  After  the  death 
of  his  father  he  went  to  farming  which  occupation  he  followed  for  seven  years,  and 
then  on  April  1,  1883,  he  came  to  the  village  of  Williamson  and  started  in  the  furniture 
and  undertaking  business  which  he  has  since  continued  successfully.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Order  of  A.  0.  U.  W.,  Knights  of  L.  F.  0.  December  24, 
1873,  Mr.  Berzine  married  Jennie  Van  Cunningham  ;  four  children  were  born  to  them, 
Fannie  May,  who  died  May  17,  1877,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  months,  eleven  days ;  Minnie, 
Lois,  Lucile  M.  and  Mabel  Gertrude. 

Barton,  William,  was  born  in  the  old  log  house  on  the  Elisha  Barton  estate,  February 
27,  1838.  His  father,  Elisha,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1828  from  Putnam  county, 
and  settled  on  lot  22,  which  is  now  the  residence  of  William  Barton.  William  was 
educated  in  the  common  school*,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and 
close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Emma  Louise,  daughter  of 
Elias  B.  Reynolds,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Albert  Elias.  In  1880  he  pur- 
chased the  homestead  property  of  240  acres,  raising  large  quantities  of  mint,  grain  and 
stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  in  his  town,  and  was  one  of  the  three 
commissioners  appointed  to  adjudicate  and  settle  the  payment  of  the  bonds  issued  for 
Sodus  Bay  &  Corning  R.  R.,  taking  an  active  interest  also  in  educational  and  religious 
matters. 

Weed,  Abram,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen  December  2,  1830.  His  father, 
Henry,  was  a  native  of  Norwich,  Conn.  The  family  were  of  French  extraction.  Abram 
received  his  education  in  the  common  schools,  after  which  he  taught  several  winters  and 
worked  on  the  farm  in  the  summer.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  married  Emily, 
daughter  of  Peter  Shear,  of  Junius,  and  they  have  three  children  :  Wallace  N.,  Harry 
M.,  and  Mrs.  Dora  E.  Baker.  In  1862  he  inherited  and  purchased  the  homestead  of 
100  acres,  which  has  been  in  the  family  seventy  years.  In  18S4  he  bought  the  Thomas 
Lape  property  of  ninety-five  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is 
one  of  the  leading  farmers  in  his  town,  was  elected  assessor  three  terms  and  road  com- 
missioner three  terms. 

Hinman,  J.  W.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  October  23,  1844. 
His  father,  Willis  Hinman,  is  a  native  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  born  in  1806,  and  came  to 
Ontario  county  in  1840.  Here  he  followed  his  trade  of  carpenter  and  builder  for  some 
years  and  then  became  a  farmer,  and  is  still  an  active  business  man.  J.  W.  Hinman 
was  educated  in  the  Newark  High  School  and  Academy  and  afterward  in  the  Eastman 
Business  College,  graduating  from  the  latter  in  1865.  He  came  to  Clyde  in  1867  and 
entered  the  employ  of  Briggs  &  Palmer,  bankers,  as  book-keeper.  He  was  afterward 
promoted  to  assistant  cashier,  and  at  the  organization  of  the  Briggs  National  Bank  in 
1880,  was  appointed  cashier,  which  position  he  now  holds.  At  the  age  of  thirty  Mr. 
Hinman  married  Miss  Ida  E.  Field,  daughter  of  Ambrose  Field,  of  Clyde,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  three  sons,  Willis  A.,  Arthur  F.,  and  Harold  C.  Mr.  Hinman  is  interested 
in  the  advancement  of  his  town,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and 
moral  worth. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  137 

The  subject  of  the  following  sketch,  Cyrus  E.  Fitch,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Butler, 
Wayne  county,  N.  Y.  December  4,  1844,  on  the  farm  where  his  grandfather,  Ebenezer 
Fitch,  first,  settled  on  his  arrival  from  Saratoga,  N.  Y.  His  ancestors  were  of  German 
descent,  and  are  traced  directly  back  to  that  hardy  colony  of  pioneers  who  came  over 
from  the  Fatherland  in  the  "Half  Moon"  with  Hendrick  Hudson  and  settled  along  the 
banks  of  that  beautiful  river  which  bears  his  name.  His  grandfather,  Ebenezer  Fitch, 
emigrated  from  Saratoga  county  with  his  wife  at  an  early  day  and  settled  in  the  town 
of  Butler,  where  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  eight  consecu- 
tive years  and  took  an  active  part  in  arranging  the  boundaries  and  shaping  the  destinies 
of  what  is  now  one  of  the  most  prosperous  townships  in  the  county  of  Wayne.  His 
ancestors  on  his  mother's  side  were  also  of  German  descent  and  first  settled  in  Jefferson 
county,  this  State.  In  the  year  1852  he,  with  his  father,  moved  on  the  farm  where  he 
has  since  resided.  He  was  graduated  from  Wolcott  Academy  in  1860,  taught  school 
until  the  autumn  of  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery, 
and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  Cold  Harbor,  Mono- 
cacy,  Winchester,  Cedar  Creek,  Fisher's  Hill  and  Petersburg.  After  his  discharge  from 
the  army  he  was  married  in  the  year  of  1865  to  Elenor  J.  Pearsoll,  a  lady  of  the  most 
estimable  character,  whose  people  lived  in  Wolcott,  N.  Y.  Their  union  proved  a  most 
happy  one  and  has  been  blessed  with  an  interesting  family  of  children,  three  sons  and 
one  daughter,  who  have  been  given  the  best  educational  advantages  that  the  State  af- 
forded, the  latter,  Miss  Minnie,  being  an  accomplished  musician  and  a  graduate  from 
the  Normal  College  at  Albany,  N.  Y.  Mr,  Fitch  has  been  a  prominent  member  of  the 
First  M.  E.  Church  of  Wolcott,  N.  Y.,  since  1865  and  for  a  long  time  a  member  of  the 
official  board  of  that  church.  He  was  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school  for  two 
years,  and  since  retiring  from  that  position  he  has  conducted  the  largest  Bible  Class 
ever  known  in  the  church  at  any  time.  Mr.  Fitch  has  always  taken  an  active  interest 
in  educational  work,  having  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  education  of  Leaven- 
worth Institute  for  thirteen  years,  from  which  position  he  resigned  in  the  spring  of 
1894,  upon  being  elected  to  the  office  of  supervisor  of  his  town.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  his  majority  as  supervisor  being  196,  the  largest  majority  ever  given  to  any 
candidate  for  supervisor  in  the  town  of  Butler.  He  has  made  an  excellent  record  as 
supervisor  and  is  a  clean,  honest  and  conscientious  official.  For  the  past  twelve  years 
Mr.  Fitch  has  given  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  preparation  and  handling  of  evapor- 
ated fruit ;  and  his  large  system  of  evaporators  are  among  the  best  and  most  extensive 
in  the  county  of  Wayne.  He  is  a  thorough  and  successful  business  man,  a  kind  and 
indulgent  husband  and  parent,  and  an  enterprising  and  public  spirited  citizen. 

Hendrick,  Austin,  who  was  born  in  the  town  of  Wolcott  in  November,  1852,  a  son 
of  Levi  and  Catherine  (Tones)  Hendrick.  Levi  was  born  in  Wolcott  in  1824,  and  they 
had  four  children  besides  our  subject :  Mary  N.,  wife  of  I.  Van  Arsdale  of  Owasco ;  Will- 
iam, of  Auburn ;  Frank,  of  Rose ;  Catharine,  wife  of  I.  Silliman,  of  Fairhaven,  Cayuga 
county.  John  Hendrick  was  the  grandfather's  name.  Subject  began  life  by  working 
for  farmers  and  finally  purchased  the  farm  of  ninety  acres,  where  he  now  lives.  For 
some  years  he  gave  his  attention  chiefly  to  horses  and  sheep.  In  1876  he  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Daniel  C.  and  Caroline  (Leroy)  Keeslar.  She  was  born  in  Huron, 
and  they  had  these  children,  Charlie  and  Leroy.  Mr.  Hendrick  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  Wolcott  Grange  P.  of  A.,  No.  348,  and  in  politics  subject  is  a  Republican.  Mrs. 
Hendrick's  father,  Daniel  C.  Keeslar  and  his  two  brothers,  were  members  of  the  famous 
9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery.  Daniel  first  enlisted  and  served  three  years,  and  partici- 
pated in  nearly  all  of  the  battles  of  this  county.  He  re- enlisted  and  was  killed  in  the 
battle  before  Petersburg.  His  brother,  Simeon,  died  from  a  wound  received  in  the 
same  battle ;  and  Alfred  died  in  the  hospital  from  typhoid  fever.  In  honor  of  these 
three  brave  men  the  Col.  Dutton  G.  A.  R.  Post  No.  55,  at  Wolcott  was  named  the 
Keeslar  Post.  Their  father,  Adam  Keeslar,  presented  this  post  with  an  appropriate  flag, 
and  died  in  1889. 


138  LANDMARKS    OF    WAYNE    COUNTY. 

Dickinson,  George  A.,  was  born  in  Lysander,  N.  Y.,  October  12,  1852,  a  son  of 
Joshua  O,  who  was  a  native  of  Greene  county.  He  settled  in  Huron  in  1857  and  lived 
here  until  his  death.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican,  and  served  nine  years  as  assessor. 
His  wife  was  Elmira  Powell,  and  their  children  were:  Steverson  S.,  Powell  C,  Rachel, 
wife  of  John  Brink  of  Michigan  ;  Mary,  wife  of  Reuben  Brink  of  Michigan ;  Kezia, 
wife  of  Alfred  Waldron  of  Huron  ;  Susan,  wife  of  Charles  Stone  of  Baldwinsville ; 
Geooge  A.,  Adelbert  and  Edna.  Powell  was  killed  in  the  Rebellion,  at  the  battle  of 
Port  Hudson.  Steverson  also  served  in  the  war.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  our  sub- 
ject began  life  for  himself  by  purchasing  the  farm  of  seventy-one  acres  in  1886  where 
he  now  resides.  He  married  Luna  L.,  daughter  of  David  and  Maria  Vought,  of  Huron. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Repnblican.  His  grandfather  was  Samuel  Powell  a  native  and  shoe 
merchant  of  Lysander,  who  came  to  Huron  in  1857  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life 
with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Dickinson.  Joshua  Dickinson  was  a  Mason,  a  member  of  the 
Huron  Grange  Lodge,  and  was  a  delegate  to  many  of  the  county  and  State  con- 
ventions. 

Green,  Hugh,  was  born  at  Geneva  in  1822,  came  to  Galen  in  1825,  lived  with  his 
parents  until  nineteen  years  of  age,  when  he  spent  three  years  in  the  lumber  region 
of  Michigan.  He  then  returned  to  Seneca  Falls,  where  for  nine  years  he  managed  a 
saw-mill  for  Smith  Bros.  In  1854  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Huron,  and  has  devoted  his 
energies  to  that  pursuit  until  his  retirement  to  a  pleasant  home  in  the  village  of  Wol- 
cott.  In  1851  he  married  Caroline  L.,  daughter  of  B.  S.  Carter  of  Seneca  Falls,  and 
they  have  three  children:  Emma,  born  in  1852,  wife  of  N.  C.  Vought  of  Wolcott; 
George,  born  in  1854,  and  Frank,  born  in  1861.  Mr.  Green  still  owns  147  acres  of  land 
in  Huron,  in  two  farms  nearly  adjacent,  and  operated  by  his  sons  George  and  Frank. 

Haley,  Edward,  was  born  in  Walworth  in  July,  1856,  the  oldest  son  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  Haley,  natives  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  America  about  1855  and  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Walworth,  where  he  now  resides.  His  mother  died  in  1869.  Edward  was  reared 
on  the  farm,  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  has  always  been  a  farmer.  He  is 
extensively  engaged  in  evaporating  apples  and  fruit  in  the  west.  In  1875  he  purchased 
the  farm  of  seventy- one  acres,  where  he  now  resides,  following  general  farming.  He 
is  a  prominent  figure  in  local  politics  and  is  now  serving  his  tenth  year  as  assessor.  He 
is  a  Granger,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Walworth  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. 

Peterson,  C.  0.,  was  born  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  July  29,  1854.  At  fifteen  years  of  age 
he  was  by  an  accident  deprived  of  his  right  arm,  in  spite  of  which  serious  handicap  he 
acquired  an  academic  education,  and  was  for  several  years  a  sucjessful  teacher.  In 
the  meantime  he  studied  law  with  Hon  J.  B.  Decker  and  in  1882  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  beginning  practice  at  once  at  Red  Creek,  where  he  is  highly  esteemed  as  a  gentle- 
man and  scholar.  When  but  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  was  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
and  has  been  associate  justice  of  the  Court  of  Sessions  with  Judge  Collins.  In  1886 
he  married  and  has  two  sons,  Ray  Ames,  born  November  3  1888,  and  Carleton  0.,  born 
July  12,  1894. 

Smith,  John  H.,  was  born  July  20,  1831,  and  is  a  son  of  Walter  H.  Smith,  who  was 
for  forty  years  a  merchant  at  Port  Byron.  John  H.  graduated  from  Clinton  College  in 
1858  and  practiced  bookkeeping  until  the  opening  of  the  war  in  1861,  when  he  enlisted 
in  Company  B,  Seventy-fifth  N.  Y.  S.  Volunteers,  where  he  held  the  rank  of  sergeant. 
His  army  experience  was  mainly  with  the  Army  of  the  Gulf  under  Butler.  Among  the 
battles  in  which  he  participated  were  Pensacola,  Bayou  La  Fourche  and  the  siege  of 
Port  Hudson.  At  Cedar  Creek  he  received  severe  injuries,  confining  him  to  the  hos- 
pital nearly  a  year.  Since  the  war  he  has  at  various  times  engaged  in  gold  mining  and 
mercantile  business,  in  the  west  and  as  a  traveling  salesman.  In  1874  he  married 
Emma  M.,  daughter  of  George  Vau  Scoten,  of  Montrose,  Pa. 

Bullock  Ira,  was  born  at  Wolcott  village  in  1865,  and  is  the  son  of  Stephen  E.  and 
Martha  Bullock,  who  came  from  Pennsylvania  in   1859.     Stephen  Bullock  served  four 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  139 

years  in  the  civil  war,  with  honor  and  distinction.  Ira  was  educated  at  Leavenworth 
Institute,  Wolcott,  and  served  as  deputy  postmaster  in  Wolcott  for  four  years,  during 
his  father's  incumbency  under  Garfield.  In  1893  he  purchased  a  farm  near  Red  Creek. 
April  27,  1892,  he  married  Ethel,  daughter  of  Theodore  Oakley  of  Wolcott,  and  they 
have  one  son,  Stephen,  born  December  30,  1892. 

Perkins,  Herbert,  wholesale  and  retail  dealer  in  meats,  fish  and  fruits,  at  Red  Coeek, 
was  born  at  Hannibal,  December  3,  1851.  After  the  completion  of  his  education  at 
Falley  Seminary,  he  was  for  eight  years  engaged  in  farming,  and  in  1879  came  to  Red 
Creek  and  established  a  livery  business,  which  he  still  conducts,  adding  the  market  and 
grocery  in  1889.  In  1870  he  married  Alida  Hompe  of  Hannibal,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Nellie  and  Edward.  Mr.  Perkins  is  at  present  town  clerk  having  been 
elected  in  1891. 

Graves,  H.  A.,  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Wolcott.  was  born  at  Tully,  Onon- 
daga county,  November  10,  1836.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of  George  S.  Graves,  who  was 
a  woolen  manufacturer  at  Tully  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1842,  engaging  in  mer- 
cantile business  at  South  Butler,  where  he  was  also  postmaster.  He  now  lives  in  re- 
tirement at  Ottawa,  111.  Henry  A.  Graves  acquired  an  academic  education  at  Onon- 
daga Valley,  and  his  first  business  venture  was  Ottawa,  111.  In  1859  he  succeeded  his 
father  in  the  general  store  business  at  South  Butler,  and  five  years  later  came  to  Wol- 
cott. Besides  a  large  trade  in  dry  goods,  boots  and  shoes,  groceries,  etc.,  at  No.  16 
East  Main  street,  he  makes  a  specialty  of  evaporating  fruits,  in  which  product  Wayne 
county  is  unexcelled.  In  1859  he  married  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  Charles  J.  Viele  of 
Wolcott,  and  his  only  son  Charles  S.,  who  was  born  in  1869  and  married  Nellie  Col- 
burn,  and  is  now  engaged  in  the  business  with  him  at  Wolcott. 

James  Vandenberg  was  born  in  Coxsackie,  N.  Y.,  July  31,  1827,  and  died  in  Clyde 
May  14,  1894.  He  attended  the  academy  in  his  native  place  and  studied  law,  and 
after  admission  to  the  bar  removed  to  Cleveland,  N.  Y.,  where  he  soon  became  prom- 
inent. In  1855  he  located  in  Clyde  and  was  in  active  and  successful  practice  nearly 
forty  years.  In  the  fall  of  1865  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  by  the  Republicans, 
and  served  a  second  term  by  re-election.  In  1876  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles 
T.  Saxton,  which  continued  to  his  death.  In  1879  he  was  elected  district  attorney  of 
Wayne  county  by  a  very  large  majority,  and  filled  the  office  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Bar  Association  and  a  Mason 
of  high  standing.  Mr.  Vandenberg  married  in  1849  Rebecca  Landgraff,  of  Cleveland. 
Five  children  were  born  to  them. 

Pulver,  R.  T.,  born  in  Saratoga  county  in  1829,  is  the  youngest  and  only  survivor  of 
eight  children  of  John  and  Nellie  Pulver,  who  were  residents  of  Columbia  and  Saratoga 
counties  respectively.  Mr.  Pulver  died  in  1848,  and  his  wife  in  1846.  The  family  is 
of  Dutch  descent.  Risley  Taylor,  our  subject,  began  life  as  a  farm  hand  and  has  always 
followed  farming.  He  was  twelve  years  in  Iowa,  then  came  to  Ontario  and  bought  the 
farm  he  now  occupies  on  the  Lake  road.  He  carries  on  general  farming  and  fruit  grow- 
ing, and  is  also  interested  in  breeding  horses.  Mr.  Pulver  has  been  three  times  mar- 
ried, first  to  Elizabeth  Sabin  of  Ontario,  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter  and  one  son, 
John  S.,  a  farmer  in  Columbia  county,  and  Mary,  who  died  aged  nineteen.  Mrs.  Pulver 
died  and  he  married,  second,  a  sister,  Laura  Sabin,  who  died,  and  he  married,  third, 
Mary  E.  Rutherford  of  Marion,  Wayne  county.  His  son,  John  S.,  married  Mary  Card, 
and  they  have  one  daughter,  Theresa  Florence. 

Rogers,  William  G.,  (deceased)  was  born  in  Lyons  July  6,  1841.  His  father,  Bait- 
lett,  was  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  his  town.  William  G.  was  educated  in  the 
Lyons  Union  School,  to  which  he  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation. 
At  the   age  of  sixteen  he  entered  active  business  life  in  Michigan  in  the  lumber  busi- 


140  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

ness ;  also  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Sodus  with  Erastus  Rogers.  His 
health  beginn:ng  to  fail  at  that  period,  he  in  connection  with  his  father,  purchased  the 
Lyman  farm  property  of  200  acres.  At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  married  Sarah  B., 
daughter  of  Benjamin  J.  Bradley  of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  children : 
Louise  B.,  George  W.,  Wilmina  and  Mary  Eleanor.  Our  subject  took  an  active  inter- 
est in  politics,  was  president  of  the  village,  and  was  connected  with  both  school  and 
church.  He  died  at  the  age  of  forty-three,  leaving  a  wife  and  children  to  carry  out  his 
many  interests  to  completion. 

Towlerton,  Charles  H.,  was  born  in  Butler  November  4,  1865.  His  father,  James 
Towlerton,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1846,  from  Leeds,  England,  and  settled  in  the 
town  of  Butler.  Charles  H.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  graduated  from 
Leavenworth  Institute  in  1886  and  from  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York 
Medical  College  in  1889.  He  was  then  appointed  one  of  the  medical  staff  of  Bellevue 
Hospital  for  the  term  of  two  years;  at  the  expiration  of  his  hospital  service  he  received 
the  appointment  of  surgeon  on  the  Netherland  American  Steamship  Line.  Resigning 
that  position  in  1892  he  located  in  Lyons  and  established  a  general  practice.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-six  he  married  Nellie  E.,  daughter  of  Fletcher  S.  Johnson  of  Wolcott. 
Our  subject  is  one  of  the  best  read  members  of  his  profession,  a  member  of  the  Wayne 
county  Medical  Society,  also  an  active  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Alumni  of  Bellevue 
Hospital,  New  York, 

Howk,  John  O,  was  born  in  Washington  county,  N.  Y.,  March  7,  1836,  a  son  of 
Horace  and  Fanny  (Crouch)  Howk  of  Washington  county.  The  father  of  Horace  was 
Andrew  Howk,  whose  parents  came  from  Holland  and  settled  in  Washington  county 
in  an  early  day,  the  name  having  been  originally  Van  Huyck.  The  mother  of  our  subject 
died  in  Fort  Ann  in  1838  and  his  father  married  second,  Henrietta  Spencer,  daughter  of 
Captain  Phineas  Spencer,  of  Revolutinary  fame,  and  they  hac1  three  sons.  He  was  a 
Republican  in  politics.  John  O,  our  subject,  came  to  Wayne  county  at  the  age  of  nine 
years  and  was  reared  by  his  uncle  and  aunt  Loron  and  Electa  Whitney  of  this  county, 
received  his  education  in  district  school  and  Webster  Academy.  He  followed  farming 
for  thirty  years  upon  the  farm  of  70  acres  left  him  by  his  uncle  in  the  west  part  of  the 
town  of  Ontario  and  which  he  still  owns.  And  in  1888  came  to  the  village  of  Ontario 
and  engaged  in  the  coal  and  lumber  trade  where  he  still  resides.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  has  been  an  elder  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school 
twenty-six  years  in  succession  and  served  one  year  as  president  of  the  Wayne  County 
Sunday  School  Association.  He  is  a  Republican  and  has  served  as  supervisor  two 
years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Royal  Templars  of  Temperance  and  of  the  South  Shore 
Grange  No.  552,  of  which  he  has  been  a  master  for  seven  years.  In  1858  Mr.  Howk 
married  Catherine,  daughter  of  Dr.  L.  Whitcomb  of  Macedon  Center,  N.  Y.,  who 
practiced  medicine  in  Wayne  county  about  forty  years  and  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  in  1853.  His  wife  was  Deborah  (Wells)  Whitcomb,  of  Washington  county, 
N.  Y.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howk  have  five  sons,  of  whom  Loron  W.  was  educated  in 
Webster  Academy  and  Rochester  University,  graduating  in  1888  and  from  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  Michigan  in  1891,  and  who  is  now  a  practicing  phy- 
sician in  Rochester,  N.  Y.  He  married  Ella  Hildreth,  of  California.  Edson  J.  was 
educated  in  Webster  Academy  and  the  Genesee  Normal  School.  His  wife  is  Nina 
Gardner  and  they  have  one  son,  Luther  J.  Judson  W.  resides  at  home,  having  been 
educated  in  the  Genesee  Normal  School.  Oscar  L.  is  also  being  educated  at  the  latter 
school.  Horace  J.  resides  at  home  and  is  attending  the  village  school.  They  have 
also  adopted  a  brother's  child,  H.  May  who  is  now  eight  years  of  age, 

Fisher,  Jacob,  was  born  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  October  29,  1831,  first  settled 
in  Rochester,  in  1872  came  to  Lyons  and  rented  the  Lyons  Pottery  plant  for  five  years, 
and  in  1878  purchased  the  business  and  real  estate  of  the  Harrington  estate.     The  Lyons 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  141 

Pottery  is  a  well-known  manufactory  throughout  the  United  States,  the  merchandise 
having  a  well  deserved  reputation  for  excellence  and  durability.  The  plant  was  first 
established  in  1825  by  N.  Clark  &  Co.,  and  was  rebuilt  in  1889  by  Mr.  Fisher  who  has 
continued  to  add  to  the  plant  since  he  bought  the  property  in  1878,  having  a  building 
of  two  stories  and  basement  of  175x50  feet  including  two  kilns  of  10,000  gallons  capa- 
city each,  and  having  an  average  yearly  output  of  050,000  gallons  of  all  kinds  of  stone- 
ware. At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  married  Theresa  Burger,  and  they  have  seven  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  are  now  living:  Edmund,  William  Frederick,  Amelia  and  Louisa. 
Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  active  business  men  in  his  town,  identified  in  advancing 
its  best  interests,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and  high  character. 

Selby,  Stephen  Fish,  was  born  August  16,  1815,  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of 
Jared  C.,  and  Ct:arity  (Fish)  Selby.  The  first  two  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  Pult- 
neyville,  where  his  parents  resided.  The  next  three  or  four  years  was  spent  at  the 
"  Corners  "  and  vicinity,  then  his  parents  removed  to  Palmyra.  A  year  later  he  went 
to  live  with  Dr.  Luther  Cowan,  remaining  two  years  until  the  latter's  death,  when  for 
the  next  two  years  he  resided  with  Capt.  Asa  Silly.  He  was  four  years  in  the  store  of 
Luther  Tucker  in  Palmyra,  then  learned  the  printer's  trade  out  of  school  hours,  then 
went  to  Walworth  with  Luther  Tucker  in  his  store  there,  where  he  remained  four  years, 
being  then  an  orphan  without  means.  Mr.  Tucker's  executors  paid  him  $500  which  he 
put  to  interest,  and  then  entered  the  office  of  Drs.  Delamater  &  Loomis,  of  Palmyra, 
working  for  his  board,  tuition  and  use  of  books.  A  year  later  Dr.  Delamater  went  to 
Fairfield  to  practice,  taking  young  Selby  with  him.  The  latter  spent  eight  months  in 
the  academy  in  that  place,  four  months  in  the  medical  college  (each  year  for  seven 
years),  and  later  went  with  Dr.  Delamater  to  Little  Falls  where  they  remained  a  year, 
then  went  to  Willou^hby,  Ohio,  where  our  subject  assisted  the  doctor  in  his  practice  and 
graduated  at  Willoughby  University.  Dr.  Delamater  then  went  to  Cleveland,  leaviug 
the  practice  with  our  subject,  who  remained  here  and  in  Northern  Ohio  following  his 
profession  about  seventeen  years,  including  one  year  in  partnership  with  Dr.  Delamater 
in  Cleveland.  In  1861  he  enlisted  and  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  3d  0.  Y.  C.  as  sur- 
geon, which  position  he  held  two  years,  when  partly  disabled  by  fever.  He  was  two 
years  in  the  hospitals  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  as  surgeon,  when  he  became  permanently  and 
totally  disabled  and  returned  to  Ohio.  In  1873  he  and  family  sought  a  quiet  home  in 
Williamson,  where  they  settled  on  a  farm  and  have  since  resided,  Dr.  Selby  receiving  a 
small  pension.  In  1846  he  married  Sarah  Agnes  Fisk,  of  Ashtabula,  0.,  and  they  had 
seven  children  :  Mary,  Emma,  Amos,  Jared,  Stephen,  and  Nellie,  who  died  aged  two 
and  one-half  years,  and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  Jared  Cone  Selby,  his  father,  was 
born  May  2,  1787,  and  died  February  22,  1826,  at  New  Orleans  aged  thirty-eight  years. 
He  was  a  past  master  Mason.  His  father  was  Jeremiah  Selby  who  came  from  East 
Haddam,  Conn.,  about  1800  with  his  wife  and  seven  children,  making  his  way  in  a 
small  boat  of  his  own  construction  to  a  point  one  and  one-half  miles  west  of  Palmyra 
on  Mud  Creek,  where  he  located  and  built  a  grist  mill  and  about  1805  moved  to  Pult- 
neyville  and  built  and  operated  a  grist  and  saw  mill  till  his  death.  He  died  September 
15,  1811,  aged  sixty-six,  and  his  wife  Sarah  Cone,  died  July  4,  1822.  His  father  was 
William  Selby,  M.  D.,  who  came  from  Selby,  Yorkshire,  England,  about  1702.  He  was 
a  direct  descendant  of  the  first  Selby,  who  was  a  Saxon  sea  captain  and  was  the  founder 
of  Selby. 

Foskett,  James  G-.,  was  born  in  Walworth  December  29,  1848,  son  of  Hiram  and 
Jane  (Laird)  Foskett,  he  a  native  of  Walworth,  born  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  out- 
subject  May  8,  1815,  and  she  of  New  Jersey,  born  April  9,  1810.  She  had  been 
previously  married  to  Asaph  G-.  Foskett,  a  brother  of  Hiram  Foskett,  and  had  one  child. 
Asaph  C  Foskett  was  killed  by  a  threshing  machine  on  the  homestead.  The  paternal 
grandfather  was  David  Foskett,  born  in  Massachusetts,  who  came  to  Walworth  in  1811 
and  settled  on  the  farm  owned  by  subject.     He  owned  about  300  acres,  was  assessor 


142  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

for  sixteen  years,  justice  of  the  peace  eight  years,  and  died  September  15,  1849,  aged 
seventy-one  years.  His  wife  was  Naamah  Robinson,  a  native  of  Vermont.  The  father 
of  subject  owned  150  acres  of  land  now  owned  by  subject.  He  died  July  28,  1892, 
and  his  wife  October  15,  1888.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  the  farm  he  owns  and  edu- 
cated at  Macedon  Academy  and  Lima  Seminary,  owns  150  acres  and  now  lives  retired. 
He  has  built  a  new  barn  and  made  other  improvements.  He  married,  February  15, 
1883,  Charlotte  M.  Johnson,  a  native  of  Macedon,  and  daughter  of  Herman  and  Bell 
(Packard)  Johnson.     He  was  station  agent  at  Macpdon  and  died  in  1873. 

Gould,  William  E.,  was  born  in  Ontario  May  2,  1837,  son  of  Israel  and  Sally  A.  (Amy) 
Gould,  he  a  native  of  Canada,  born  in  1803,  and  she  of  Saratoga  county,  born  in  1811. 
The  father  of  Israel  was  Daniel  Gould,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  came  to  Walworth 
in  1804,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  His  wife  was  Carlinthy  Woodcock 
a  native  of  Lake  George,  by  whom  he  had  thirteen  children.  He  was  in  the  war  of 
1812.  Subject's  father  was  a  man  well  informed,  especially  in  mathematics.  He  settled 
on  a  farm  in  Ontario  now  owned  by  subject,  where  he  died.  He  was  one  of  the  largest 
farmers  in  that  town,  owning  about  300  acres.  He  died  October  11,  1868,  and  his  wife 
May  5,  1844,  aged  thirty-three  years.  Subject  was  educated  in  Walworth  Academy. 
He  owns  140  acres  where  he  resides  and  sixty-three  acres  in  Ontario,  follows  general 
farming,  and  raised  hops  in  Ontario  fourteen  years.  He  was  a  dealer  in  produce  and 
coal  at  Union  Hill  nine  years.  He  was  assessor  seven  years,  is  a  member  of  Wayne 
Lodge  No.  41G,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  sent  a  substitute  to  the  late  war.  He  married,  in  1862, 
Malinda  J.  Brown,  a  native  of  Perrington,  Monroe  county,  by  whom  he  has  three  chil- 
dren, the  youngest  a  son,  George  W.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  Nora  J.,  at 
home,  who  graduated  from  the  Brockport  Normal  School  and  was  six  years  principal  of 
Adams  School  of  Duluth,  Minn.;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Arthur  L.  Hatch,  a  merchant  of 
Lincoln  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Kennedy  and  our  subject.  The  firm  is  known  as  Ken- 
nedy, Hatch  &  Co.  She  is  a  graduate  of  Brockport  Normal  School  and  has  one 
daughter,  Marjorie  G.,  born  December  24,  1892. 

Galloway,  James,  was  born  April  27,  1765,  in  Orange  county  and  moved  to  Newton, 
Chemung  county,  where  he  lived  two  years  on  the  farm  of  John  Jenkins,  the  surve}ror. 
From  Newton  (now  Elmira)  he  came  to  Palmyra  April  27,  1790,  locating  on  lot  37,  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  his  son  James.  He  bought  the  land  of  Jenkin  &  Swift  for  one 
shilling  eight  pence  per  acre,  and  after  clearing  and  planting  two  acres  he  returned  to 
his  former  home  for  his  family.  They  lived  three  months  in  their  covered  wagon,  then 
built  a  log  house,  which  was  replaced  in  1802  by  a  frame  structure.  His  wife  died  in 
1799,  leaving  five  children  John,  Mary  Ann,  Hannah,  Archer,  and  Polly;  and  he  mar- 
ried in  1819  Nancy,  daughter  of  James  Fosket.  He  had  three  children  by  his  second 
wife,  James,  Jerome  B.,  Julia  Ann.  His  widow,  Nancy  Galloway,  died  December  28, 
1878,  aged  eighty- nine.  His  own  death  occurred  July  21,  1840.  To  correct  an  error 
in  another  work  it  may  be  stated  that  James  Galloway  purchased  a  soldier's  right  at 
the  close  af  the  Revolution,  of  640  acres  in  Onondaga  county.  This  occurred  before 
he  moved  from  Orange  county  and  has  no  connection  with  the  purchase  of  lot  37. 
John,  the  son  of  James  by  his  first  wife,  bought  fifty  acres  of  land  near  Palmyra.  He 
married  Miss  Betsey  Cornwell.  Their  children  were  Duane,  Thomas,  George  and  Al- 
mon.  He  took  a  contract  to  dig  eighty  rods  of  the  Erie  Canal.  Thomas  drove  the  oxen. 
His  brother,  Duane,  held  the  scraper.  Thomas  was  born  in  Palmyra,  July  28,  1809, 
on  the  farm  he  now  occupies.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  nine  years  old.  In 
1823  he  moved  to  Michigan  with  his  father.  In  1828  he  returned  to  Palmyra.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  came  into  possession  of  thirty-two  acres  of  land,  from  his  grand- 
father (his  birthplace).  In  1836  he  built  a  frame  house  and  married  Miss  Ruby  Giff- 
ord,  by  whom  he  had  six  children,  Milfred,  Harriet  and  Carlton,  Emma,  Willis  and 
Helen.     His  wife  died  July  1892.     The  homestead  consists  of  160  acres. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  143 

Freer,  John,  was  born  in  Palmyra  August  11,  1846,  son  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  (Beam) 
Freer,  natives  of  New  York,  he  was  born  in  1805  and  she  in  1818.  They  came  to  So- 
dus  and  after  a  short  time  went  to  Wisconsin  and  finally  came  to  Williamson,  and  in 
1858  settled  on  a  farm  in  Walworth  where  Mr.  Freer  died  in  1871  and  his  wife  died  in 
Williamson  in  1892.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  Walworth  Academy.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer,  except  four  years 
proprietor  of  Walworth  hotel.  He  owns  forty-two  acres  of  land  and  makes  a  specialty 
of  raising  fruit,  having  six  acres  of  berries.  He  married  twice,  first,  Agatha  M.  Briggs, 
by  whom  he  had  three  children  :  George,  deceased  ;  Wellington  and  Frank.  Mrs. 
Freer  died  in  1880,  and  in  1884  he  married  second  Ella  Beckwith  a  native  of  Sodus,  born 
January  30,  1861,  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah  (Nye)  Beckwith,  he  a  native  of  Ar- 
cadia, born  in  1835  and  she  of  Sodus,  born  in  1839.     They  now  reside  in  Williamson. 

Mason,  Charles,  was  born  in  Williamson,  N.  Y.,  November  13,  1824.  He  is  the 
eighth  of  ten  children  of  John  and  Eleanor  Williamson  Mason,  both  natives  of  New 
Jersey,  who  came  to  Williamson  in  1811.  Mr.  Mason  was  drowned  November  13,  1831, 
and  his  wife  died  July  10  1859.  At  seven  years  of  age  our  subject  started  in  life  for 
himself.  He  has  been  a  cooper  and  farmer  and  owns  118  acres  of  land,  following  farm- 
ing and  growing  small  fruits.  Mr.  Mason  has  been  highway  commissioner  for  six  years. 
March  10,  1847,  he  married  Iantha  Gibbs,  of  Williamson,  born  December  18,  1829,  a 
daughter  of  Amasa  Gibbs,  who  settled  the  farm  where  our  subject  now  resides,  and  who 
was  also  in  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Mason  and  wife  have  two  daughters  and  one  son: 
Harriet,  at  home  ;  Jennie  (wife  of  W.  H.  Shafer),  who  has  one  son,  Durfee,  else- 
where mentioned  in  this  work.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  a  carpenter  and  mill- 
wright, and  also  a  cabinet  maker.  He  built  the  Penfield  mills,  and  the  first  M.  E, 
Church  at  Pultneyville.     He  also  built  the  mill  at  Marion,  owned  by  Mr.  Cogswell. 

Gilbert,  Charles  D.,  a  native  of  Walworth,  was  born  November  8, 1850,  son  of  Daniel 
and  Betsey  (Thomas)  Gilbert,  he  a  native  Fabius,  Onondaga  county,  born  September 
1,  1804,  and  she  of  Brookfield,  Madison  county,  born  December  12,  1806.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  subject  was  Apollus  Gilbert,  who  died  in  Fabius  in  1808.  His  wife  was 
Joanna  Dunbar.  Daniel  Gilbert  was  an  expert  horse  shoer  and  worked  for  the  stage 
line  a  number  of  years.  In  1838  he  came  to  West  Walworth,  bought  a  lot  and  built  a 
house  and  worked  at  his  trade,  and  in  1852  purchased  the  farm  where  the  family  reside. 
He  died  December  18,  1874.  He  married  in  Manlius  in  1826  Betsey,  daughter  of 
Asahel  Thomas,  born  June  24,  1772,  in  Connecticut.  His  wife  was  Rebecca  Pitkin, 
born  in  Connecticut  September  29,  1772.  The  children  of  Daniel  and  wife  were 
Benager  Gilbert  of  Fairport ;  George  W.,  of  Meckling,  S.  D. ;  Frank  L.,  of  Walworth; 
Charles  D.,  our  subject ;  Aldisa,  who  died  in  1887,  wife  of  Loren  Sweet,  by  whom  she 
had  one  child,  Fred  G.  ;  and  Eliza,  who  died  March  31,  1894.  She  was  the  wife  of 
Jacamiah  Furman,  of  Fairport,  by  whom  she  had  three  children :  Clara,  deceased, 
Lewis  G.,  and  Gilbert  J.  Subject  was  postmaster  of  West  Walworth  from  April  16, 
1887,  to  November,  1888,  and  resigned. 

Hogan,  A.  N,  is  a  son  of  Ashley  Hogan,  who  came  to  this  locality  in  1826,  clearing 
with  his  own  axe  a  farm  of  100  acres,  about  one  and  one-half  miles  east  of  the  farm 
now  occupied  by  his  son,  three  miles  north  of  Savannah.  He  was  a  man  of  some  note 
in  his  town,  serving  as  supervisor  of  the  poor,  highway  commissioner,  etc.  His  first 
wife,  Rhoda  Horton,  bore  him  eight  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  our  sketch  is  the 
sole  survivor.  His  second  wife  was  Fannie  Scott,  of  Butler,  who  died  three  years  later 
leaving  no  children.  Mr.  Hogan  married  third,  Mary  Carter,  by  whom  he  had  three 
children,  two  now  living.  A.  N.  Hogan  married  September  10,  1836,  Polly  Ketchum, 
of  this  town,  and  they  had  five  children:  Phena,  Anna  E.,  Etta,  Rhoda  and  William 
Nelson.  The  latter  now  conducts  the  farm,  his  father  being  engaged  as  a  veterinary 
surgeon.  He  has  also  for  fourteen  years  been  overseer  of  the  poor,  also  trustee  of 
school  and  gospel  lot. 


144  LANDMARKS    OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

Van  Dyke,  Mrs.  Ralph,  nee  Polly  Risley,  is  the  widow  of  Ralph  Van  Dyke,  who  died 
here  June  25,  1876.  Ralph  Van  Dyke  was  a  worthy  pensioner  of  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion. He  enlisted  in  1863  in  Company  K,  50th  N.  Y.  S.  Engineers,  and  served  as 
corporal  until  the  close  of  hostilities.  Polly  Van  Dyke  is  the  mother  of  seven  children  : 
Ellen,  Cornelia,  Irene,  George,  Isadore,  William  and  Juliet.  George  is  an  engineer  and 
boatman,  unmarried,  residing  with  his  mother. 

Wooster,  Hiram  0.,  better  known  as  ''Dock,'  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ontario  July 
14,  1833.  He  is  the  fourth  of  seven  children  of  Frederick  N.  and  Emeline  Wooster. 
He  has  always  been  a  farmer  running  a  threshing  machine  f  >r  twenty-five  falls.  He 
resided  in  Ontario  until  1860  when  he  moved  into  the  town  of  Walworth  and  in  1869 
he  purchased  what  is  known  as  the  Deacon  Bancroft  farm.  This  he  exchanged  for  a 
house  and  lot  at  Macedon  Centre  where  he  lived  one  year,  after  which  he  returned  to 
West  Walworth  and  purchased  a  farm  of  100  acres,  known  as  the  Joseph  Gould  farm, 
on  which  he  has  since  lived.  He  married  in  1858  Martha  Gould,  daughter  of  Israel 
Gould,  of  the  town  of  Ontario,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  Fred  M.,  who  married  Ella  J. 
Snow,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  S.  W.  Snow,  of  Saratoga  county,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children,  Carl  and  Ruth.  Fred  lives  at  Union  Hill,  where  he  deals  in  coal,  lumber,  and 
produce. 

Yeomans,  Albert,  was  born  in  Walworth  January  20,  1848,  a  son  of  Eliab  and 
Phoebe  (Walters)  Yeomans,  of  Cairo,  Greene  county,  the  former  born  November  27, 
1812,  and  the  latter  April  20,  1818.  The  grandparents  were  Gilbert  and  Sally  Yeo- 
mans. Eliab  owned  a  farm  of  210  acres,  which  was  left  to  the  family,  and  sixty-two 
acres  of  which  is  now  owned  by  our  subject.  Eliab  died  in  1873,  and  his  wife  survives. 
Of  their  children,  one  son  and  four  daughters  are  now  living:  Sarah,  wife  of  W. 
Mandeville,  wholesale  boot  and  shoe  dealer,  of  Rochester;  Lucy,  wife  of  C.  F.  Sweezey, 
of  Marion  ;  Ella,  wife  Alderman  M.  B.  Adams,  of  Rochester ;  and  Clara,  who  resides 
on  the  homestead.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  the  farm,  educated  at  Walworth  Acad- 
emy and  Business  Institute,  of  Rochester,  and  in  1870  married  Clara  Billings,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  and  Susan  Billings,  of  Macedon.  They  have  two  daughters,  Florence  and 
Edith.  Mr.  Yeomans  makes  a  specialty  of  fruit  growing  and  is  a  dealer  inland  fertiliz- 
ers.    He  is  a  charter  member  of  Walworth  Grange,  of  which  his  wife  is  a  member  also. 

Swadling,  Stephen,  was  born  in  Sussex  county,  England,  October  11,  1828,  a  son  of 
Stephen  and  Martha  Swadling,  the  former  having  died  there  in  1831.  His  widow  mar- 
ried John  Hook,  by  whom  she  had  six  children.  Mr.  Hook  died  in  1877,  and  his  wife 
in  1884,  aged  eighty  years.  Our  subject  came  to  America  at  twenty  one  years  of  age. 
He  owned  a  farm  in  Walworth  which  he  sold,  and  came  to  Ontario  in  1866,  purchasing 
a  farm  of  fifty  acres,  following  general  farming  and  also  evaporation  of  apples,  the  out- 
put being  about  4,000  yearly.  Mr.  Swadling  married,  August  20,  1854,  Mary  C, 
daughter  of  Elijah  and  Mary  Sova  natives  of  Canada,  who  came  to  Ontario,  where  Mr. 
Sova  died  in  1890  His  widow  resides  with  her  daughter.  Mr.  Swadling  and  wife 
have  had  eight  children :  George,  who  married  Lucenia  Warren,  by  whom  he  has  four 
children,  Ada,  Maud,  Earl,  and  Ettie ;  Charles  married  Mary  Lutze  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Grace  and  Stephen  0.;  Etta  is  the  wife  of  Ira  Boughton,  by  whom  she  had  two 
children,  Eva  and  May.  Mrs.  Boughton  died  in  1881;  Thomas,  who  married  Clara 
Lincoln,  and  has  one  child,  Dora ;  Lida,  wife  of  Richard  Lincoln,  and  has  three  chil- 
dren, Stephen,  Clinton,  and  Harrison  ;  William  married  Ella  Parker,  by  whom  he  has 
one  child,  Stephen ;  Emma,  wife  of  Joseph  McCrea,  by  whom  he  has  two  children, 
Jennie  and  Glenn  ;  and  Jay,  who  married  Lula  Deright. 

Downing,  Fred  B.,  was  born  in  Walworth  April  4,  1874,  son  of  Elias  W.  Downing,  of 
Long  Island,  born  December  24,  1824.  The  father  of  Elias  was  Silas  Downing  a  native 
of  Long  Island,  who  came  to  Walworth  and  settled  on  the  farm  where  our  subject  now 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  145 

resides,  where  he  died  in  1848.  His  wife,  Henrietta,  died  in  1878.  The  father  of  sub- 
ject was  a  farmer  and  owned  at  his  death  fifty-five  acres,  the  family  now  having  ninety- 
six  acres  and  follow  general  farming  and  fruit  raising.     Mr.  Downing  died  December 

2,  1887,  and  his  wife  resides  on  the  farm.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  and  has  the  management  of  the  homestead.  Caroline 
Downing  is  a  daughter  of  David  and  Almedia  (Thompson)  Powell,  he  a  native  of 
Dutchess  county,  born  in  1808,  and  she  a  native  of  Penfield,  born  in  1815.  Mr.  Powell 
came  to  Walworth  in  1831  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  son,  Edwin 
Powell,  where  he  died  in  1877  and  his  wife  in  1889.  Blias  W.  Downing  married 
Caroline  Powell  December  5,  1855.  She  was  born  in  Walworth  June  11,  1837,  and 
they  had  six  children:  George  H.,  who  married  Kate  H.  Buzzell,  and  resides  in  Michi- 
gan; Alice,  at  home ;  Benjamin  W.,  who  died  in  1867  ;  Francis,  who  died  in  1864 ;  Fred 
B.,  who  married  Delia  B.  Reed  and  resides  at  home ;  and  Etta  May,  who  resides  at 
home. 

Reed,  R.  T.,  was  born  in  Macedon  October  14,  1832,  son  of  Nathan  S.  and  Mary  A. 
(Tedman)  Reed,  natives  of  Macedon,  where  the  mother  died  in  1835,  when  subject  was 
an  infant.  His  father  then  married  Mary  A.  Rice,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children. 
The  paternal  grandfather  of  subject  was  Paul  Reed,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  born  in 
1773.  His  wife  was  Lois  Stone,  born  in  1775,  and  they  came  to  Macedon  in  1795, 
where  he  died  in  1852,  and  his  wife  died  Walworth  in  1856.  Subject's  father  was  born 
in  1803,  has  lived  retired  forty  years.  He  lived  where  our  subject  does  for  three  years 
and  then  lived  in  West  Walworth  for  some  time,  but  for  twenty-five  years  has  lived 
in  Fairport  where  he  resides,  aged  ninety-one.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  Macedon 
Academy.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer,  and  he  and  father  owned  200  acres  and  sub- 
ject of  sketch  owns  seventy-one  acres  and  follows  general  farming.  He  is  a  member 
of  Walworth  Lodge  No.  254.  F.  and  A.  M.  He  married  in  1853  Mary  A.  Hoag,  a 
native  of  Duanesburg,  Schoharie  county,  by  whom  he  has  nine  children,  Charles  W., 
who  married  Mary  Bartels,  and  resides  in  Iowa;  Emma  J.,  wife  of  E.  A.  Furman  ; 
Eva,  wife  of  Seymour  Aldrich,  of  West  Walworth  ;  Florence  A.,  wife  of  W.  A.  Ford, 
of  Macedon ;  John  F.,  who  married  Verna  Furman  and  resides  at  home ;  Lewis,  who 
married  Maggie  Frush  and  lives  in  Fairport;  Albert  S.,  at  home;  Delia  B.,  wife  of 
Fred  Downing,  and  Carrie  E.,  wife  of  Willis  Main  of  West  Walworth. 

Stuck,  Henry,  born  in  Galen  April  22,  1821,  when  twenty-one  years  of  age,  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  Savannah  ;  in  1863  he  sold  the  place  and  and  purchased  the  one  where 
he  now  resides.  He  is  a  substantial  and  much  respected  citizen,  a  Prohibitionist  in 
politics  and  has  served  as  assessor  of  the  town  many  years.  Emeline,  his  wife,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Cay  wood,  born  at  Galen  September  16,  1823;  her  present  home  has  been 
her  home  since  childhood.  Both  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church., 
They  were  married  in  Savannah  February  22,  1844.  Their  children  are  George  A., 
born  January  31,  1845,  resides  in  Selma  Ala.,  at  business,  manufacturer  of  aluminum 
alloy  products  at  Rome,  Ga.,  married  Lizzie  Foster  of  Selma,  Ala.;  Wallace,  born  June 

3,  1852,  died  October  30,  1860 ;  Gustavus,  born  September  2,  1854,  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  now  residing  on  the  home  farm ;  his  wife  is  Maggie,  daughter  of  John  Davis,  of 
Savannah;  Willie  M.,  born  October  11,  1858,  a  carpenter  by  trade,  lives  at  Mt.  Clem- 
ens, Mich.;  a  son  died  in  infancy  April  26,  1861  ;  Dora  L.,  born  February  7,  1863,  also 
died  in  infancy,  November  10,  1863,  and  Everett,  born  June  1,  1865,  a  skilled  mechanic 
is  with  the  National  Cash  Register  Co.  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  his  wife  is  Flora  A.,  daughter 
of  Avery  W.  Lamb,  of  Rome,  N.  Y. 

Hicks,  George,  Macedon,was  born  in  Dover,  England,  county  of  Kent,  December  25, 
1842.  He  came  to  this  county  in  1871,  on  the  day  that  peace  was  proclaimed  between 
the  French  and  Prussians.  He  worked  at  his  trade  in  Wayne  county,  Ontario,  first, 
then  moved  to  SoduSj  where  he  worked  for  some  time.     He  next  moved  to  Manchester, 


146  LANDMARKS    OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

and  from  there  to  Rochester  and  various  other  towns,  finally  settling  in  Wayne  county 
where  he  bought  a  place  at  Ontario  Center  and  remained  ten  years,  then  moved  to  this 
town,  where  he  has  since  resided,  working  at  his  trade  and  at  farming.  He  has  been 
twice  married,  and  has  one  child.  He  is  a  Republican,  a  Granger,  and  has  held  the 
office  of  school  trustee. 

Reeves,  J.  Dupha,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  on  the  farm  where  his  mother 
now  resides,  January  7,  1844.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  Eastman's 
Commercial  College  at  Poughkeepsie.  He  is  a  farmer  and  merchant  miller  by  occupa- 
tion. In  he  spring  of  1881  he  was  elected  supervisor  of  the  town,  re-elected  in  1882, 
again  in  1889,  serving  up  to  the  present  time.  October  8,  1867,  he  married  Alice  R. 
Welcher  of  his  native  town,  and  they  have  eleven  children  :  R.  Newell,  Ida  A.,  Glen  B., 
Delia  M.,  Mary  A.,  Martha  A.,  J.  Herve,  Alice  A.,  Paul  D.,  Park  M.,  and  Ruth  M. 
Glen  B.  married  Florence  Smith  of  this  town.  Mr.  Reeves'  father,  James  H.,was  born 
in  Palmyra.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day,  was  a  miller  and  farmer.  He 
married  Cordelia  A.  Adams  of  the  town  of  Williamson,  and  they  had  eight  children  : 
Simeon,  Peter,  Mary,  Martha  J.,  Dupha,  Raymond  J.,  Dupha,  who  died  in  infancy  and 
George,  who  died  in  1880.  Mr.  Reeves'  grandfather,  Paul  Reeves,  was  born  on  Long- 
Island  in  1780.  He  married  Sarah  Ware  of  Delaware  county,  and  located  in  Bast 
Palmyra  before  1800.  At  this  time  Garnargwa  Creek,  generally  known  as  Mud,  was  a 
navigable  stream.  His  grandfather  received  a  grant  from  the  Legislature  to  erect  a 
dam  on  that  stream,  which  was  completed  by  him  and  Mr.  Reeves'  father  in  1802,  at 
the  place  known  as  Mud  Mills  in  early  times,  but  more  recently  Excelsior  Mills.  His 
grandfather  sold  out  the  mills  at  Mud  Creek  in  1814,  went  to  Williamson  and  erected 
another  mill.     The  ancestry  of  this  family  is  English  and  Welch. 

Wigglesworth,  A.  G.,  furniture  and  undertaking,  was  born  at  Palmyra  April  1,  1841, 
and  has  always  resided  here.  Matthew  W.,  the  father,  a  native  of  Yorkshire,  England, 
came  to  America  and  located  at  Palmyra  in  1836  with  his  wife,  Elizabeth  (Hudson) 
Wigglesworth,  and  a  family  of  four  sons  and  six  daughters.  Mr.  Wigglesworth  was 
educated  at  the  Palmyra  Classical  Union  School,  followed  farming  until  1873,  then 
located  in  Palmyra  in  the  coal  and  produce  trade  till  1891,  when  he  sold  and  embarked 
in  the  furniture  and  undertaking  business.  He  was  assessor  three  years,  and  overseer 
five  years.  In  1862  he  married  Emma  L,  daughter  of  Noah  Palmer,  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  the  county,  and  they  have  one  son,  Orla  A.,  and  one  daughter,  Alta. 

Thompson,  Harry  P.,  was  born  in  Ontario,  January  19,  1857,  the  third  of  eight  chil- 
dren of  Edward  and  Mary  (Paine)  Thompson,  natives  of  England.  They  came  to 
America  in  1856  with  a  family  of  two  children,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Ontario.  In 
1872  he  went  to  the  town  of  Williamson  and  bought  a  farm,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days,  dying  in  March,  1869.  Mrs.  Thompson  still  resides  on  the  home- 
stead, at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  The  rest  of  the  family  still  survive,  except  one 
daughter,  Annie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years.  Subject  was  reared  on  a 
farm  and  has  always  followed  farming.  February  19,  1874,  he  married  Mrs.  Clara  L. 
(Bishop)  Marsh,  widow  of  Manley  Marsh,  and  daughter  of  J.  M.  Bishop  of  Ontario. 
Mrs.  Marsh  had  one  son,  Fay  Marsh,  who  is  still  at  home.  He  was  born  February  24, 
1872,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  have  had  one  son,  Floyd  O,  born  August  25,  1875.  In 
1889  he  purchased  the  farm  he  now  owns  in  Ontario,  where  he  is  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  fruit  growing.  He  has  thirteen  acres  of  apples,  eleven  acres  of  raspber- 
ries, three  acres  of  strawberries,  is  putting  out  eight  acres  of  peaches,  and  has  one  and 
one-fourth  acres  of  grapes.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  the  family  are  Baptists 
in  religion. 

Tiffany,  Reuben  was  born  in  Middlesex,  Ontario  county,  December  3,  1814,  a  son  of 
Garden  and  Rebecca  (Slaton)  Tiffany,  both  of  Pennsylvania.  The  grandfather  was 
John   Tiffany  of  Massachusetts,  who  was  descended  from   Squire  Humphrey  Tiffany, 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  [4."i 

of  England.  Garden  Tiffany  came  to  this  county  when  young  and  took  up  400  acres, 
part  of  which  is  still  owned  by  the  family.  He  died  March  31,  1856.  Reuben  T.  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  engaged  in  teaching  for  several  years  and  was 
also  superintendent  in  Macedon.  He  was  a  public-spirited,  generous  man,  and  is  re- 
membered by  a  large  circle  of  friends.  He  died  on  the  old  homestead  in  1893.  His 
first  wife  was  Mary  A.  Everett  of  Macedon  ;  and  his  second  was  Mary  A.  Peacock, 
widow  of  Samuel  Peacock.  Their  children  were  as  follows :  Milton  J.,  who  died  aged 
seventeen  years,  March  23,  1868;  and  Alice,  wife  of  Charles  R.  Dryer,  M.D.,  of  Victor, 
who  now  has  a  chair  in  the  Terre  Haute  Normal  School.  He  has  been  lecturer  on 
chemistry  in  the  Fort  Wayne  Grammar  School,  and  is  city  chemist.  Mrs.  Dryer  was 
educated  in  Macedon,  and  was  a  student  of  Lima  College,  under  the  instruction  of 
Miss  Willard.  She  was  a  delegate  to  the  World's  Fair  from  Indiana  Literary  Club. 
Mr.  Peacock  died  in  California  in  1854,  and  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Tiffany  occurred 
in  1871.  They  have  adopted  George  P.  Bancroft  as  their  son,  he  being  a  nephew  of 
Mr.  Tiffany. 

Smouton,  C.  H,  was  born  in  Palmyra  January  13,  1840.  He  is  the  oldest  of  a 
family  of  three  children  of  John  and  Louisa  (Walton)  Smouton,  natives  of  England, 
came  to  Palmyra  in  1836,  and  to  Williamson  in  1846  and  settled  on  the  farm  subject 
now  owns,  where  he  died  August  3,  1879,  and  his  wife  in  1846.  Our  subject  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  owns  sixty-five  acres  of  land,  and  follows  general  farming.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics.  He  married,  in  1867,  Artimitia  Nye,  a  nati  e  of  Sodus,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Lewis  and  Pattie  Nye,  of  Sodus,  coming  there  in  an  early  day.  Mr.  Smouton 
and  wife  have  had  two  children :  Fred  B.,  who  married  Nora  A.  Denney,  daughter  of 
Loren  Denney,  of  Williamson,  and  had  one  child,  Ruth  B.;  and  Martha  L.,  wife  of 
Thomas  Burden,  of  Ontario. 

Plumb,  Charles  G.,  M.  D.,  was  born  December  17,  1854,  at  Sterling,  Cayuga  county, 
and  is  the  son  of  S.  Hiram,  born  February  19,  1819,  and  Nancy  (Pease)  Plumb,  born 
July  16,  1822.  S.  Hiram  Plumb  received  an  academic  education  at  Elbridge,  N.Y.,  sup- 
plemented by  a  medical  course  at  the  University  of  New  York,  and  after  graduating 
from  the  latter  institution  with  the  degree  of  M .  D.  began  practice  at  Red  Creek.  In 
February,  1862,  he  received  the  appointment  of  assistant  surgeon  24th  N.Y. Volunteers, 
later  promoted  to  82d  N.Y.S.  Volunteers  as  surgeon,  and  in  1864  made  chief  of  oper- 
ating staff,  second  division,  second  corps,  with  rank  of  colonel.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  resumed  his  practice  at  Red  Creek,  where  he  died  August  12,  1880.  Charles  G. 
Plumb  is  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children,  of  whom  one  brother,  Alfred  W.,  is  now 
principal  of  Union  School  No.  6,  Savannah.  Charles  acquired  his  earlier  education  at 
Red  Creek  Academy,  then  taught  three  years  in  common  schools,  two  years  in  Lyons 
Union  School,  and  "early  in  1881  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Buffalo,  with  the  degree  of  M.D.,  and  began  practice  at  Owasco.  May  11, 
1881,  he  married  Jessie,  daughter  of  Dr.  Rice,  of,  Hannibal,  and  they  had  three 
children:  George  R.,  born  May  12,  1882,  who  died  in  infancy;  Robert  H.,  born 
August  12,  1885;  and  a  daughter  born  in  February,  1891,  who  died  in  extreme  infancy. 
As  the  result  of  an  injury  while  away  from  home,  confining  Mrs.  Plumb  to  her  room 
for  a  year,  Dr.  Plumb  abandoned  his  practice  and  cared  for  her.  They  then  moved  to 
Red  Creek,  and  Mr.  Plumb  was  for  two  years  principal  of  the  public  school  at  that 
place.  In  1887  he  became  principal  of  Savannah  Union  School.  During  his  principal- 
ship  an  academic  course  was  organized,  and  the  resident  attendance  at  the  school  in- 
creased thirty-eight  per  cent,  in  two  years.  The  increased  attendance  necessitated  a 
large  force  of  teachers,  and  led  to  the  "incorporation  of  the  academic  department  by  the 
Board  of  Regents,  and  finally  to  the  erection  of  a  large  and  beautiful  school  building. 
Mr.  Plumb  it  president  of  the  District  Association  of  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  of  Eastern  Wayne. 
In  March  Mr.  Plumb  resigned  the  principalship  of  Savannah  school  to  take  a  course  in 
the  Post  Graduate  Medical  College  of  New  York,  and  has  since  resumed  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Red  Creek,  N.Y. 


148  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE    COUNTY. 

Pratt,  Jonathan  S.,  born  in  Williamson,  Wayne  county,  January  21,  1838,  is  the  son 
of  Jonathan  and  Clarissa  (Jennings)  Pratt,  both  of  New  England  stock,  and  pioneers  of 
Williamson.  Mr.  Pratt  came  to  Williamson  with  his  parents  when  it  was  a 
a  wilderness,  and  settled  on  a  farm.  His  parents  died  soon  after,  leaving  him 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  with  the  farm  of  300  acres  to  pay  for.  This  he  did 
and  bought  about  400  acres  more,  which  he  left  to  the  family.  He  was  a  lumberman 
and  stock  dealer  and  was  successful.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  they  were  mem- 
bers of  the  M.  E.  church.  He  died  in  1850,  and  his  wife  in  1886.  Subject  was  reared 
on  the  farm  and  worked  with  his  father  until  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  8th  N.  Y. 
Cavalry,  was  taken  prisoner  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  held  about  three  months.  He  mar- 
ried Harriet  S.  Richmond,  by  whom  he  has  two  sons  and  two  daughters:  Clara  M., 
Frank  J.,  Charles  H.,  and  Mabel  Gr.  After  the  war  he  engaged  in  farming  on  a  portion 
of  the  old  Pratt  homestead,  .which  he  sold  a  few  years  later,  and  bought  the  place 
known  as  the  Thomas  farm,  where  he  now  lives.  His  farm  comprises  fifty  acres, 
mostly  devoted  to  fruit.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  he  and  family  are  Baptists. 

Evans,  David  H.,  was  born  in  Tyre,  Seneca  county,  December  7,  1837.  His  father, 
John  G.  Evans,  emigrated  from  I  ngland  in  1802,  when  nine  years  of  age.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  for  fifty  years,  postmaster  for  twenty-five  years  and  justice 
of  the  peace  for  four  years.  He  died  July  15,  1877,  aged  eighty-four  years.  David  H. 
Evans  was  educated  at  Fort  Plain  Seminary,  beginning  his  public  career  as  a  justice 
of  the  peace  when  twenty-six  years  of  age,  and  four  years  later  was  made  supervisor, 
serving  seven  years.  February  24,  1845,  he  married  Catherine  Wurts  of  Savannah,  by 
whom  he  had  five  children  :  Clara  B.,  Mary  W.,  Edwin  Gr.,  Bertha  B.  and  Maud,  who 
died  in  1884  at  six  years  of  age.  Catherine  Evans  died  in  1885,  and  he  married  second, 
in  1893,  Catherine  L.  Ransom  of  Montezuma.  Mr.  Evans  represented  Seneca  county  in 
the  assembly  in  1879  and  1880,  where  he  served  as  chairman  of  committee  on  in- 
ternal affairs.  He  was  the  first  Republican  elected  in  Seneca  county  for  thirty  years, 
He  was  elected  to  the  Senate  in  1882  from  the  26th  district,  comprising  the  counties  of 
Seneca,  Cayuga,  Tompkins  and  Tioga  by  a  plurality  of  4,270.  Since  1880  he  has  been 
extensively  engaged  in  farming  and  dealing  in  real  estate;  in  1894  holding  1,200  acres 
adjacent  to  his  homestead. 

Carncross,  Andrew,  was  born  in  Savannah  in  1834,  and  has  spent  his  entire  life 
here.  His  parents  was  Jacob  and  Catherine  (Cline)  Carncross,  who  came  originally 
from  the  East,  and  from  Onondaga  county  in  1822.  Jacob  was  born  May  1,  1809,  and 
died  in  1884,  and  the  latter,  born  August  22,  1803,  and  died  in  1886.  Andrew  is  situ- 
ated on  a  farm  about  two  miles  northeast  of  Savannah,  and  adjacent  to  his  brother 
William.  He  is  unmarried  and  a  man  of  some  eccentricities  of  character,  but  much 
respected  by  those  who  know  him.     He  is  a  sturdy  Republican  in  politics. 

Milne,  Alexander  P.,  is  a  native  of  Scotland,  was  born  at  Turriff.  Aberdeenshire,  in 
1854.  He  was  educated  at  the  Turriff  High  School  and  Fordyce  Academy  in  Banff- 
shire, served  one  year  in  the  law  office  of  John  Christie,  Solicitor  Banff,  and  also  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  five  years  in  the  Commercial  Bank  of  Scotland  at  Turriff  and  was 
sent  from  there  to  Canada  as  an  employee  of  the  Bank  of  British  North  America  where 
he  was  located  at  London,  Hamilton,  and  Toronto  branches.  After  a  residence  of  six 
years  in  the  Dominion  he  migrated  to  the  United  States  where  he  swore  fealty  to  Uncle 
Sam  and  acquired  citizenship.  He  has  since  held  various  positions  of  trust  and  respon- 
sibility. For  the  past  six  years  he  has  been  cashier  and  head  bookkeeper  for  the  Wayne 
Building,  Loan,  and  Accumulating  Fund  Association  and  for  three  years  treasurer  of  the 
village  of  Palmyra,  he  also  holds  an  appointment  as  notary  public  and  is  prominently 
identified  with  various  local  organizations  of  a  social  and  fraternal  character.  In  the 
spring  of  1894  Mr.  Milne  received  the  nomination  for  town  clerk  and  was  elected  by  a 
large  majority.  He  married  in  1877,  Hattie,  daughter  of  Alexander  Rannie,  of  Pal- 
myra, and  has  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  149 

Van  Wickle,  Simon,  was  born  in  Lyons,  Wayne  county,  September  2,  1817,  and  died 
at  his  home  in  Savannah  March  8,  1894,  of  exhaustion  following  an  attack  of  la 
grippe.  His  father  was  Evart  Van  Wickle  and  his  mother  Catharine  (Dorchester)  Van 
Wickle.  They  were  natives  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  In  1845  Mr.  Van  Wickle 
married  Maria  Lloyd,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Sarah  (Erickson)  Lloyd.  Five  children 
were  born  to  them  :  Sarah  C,  now  Mrs.  E.  J.  Carris;  Charles  D.,  Simon  H.,  Amelia 
A.,  and  Mary  E..  now  Mrs.  W.  H.  Sweeting.  In  1869_Charles  died  of  inflammation  of 
the  brain,  and  in  1877  Simon  died  of  inflammation  of  the  spinal  cord.  The  loss  of  these 
promising  sons  saddened  the  lives  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Wickle  for  many  years.  In 
1891  Mrs.  Van  Wickle  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy.  Her  death  coming  so  unexpectedly 
was  a  blow  of  almost  crushing  force  to  the  surviving  members  of  the  family.  Mr.  Van 
Wickle's  chosen  occupation  was  that  of  farming,  in  which  he  was  very  successful.  In 
closing  this  brief  biography  of  Simon  Van  Wickle,  it  may  truthfully  be  said  that  he 
was  a  conscientious,  upright,  honorable  man,  and  died  respected  and  esteemed  by  all 
who  knew  him. 

Johnson,  Russell,  was  born  in  De  Kalb,  St.  Lawrence  county,  October  27,  1828.  He 
is  the  second  child  of  a  family  of  four  children  of  Russell  and  Phebe  (Eddy)  Johnson, 
natives  of  Coleraine,  Franklin  county,  Mass.,  and  early  settlers  (1827)  of  De  Kalb,  St. 
Lawrence  connty,  N.  Y.,  where  his  mother  died  when  our  subject  was  ten  years  of  age. 
The  father  then  married  Abigail  Van  Duzzer,  by  whom  he  had  four  children.  He 
finally  came  to  Ontario  where  he  died  in  1876.  Russell  was  educated  in  the  Gouver- 
neur  Academy  and  at  Burlington,  Iowa.  Taught  school,  then  went  west  to  Illinois 
where  he  taught  school  and  clerked  for  several  years  ;  was  assistant  postmaster  at 
Prairie  City,  Illinois,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  when  he  left  his  position  and  enlisted 
at  Chicago  in  Company  A,  89th  HI.  Inf.,  August  27,  1852,  serving  untd  June  10.  1865. 
After  six  months  service  he  was  appointed  commissary  of  his  regiment,  and  held  the 
position  till  the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  at  Perryville,  Stone  River,  Liberty  Gap, 
Chickamauga,  Lookout  Mountain,  Mission  Ridge,  then  marched  to  the  relief  of  Burnside 
besieged  at  Knoxville,  Tenn.  On  the  Atlanta  campaign  participated  in  the  victories  of 
Rocky  Face,  Resaca,  Pickett's  Mills,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek  and  the  flank 
movement  at  Atlanta,  and  was  at  Jonesboro  and  Lone  Joy  Station,  Spring  Hill,  Frank- 
lin and  Nashville.  From  the  time  of  leaving  Louisville,  until  the  return  there  the  regi- 
ment traveled  2,253  miles  on  foot  and  1,127  by  railroad.  Out  of  1,201  borne  on  its 
rolls  820  were  killed  in  action,  died  from  wounds  or  discharged  on  account  of  disability 
contracted  in  the  service.  At  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Johnson  came  to  Ontario  where 
he  has  since  lived.  He  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  and  for  some  years  kept  a 
general  stock,  but  now  makes  a  specialty  of  clothing,  boots  and  shoes.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  attended  the  convention,  which  resulted  in  the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, the  first  Republican  President,  has  served  as  postmaster  here  ten  years,  justice  of 
the  peace  twelve  years,  and  superintendent  three  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church  of  Ontario  and  of  the-G.  A.  R. 

Philip,  Thaideus,  was  born  in  Herkimer  county  January  15,  1845,  and  came  with  his 
parents,  Jeremiah  G.  and  Almeria  (Lockwood)  Philip,  to  Palmyra,  locating  on  the  farm 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  him.  He  was  educated  in  the  Palmyra  Class  A.  School, 
and  the  Hudson  River  Institute,  and  served  in  the  late  war  for  ten  months,  enlisting  in 
August,  1864,  in  the  111th  Regiment,  Company  A,  as  corporal.  In  1869  he  married 
Ella  A,  Burr,  a  native  of  Marion,  and  they  have  had  three  children :  Jerrie  G.,  born 
May  18,  1871,  died  aged  twenty  years;  Jennie  A.,  born  in  1873;  and  Besssie  L.,  born 
in  1884.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  a  native  of  Columbia  county,  who  died  in 
1890,  and  the  mother  in  1887.  Henry,  a  brother  of  Thaddeus,  is  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia.    The  homestead  farm  consists  of  148  acres. 

Stanford,  Harvey  E.,  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  this  State,  in  October,  1843.  He 
is  a  son  of  Richard  and  Sally  (Thorne)  Stanford,  came  with  his  parents  to  this  town  in 


150  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

1858,  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  Early  in  life  he  learned 
the  trade  of  a  carpenter  and  has  for  many  years  followed  the  profession  of  contractor 
and  builder,  also  owns  a  small  farm.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  has  held  several 
minor  town  offices  and  is  now  serving  his  first  term  as  justice  of  the  peace.  Mr.  Stan- 
ford enlisted  in  Co.  B,  8th  N.  Y.  Cavalry  in  September,  1864  and  served  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  married  in  1872  Ella  A.  Andrew,  a  native  of  this  town,  and  daughter 
of  Alexander  and  Delia  (Willard)  Andrew.  Mr.  Stanford  and  wife  have  one  daughter, 
Carrie  L.,  wife  of  Edgar  Brundage,  a  native  of  this  town. 

Nash,  C.  J.,  dealer  in  pianos,  organs,  carriages,  wagons,  and  sewing  machines,  also  a 
full  line  of  musical  instruments,  clocks,  jewelry,  and  leading  styles  of  bicycles.  Mr. 
Nash  was  born  in  Williamson  April  24,  1855,  and  is  the  oldest  child  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth Craggs  Nash.  Mr.  Nash  died  in  1869,  aged  forty-four.  Our  subject  was  educated 
at  Walworth  and  Sodus  Academies,  and  worked  as  a  clerk  at  Sodus  and  at  Buffalo  for 
about  five  years,  and  in  1876  he  came  to  Ontario  Centre  and  engaged  in  the  hardware 
business.  He  now  has  a  building  of  two  stories  45x60  and  a  warehouse  46x36  feet. 
He  was  appointed  postmaster  at  the  Center  in  April,  1881,  and  held  office  until  1885, 
and  was  again  appointed  in  April,  1889,  and  held  office  until  August  15  1894.  He  has 
been  clerk  of  the  town  since  1879,  with  the  exception  of  from  March  to  August,  1892. 
In  March,  1877,  he  married  Sarah  L.  Fish,  of  Williamson,  a  daughter  of  Harry  and 
Fannie  Fish,  and  they  have  five  children:  H.  Raymond;  A.  Laverne:  Edson  J.;  C. 
Stewart  and  Isabelle  O,  twins. 

Smith,  Elias,  was  born  in  Niagara  county  April  1,  1821,  the  third  of  twelve  children 
of  Samuel  and  Hannah  (Brown)  Smith,  he  a  native  of  Maine  and  she  of  New  Jersey. 
Samuel  Smith  came  to  Farmington,  Ontario  county,  when  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
after  he  married  moved  to  Niagara  county,  where  he  resided  until  1827,  when  he  came 
to  Ontario  and  died  in  1869,  and  his  wife  in  1872.  He  was  in  the  War  of  1812.  Sub- 
ject was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  has  always  been  a  farmer.  He  owns 
sixty-four  and  one-half  acres  of  land,  and  follows  general  farming.  Mr.  Smith  was  a 
Whig,  but  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  organization  of  the  party.  He  married  in 
September,  1846,  Polly  Thayer,  daughter  of  Aldrich  and  Hulda  (Alcott)  Thayer.  Mr. 
Smith  and  wife  have  had  two  children  :  Winfield  S.,  who  married  Susan,  daughter  of 
John  and  Hannah  Lane,  of  Ontario;  and  Sarah  T.,  wife  of  Sherman  Colby,  who  has 
three  children :  Howard  E.,  Dana,  and  Blanche  T.  Mr.  Smith  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  he  has  been  teacher  in  the  Bible  class. 

Wooster,  Oscar  A.,  was  born  in  Ontario,  September  14,  1826,  the  oldest  of  seven 
children  of  Frederick  H.  and  Emaline  E.  Hathaway,  the  former  born  October  24,  1803, 
in  Schenectady,  and  the  latter  June  18,  1806.  Mr.  Wooster  and  wife  spent  their  lives 
in  Wayne  county,  where  he  died  in  1891,  and  his  wife  in  1884.  In  1807  his  parents 
came  from  Connecticut  to  the  town  of  Ontario,  and  settled  on  the  Ridge  road,  fourteen 
miles  east  of  what  is  now  Rochester.  Frederick  H.  was  one  of  nine  children,  of  whom 
only  one,  Oliver  B.,  is  living,  in  Allegan  county,  Mich.,  aged  seventy-three.  Oscar  A. 
was  educated  in  the  common  and  Clyde  select  schools,  has  been  a  blacksmith  through 
life,  and  resides  in  Ontario.  He  married  Helen  J.  Hayden,  a  native  of  Mendon,  Monroe 
county,  by  whom  he  has  two  children :  Isabella,  wife  of  Richard  Dillingham  ;  and 
Frances,  wife  of  George  Bills,  and  they  have  three  children  :  Elsie,  Georgia  and  Jay. 
Mr.  Wooster  is  a  Republican,  has  been  constable  two  years,  justice  of  the  peace  one 
year,  justice  in  Walworth  twelve  years,  and  notary  public  ten  years.  He  is  a  member 
of  Walworth  Lodge,  F.  &;  A.  M.  Mr.  Wooster's  father  was  Isaac  Hayden,  who  spent 
most  of  his  life  in  Monroe  county.  He  died  in  Ontario  June  26,  1847.  His  wife  was 
Margaret  Ogden,  who  now  resides  with  her  daughter  at  the  age  of  ninety-three.  She 
was  born  in  Ontario  county,  town  of  Victor,  and  her  parents  were  Jonathan  and 
Catherine  (Sines)  Ogden,  early  settlers  of  Victor. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  I.-.1 

Smith,  Frank  W,,  was  born  on  the  farm  he  owns  February  25.  1850,  the  oldest  of  four 
children  of  Sanford  and  Lodosca  (Place)  Smith,  he  a  native  of  Walworth,  born  in  1816 
on  the  farm  of  our  subject,  and  she  a  native  of  Hindsburg,  Vt.,  born  in  1829.  The  grand- 
father was  Oliver  Smith,  a  Dative  of  West  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  who  came  on  the  farm 
our  subject  owns  in  1805,  where  he  died  in  1826,  aged  forty-five.  His  wife  was  Thank- 
ful Ford,  born  in  West  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  who  died  in  1858  aged  eighty-three.  The 
grandfather  on  the  mother's  side  was  Roswell  P.  Place,  born  in  1803  (birthplace  not 
known).  He  enlisted  in  the  army  in  1846,  at  Lyons,  to  take  part  in  the  Mexican  war. 
Served  until  nearly  the  end  of  the  war  when  was  taken  sick  with  fever  and  died  in 
Mexico.  His  wife  was  Aurellia  Branch,  born  in  1804  at  Monkton,  Vt.,  was  the  mother 
of  seven  children,  all  girls,  of  which  the  oldest  was  the  mother  of  subject.  She  died  in 
Vermont  in  1878.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  Palmyra  Union  Schools, 
a  resident  of  Chicago  for  several  years,  and  followed  the  dramatic  profession  for  seven 
years,  traveling  through  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  portions  of 
Canada  and  Pennsylvania.  He  returned  to  his  farm  life  in  1879  where  he  has  since 
resided,  except  one  year  selling  nursery  stock  for  Elwanger  &  Barry  of  Rochester.  He 
owns  100  acres,  follows  general  farming  and  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  small  fruit. 
He  was  married  twice,  first  to  Emma  C.  Payne,  a  native  of  Blissfield,  Lenawee  county, 
Mich.,  who  died  August  20,  1876;  and  subject  married,  second,  in  1886  Annie  E., 
daughter  William  Barnsdale  of  Walworth.  Our  subject  has  one  brother  living,  Albert 
R.,  a  railroad  man  of  Buffalo. 

Pratt,  J.  D.,  was  born  in  Ontario  November  21,  1853,  the  youngest  of  three  children, 
Amelia,  Eugene,  and  Delmer.  Amelia  was  a  resident  of  this  town  until  1889,  when 
she  visited  Pomona,  Cal.,  and  while  there  married  a  former  New  York  man,  W.  D. 
Ellis,  and  now  resides  in  that  State ;  Eugene  was  drowned  in  the  mill  pond  on  the  farm 
of  his  grandfather,  Jonathan  Pratt,  at  the  age  of  seven ;  J.  Delmer  was  reared  on  the 
farm,  educated  in  the  common  school  and  Collegiate  Institute  in  Marion,  afterward 
taking  a  course  at  the  Rochester  Business  University.  He  still  owns  fifty-three  acres 
of  the  old  homestead  situated  on  the  town  line  road  between  Williamson  and  Ontario, 
near  the  lake.  He  also  owns  eighty-three  acres,  known  as  the  Turner  farm,  situated 
south  of  Ontario  village,  where  he  now  follows  general  farming  and  grape  culture, 
having  seven  acres  of  Niagaras.  December  18,  1879,  he  married  Florence,  eldest 
daughter  of  John  S.  and  Margaret  Britton,  her  parents  being  natives  of  England  and 
Ireland  respectively,  both  having  come  to  Wayne  county  when  children.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Pratt  have  two  children:  Esca  A.  and  Leah  M.  The  parents  of  J.  D.  Pratt  were  Joel 
and  Cornelia  (Potter)  Pratt,  the  former  a  native  of  Williamson,  and  the  latter  of  Sara- 
toga. Joel  was  a  son  of  Jonathan  and  Clarissa  (Jennings)  Pratt,  the  former  a  native 
of  Whately,  Mass.,  and  the  latter  of  Burlington,  N.  Y.,  who  came  to  Wayne  county  in 
1811  and  settled  on  the  lake  road  near  the  town  line  between  Williamson  and  Ontario. 
Joel  died  January  5,  1884,  and  his  wife  in  March,  1854.  His  second  wife  was  Mrs. 
Rhoda  Hartwell.     In  October,  1883,  he  married  Mrs.  Blythe. 

Frost,  Samuel,  was  born  in  Oswego  county  in  1831.  He  lived  twelve  years  in  Ohio, 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  returned  to  Oswego  county,  where  he  remained  till  1859, 
since  which  time  he  resided  in  Palmyra.  In  1864  he  began  running  an  engine  on  the 
New  York  Central,  and  is  now  one  of  the  oldest  men  in  the  service  of  the  road.  In 
1857  he  married  Eveline  Starks.  who  died  in  1881,  and  they  had  children  as  follows: 
Dillon  O,  born  in  1859,  now  engineer  on  the  New  York  Central ;  Frank,  born  in  1869, 
who  died  in  1887  at  the  age  of  eighteen ;  and  Edna,  born  in  1879. 

Wooster,  Denison  S.,  was  born  in  Ontario  June  29,  1829,  the  second  of  seven  chil- 
dren of  Frederick  H.  and  Emeline  Hathaway.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated 
in  the  common  school,  and  learned  the  blacksmiths'  trade,  which  he  followed  many 
years,  but  his  principal  occupation  is  farming.  In  1851  he  came  to  Walworth,  located 
on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides,  and  has  made  many  improvements.     He  has  been 


152  •     LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

commissioner  of  highways  three  terms,  assessor  eleven  years,  and  collector  and  constable 
one  year.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance.  He  sent  a  substitute  to  the 
late  war.  He  married,  in  1854,  Orrinda  C,  daughter  of  Israel  Gould,  and  they  had 
three  children  :  Irvin  D.,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Truman  G.,  who  resides  in  Allegany 
county,  and  is  engaged  in  the  furniture  and  undertaking  business,  is  also  business  man- 
ager of  the  furniture  manufacturing  company  of  that  place  ;  and  William  D.,  who  re- 
sides in  the  same  place,  is  engaged  in  the  same  business  with  his  brother,  and  is  also  in- 
terested in  the  manufacturing  business. 

Gould,  Theron  0.,  was  born  February  17,  1837,  the  oldest  of  six  children  born  to 
Amos  and  Margaret  Gould.  Amos  was  born  October  22,  1814,  and  was  a  son  of  Daniel 
Gould  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Margaret  (McCreery)  Gould  was  born  in 
Macedon  November  16,  1814,  and  as  a  matter  of  history  rode  on  the  first  canal  boat 
that  passed  through  Macedon.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  Macedon  Academy.  He  owns  a  farm  at  Lincoln  in  Walworth  and 
has  a  pleasant  home.  In  politics  he  is  independent,  having  been  a  Greenbacker  he  is  a 
firm  believer  in  doing  away  with  National  Banks  and  Congress  to  issue  the  currency 
and  regulate  its  value.  On  February  17,  1861,  he  married  Mary  Maguire  who  was  born 
September  26,  1840.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Francis  and  Catharine  Maguire  and 
came  from  England  with  a  brother  when  but  thirteen  years  of  age.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gould  have  had  two  children  :  Charlie,  who  was  born  July  30,  1866,  who  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  Walworth  Academy  and  resides  at  home,  and  Frank,  born 
December  4,  1871.  He  married  Nellie  Bailey  of  Lowell,  Michigan,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Mary  and  Viola.  He  is  a  dealer  in  green  and  evaporated  fruit  in  Mulliken, 
Michigan. 

Moore  F.  W.,  was  born  in  Red  Hook,  Dutchess  county,  July  25,  1817,  son  of  Philip 
H.,  and  Elizabeth  Fellows,  he  a  native  of  Red  Hook  and  she  of  Rhinebeck,  Dutchess 
county.  They  came  to  Walworth  in  1837,  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  our 
subject,  where  Mr.  Moore  died  in  June,  1862,  and  his  wife  in  June,  1849.  The  grand- 
father was  Philip  Moore,  whose  father  was  a  native  of  Germany,  and  an  early  settler 
of  Dutchess  county,  where  he  died.  Subject's  father  was  drafted  in  the  War  of  1812. 
Subject  has  always  been  a  farmer,  owns  a  portion  of  the  original  farm  his  father  set- 
tled, at  present  owns  ninety-three  acres,  follows  general  farming,  and  is  one  of  the 
largest  stock  dealers  in  Walworth.  He  has  for  over  twenty  years  been  engaged  in 
selling  agricultural  implements,  and  at  present  represents  the  McCormick  Company. 
He  has  been  commissioner  of  highways,  overseer  of  poor,  and  supervisor.  He  married 
in  1851  Hannah  Smalley  a  native  of  Honeoye  Falls,  Monroe  county,  and  daughter  of 
Jonas  and  Eleanor  Smalley,  who  were  natives  of  New  Jersey,  settled  in  Geneva  and 
finally  in  Monroe  county,  where  they  died.  Mr.  Moore  and  wife  had  three  children: 
J.  Ella,  Fred  C,  and  Genoa,  who  died  aged  five. 

Clemans,  Putney,  was  born  in  Walworth,  November  2,  1835,  the  youngest  of  thir- 
teen children  of  Asaph  and  Orpha  (Ives)  Clemans,  natives  of  Massachusetts.  He  went 
to  Cazenovia  at  an  early  day  and  in  1812  came  to  Walworth  and  settled  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  our  subject,  where  he  died  January  22,  1862  and  his  wife  January  6, 
1880.  He  was  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  a  practicing  physician  many  years  in 
connection  with  farming.  He  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  The 
grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Moses  Clemans,  who  lived  and  died  in  Massachusetts. 
Our  subject  was  reared  on  the  farm  he  owns  and  educated  in  West  Walworth  Acad- 
emy. He  has  always  been  a  farmer  and  owns  sixty-eight  acres,  also  followed  thresh- 
ing for  some  time.     He  married  April  26,  1857,  Emily  Knights,  who  died  in  May,  1858. 

Gibbs,  Newton  0.,  born  in  Williamson  September  25,  1845,  is  the  oldest  of  five  sons 
of  Amasa  and  Mary  Gibbs,  he  a  native  of  Williamson  and  she  of  the  same  town.  The 
grandfather  of  subject  was  Amasa  Gibbs,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Williamson,  who 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  L53 

kept  hotel  many  years.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Gibbs  was  Jackson  Mason,  one  of  the  early- 
settlers.  The  father  of  subject  was  a  farmer,  and  died  in  1857  and  his  wife  in  1866. 
Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  has  followed  coopering  and  farming, 
and  owns  ninety-five  acres  of  land.  He  married  in  1871  Mary  (Thomas)  Stevens, 
widow  of  James  Stevens,  born  in  Wayne  county,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Jessie, 
wife  of  Frank  Ooncher,  of  Marion,  N.  Y. 

Mclntyre,  Calvin,  jr.,  was  born  at  the  homstead  of  his  father,  in  the  town  of  Elbridge, 
Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  August  16,  1836.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Essex  county, 
and  removed  with  his  parents  to  the  town  of  Elbridge  in  the  year  of  1816.  The  family 
were  of  English,  Welsh  and  Scotch  extraction,  tracing  their  descent  back  to  Clan 
Mclntyre,  of  Gleno,  Scotland,  who  occupied  Gleno  upwards  of  one  thousand  years. 
They  settled  at  an  early  date  in  Vermont  and  afterwards  located  near  Mt.  Mclntyre, 
Essex  county,  N.  Y.  "His  great-grandmother,  Jemima  Brockett,  was  a  direct  descend- 
ant of  Sir  John  Brockett,  baronet  of  Brockett's  Hall  and  Manor,  County  of  Herts, 
England;  also  a  descendant  of  William  Tuttle,  who  came  to  this  country  in  the  Planter 
and  settled  in  New  Haven  in  1635.  His  grandfather,  Joseph  Mclntyre,  served  in  the 
French  and  Indian  war  and  the  American  Bevolution,  and  two  of  his  uncles  in  the  war 
of  1812.  Calvin  was  brought  up  on  his  father's  farm  near  Jordan,  N.  Y.,  receiving  his 
education  at  the  Jordan  Academy.  In  1854  he  entered  the  employ  of  Horace  P.  Mol- 
ton,  of  Jordan,  N.  Y.,  in  the  mercantile  business  and  remained  until  1856,  when  he  en- 
gaged in  the  agricultural  business  with  his  father  until  the  latter's  death  in  1870.  In 
1878  he  came  to  Clyde  and  established  the  firm  of  Warner  &  Mclntyre,  grain  dealers 
and  maltsters,  one  of  the  largest  firms  in  Central  New  York,  and  who  are  now  conduct- 
ing a  very  successful  business.  He  was  elected  trustee  of  the  village  of  Clyde  in  1882, 
and  has  frequently  been  a  delegate  to  various  county  and  State  conventions.  In  1890 
he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  State  Convention,  of  Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  was  elected 
one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  convention,  and  supported  the  nomination  of  Gov. 
Flower.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Frances  E.,  daughter  of  Nathan  Shaw, 
esq.,  of  Elbridge,  and  Laura  A.  Evans,  whose  family  were  direct  descendants  of  one  of 
the  noble  families  of  England,  and  of  Francis  Dudley  of  Concord,  Mass.,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  King  Philip's  Indian  war  in  1675.  The  first  of  the  family  to  come  to  this  coun- 
try was  Thomas  Dudley,  who  settled  in  Roxbury  in  1630  and  was  colonial  governor  of 
Massachusetts  in  1640.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mclntyre  have  one  son,  Edward  M.,  and  two  daugh- 
ters, Mrs.  Emma  L.  Wright,  and  Stella  Elizabeth.  Mr.  Mclntyre  takes  an  active  interest 
in  all  educational  affairs,  and  is  a  liberal  supporter  of  religious  institutions.  In  religion  he 
is  a  Presbyterian,  his  family  being  members  of  that  order,  and  contributing  generously 
to  the  support  of  church  interests.  Hon.  Edward  M.  was  born  in  the  town  of  Elbridge, 
Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  April  16,  1861.  He  was  educated  at  the  Jordan  Academy, 
and  removed  with  his  parents  to  Clyde  in  1878,  entering  his  father's  office  as  book- 
keeper and  general  assistant.  In  1885  he  engaged  in  the  malting  business  with  his 
father  and  established  the  firm  of  Calvin  Mclntyre  &  Son,  maltsters  and  grain  dealers, 
at  Phelps,  N.  Y.,  with  a  branch  located  at  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  in  1887.  He  is  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  Clyde  Electric  Company,  and  was  one  of  its  incorporators. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  sheriff  of  Wayne 
county,  and  was  defeated  by  a  small  plurality,  largely  reducing  the  majority  formerly 
given  to  the  Republican  candidates.  He  has  been  repeatedly  a  delegate  to  various 
county  and  State  conventions,  and  served  on  the  committee  of  credentials  at  the 
Democratic  State  Convention  at  Saratoga  in  1887,  He  was  also  one  of  a  committee  on 
permanent  organization  at  Buffalo  in  1888,  and  was  chairman  of  the  Wayne  County 
Democratic  Committee  in  1889.  Edward  M.  was  one  of  the  presidential  electors  elected 
in  1892,  and  cast  his  ballot  for  Grover  Cleveland  for  president  in  the  Electoral  College 
at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  January  9,  1893.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Wayne 
county,  and  is  a  man  of  fine  education  and  recognized  ability, 
t 


154  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

Sweeting,  Dr.  Mortimer  Franklin,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Marcellus,  Onondaga 
county,  N.  Y.,  August  30,  1817.  When  a  mere  child  his  parents  moved  to  the  present 
town  of  Camillus,  in  same  county,  where  ever  after  his  parents  lived  on  same  farm  and 
died  at  the  extreme  oid  age  of  ninety-three  and  ninety-four.  Mason  Sweeting,  his 
father,  was  born  in  Mansfield,  Bristol  county,  Mass.,  November  24,  1768,  and  Lydia 
Pratt,  his  mother,  was  born  in  the  same  town  September  5,  1776.  They  were  united 
in  marriage  April,  1793.  His  father  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Lewis  Sweeting,  who  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  Revolution,  and  after  the  war  closed,  was  a  representative  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  Massachusetts  from  his  county.  Two  Sweeting  brothers  emigrated  from 
England  in  1643  to  escape  Cromwell's  persecution,  one  of  these  brothers  was  Dr.  Lewis 
Sweeting's  father.  Dr.  M.  F.  Sweeting,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  and  in  Cazenovia  Seminary,  and  Clinton  Liberal  Institute,  then  located 
at  Clinton,  N.  Y.  After  leaving  school  he  had  a  position  for  a  time  as  assistant  engi- 
neer under  Hugh  Lee,  chief  engineer  on  the  Syracuse  &  Auburn  R.  R.,  and  during  the 
summer  of  1845  he  and  Theodore  Andrews  (brother  of  Judge  Andrews),  assisted 
Wheeler  Truesdell  in  laying  out  some  of  the  streets  of  the  city  of  Syracuse ;  also  spent 
one  summer  as  assistant  engineer  under  George  Geddes  in  locating  the  Skaneateles  R.  R. 
The  stringency  of  the  money  matters  at  this  time  caused  many  of  the  public  works  to 
suspend  labor,  leaving  engineers  out  of  business ;  so  he  concluded  to  try  another  pro- 
fession, and  entered  his  name  as)  a  law  student  in  the  office  of  Spooner  &  Leroy,  at 
Camillus,  N.  Y.  After  spending  about  a  year  in  this  office,  he  entered  the  office  of 
James  R.  Lawrence  in  the  city  of  Syracuse  ;  he  remained  in  this  office  until  he  received 
an  offer  from  D.  Darwin  Hughes,  his  brother-in-law  of  Marshall,  Mich.,  to  come  into 
his  office  as  a  partner.  Starting  for  Michigan,  on  the  way,  he  was  taken  with  a  hem- 
orrhage from  the  lungs ;  this  misfortune  changed  the  course  of  his  life-work.  His 
physician  told  him  he  could  never  stand  office  business,  but  out-door  business,  as  riding 
over  the  country,  would  be  the  best  work  for  him,  and  recommended  medicine  as  his 
best  profession.  He  unhesitatingly  entered  his  name  as  a  student  of  medicine  and  in 
the  spring  of  1850  graduated  at  the  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  Medical  College,  having  previously 
spent  two  courses  at  the  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  Medical  College.  During  his  studentage  of 
medicine,  he  was  principal  of  the  South  Butler  Union  School,  one  long  term,  and  of  the 
Hannibal  Union  School  three  terms.  In  August,  1850,  he  settled  at  Victory,  N.  Y.,  to 
practice  his  profession  and  remained  at  this  place  two  years,  then  came  to  South  Butler, 
and  purchased  the  home  and  practice  of  Clarendon  Campbell,  one  of  his  former  precept- 
ors, and  has  continuously  practiced  his  profession  in  this  same  place  to  the  present  time. 
In  1862,  having  investigated  the  homeopathic  system  of  cure,  he  took  a  second  gradua- 
tion from  the  New  York  Homeopathic  College  and  since  that  time  has  practiced  that 
system  of  cure.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Wayne  County  Homeopathic 
Medical  Society,  and  for  several  years  has  been  its  president.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  State  Homeopathic  Medical  Society,  and  of  the  Central  New  York  Homeopathic 
Medical  Society.  During  the  Rebellion  he  rendered  efficient  service  in  aiding  to  secure 
volunteers,  and  in  caring  for  the  families  of  those  gone  to  the  war,  and  in  treating  the 
wounded  who  were  sent  home,  and  in  securing  pensions  for  widows  who  had  lost  their 
husbands,  or  sons  in  the  war;  also  be  gave  his  only  son,  who  was  old  enough  to  bear 
arms  to  his  country's  cause.  The  boy  returned  after  the  close  of  the  war,  although  he 
had  once  been  shot  in  his  lung,  which  shot  he  now  carries.  This  boy  is  Volney  H. 
Sweeting,  of  Lyons.  The  doctor  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Sally  T. 
Hughes,  daughter  of  Capt.  Henry  Hughes,  of  Camillus,  N.  Y.  She  gave  him  one  son, 
Volney  H.  She  died  of  consumption  at  Camillus,  August  28,  1844.  His  second  wife 
is  Colan  Clapp,  daughter  of  Israel  J.  Clapp,  of  Butler,  N.  Y.,  whom  he  married 
November  4,  1849,  and  who  is  now  living,  a  blessing  to  her  husband  and  two 
sons,  Dr.  W.  H.  Sweeting,  of  Savannah,  N.  Y.,  and  Sherman  C.  Sweeting,  of  Wyom- 
ing, N.  Y.,  both  of  whom  are  married  and  settled  in  business;  and  two  daughters, 
Mary  A.,  and  Grace  G.,  neither  of  whom  are  married,  but  the  memory  of  Charlie  must 
not  be  omitted.     After  he  entered  the  classical  course  in  Cornell  University,  in  1879  he 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  155 

received  the  appointment  of  naval  cadet  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  and  in  1883  graduated  with 
honor,  was  made  ensign  in  1885  and  died  January  25,  1890  from  the  effects  of  a  sun- 
stroke received  while  stationed  at  Honolulu.  Charles  Edward  Sweeting  will  long  be 
remembered  as  a  boy  and  a  man,  of  uncommon  gifts,  by  all  who  knew  him.  The  doc- 
tor prides  himself  that  he  gave  all  his  children,  both  boys  and  girls  a  college  education, 
excepting  Volney  H.,  who  took  his  college  course  on  the  battlefields  of  the  Eebellion, 
leaving  school  to  answer  his  country's  call.  In  religion  the  doctor  is  a  radical  Disciple, 
and  in  politics  an  enthusiastic  Republican.  The  only  public  offices  he  ever  held  was 
school  commissioner  about  five  years,  and  assistant  revenue  assessor  about  two  years. 

Pearsall,  G-.  A.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  N.  Y.,  August  11,  1854,  and  is  the  son  of 
J.  D.  and  Hannah  Brown  Pearsall,  he  a  native  of  Saratoga,  and  she  a  native  of  Had- 
denfield,  N.  J.  J.  D.  was  the  son  of  George  Pearsall,  of  Saratoga  connty,  and  came  to 
"Williamson  about  1839,  and  here  died  in  a  few  years.  J.  D.  Pearsall  was  a  farmer  and 
also  a  produce  dealer  from  1876  to  1888.  His  death  occurred  February  2,  1890,  and 
his  wife  still  resides  on  the  old  homestead.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  Sodus  and 
Marion  academies,  and  taught  for  four  years,  and  in  1880  engaged  in  the  produce  busi- 
ness. In  1880  he  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Samuel  Yaughn  of  Dickson,  Pa.,  and 
they  have  two  children,  Howard  and  Samuel. 

Holling,  Andrew,  was  born  in  Williamson  August  11,  1813,  a  son  of  William  and 
Sarah  (Clark)  Holling.  He  came  to  America  in  1800,  first  settling  in  Geneva,  but  soon 
came  to  Williamson  and  settled.  Of  the  family  all  are  now  deceased  but  one  son  and 
two  daughters.  The  mother  of  Andrew  died,  1823  (May  2),  and  his  father  married, 
second,  Mrs.  Stearns,  wdo  died  in  1873.  William  Holling  died  in  1866,  aged  eighty- 
eight  years.  Andrew  Holling  commenced  his  business  career  as  a  sailor  and  followed 
that  occupation  twenty  years,  and  is  known  as  Captain  Holling,  He  then  engaged  in 
the  lumber  and  planing  business  at  Pultneyville.  Has  also  been  engaged  in  farming 
and  fruit  growing.  About  1882  he  retired  from  active  business,  and  his  death  occurred 
September  13,  1894.  In  1840  he  married  Rachel  B.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Ruth 
(Selby)  Troop,  natives  of  Connecticut.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  Port  Gibson, 
thence  to  Pultneyville,  he  being  the  first  settler  there.  The  parents  of  Samuel  were 
Benjamin  and  Rachael  (Brown)  Throop.  Samuel  Throop  kept  the  first  hotel  at  Pult- 
neyville. He  went  sailing  as  captain  and  was  drowned  in  Sodus  Bay.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Holling  have  had  these  children  :  Armine,  Franklin,  Lilly  and  Julia  are  deceased  ;  Ruth 
Ann  was  the  wife  of  E.  Lawrence  of  Sodus,  after  whose  death  she  married  Samuel 
Owen  of  Rochester,  also  deceased ;  Sarah  Jane  is  the  wife  of  George  D.  Phelps  of 
Chicago.  James  Holling  is  captain  of  a  barge.  Mary  F.  Holling  lives  in  the  old  home 
with  the  mother.     They  attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  church. 

Heit,  Philip,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen  January  7,  1839.  His  father,  Michael, 
was  a  native  of  Alsace,  Germany,  and  served  under  Napoleon  Bonaparte  three  years. 
He  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1825  and  was  among  the  first  colony  in  Lyons. 
He  died  in  1875,  aged  eighty  years.  Philip  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to 
which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-nine  he  married  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Peter  Walheiser,  and  they  have  three 
children :  William  E.,  Jessie  E.,  and  Yada.  In  1881  he  purchased  of  his  brother, 
George,  the  John  Terry  and  the  Stevenson  farm  of  275  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain, 
and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  largest  farmers  in  his  town,  taking  an  active  in- 
terest in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Blaker,  Thomas  R.,  of  Macedon,  was  in  Brighton,  Monroe  county,  January  28,  1840, 
son  of  Patrocles  Blaker,  who  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  The  latter  came  to  New 
York  State  in  1818,  the  date  of  his  birth  being  1800.  He  settled  ^Rochester  and  worked 
at  his  trade,  masonry,  for  two  years,  then  bought  a  place  in  Henrietta,  Monroe  county, 
which  farm  he  worked  for  two  years,  then  sold  and  moved  to  Brighton,  where  he  died 


156  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

in  1886,  aged  eighty-six  years.  He  married  Mariah  Carter,  of  New  Jersey,  by  whom 
he  had  ten  children,  six  now  living.  Thomas  R.  Blaker  has  always  followed  farming. 
He  married,  in  1863,  Eliza  J.  Hagaman,  and  they  have  four  children,  three  now  living : 
Charles  D.,  Lizzie,  and  Mahlon  H.  A  daughter,  Lillie,  died  in  infancy.  Charles  D.  is 
married  and  lives  in  Minnesota.  He  is  a  Baptist  minister.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of 
the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  the  Grange,  and  Mrs.  Blaker  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Furlong,  Perry  B.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  October  2,  1813.  His  father, 
John,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  the  spring  of  1812,  purchased  a  farm,  and  built  a  log 
house  in  the  woods.  He  died  in  1859,  aged  seventy-nine  years.  Perry  B.  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  education  in  the  log  school  house  of  his  district.  In  1836  he  married 
Charlotte  T..  daughter  of  Jacob  Raymer,  who  died  in  the  spring  of  1875,  and  in  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  he  married  Nancy,  daughter  of  Wdliam  Collins,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Austin.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  his  town,  taking  an 
intelligent  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Teats,  John  H,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county,  April  18,  1832,  and  is  the  youngest  of 
the  four  children  of  Henry  J.  and  Eliza  M.  (Fellows)  Teats.  Both  were  descended 
from  German  parentage,  the  ancestors  coming  from  Germany  in  the  early  days,  and 
the  old  homestead  being  in  the  family  for  140  years.  Henry  Teats  was  one  of  the 
prominent  men  of  Lafayetteville,  Dutchess  county,  where  he  died  in  1848.  Our  sub- 
ject was  reared  to  the  milling  business,  but  went  to  New  York  city  when  eighteen 
years  of  age  and  was  employed  at  the  St.  Nicholas  Hotel  for  some  years  and  was  also 
in  business  for  himself  for  a  number  of  years.  He  came  to  Williamson  in  1859  and 
has  since  resided  on  the  farm  of  eighty  acres  which  he  owns,  and  carries  on  fruit  farm- 
ing, having  thirty  five  acres  of  berries,  twenty-five  of  peaches,  four  of  currants,  eight 
of  plums,  and  fourteen  of  apples.  Mr.  Teats  is  a  Republican  and  was  custom  house 
officer  for  two  years ;  also  inspector  of  elections  and  town  collector.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  John  D.  Willard  Lodge,  No.  250,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W. 
and  the  Williamson  Grange.  In  1860  he  married  Bertha  B.,  daughter  of  Hamilton  and 
Rebecca  (Brown)  Cooper  of  Williamson,  her  family  being  relatives  of  Peter  Cooper  and 
of  James  Fenimore  Cooper  and  descended  from  Sir  Anthony  Ashley  Cooper.  They 
have  four  children :  Fred  H.,  who  married  Mary  Berry  of  Chicago  and  resides  in  Roch- 
ester ;  Sylvester,  who  married  Flora  Clock  and  resides  in  Ontario  and  has  two  children  ; 
J.  Percival  at  home;  and  Raymond  at  home.  Mr.  Teats  enlisted  in  Co.  E,  111th  N.  Y. 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  three  years,  and  was  in  the  battles  of  Gettysburg,  Cold 
Harbor,  Wilderness,  and  Petersburg. 

Plate er,  Solomon,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  March  31,  1831.  His  father, 
John  Platner,  came  to  Clyde  in  1832  and  located  on  a  farm  near  Clyde  in  1850,  where 
he  died  m  1863.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  died  December  4,  1882,  leaving  eight  children 
living  of  a  family  of  twelve.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  Solomon  began  life  with  a  clerk- 
ship in  a  grocery  at  Clyde,  then  was  for  several  years  in  post  office  and  general  store, 
and  in  1847  began  business  under  his  own  name  in  Clyde.  In  185-  he  married  Maria 
L.,  daughter  of  Millard  Olmstead  of  Savannah,  who  became  the  mother  of  five  children, 
three  survive  her:  Nathaniel  O.,  Francis  E.  and  Alice  M.  Nathaniel  is  now  in  Ne- 
braska a  dealer  in  grain  and  produce.  Frances  E.  is  the  wife  of  William  H.  Proudfit  of 
Denver,  Col.,  who  is  a  real  estate  dealer  and  commission  merchant,  and  Alice  M.,  the 
wife  of  R.  D.  Curtis  of  Marion,  Wayne  county,  who  is  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Marion  Enterprise.  Maria  L.  Platner  died  in  1872;  she  was  widely  known  for  her 
Christian  character  and  benevolence.  Mr.  Platner  married  second,  in  1874,  Margaret 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  late  James  Proudfit  of  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  who  some  years 
ago  was  one  of  its  most  enterprising  citizens  ;  their  home  is  in  the  southwestern  portion 
of  Savannah  on  a  farm  of  130  acres ;  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  157 

Everhart,  W.  H.,  born  in  Galen,  October  27,  1840.  His  fathec,  Samuel  Everhart,  a 
well  known  and  highly  respected  resident  of  Galen,  is  now  ninety-two  years  of  age, 
and  his  paternal  ancestors  were  all  celebrated  for  their  longevity.  W.  H.  Everhart, 
who  made  farming  his  principal  business,  first  followed  that  occupation  in  Walworth, 
having  only  recently  become  a  citizen  of  Butler.  December  25,  1867,  he  married  Eliz- 
abeth, daughter  of  Hugh  Ross,  late  of  Galen.  The  r  daughter,  Alma  J.,  born  February 
3,  1873,  married  in  1894,  William  T.  Pethic,  an  expert  machinist  and  electrician  of  On- 
tario ;  and  their  son,  Hugh  R.  Everhart,  born  September  1,  1876.  follows  farming. 

Pallister,  Harley  C,  was  born  on  the  Pallister  homestead  in  Williamson  October  9, 
1856.  He  is  a  son  of  William  Pallister,  who  came  from  England  to  America  in  1827 
and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  our  subject,  where  he  lived  and  died.  His  wife 
was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Joseph  Church,  of  Williamson,  and  they  had  two  sons  and 
one  daughter,  all  deceased  but  our  subject.  Mr.  Pallister  was  an  active  anti-slavery 
advocate,  and  was  for  a  while  road  commissioner  of  Williamson.  He  died  in  1879,  and 
his  wife  in  1892.  Harley  C.  was  educated  in  Sodus  Academy.  He  commenced  busi- 
ness on  the  homestead  farm,  and  has  always  resided  there.  He  married  in  January, 
1892,  Julia,  daughter  of  William  and  Emma  Pugsley,  of  Williamson.  Mr.  Pallister  has 
a  farm  of  sixty  acres  and  is  engaged  in  general  farming  and  fruit  growing,  also  evaporat- 
ing fruit.  He  sells  harvesting  machinery,  farming  implements,  fertilizers  and  evaporat- 
ing and  dairy  fixtures.     They  attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Fuller,  Roswell  D.,  was  born  in  Walworth  July  19,  1849,  son  of  Wells  B.  and  Lu- 
cinda  (Foskett)  Fuller,  he  a  native  of  Grand  Isle,  Vt.,  born  April  15,  1815,  and  she  of 
Walworth,  born  October  12,  1818.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  subject  came  to  Penn- 
ington when  a  young  man,  and  in  1842  came  to  Walworth  and  purchased  a  farm  of 
seventy- eight  acres,  a  part  of  which  is  owned  by  our  subject,  where  he  died.  He  was 
educated  in  Lima  Seminary  and  followed  teaching  several  years,  He  was  a  butcher 
and  stock  dealer  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  also  justice  of  the  peace.  He  died 
April  3,  1894,  and  his  wife  March  3,  1885.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated 
in  Walworth  and  Macedon  Academies.  He  engaged  in  farming,  owns  .103  acres,  and 
makes  a  specialty  of  raising  potatoes.  He  is  now  serving  as  assessor  of  the  town. 
November  29,  1881,  he  married  Elizabeth  C.  Frey,  a  native  of  Penfield  and  daughter  of 
Michael  and  Caroline  (Westerman)  Frey,  he  a  native  of  Oneida  county,  born  August 
25,  1834,  and  she  born  in  1838.     Mrs.  Frey  died  April  20,  1875. 

Allen,  Wells  A.,  was  born  in  Fulton,  N.  Y.,  April  26,  1844.  He  married  January  16, 
1859,  F.  Minerva,  daughter  of  Elias  Cady,  of  Granby,  Oswego  county.  Mr.  Allen 
operates  a  farm  of  200  acres  in  Savannah,  and  has  for  sixteen  years  dealt  largely  in  leaf 
tobacco  for  New  York  houses.  They  have  but  one  child  living,  Bert  J.,  born  July  5, 
1862,  two  other  sons,  Frank  and  Oscar,  being  deceased.     Bert  J.  married  November  14, 

1884,  Flora,  daughter  of  Alex  Hosier,  of  Baldwinsviile.  Allen  and  son  have  recently 
purchased  of  E.  B.  Male,  the  Casey  house  in  Railroad  street,  Savannah,  and  opened  it 
to  the  public  in  April,  1894,  as  a  restaurant  and  billiard  parlor. 

Bates,  C.  A.,  was  born  at  Jordan,  June  27,  1849,  a  son  of  Daniel  0.  Bates,  who  died  in 

1885.  The  latter  married  Lydia  M.,  daughter  of  Samuel  Tucker  of  New  Jersey,  who 
died  two  years  after  her  husband,  leaving  fourteen  children,  ten  now  living.  One  of 
the  daughters  is  the  wife  of  John  B.  Laird,  of  Savannah.  C.  A.  Bates  learned  the  ma- 
chinist's trade  at  Clyde,  but  farming  being  more  to  his  taste,  he  bought,  in  1880,  a  farm 
of  seventy-five  acres,  two  miles  north  of  the  village.  May  15,  1873,  he  married  Ellen, 
daughter  of  Charles  A.  Reed,  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  and  they  have  four  children  Charles 
F.,  born  May  4,  1877;  Minnie  L.,  born  September  13,  1879;  Cynthia  E.,  born  August 
23, 1881 ;  Russell,  who  died  in  infancy,  in  1882 ;  and  Howard,  born  July  27, 1886.  Mr. 
Bates  is  a  prominent  Prohibitionist,  and  has  served  as  school  trustee  for  a  long  time. 
He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 


158  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Cotton,  Jerome,  is  a  son  of  David  Cotton,  who  settled  at  Eastern  Savannah  in  a  very 
early  day,  and  reclaimed  fifty  acres  of  the  wilderness.  His  wife  was  Susan  Burch,  and 
of  their  eleven  children,  five  are  now  living:  Abbie,  wife  of  Thomas  Wenform,  of 
Butler;  Sarah,  wife  of  Henry  Walker,  of  Savannah;  Jerome;  Mary,  wife  of  L.  D. 
Reamer,  of  Savannah ;  and  Lucy,  wife  of  Willoughby  Prettie,  of  Conquest,  Cayuga 
county.  Jerome  was  born  in  1836,  and  passed  his  early  life  in  and  near  Savannah. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  he  bought  fifty  acres  of  land  and  now  owns  175  acres  about  the 
old  homestead,  three  miles  northeast  of  the  village.  November  13,  1862,  he  married 
Julia  Dean  of  Savannah,  and  their  children  are:  Etta,  born  in  1863  ;  Burdette,  born  in 
1865  ;  William  E.,  born  in  1S67  ;  David  Or.,  born  in  1870 ;  Lucy  O,  born  in  1872  ; 
Merton,  born  in  1876;  Mertie,  born  in  1877;  and  Blanche,  born  in  1879.  Etta  is  the 
wife  of  Henry  Devoe,  of  Montezuma ;  Burdette  married  Clara  Decker  of  Butler  and 
lives  at  Dewitt,  N.  Y.;  and  Lucy  is  the  wife  of  John  Hillebrand,  of  Savannah. 

Cotten,  D.  J.,  of  Savannah,  was  born  here  July  16,  1858,  the  son  of  Ephraim  and 
Sally  (Jane)  Harrington  Cotten,  whose  parents  were  pioneers  of  this  county.  Delos  J. 
received  his  education  at  Adrian  College,  Mich.,  graduating  as  B.  S.  in  1888.  During 
the  year  succeeding  his  graduation  he  filled  the  position  of  financial  secretary  for  his 
alma  mater.  In  1884  he  returned  to  Savannah,  the  home  of  his  boyhood.  December 
24,  1884,  he  married  Anna  E.  Dunham,  who  was  born  in  1857,  and  who  is  the  mother 
of  two  children:  Eva,  born  September  30,  1888,  and  a  son,  born  August  24,  1893.  Mr. 
Cotten's  parents  died  when  he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  He  is  a  prime  mover  in  the 
Prohibition  movement  in  Savannah,  serving  in  1893  as  chairman  of  the  Prohibition 
Committee.  He  has  been  excise  commissioner  three  years,  and  is  a  leader  in  Sunday 
school  work  in  the  M.  E.  Church.  In  April,  1884,  in  partnership  with  C.  W.  Water- 
man, he  opened  a  dry  goods  store  in  this  village,  but  the  fire  of  1885  terminated  that 
partnership,  after  which  he  conducted  the  business  alone  until  March  1,  1891,  when  he 
associated  with  him  Bertram  Clark,  which  firm  still  continues.  To  the  energy  and 
public  spirit  of  Mr.  Cotten  Savannah  is  largely  indebted  for  the  fine  Union  School 
building  erected  in  1892. 

Coleman,  C.  A.,  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Bullock  &  Coleman,  merchant  millers 
at  South  Butler,  was  born  at  Victory,  Cayuga  county,  July  9,  1870.  He  is  the  son 
of  S.  A.  and  Marian  (Crossman)  Coleman,  and  one  of  a  family  of  six  children,  none 
of  whom  are  residents  of  Wayne  county  except  himself.  He  was  educated  at  Red 
Creek  and  at  Cook  Academy.  Havana,  N.  Y.,  where  he  pursued  a  special  course  in  sci- 
ence, adapting  him  well  for  the  mechanical  exigencies  of  the  milling  business,  in  which 
he  is  now  engaged.  He  married  February  22,  1892,  Myrta  A.,  daughter  of  E.  H.,  and 
Clara  Horton  of  Wolcott. 

Calkins,  William  M.,  was  born  in  Butler  in  1829.  His  parents,  John,  and  Phoebe  C. 
Calkins,  were  pioneers  of  their  locality.  They  reared  a  family  of  eight  chiidren,  of 
whom  but  two  beside  our  subject  are  now  living:  Martin  now  at  West  Butler,  and  Em- 
eline  at  South  Butler.  William  long  before  the  attainment  of  his  majority  had  grap- 
pled with  the  stern  realities  of  life,  and  until  about  1863  was  engaged  in  boating,  since 
which  time  farming  has  claimed  his  whole  attention.  He  married  March  26,  1853, 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Delos  and  Hannah  Sampson  of  Salem,  Mass.,  neither  of  whom 
is  now  living.  Mr.  Sampson  died  March  4,  1870,  and  his  wife  April  25,  1891.  Will- 
iam and  Hannah  Calkins  have  seven  children :  Martin,  born  May  21,  1856 ;  Mary  J., 
born  October  15,  1858,  died  June  4,  1863  ;  Rhoda  E.,  born  February  9,  1861  ;  H. 
Eugene,  born  October  28,  1863  ;  William  E.,  born  March  12,  1866;  Addison,  born  Oc- 
tober 1,  1869;  J.  Ensign,  born  August  1,  1871;  C.  Albert  born  November  5,  1874. 
This  family  have  in  their  possession  an  ancient  trunk  dating  from  about  1790,  studded 
with  brass  nails,  forming  the  initials  "  E.  P.  "  for  Ebenezer  Pierce,  the  grandfather  of 
Mrs.  Calkins,  then  a  resident  of  Salem,  Mass.  Mrs.  Calkins's  father  served  in  the  War 
of  1812. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  159 

Campbell,  Rev.  Grove  E.,  was  born  August  13,  1862,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Samantha 
(Walker)  Campbell,  residents  of  Yates  county,  where  Grove  was  born.  The  latter  was 
educated  at  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary,  from  which  he  graduated  at  the  age  of 
twenty-four.  October  13,  1888,  he  was  admitted  upon  probation  to  the  Central  New 
York  M.  E.  Conference,  entering  into  full  connection  October  11,  1890,  receiving  ordin- 
ation at  the  hands  of  Bishop  Ninde.  His  first  pastorate  was  at  Sodus  Point,  where  he 
remained  four  years.  October  27,  1885,  he  married  Ida  L.,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Jane 
Pulver,  of  Yates  county.  Her  father  was  born  in  Otsego  in  1818,  and  died  September 
14,  1875.  Mrs.  Pulver  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1820,  and  is  still  living  in  the  old  home 
in  Italy,  N.  Y.  Mrs.  Campbell  is  a  graduate  of  Genesee  Wesleyan  Musical  Institute, 
and  is  recognized  as  a  musician  (both  vocal  and  instrumental)  of  rare  ability.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Ruth,  born  September  13,  1893.  Mr,  Campbell  assumed  the  pastor- 
ate of  the  M.  E.  Church  at  Savannah  in  1893,  and  evinces  rare  and  magnetic  qualities 
in  his  chosen  calling,  having  already  augmented  his  church  membership  by  fifty  souls. 

Clark,  Byron  G.,  of  Savannah,  was  born  October  19,  1835,  at  Whitehall,  N.  Y.,  a  son 
of  Garrett  Clark,  who  came  to  Rose  in  1836,  where  he  was  for  many  years  a  successful 
teacher  and  also  town  superintendent  of  schools.  His  wife  was  Electa,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Seely,  of  Rose.  He  died  at  West  Butler  in  1844.  Byron  was  the  only  son, 
but  had  four  sisters,  of  whom  two  are  now  living,  in  Iowa.  His  school  days  were 
passed  at  Watkins,  where  he  later  learned  the  iron  molder's  trade  and  he  was  clerk  in  a 
general  store  at  Wolcott,  three  years.  In  1856  he  came  to  Savannah,  and  married, 
January  1,  1858,  Tryphena  Hogan,  of  Savannah.  Mr.  Clark  is  a  Republican,  and  has 
served  as  commissioner  of  loans  six  years.  He  is  now  traveling  for  E.  W.  Gillett,  of 
Chicago.  His  children  are :  Mary  Belle,  born  January  14,  1860,  died  July  14,  of  the 
same  year ;  Melburn,  born  September  26,  1862,  who  spent  several  years  as  a  traveling 
salesman  in  New  England,  and  is  now  a  resident  of  this  town  ;  and  Bertram  G.,  born 
July  1,  1868.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  the  latter  entered  the  employ  of  A.  J.  Conroe  and 
was  six  years  in  the  store  of  Smith  Brothers,  and  one  year  with  D.  J.  Cotton.  In  1891 
he  entered  into  a  partnership  with  the  latter,  the  firm  being  Cotton  &  Clark,  and  is 
recognized  as  a  man  of  ability  and  integrity.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  as 
collector  two  years.  He  is  a  Mason,  and  a  member  of  the  K.  S.  F.  &  I.  February  15, 
1893,  Bertram  married  Minnie,  daughter  of  L.  D.  Reamer,  of  Savannah.  For  the  past 
six  years  Mrs.  Clark  has  been  organist  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  of  which  society  both  are 
members. 

Dunham,  Jerry,  is  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  integrity,  occupying  a  handsome  resi- 
dence nearly  adjacent  to  that  of  his  brother  Henry,  and  which  has  been  his  home  for 
thirty  years.  His  wife  is  Pamelia,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Miles,  of  Bennington,  Yates 
county,  who  died  July  21,  1850,  and  his  wife  Amelia  March  10,  1837.  Her  marriage  to 
Jerry  Dunham  took  place  May  5,  1856,  and  their  children  were :  Anna  E.,  now  the 
wife  of  Delos  Cotten,  of  Savannah ;  John  H.,  born  July  17,  1870,  and  died  when  eight 
years  of  age  ;  and  Addie  E.,  born  February  26,  1875.  She  was  educated  at  Adrian  College, 
Michigan,  taking  special  course  in  music  and  languages.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Our  subject  who  was  born  here,  October  21,  1833,  and  who  has 
lived  a  consistent  Christian  life  since  twelve  years  of  age,  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church,  as  is  also  his  wife,  who  was  born  March  17,  1835,  at  Bennington,  Yates  county, 
and  who  was  prior  to  her  marriage  a  successful  teacher. 

Ferris,  O'Connell,  was  born  in  Savannah  August  21,  1844.  His  parents,  Joseph  and 
Lucretia  Ferris,  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  in  northern  Savannah,  and  were  peo- 
ple of  considerable  prominence  and  highly  esteemed,  Joseph  being  for  twelve  years  a 
justice  of  the  peace.  Lucretia  died  in  1874  and  Joseph  in  1885,  leaving  five  children : 
Julia,  now  the  wife  of  Vaughn  Sweet,  of  Cayuga  ;  Sarah,  wife  of  Aaron  Hall,  of 
Savannah:  Dolly,  wife  of  John  Davis,  of  Savannah;  O'Connell,  our  subject,  and  Nel- 
son,   who   married  Ida   Simmons,    of  Cayuga.     O'Connell  acquired  a    good   common 


160  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

school  education,  and  at  twenty-one  years  of  age  began  operating  a  farm  of  130  acres 
in  Savannah,  giving  his  whole  attention  to  that  business,  of  which  he  has  made  an  en- 
tire success,  pointing  with  pardonable  pride  to  handsome  and  commodious  barns  erected 
in  1891.  His  wife  is  Lucy,  daughter  of  Frederick  Patrick  of  Marcellus,  Mich.  They 
were  married  December  23,  1871,  and  have  four  children  living:  Lulu,  born  June  6, 
1874,  died  October  9,  1883  ;  Grace,  born  July  25,  1877;  Eva,  born  August  3 ,  1879; 
Floyd,  born  December  17,  1884  ;  and  Flossy,  born  July  2,  1891. 

Ingersoll,  Mrs.  John,  was  born  in  Savannah  in  1848,  daughter  of  John  and  Maria 
Spore,  the  former  of  whom  died  April  8,  1886,  and  the  latter  October  9,  1880.  She 
married,  March  18,  1869,  John,  son  of  George  and  Polly  Ingersoll,  of  Savannah,  and 
had  two  children:  John  LeG.,  born  July  18,  1872,  who  died  when  one  year  of  age; 
and  Hattie  E.,  born  October  3,  1873.  John  Ingersoll  was  a  Republican,  who  served 
nine  years  as  commissioner  of  highways.  He  died  April  9,  1893,  mourned  by  a  large 
circle  of  friends. 

Monroe,  Mrs.  Allida,  was  born  in  Savannah  March  10,  1851,  daughter  of  Alonzo  and 
Charity  Dean.  She  married,  June  11,  1873,  Willis  M.  Monroe,  who  was  born  in  Sa- 
vannah December  12,  1847.  He  acquired  a  good  education  by  his  own  efforts,  and  for 
some  years  varied  the  monotony  of  farm  life  by  teaching  school  winters.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1891,  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  N.Y.C.  railroad  as  trainman,  running  between 
Syracuse  and  Buffalo.  He  suffered  a  slight  injury  in  June,  1892,  but  resumed  his  em- 
ployment in  September.  November  14,  1893,  he  met  a  tragic  death  while  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  duty  at  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  being  found  in  an  unconscious  condition  beside 
his  train  with  a  bullet  hole  in  his  temple  and  never  regained  censciousness  before  his 
death,  the  next  evening.  It  was  supposed  that  he  was  attacked  by  tramps  and  shot 
while  resisting  their  assault,  but  at  this  writing  the  identity  of  his  murderer  has  not 
been  established.  The  press  of  his  native  town  speak  of  him  as  a  kind  husband  and 
father,  and  a  noble  citizen.  A  loving  wife  and  three  children  survive  him,  and  have 
the  sympathy  of  the  entire  community.  The  children  so  tragically  orphaned  are  : 
Edna,  born  October  11,  1878;  Leslie  V.,  and  Lena  V.,  born  December  14,  1835. 

Magraw,  George  R.,  was  born  at  Clyde  May  6,  1856.  His  parents  were  Hezekiah 
and  Mary  Magraw,  the  latter  of  whom  died  in  1864  and  the  former  lives  in  New  York. 
They  had  three  children:  Frank,  George,  and  Ruez.  George  has  been  engaged  in  boat- 
ing since  seventeen  years  of  age,  now  operating  two  boats  transporting  grain  from 
Buffalo  to  New  York,  besides  a  farm  of  sixty  acres  lying  three  miles  south  of  Savannah. 
He  married,  March  30,  1880,  Emily,  daughter  of  Jacob  Helm,  of  Savannah,  and  they 
have  two  daughters:  Maud,  born  January  15,  1883;  and  Florence,  born  October 
10,  1885. 

Merriman,  H.  E.,  was  born  at  his  present  home,  four  miles  northeast  of  Savannah,  a 
son  of  Elisha  (died  in  1877),  and  Maria,  daughter  of  Henry  Winegar  of  Savannah, 
whose  children  were  :  George,  born  February  10,  1847  ;  and  Henry  E.,  born  April  22, 
1849.  George  conducts  a  banking  business  in  Hartford,  Mich.  Henry  has  always  fol- 
lowed farming.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  these  children  :  Frank,  born  January  30, 
1876,  died  December  9,  1893  ;  Fred  G.,  born  September  4,  1877  ;  George  Q.  and  Henry 
Q..  twins  born  February  7,  1885.  George  Q.,  deceased.  Mrs.  Merriman  died  March  2, 
1885,  aged  thirty-two  years.  Mr.  Merriman  married  second,  February  12,  1889,  Ella 
Pinckney,  of  Victor,  Oswego  county. 

Mesner,  John,  of  Savannah,  is  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Fredericka  Mesner  of  Wurtem- 
burg,  Germany,  where  he  was  born  February  27,  1S34.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he 
emigrated  to  America,  coming  directly  to  Clyde,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  baker, 
at  which  he  worked  three  years.  October  12,  1865,  he  married  Caroline  Bergter,  of 
Savannah,  and  settled  on  his  present  farm,  a  mile  west  of  the  village.     His  children  are 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  KM 

as  follows  :  Lilly,  born  July  27,  I860,  wife  of  W.  P.  Rector,  of  this  place,  by  whom  he 
has  two  sons,  William  P.,  born  September  7,  1878,  and  Charles  F.,  born  February  7, 
1880,  both  living  at  home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mesner  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 

Merritt,  Gordon,  was  born  April  6,  1826,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  he  came  from  New 
Jersey  with  his  parents,  William  and  Elizabeth  Merritt.  They  engaged  in  farming  in 
South  Butler,  where  William  died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four.  William  and 
Elizabeth  had  twelve  children,  of  whom  none  survive  but  our  subject,  and  one  sister, 
Rachel,  widow  of  J.  H.  McCoon,  late  of  Butler.  Gordon  acquired  a  good  education  at 
the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  bought  thirty  acres  of  land  in 
Savannah,  and  in  1877  moved  to  his  present  location,  a  farm  of  130  acres,  three  miles 
north  of  the  village.  March  22,  1849,  he  married  Nancy,  daughter  of  Reuben  Conant, 
of  Savannah,  by  whom  he  had  two  children :  William,  born  June  22,  1850 ;  and  Ernest 
G.,  born  August  24,  1873.  William  married  July  1,  1868,  Annie  Burgduff,  of  Butler. 
Ernest  graduated  in  1892  from  Cornell  University,  with  the  degree  of  B.  S.,  and  now 
occupies  a  position  in  Hoosick  Falls  High  School,  as  professor  of  languages. 

Male,  Edwin  B.,  was  born  in  County  Kent,  in  1848.  His  parents,  Samuel  and  Har- 
riet Male,  came  to  America  when  Edwin  was  five  years  of  age.  Of  a  family  of  fourteen 
children  he  is  the  only  representative  now  living  in  Wayne  county.  Until  1886  he  was 
engaged  chiefly  in  farming  in  the  western  portion  of  the  town,  and  in  that  year  he  pur- 
chased the  Casey  House  on  Railroad  street,  Savannah,  and  has  since  conducted  it  as  a 
restaurant  and  billiard  parlor.  March  1,  1877,  he  married  Julia  E.  Burch  of  Lyons,  and 
they  have  six  daughters:  Harriet E.,  born  March  12,  1878;  Keene  B.,  born  March  29, 
1879;  Grace  G.,  born  March  31,  1880;  Carrie  H.,  born  November  30,  1881;  Frances 
J.,  born  January  30,  1883  ;  and  Ruth  E.,  born  January  7,  1892.  Mr.  Male  is  a  man  of 
good  business  ability,  and  of  great  personal  popularity  among  all  classes  of  people.  Both 
he  and  his  family  are  held  in  high  esteem  here,  are  members  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and 
at  the  present  he  has  just  entered  upon  his  duties  as  postmaster,  succeeding  Horace  W. 
Smith  in  that  office,  his  appointment  dating  from  April  1,  1894. 

Newton,  H.  E.,  is  the  son  of  John  and  Rachael  (Ward)  Newton,  of  Otsego  county, 
one  of  six  children,  he  and  one  sister  being  the  only  survivors.  He  was  born  May  29, 
1835,  and  at  the  age  of  four  years  came  to  Madison  county  with  his  parents.  He  was 
left  an  orphan  in  early  youth,  his  father  dying  in  1850.  He  learned  the  trade  of  cooper, 
besides  which  he  kept  a  general  store  at  Bridgeport,  Madison  county,  until  1867,  when 
he  sold  out,  and  after  a  year  spent  in  bookkeeping  at  Manlius  Center,  he  came  to  Sa- 
vannah in  1870.  Immediately  subsequent  to  the  fire  of  1885,  which  laid  so  great  a  part 
of  Savannah  in  ruins,  he  built  the  present  hotel  bearing  his  name,  and  opened  it  to  the 
public  in  May,  1886.  The  Newton  House  is  a  commodious,  modern  hotel,  and  is 
patronized  largely  by  commercial  travelers.  April  28,  1890,  Mr.  Newton  married  Rena, 
daughter  of  John  Thompson,  of  Savannah. 

Olmstead,  H.  M.,  was  born  on  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home,  on  Crusoe  Island, 
October  10,  1848.  His  father,  J.  M.  Olmstead,  was  also  born  in  Savannah  in  1823,  and 
now  lives  at  Seneca  Falls,  his  wife,  Angelique,  having  died  in  1850.  Herbert  is  their 
only  child,  and  his  present  home  was  also  the  home  of  his  grandfather,  Millard  Olmstead, 
a  pioneer.  Robert  married,  December  12,  1877,  Isadore,  daughter  of  the  late  Ralph 
Van  Dyke.  She  was  born  and  reared  in  Savannah.  She  has  two  sons :  Arthur  H„ 
born  March  13,  1881,  and  Edwin  R.,  born  January  12,  1884.  Mr.  Olmstead  is  much 
esteemed  in  Savannah.  He  is  a  Republican  and  has  served  as  assessor.  He  is  a  charter 
member  of  the  A.O.U.W.  Lodge  at  Savannah. 

Pomeroy,  E.  P.,  was  born  August  17,  1839,  at  Elbridge  the  son  of  Lemuel  S.  and 
Mary  Ann  (Elder)  Pomeroy.     Leonard  S.  was  born  at  Otisco  February  1,  1812,  and 


162  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

became  a  graduate  of  Hamilton  College  and  of  the  Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  but 
owing  to  ill-health  was  forced  to  give  up  the  idea  of  a  pastorate.  He  later,  however, 
became  principal  of  Munroe  Collegiate  Institute,  and  in  1871  besran  an  eight-year  pas- 
torate of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Savannah,  where  he  died  February  19,  1879.  He 
married,  May  23,  1837,  Mary  Ann  Elder,  who  died  July  18,  1852.  E.  P.  Pomeroy  was 
educated  at  Onondaga  Academy,  and  married,  January  14,  1866,  Jennie  E.  De  Golia,  of 
Otisco.  After  conducting  a  general  store  at  Pompey  Hill  for  several  years  he  came  to 
Savannah  in  1879,  where  he  was  a  teacher  in  the  village  school  for  two  years,  and  then 
adopted  his  present  vocation  of  traveling  salesman.  Air.  Pomeroy  is  very  unassuming, 
but  a  gentleman  of  wide  and  varied  attainments,  and  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know 
him. 

Roberts,  Cyrus,  of  Savannah,  was  born  in  Tyre  May  4,  1813.  His  father,  Bethial 
Roberts,  was  a  pioneer  in  that  locality,  practicing  surveying  and  also  teaching  school. 
Cyrus  studied  medicine  at  Geneva  and  has  practiced  to  some  extent,  but  has  been 
chiefly  engaged  in  farming.  In  1838  he  married  Sally,  daughter  of  John  Beach,  of 
Tyre,  and  who  died  in  1850,  leaving  three  children,  one  of  whom  is  living  in  New  York 
city.  In  1852  he  again  married,  Mary  A.  Tillow,  of  Savannah,  and  they  have  had  one 
child,  Willis  Roberts,  born  in  1866.  Dr.  Roberts  sustained  a  paralytic  shock  in  1893, 
and  is  in  a  feeble  condition. 

Stevens,  Elford,  one  of  the  representative  business  men  of  Savannah,  was  born  in 
Jefferson  county,  November  4,  1851,  a  sou  of  Benoni  P.  and  Olive  (Jenks)  Stevens, 
now  of  Butler  Center,  who  settled  in  this  county  in  1865.  Benoni  Stevens  is  now  pastor 
of  the  Adventist  Church  at  South  Butler.  Elford  received  his  education  at  Wolcott 
High  School,  and  his  first  independent  business  venture  was  the  establishment  of  an 
evaporator  for  fruit  at  Savannah,  in  1889,  which  has  become  an  important  industry,  and 
he  is  also  a  partner  in  business  with  Charles  Wood.  December  4,  1877,  Mr.  Stevens 
married  Carrie,  daughter  of  Horace  B.  and  Lydia  (Wilcox)  Chapin,  of  Worthville,  Jef- 
ferson county,  and  their  children  are:  May  L.,  born  November  11,  1878;  Burk  P., 
born  November  28,  1881,  died  September  2,  1884;  Grace  E.,  born  August  8,  1888,  died 
in  infancy  ;  and  Ray  0.,  born  August  11, 1890.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stevens  are  members  of 
the  Second  Adventist  Church  of  South  Butler.      Mr.  Stevens  served  as  trustee  in  1893. 

Severance,  Smith,  son  of  J.  H,  and  Emma  Severance,  was  born  at  Savannah,  No- 
vember 3,  1871.  His  father  came  from  Junius,  Seneca  county  in  1860.  His  mother  is 
a  daughter  of  Smith  and  Phoebe  D.  Williams  of  Savannah.  They  married  December 
16,  1869  and  have  two  children,  a  daughter,  Myrtie,  born  March  18,  1874.  Smith 
Severance  is  at  present  a  traveling  salesman  for  a  proprietary  medicine.  His  genial 
manners  and  sunny  temperament,  with  excellent  business  abilities,  have  made  for  him 
a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

Spoor,  Abijah,  of  Savannah,  the  son  of  John  and  Marian  (Beebe)  Spoor,  of  Albany 
county,  was  born  September  3,  1827,  and  in  early  manhood  he  settled  on  a  farm  two 
miles  north  of  Savannah  (1848),  having  at  the  time  no  capital  whatever.  He  has,  however, 
by  untiring  industry  and  frugality,  added  to  his  original  purchase  twenty-five  acres, 
until  his  possessions  now  embrace  150  acres  of  excellent  tillable  land.  In  1857  he  married 
Caroline  Van  Nortwick,  of  Butler,  and  they  have  five  children  ;  Harriet,  wife  of  John 
H,  Bixby ;  Adelbert  R,  William  Ellsworth,  Frank  L.  and  Emma. 

Swift,  Rev.  Philip,  Savannah,  was  born  July  9,  1830,  in  Herkimer  county.  His 
parents,  Philip  and  Fanny  (Russ)  Swift  of  Connecticut,  reared  a  family  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Philip  is  the  only  living  representative  now  in  Wayne.  He  was  edu- 
cated chiefly  at  a  select  school  in  Little  Falls,  Herkimer  county,  receiving  in  1862  an 
exhorter's  license  from  the  Methodist  Protestant  Conference,  and  assuming  the  duties 
of  his  first  pastorate  at  North  Wolcott,  Wayne  county,  in  1863.    He  married  September 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  163 

10,  1851,  Martha,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Clarissa  (Dewey)  Rankin,  and  they  had  one 
son,  Harvey  L.,  who  died  October  11,  1859.  Mr.  Swift's  last  pastoral  charge  was  at 
Conquest,  Cayuga  county,  where  in  the  summer  of  1892,  he  was  disabled  by  a  partial 
sunstroke  which  has,  unfortunately,  affected  his  vocal  organs  so  much  as  to  necessitate 
for  a  time  abandonment  of  public  speaking,  and  this  enforced  retirement  from  his 
chosen  field  of  labor  is  being  spent  at  his  pleasant  home  in  Savannah. 

Sedore,  Ira  B.,  Savannah,  was  born  here  October  5,  1825.  His  father,  Conrad 
Sedore,  born  in  Rensselaer  county  in  1801,  came  to  Wayne  in  1823  and  settled  on  a 
farm  near  Savannah.  He  was  a  man  of  marked  force  of  character,  a  life-long  and 
steadfast  Republican,  serving  as  inspector  of  schools  and  commissioner  of  gospel  and 
school  funds.  He  married,  in  1824,  Harriet  Hall,  of  Massachusetts,  and  they  had  seven 
children,  of  whom,  besides  Ira,  only  two  are  now  living.  In  his  early  manhood  Ira 
conducted  the  farm  in  Wolcott,  and  married,  February  11,  1852,  Ruth  A.  Cay  wood,  of 
Savannah.  Mr.  Sedore  is  practically  a  self-educated  man,  and  had  the  resolution  and 
perseverance  to  fit  himself  for  the  ministry,  joining  the  Onondaga  County  Methodist 
Protestant  Conference  in  1857,  and  becoming  a  fully  ordained  exhorter  in  1862.  At 
the  present  writing,  while  occupying  no  specific  field  of  labor,  he  still  holds  the  super- 
numerary relation  to  his  church,  always  in  readiness  for  the  call  of  duty. 

Spoore,  John  L.,  Savannah.  John  and  Maria  (Beebe)  Spoore,  of  Albany  county, 
came  into  the  county  of  Wayne  in  1837/and  settled  upon  a  farm  near  South  Butler, 
living  the  quiet  and  uneventful'  lives  inseparable  from  that  pursuit  until  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Spoore  in  1879,  and  of  John  the  elder  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years. 
Subject  of  sketch  was  born  October  5,  1823,  in  Albany  county,  was  chiefly  engaged  in 
farming,  and  married  January  1,  1852,  Mary  E.  Shotwell.  of  Port  Byron,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Sarah  Shotwell.  They  had  one  daughter,  G-race  L.,  born  in  Savannah  July 
6,  1856.  She  married  December  29,  1875,  George  P.  Waggoner,  of  Meridian,  Cayuga 
county,  and  died  May  28,  1889,  leaving  three  children,  one  of  whom  is  adopted  by  its 
grandparents,  a  ray  of  sunshine  to  their  otherwise  lonely  home.  Mr.  Spoore  is  at  pres- 
ent overseer  of  the  poor,  an  office  practically  forced  upon  him  as  he  is  a  life-long  Repub- 
lican in  politics  and  possesses  a  large  degree  of  the  esteem  of  his  townsmen.  He  is  a 
dealer  to  some  extent  in  agricultural  implements,  making  a  specialty  of  plows.  In  his 
house  the  writer  was  shown  some  objects  of  great  antiquarian  interest,  among  them 
spoons  dating  back  200  years  marked  "  Marie  Le  Orange,"  who  was  the  great-aunt  of 
Mr.  Spoore,  and  a  massive  iron-bound  chest,  in  which,  during  the  Revolution,  money 
and  plate  were  stored,  and  the  chest  buried  in  a  secluded  place,  secure  from  British 
depredation.  The  theatre  of  this  dramatic  episode  was  at  the  foot  of  the  Helderbergs 
in  Albany  county. 

Taylor,  the  late  Henry,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Savannah,  and  was  born  in 
Wheeling,  Va.,  January  8,  1801.  His  mother,  a  widow,  moved  to  New  York  State  in 
1803,  settling  first  in  Seneca  county.  At  the  age  of  eleven  years  Henry  started  out 
for  himself,  and  settled  on  Crusoe  Island,  now  the  town  of  Savannah,  his  mother  hav- 
ing married  previous  to  this,  her  second  husband.  He  worked  on  a  farm  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  town  for  several  years,  attending  school  winters  and  working  for  his  board. 
About  1822  he  bought  a  tract  of  land  where  the  village  now  stands,  then  an  almost  un- 
broken wilderness.  In  1825  he  married  Ardilla  De  Mott,  and  they  began  housekeeping 
in  the  little  log  cabin  where  the  Hamilton  block  now  stands.  He  also  engaged  largely 
in  hunting  and  trapping,  during  the  spring  and  fall  months,  having  made  as  high  as 
$500  as  the  proceeds  of  one  season,  Auburn  at  that  time  being  the  nearest  market.  He 
was  an  expert  with  the  canoe,  excelling  all  other  trappers,  and  during  his  pioneer  life 
he  had  many  a  thrilling  encounter  with  wild  animals  of  the  forests.  He  died  at 
Savannah  December  2,  1893,  aged  ninety-three  years,  mourned  by  all  classes  to  whom 
his  figure  was  a  familiar  one.     He  built  the  first  frame  house  in  Savannah,  having  at 


164  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY 

one  time  been  sole  owner  of  one  square  mile  here.  No  one  man  in  all  Savannah  could 
with  more  truth  be  called  a  ''landmark"  than  Mr.  Taylor.  His  wife,  Ardilla  De 
Mott,  died  in  1876.  Their  children  were:  Frank,  Fidelia,  Jacob  H.,  Lawton,  Charles, 
David,  William,  George  and  Jennie,  wife  of  Mr.  Phelps,  of  Savannah. 

Vought  N.  C,  of  Savannah,  was  born  at  Wolcott  in  1835,  a  son  of  N.  C.  and  Mary 
(Lent)  Vought,  originally  from  Peekskill.  The  elder  Vought  settled  on  a  farm  in  Wol- 
cott, Wayne  county  in  1825.  In  1849  he  followed  the  trail  of  the  Argonauts  as  far  as 
Wisconsin,  where  he  remained  till  his  death  in  1850.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  one 
of  a  family  of  twelve  children,  every  one  of  whom  lived  to  maturity,  a  fact  of  more 
than  ordinary  interest,  as  indicative  of  the  simple  and  vigorous  lives  of  our  ancestors. 
The  mother  of  this  remarkable  group  died  in  1840,  when  our  subject  was  but  five  years 
old.  About  1853  he  became  master  of  a  trade,  that  of  carpenter  and  joiner,  and  later 
(at  one  time  in  partnership  with  Horace  Wadsworth)  a  builder,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  that  he  has  built,  personally,  more  houses  and  barns  than  any  other  one  man 
in  Wayne.  In  1860  he  married  Ancy  Dratt,  of  South  Butler,  by  whom  he  had  these 
children  :  Dora,  born  in  1862,  and  Edward  born  in  1864,  died  in  1865.  Mr.  Vought 
again  married  in  April,  1866,  Mahala  Palmer,  daughter  of  William  Palmer  of  Butler,  a 
most  estimable  lady.     She  and  Mr.  Vought  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Vanderpool,  George,  is  the  son  of  Stephen  and  Juda  Vanderpool  of  Schodack,  Rens- 
selaer county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  born  August  24,  1814.  George  came  to  Savannah 
in  1852,  and  since  1862  has  occupied  his  present  home  on  a  farm  four  miles  north  of 
the  village.  He  has  one  brother,  Stephen,  living  at  Butler.  October  27, 1838,  he  mar- 
ried Hannah  Green  of  Schodack,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children  ;  Mary  A.,  born  July 
29,  1840,  now  the  wife  of  William  Link  of  Galen ;  Gilbert,  born  September  2,  1843, 
died  April  30,  1870;  James,  born  May  16,  1846,  now  a  resident  of  Savannah;  Phoebe 
and  Stephen,  born  March  11,  1849.  Stephen  lives  at  Wolcott,  and  Phoebe  in  Syra- 
cuse, the  wife  of  Augustus  Daniels;  and  Adaline,  born  April  1,  1852,  died  December 
20,  1860.  Hannah  Vanderpool  died  January  30,  1879,  aged  sixty-three  years,  and  Mr. 
Vanderpool  married,  second,  March  4,  1880.  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Smith  of  Clyde,  the  mother 
by  a  former  husband  of  William  E.  Ellis,  the  latter  now  a  resident  of  Clyde.  William 
E.  Ellis  was  one  of  the  thirty-six  officers  and  men  who  went  out  in  the  ill-fated  Pro- 
teus under  Lieutenant  Greeley  in  1881.  His  scholarly  note-books  record  in  detail  the  in- 
credible hardships  they  endured,  until  driven  to  insanity  and  cannibalism.  His  body 
was  recovered  from  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  where  he  met  so  lonely  and  terrible  a  death  in 
1883,  and  is  interred  at  Clyde,  N.  Y. 

Wood,  Alonzo  D.,  an  influential  and  prosperous  farmer  and  business  man,  is  the  son 
of  Seth  Wood,  who  died  in  1847,  greatly  respected.  The  latter  had  been  for  eight 
years  justice  of  the  peace,  and  died  an  incumbent  of  that  office.  His  wife  was  Melinda, 
daughter  of  John  Dunham,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children,  seven  now  living :  James, 
Seth,  William,  Laura,  John,  Julia,  Alonzo,  Helen  and  Gaylord.  Alonzo  was  born  May 
18,  1838,  was  educated  at  Sodus  Academy  and  Falley  Seminary,  beginning  life  for  him- 
self on  a  farm  in  Conquest,  Cayuga  county,  December  30,  1866.  He  married  Anna  M., 
daughter  of  H.  O.  Baggerly,  of  Savannah,  by  whom  he  has  two  sons,  Howard  C,  born 
June  31.  1874  ;  and  Stanley  D.,  born  May  6,  1885.  Mr.  Wood  was  for  some  time  en- 
gaged in  school  teaching  prior  to  his  marrirge.  He  now  conducts  a  large  and  product- 
ive farm  besides  dealing  in  agricultural  implements,  machinery,  etc.  He  a  staunch 
Republican,  and  has  served  as  overseer  of  the  poor,  and  justice  for  four  years  each. 
In  1884-85  and  1886  he  served  on  the  Board  of  Supervisors. 

Wilsey,  Irving,  is  the  only  son  of  Eli  Wilsey,  who  was  born  in  Columbia,  Cayuga 
county  December  5.  1830.  Eli  married  Harriet,  daughter  of  William  H.  Snyder,  Sep- 
tember 12,  1855,  and  in  1870  they  came  to  Savannah,  and  purchased  a  farm  of  100 
acres,  lying  two  miles  northwest  of  the  village.     Eli's  death  occurred   December  12, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  165 

1893,  and  his  widow,  Harriet,  remains  upon  the  homestead  farm,  which  is  now  operated 
by  her  son.  Irving  was  born  November  3,  1870,  and  married  November  26,  1891, 
Augusta  E.,  daughter  of  Edwin  Tallman,  of  Savannah,  and  they  have  one  daughter, 
Lula,  born  October  20,  1892. 

Williams,  Albert,  was  born  in  Savannah  August  5,  1848.  His  parents,  Smith  and 
Phoebe  Williams,  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  here.  Smith  died  July  6,  1892,  his 
widow  surviving  him.  Albert  married  November  15,  1876,  Gertrude,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Harriet  Gerow,  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  and  they  have  four  children: 
Howard  S.,  born  August  7,  1877;  Carl  G.,  born  December  25,  1878;  George  A.,  born 
April  26,  1880,  and  Maud,  born  May  22,  1882.  Mr.  Williams  operates  100  acres  of 
land,  making  a  specialty  of  the  breeding  of  Holstein  cattle  for  dairy  purposes. 

Widrig,  Russell,  is  the  son  of  Michael  Widrig,  of  Herkimer  county,  who  removed  to 
Clyde  in  1833,  and  died  in  1849.  His  wife,  Martha,  reared  a  family  of  ten  children,  all 
but  one  of  whom  are  still  living,  the  youngest  one  being  past  fifty  years.  Russell  has 
one  sister  in  Wayne  county,  Mary,  widow  of  the  late  Jedediah  Carter,  of  Savannah. 
Martha,  wife  of  Michael  Widrig,  died  in  1870,  aged  seventy -five  years.  Russell's 
grandfather,  George  Widrig,  born  in  Germany,  came  to  America  when  ten  years  old, 
acquiring  a  collegiate  education  in  New  York.  He  served  as  a  private  through  the 
Revolution,  and  a  brigadier-general  in  the  war  of  1812,  his  son  Michael,  acting  as  aid- 
de-camp  to  him.  Russell,  born  at  Frankfort,  Herkimer  county,  November  25,  1822, 
educated  at  Clyde  High  school,  supplemented  by  reading  and  self-directed  research,  is 
a  man  of  much  ability  and  force  of  character.  He  has  served  as  commissioner  of  high- 
ways several  terms,  besides  other  offices.  December  25,  1853,  he  married  Euretta 
Woodward,  who  became  the  mother  of  Russell  A.,  born  December  11,  1854,  died  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1863 ;  Richard  H.,  born  November  13,  1860,  died  February  24,  1863,  and 
Martha  M.,  born  September  6,  1856,  now  the  wife  of  John  Anderson,  of  Savannah,  and 
mother  of  four  children. 

Wiley,  C.  C,  was  born  August  29,  1850,  in  a  log  house  upon  the  site  of  his  present 
home.  His  parents,  C.  B.  and  Nancy  Wiley,  came  here  in  a  canoe  and  settled  amid  the 
wilderness.  C.  B.  Wiley  for  many  years  engaged  beside  farming  in  the  production  and 
sale  of  lumber.  He  died  November  12,  1891,  and  his  wife  January  1,  1892.  C.  C. 
Wiley  was  educated  at  Falley  Seminary  and  married  February  12,  1873,  Kate,  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  Long,  of  Savannah.  They  are  located  on  a  farm  of  110  acres,  two  miles 
south  of  Savannah.  Their  children  are :  May,  born  December  27,  1874;  Grace,  born 
April  3,  1876;  Charles,  born  November  25,  1879,  and  LeRoy,  born  May  3,  1891. 

Westcott,  George  H.,  born  at  Galen,  May  18,  1850,  and  in  1859  his  father,  the  late 
Heman  Westcott,  came  to  the  present  homestead,  three  miles  northeast  of  Savannah. 
Heman  Westcott  was  born  in  Ira,  Cayuga  county,  April  28,  1812,  coming  to  Butler  in 
1886,  where  he  married  Julia  A.,  daughter  of  Philip  Van  Northwick,  December  31, 
1826.  Julia  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1817,  and  she  had  eight  children,  of  whom 
but  three  survive  :  Harriet,  Electa  and  George,  the  former  married  and  residing  in 
Michigan.  Heman  Westcott  was  a  successful  and  prosperous  farmer,  a  kind  father  and 
loving  husband,  and  when  he  died  March  14,  1894,  Savannah  mourned  the  loss  of  a 
worthy  pioneer  and  a  good  citizen.  George  H.,  the  present  representative  of  the  house 
of  Westcott,  was  born  May  18,  1850,  and  married  December  23,  1871,  Sarah  L.,  daugh- 
ter of  Sylvester  Secor,  of  Savannah,  and  is  now  eligibly  situated  upon  a  farm  adjacent 
to  that  owned  by  his  late  father.  His  wife,  Sarah  L.,  was  born  in  Savannah  Novem- 
ber 20,  1847.  She  is  the  mother  of  six  fine  children :  Lillian  B.,  born  November  20, 
1871 ;  Cora  E.,  born  May  17,  1874;  Archibald  B.,  born  February  10, 1879;  Charles  A., 
born  July  26,  1882  ;  Howard,  born  August  4,  1885 ;  Harrison,  born  March  4,  1889. 
Mr.  Westcott  is  a  man  of  ability  and  enterprise,  an  uncompromising  Republican,,  and 
beside  farming  does  a  large  business  in  breeding  fine  horses,  chiefly  Percherons. 


166  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Bilby,  Joseph,  born  in  New  Jersey  February  8,  1820,  is  the  third  son  of  eight 
children  of  William  and  Mary  (Sharpe)  Bilby,  natives  of  New  Jersey,  who  came  to 
Marion  in  1827  and  here  Mr.  Bilby  died  in  October,  1861,  and  his  wife  in  1863.  He 
was  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  Our  subject  was  reared  a  farmer  until  seventeen  years 
of  age,  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  and  followed  it  in  Marion  most  of  his  life.  He 
owns  fourteen  acres  of  land  in  Marion.  He  has  been  highway  commissioner.  He 
married  in  August,  1853,' Mary  M.  Morgan,  a  native  of  Oswego  county,  and  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Mary  Morgan,  natives  of  England,  who  settled  in  Oswego  county,  but 
died  in  Pultneyville. 

Bilby,  John  H.,  born  in  New  Jersey,  November  28,  1817,  was  the  second  of  six  chil- 
dren of  William  and  Mary  Bilby.  Subject  was  reared  a  blacksmith,  but  in  18f>9  bought 
the  farm  he  owns  of  seventy-two  and  one-half  acres,  and  has  since  followed  farming. 
He  married,  February  8,  1838,  Cynthia  Luce,  a  native  of  Palmyra,  and  daughter  of 
William  Luce,  of  Long  Island,  who  is  descended  from  Israel  Luce,  of  Wales,  the  latter's 
son  having  came  to  America  about  1676.  William  Luce  came  to  Palmyra  in  1796, 
where  he  died  in  1891.  His  wife  was  Lydia  Goldsmith,  who  died  in  1874.  The  father 
of  William  was  Benjamin  Luce,  who  served  through  the  Revoluionary  War.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bilby  have  had  one  daughter,  Louisa  M.,  wife  of  Henry  C.  Allen,  and  they  have 
one  son,  Elmer  J.  Allen,  who  married  Carrie  Pulver,  who  has  one  son,  Wayne. 

Boss,  John,  born  in  Williamson,  N.  Y.,  November  2,  1824,  is  the  third  son  of  Isaac 
and  Sarah  (Dedie)  Boss,  natives  of  Holland  and  mentioned  in  biography  of  Cornelius 
Boss.  John  Boss  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  has  always  followed  farming,  except 
one  year  in  the  grocery  business  in  Marion.  He  now  owns  a  portion  of  the  Boss 
homestead,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  fruit  growing.  He  married  in  1883  Lena  Ver- 
bridge,  of  Sodus.-  She  is  the  daughter  of  Peter  and  Lisa  Verbridge,  natives  of  Hol- 
land who  came  to  America  in  1852  and  settled  in  Pultneyville,  where  the  mother 
died  in  1893,  and  Mr.  Yerbndge  now  resides  with  Mr.  Boss.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boss, 
are  members  of  the  Reformed  church,  of  Marion. 

Bowen,  Seth,  was  born  in  Tyre,  Seneca  county,  March  15,  1824.  His  father, 
Silas,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  came  to  Seneca  county  in  1810.  He  mar- 
ried Sarah  Lumm,  who  was  of  English  descent.  Seth  Bowen  laid  the  foundation 
of  his  education  in  the  l^g  school  house  of  his  district".  At  the  age  of  twenty-three 
he  married  Caroline,  daughter  of  Jediah  Jenkins,  and  they  have  two  children,  Mrs. 
Mary  Cuyler  and  Frank  Bowen.  In  1871  he  bought  the  Asaph  Whittlesey  property 
of  160  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading 
farmers  in  his  town. 

Bishop,  Alvin,  was  born  in  Albany,  N.  Y,,  January  22,  1863.  His  father,  R°v.  E. 
Sherman  Bishop,  a  clergyman  of  the  New  York  M,  E.  Conference,  alter  a  service  of 
thirty  years  has  retired  to  his  home  at  Milton,  on  the  Hudson.  Alvin  Bishop  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  Fishkill,  New  York,  and  Hancock,  N.  Y.,  entering  Union 
College  in  1881,  took  the  classical  course  and  graduated  in  1885.  In  1887-89  he  was 
appointed  principal  of  Monticello  Classical  Institute  ;  then  during  1889-91  was  prin- 
cipal of  Woodstock,  Vt.,  High  School.  In  1891  he  came  to  Clyde  as  principal  of  the 
Clyde  High  School,  graduating  in  1893  one  of  the  largest  classes  in  the  history  of  the 
school,  having  an  average  attendance  of  475  to  500.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married 
Mary  Louise,  daughter  of  Horace  Goodrich,  of  Schenectady. 

Brockmyre,  Chris.,  was  born  in  Seneca  Falls  December  25,  1852  educated  in  the 
Clyde  High  School,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  married  Emma,  daughter  of  Loami 
Beadle,  by  whom  he  has  five  children :  Christopher,  Marvin,  Clarence,  Clifford  and 
Ethel.  In  1855  he  came  to  Wayne  county  with  his  stepfather,  John  Seigmund,  who 
purchased  a  farm.     He  died  in  1884,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  one  of  the  largest 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  167 

farmers  in  the  town  of  Galen,  having  290  acres  of  land  and  raising  large  quantities  of 
hay,  grain  and  stock.  He  was  sixty-two  years  of  age  when  he  died.  Our  subject  in 
1876  established  the  grocery  on  lock  fifty-three  which  he  now  carries  on,  carrying  a 
large  stock  of  general  merchandise,  hay  and  grain,  and  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in 
school  and  religious  institutions. 

Burghduff,  W.  R.,  only  son  of  Jesse  Burghduff,  was  born  where  he  now  resides  No- 
vember 3,  1858.  His  father,  now  seventy-eight  years  of  age,  was  also  born  here.  His 
grandfather,  Jacob,  born  in. the  city  of  Albany,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  this 
locality.  William  Burghduff's  wife  is  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Addison  Chapman  of 
Westbury,  and  their  children  are  :  Claude,  born  November  30,  1879,  and  Bula,  born 
February  9,  1882.  Her  father's  family  are  also  remarkable  for  longevity  and  at  one 
time,  in  1884,  there  were  represented  at  the  Burghduff  home  four  generations,  Jacob, 
Jesse,  William  and  Claude  Burghdoff,  and  Curtis,  Addison,  Elizabeth  and  her  son 
Claude  of  the  Chapman  family. 

Bacon,  Rufus  J.,  was  born  in  Skaneateles,  Onondaga  county,  1818.  His  parents,  Ru- 
fus  and  Martha  Bacon,  came  to  the  town  of  Butler  in  1832,  when  Rufus  died  August 
18,  1849,  at  eighty  years  of  age.  He  was  the  eldest  of  eleven  children.  His  mother 
died  June  19,  1857.  Mrs.  Rufus  Bacon  is  a  sister  of  Mrs.  John  McCourtie,  and  they 
are  the  daughters  of  the  late  well  known  Eleazer  Smith  of  Butler.  Her  four  daugh- 
ters are  Phebe  A.,  born  May  2,  1843,  Martha  P.,  born  December  9,  1848,  Sarah,  born 
July  3,  1853,  Florence,  born  April  5,  1857. 

Bacon,  Nathan,  born  in  1822,  is  the  son  of  Rufus  Bacon  of  Sennett,  N,  Y.,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy  years  in  1861.  Nathan  has  been  a  resident  of  Butler  since  1852. 
Both  himself  and  wife  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  January  1,  1854.  he  married 
Lavina,  daughter  of  the  late  Eleazer  Smith  of  Butler,  by  whom  he  had  three  children  : 
Mary  E.,  Frances  M.,  and  Sumner  S. 

Brewster,  A.  K,  was  born  at  Sterling,  1825.  Morgan  Brewster,  his  father,  was  born 
at  Palmyra,  Wayne  connty,  and  was  well  known  as  a  hotel  proprietor  at  Wolcott,  and 
at  Red  Creek.  He  died  in  1889,  and  his  wife,  Melinda  Lyan,  died  two  years  later. 
Our  subject,  educated  at  Red  Creek  Seminary,  has  been  engaged  in  mercantile  and  other 
lines  af  business,  at  one  time  operating  a  stage  line  between  Wolcot  and  Clyde,  in  con- 
nection with  a  livery.  In  1876,  he  purchased  a  farm  near  Wolcott.  His  first  wife, 
Evelyn,  who  died  in  1860,  left  one  son,  Frank  L.  The  present  Mrs.  Brewster  was 
Cyrilla  Lawrence,  of  Copenhagen,  to  whom  were  born  three  children.  George  A,, 
Fred  H.,  and  Anna  Belle,  the  latter  becoming  Mrs.  E.  B.  Cossolman.  Her  death  oc- 
curred August  7,  1892,  at  twenty-three  years  of  age.  She  left  one  son,  Earl  Cossol- 
man. 

Britton,  Joseph,  born  in  Williamson,  September  21,  1833,  and  was  the  second 
child  of  Richard  and  Ann  Wake  Britton,  natives  of  Warthell,  Yorkshire,  England,  he 
born  in  1797  and  she  in  1807,  and  who  were  married  in  1829.  The  father  of  Richard 
was  John  Britton,  who  lived  and  died  in  England.  Richard  Britton  was  a  veterinary 
surgeon  and  farmer,  and  settled  where  our  subject  now  resides,  and  owned  at  one  time 
147  acres  of  land.  He  was  a  Republican,  and  poormaster  for  two  years.  He  and  his 
wife  were  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  He  died  in  1886  and  she  in  1871.  Our  sub- 
ject was  educated  in  Sodus  Academy,  and  he  has  spent  his  life  where  he  now  resides 
and  owns  sixty- five  acres  of  land.  He  is  a  Republican  and  has  been  assessor  ten  years. 
He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  October  27,  1864,  he  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Clark,  of  Williamson,  born  March  5,  1839,  and  daughter  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  Clark.  Our  subject  has  one  daughter,  Carrie  M.,  born  1865,  and  the  wife  of 
Elmer  V.  San  tee,  a  merchant  of  Watertown,  whom  she  married  February  18,  1892. 


168  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Buckles,  Abram,  was  born  in  Williamson  August  2,  1856.  He  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and 
Anna  (Wamesfelder)  Buckles,  natives  of  Holland.  They  came  to  America  in  1847  and 
settled  in  Williamson,  where  they  have  since  resided  and  followed  farming.  The 
grandfather,  Adrian,  died  in  Holland  in  1830,  and  his  wife  Maggie  (Deflue)  Buckles, 
died  on  the  ocean  while  on  the  way  to  America  in  1847.  Adrian  Buckles  was  a 
wagonmaker  by  trade.  Abram  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  worked  on  the  homestead 
till  1887,  when  he  bought  the  plank  road  steam  saw  mill,  where  he  has  since  been  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  He  also  has  a  feed  mill  and  a  cider  mill.  They 
attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  Church.  In  1883  he  married  Lucinda  Resue,  of  William- 
son, and  they  have  one  daughter,  Maud.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Buckles  were  Josiah  and 
Annie  Resue.     He  died  in  1871,  and  his  wife  resides  on  the  farm. 

Budlong,  A.  P.,  Macedon,  was  born  December  22,  1824,  son  of  John  Budlong,  who 
was  born  in  1798.  The  latter  was  a  farmer  and  business  man,  and  a  dealer  in  cattle. 
He  married  in  1816  Abigail  Langley,  and  they  reared  seven  children  :  Jenks,  Dewain, 
Nathan,  A.  P.,  our  subject,  Samuel,  Charlotte  and  Abigail.  He  married  second  in  1833 
Widow  Hill,  by  whom  he  had  these  children,  John  R.,  Walter  F.,  and  Hettie  M.  Our 
subject  is  a  farmer.  He  married  first  Hannah  Arnold,  by  whom  he  had  two  children, 
Nathan  and  Cora.  His  second  wife  was  Cornelia  Pulver.  Mr.  Budlong  held  the  office 
of  assessor. 

Baker,  David  O,  Macedon,  was  born  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  John  E.  Baker, 
within  a  few  yards  of  his  farm.  April  28,  1846.  His  occupation  has  been  farming,  but 
in  early  life  he  taught  school  six  winters.  He  married  in  1873  Margaret  J.  Longstaff, 
of  Macedon,  and  settled  where  he  now  lives,  owning  about  100  acres,  three  acres  in 
timber.  They  have  two  children,  David  G.,  jr.,  and  Mary  E.,  both  at  home  attending 
the  district  school  and  Macedon  Union  school.  Our  subject  is  excise  commissioner, 
also  assessor,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Royal  Templars  and  the  Orange. 

Bentley,  Joseph  W.,  Macedon,  was  born  in  Queensbury,  Warren  county  February 
17,  1840.  Warren  Bentley,  his  father,  was  born  in  Warren  county  August  28, 
1815,  son  of  Richard  Bentley,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  who  came  to  this  State  at  an 
early  day.  His  occupation  was  speculating  in  lumber,  etc.  He  married  Dina  Vaughn, 
and  they  had  seventeen  children,  thirteen  of  whom  grew  to  maturity.  At  present 
there  are  six  living.  He  settled  in  Queensbury,  near  Lake  George.  Warren  Bentley 
married  Calista  Jenkins,  born  in  Queensbury,  Warren  county,  January  25,  1819,  daugh- 
ter of  Murray  Jenkins,  and  they  had  seven  children,  all  now  living.  The  occupation  of 
our  subject  has  been  farming  except  in  the  year  of  1862,  when  he  went  to  the  oil  region 
in  Pennsylvania.  He  conducted  a  lumber  yard  and  general  merchandise  store  for  W. 
Ames  &  Co.,  in  the  village  of  Pioneer  near  Titusville,  which  position  he  held  four 
years.  He  married  Axie  Vaughn  of  Erie  county,  in  1867,  at  which  time  he  gave  up 
his  position  and  went  to  Michigan,  where  he  lived  one  year.  He  then  came  to  Genesee 
county  and  then  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  spent  the  summer.  In  1869  he  came  to 
the  farm  he  now  owns,  consisting  of  seventy- five  acres.  He  has  two  sons,  Fred  W. 
Ames  and  Herbert  Lee.  Fred  W.  is  a  physician  and  graduated  from  the  New  York 
Homoeopathic  Medical  College  May  3,  1894,  and  went  to  Buffalo  May  15,  1894,  to 
assume  charge  of  the  Buffalo  Homoeopathic  Hospital.  Herbert  Lee  graduated  May  25, 
1894,  from  the  Buffalo  Law  school.     Subject  never  aspired  to  public  office. 

Bullis,  Abraham,  Macedon,  was  born  in  Farmington,  Ontario  county,  September  4, 
1854.  His  father,  Dr.  Abraham  R,  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  July  8,  1815.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  Geneva  Medical  College,  and  took  up  his  practice  in  Farmington 
and  Macedon.  He  married  Lydia  P.,  daughter  of  John  Lapham,  of  Macedon,  a 
descendant  of  the  old  pioneer  family  of  Laphams  so  widely  known  in  this  part  of 
Wayne  county,  who  came  to  this  part  of  the  State  in  1790.  John  L.  Bullis,  brother  of 
our  subjeet,  is  captain  in  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States,  also  Indian  agent  in 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  169 

New  Mexico.  The  children  of  Abraham  R.  Bullis  are  :  John,  Mary,  Charles,  Abraham 
R.,  our  subject ;  Lida  and  Nettie.  Mary,  Charles,  and  Nettie  are  deceased.  Lida  is  the 
wife  of  Major  Weni,  of  the  regular  army.  Our  subject  is  a  graduate  of  Cornell  University, 
graduating  as  a  civil  engineer  in  1882,  also  in  mathematics  in  1881.  He  married 
Josephine  Breese  in  1884,  daughter  of  J.  D.  Breese,  of  Macedon,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Charles  and  Nettie.  Our  subject  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic 
Lodge  No.  665,  of  Macedon. 

Blaine,  C.  G.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Varick,  Seneca  county,  March  23,  1856,  was 
educated  in  the  Ovid  Academy  and  graduated  from  the  University  of  Michigan  in 
1882,  taking  the  law  course.  He  came  to  Lyons  in  1882  and  entered  the  office  of 
Major  Roys  and  in  1883  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Wayne  county,  and  entered  into 
general  practice.  In  1889  he  bought  the  George  H.  Cramer  insurance  business,  and  in 
1894  also  bought  the  Charles  E.  Crandall  agency,  doing  the  largest  line  of  insurance  and 
handling  real  estate  and  placing  loans  in  Lyons.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  mar- 
ried Cassie  A.,  daughter  of  Amos  Desmond,  of  Galen,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one 
son,  Carlton  A.  Our  subject  is  a  very  active  business  man,  identified  in  advancing  the 
best  interests  of  his  town  and  the  leading  events  of  the  day,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man 
of  sterling  integrity  and  worth. 

Baltzel,  G.  H.,  the  eldest  son  of  Henry  Baltzel,  who  came  to  Lyons  from  Alsace  Sulz 
in  1842,  was  born  in  Lyons  January  12,  1851.  He  was  educated  in  Lyons,  and  at  an 
early  age  became  his  father's  assistant  in  his  many  enterprises,  paying  special  attention 
to  the  boot  and  shoe  trade,  which,  at  the  death  of  his  father  in  March,  1878,  he  con- 
tinued, being  at  the  present  time  one  of  the  leading  merchants  and  carrying  one  of  the 
largest  stocks  of  fine  footware  of  all  kinds  in  Wayne  county.  Retiring  and  unassum- 
ing he  has  done  much  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  his  town  as  any  of  his  towns- 
people, having  in  connection  with  his  brother,  W.  H.  Baltzel,  erected  the  well  known 
Baltzel  block. 

Baltzel,  W.  H.,  was  born  May  5,  1855,  in  Lyons.  His  father,  Henry,  came  from 
Alsace  Sulz  to  Lyons  in  1842,  first  engaged  in  the  hotel  and  boot  and  shoe  business,  and 
gradually  acquired  a  large  amount  of  real  estate,  and  at  his  death,  in  March,  1878,  was 
one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  prominent  business  men  in  the  town  of  Lyons,  leaving 
a  large  estate  to  his  ten  children.  W.  H.  Baltzel  was  educated  at  Lyons  Union  School 
and  finished  at  the  Rochester  Business  University,  after  which  he  engaged  in  the  dry 
goods  and  provision  business,  and,  in  connection  with  his  brother,  Henry,  erected  one 
of  the  largest  blocks  in  Lyons,  containing  four  stories  and  the  Baltzel  House.  At  thirty- 
one  years  of  age  he  married  Jennie  B.  Reads,  of  Syracuse,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren :  Irene,  Pauline,  and  Marjorie.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  prominent  business  men 
in  his  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  nigh 
business  ability  and  strict  integrity. 

Boeheim,  F.  W.  &  Son,  Furniture  and  Undertakers. — The  firm  is  composed  of  F.  W. 
Boeheim,  came  from  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  in  1850,  settled  in  Lyons  and  established 
himself  in  the  same  business  now  carried  on  by  himself  and  sons  in  1854.  Starting  in  a 
small  way  he  soon  began  to  acquire  a  competence,  and  in  1880  took  into  the  firm  the 
eldest  son,  Frederick,  and  in  1891  the  youngest  son,  Charles.  In  1891  he  bought  the 
Leonard  property  on  Water  street  which  they  rebuilt,  making  one  of  the  largest  busi- 
ness blocks  in  Lyons,  occupying  four  floors  and  carrying  the  largest  and  most  complete 
line  of  furniture  and  undertaking  goods  in  Wayne  county.  F.  W.  Boeheim  married 
Philopena  Gehres,  daughter  of  Daniel  Gehres,  of  Germany,  and  they  have  four  chil- 
dren: Frederick,  Philip,  and  Charles,  and  one  daughter,  Mrs.  William  Buisch,  of 
Lyons.  Frederick  married  at  twenty-three  Sallie  Buisch,  of  Lyons,  daughter  of 
George  Buisch,  and  they  have  one  son,  Frederick.  Charles  married  at  twenty-one 
Libbie,  daughter  of  Adam  Frey,  and  they  have  three  children :  Charles  E.,  Bessie,  and 


170  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Clara.  Our  subjects  are  noted  among  the  business  community  as  men  of  energy  and 
high  business  ability,  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  their  town,  where 
they  have  been  selected  to  fill  many  positions  of  trust  and  of  recognized  worth  and 
sterling  integrity. 

Barton,  Daniel,  was  born  June  12,  1830,  on  the  old  Barton  homestead  in  Lyons,  which 
at  the  time  of  his  birth  was  a  log  house.  His  father,  Elisha.  was  a  prominent  farmer  in 
his  town.  Daniel  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  attending  school  during  the 
winter  and  working  on  the  farm  during  the  summer.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  mar- 
ried Eliza,  daughter  of  David  Griffiths,  who  died  in  1857,  and  in  1859  he  married  Soph- 
ronia,  daughter  of  James  Miller,  of  Arcadia.  They  have  had  three  children,  two  of  whom 
are  living:  Bernard  M.,  and  Lillie  B.  Eliza  died  in  1880,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three. 
In  1869  he  bought  the  Captain  Merry  property  of  100  acres,  raising  mint,  hay,  grain  and 
stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  in  his  town,  elected  as  assessor  in 
1893.     He  took  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Barton,  Theodore,  was  born  in  Putnam  county,  January  7, 1828,  came  to  Wayne  county 
in  1829  with  his  father,  Elisha,  and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  his  day,  to 
which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven  he  married  Jeannette,  daughter  of  Philip  Pulver,  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Ida.  In  1856  he  bought  the  Ben  Carroll  property  of  sixty-five  acres,  and 
in  1869  bought  part  of  the  Captain  Merry  property  of  thirty-three  acres,  having  sixty- 
nine  acres  of  some  of  the  best  farm  land  in  Wayne  county,  raising  mint,  hay,  grain 
and  stock,  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  in  his  town,  filled  the  office 
of  commissioner  of  highways,  and  a  liberal  supporter  of  educational  and  religious  in- 
stitutions. 

Beadle,  Judd,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Marengo.  March  28,  1859.  His  father,  Orrin, 
the  proprietor  of  Beadle's  Hotel  for  fifty  years,  is  also  a  native  of  the  county.  Judd 
Beadle  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by 
reading  and  observation  In  1888  he  established  a  general  grocery  and  mercantile 
store  at  Marengo,  and  disposing  of  it  in  1891  came  to  Clyde  and  remained  in  busi- 
ness one  year,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  came  to  Lyons  and  established  the 
same  business  in  the  double  stores  on  the  south  side,  carrying  one  of  the  largest  and 
best  selected  stocks  of  fire  groceries,  dry  goods,  boots  and  shoes,  rubber  goods,  in 
Wayne  county.  Our  subject  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  energetic  and  enter- 
prising merchants  in  his  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests  and  in  the 
leading  events  of  the  day. 

Bastian,  David,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  February  7,  1849.  His  father, 
Michael,  came  from  Alsace.  David  was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-four  he  married  Magdalena,  daughter  of  George  Ehreman,  of  Lyons,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  four  children  :  Philip  A.,  Helen  L.,  Bertha,  and  Maud  N. 
In  1881  in  connection  with  his  brother  George  B.,  he  bought  the  Walter  Aikenhead 
property  of  320  acres,  which  they  divided,  raising  hay,  grain  and  stock,  making  a 
specialty  of  milk  dairying,  averaging  200  quarts  per  day.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the 
intelligent  farmers  in  his  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  interests. 

Boyd,  James,  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  born  January  6,  1843,  and  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Catherine  Boyd,  natives  of  Ireland.  Our  subject  has  two  sisters,  Margaret,  wife  of 
Samuel  Bailey,  of  Clyde  ;  and  Mary.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  left  his  native  land, 
home  and  friends,  and  sailed  for  America,  coming  direct  to  Clyde,  where  he  had  an 
uncle,  making  the  journey  alone.  He  learned  the  blacksmith  trade,  and  has  followed  it 
ever  since.  In  1865  he  came  to  Huron,  and  in  1891  purchased  the  farm  of  101  acres, 
where  he  now  resides.  In  1863,  he  married  Dalinda,  daughter  of  Bradley  and  Sarah 
Abies,  of  Wolcott.     He  enlisted  in  Co.  G,  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  and  served  until  the  close 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  171 

of  the  war.  He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Cold  Harbor,  Weldon  Railroad,  Monocacy, 
Cedar  Creek,  Petersburg,  Sailor's  Run,  and  Hatcher's  Run.  He  has  reared  six  children  : 
Minnie  E.,  wife  of  Irving  Winchell,  of  Huron  ;  Jay  W.,  James  A.,  Erne  A.,  Florence, 
Leslie,  and  Clayton,  who  died  aged  five  years.  Mr.  Boyd  is  a  member  of  the  G-.  A.  R., 
Keeslar  Post,  No.  55,  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican. 

Beadle,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  this  county  in  1818,  reared  on  a  farm,  and  in  1839  married 
Betsey  Doraner,  moving  to  Palmyra  in  1860,  where  he  deals  in  live  stock  and  wool. 
Their  children  are:  Frances  M.,  wife  of  Czar  Dunning;  George  S.,  and  Augustus  M. 
Both  sons  reside  in  Palmyra.  The  parents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were  Ira  and 
Hannah  (Langdon)  Beadle  natives  of  Washington  county,  the  former  dying  May  7, 
1864,  and  the  latter  October  27.  1859,  aged  seventy-four  and  fifty-nine  years,  respect- 
ively. 

Brown,  George  R.,  dealer  in  groceries  and  provisions,  and  president  of  Wayne  Build- 
ing &  Loan  Association,  is  a  native  of  Palmyra,  born  April  10,  1850.  He  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  took  the  classical  course  at  the  Union  school.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-one  he  entered  the  employ  of  G.  N.  Crouse  &  Co.,  of  Syracuse,  where  he 
remained  five  years.  After  this  he  returned  to  Palmyra,  and  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  with  his  father,  George  Brown.  The  latter  was  a  native  of  this  county. 
Since  1888  our  subject  has  conducted  the  business  alone.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the 
Globe  Manufacturing  Co.  In  1875  he  married  Harriet  E.  Barnham,  also  a  native  of 
this  town.     Mr.  Brown  is  vestryman  of  Zion  Church. 

Bump,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Saratoga,  May  31,  1830,  but  in  early  childhood 
moved  with  his  parents  to  Ontario  county,  where  his  father,  Charles,  died  in  1883,  and 
his  mother,  Maria  Sax,  in  the  same  year.  The  father  was  a  farmer  all  his  life,  owning 
and  residing  on  one  farm  in  Ontario  county  over  fifty  years.  Our  subject  was  the  old- 
est of  four  children:  John  H.,  who  lives  on  the  homestead  in  Ontario  county;  James 
H.,  who  enlisted  in  the  111th  N.  Y.  Yols.  under  Colonel  Seeley,  and  July  3,  1863,  was 
killed  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg;  Helen  A.,  who  married  Charles  Clark,  of  Ontario 
county,  and  died  in  1882;  our  subject  married  February  1,  1854,  Sarah  E.  Cornwell,  a 
native  of  Palmyra,  and  after  his  marriage  farmed  fifteen  years  in  this  town,  then  for 
two  years  engaged  in  the  cabinet  maker's  and  undertaker's  business.  Since  1874  he 
has  conducted  a  livery,  and  also  owns  a  hearse,  having  attended  over  1,600  funerals. 
He  was  trustee  of  the  village,  and  under-sheriff  for  three  years. 

Budd,  Thomas,  was  born  in  England  April  18,  1827,  the  youngest  child  of  eight 
children  born  to  Thomas  and  Betsey  Budd,  who  lived  and  died  in  England.  In  1852 
subject  came  to  Ontario,  and  after  working  by  the  day,  first  bought  ten  acres  and  now 
owns  ninety  acres  and  follows  general  farming  and  fruit  growing,  having  five  acres  of 
berries.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  Mr.  Budd  married  October  1,  1862,  Sallie  A. 
Wilson,  of  Webster,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  James  W.  Mrs.  Budd  was  a  daughter 
of  Adolphus  and  Phiphena  Sprague,  of  Hartford,  Conn.  Mr.  Sprague  and  wife  both 
died  in  Webster,  he  in  1859  and  she  in  1863. 

Brown,  R.  K.,  born  in  Monroe  county  July  28, 1825,  is  the  ninth  of  a  family  of  eleven 
children  of  Daniel  and  Margaret  (Kennedy)  Brown,  the  former  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
and  the  latter  of  Penfield.  Mr.  Brown  came  to  Monroe  county  in  1804,  where  he  died 
in  1834,  and  his  wife  the  same  year.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  Marion 
and  Macedcn  Academies,  has  been  principally  engaged  in  farming,  and  taught  school 
fourteen  winters.  Mr.  Brown  has  been  captain  of  a  boat  on  the  Erie  Canal  three  sum- 
mers. He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  been  assessor  and  justice  of  the  peace.  He  married 
Mary  J.,  daughter  of  John  and  Esther  Horton,  who  settled  in  Phelps.  They  came 
from  Kinderhook  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Ontario  in  an  early  day,  where  he  died  in 
1860  and  his  wife  in  1882.     Subject  and  wife  have  had  three  children:  Myron  H., 


172  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

(deceased),  Hattie  A.,  wife  of  Alfred  M.  Mead,  and  they  have  three  children  :  Edgar 
K.,  Dora  and  Mary  E.,  and  Evaline,  deceased.  Subject  is  a  farmer,  owns  118  acres  of 
land,  follows  general  farming,  and  has  seven  acres  of  apples  and  small  fruit. 

Barnsdale,  Thomas,  was  born  in  England,  coming  to  America  in  1854  with  his 
parents,  Thomas  and  Jane  Barnsdale.  They  had  four  children.  By  his  first  wife  Sarah, 
he  also  had  four  children,  she  being  the  mother  of  our  subject.  Mr.  Barnsdale  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  and  died  in  Ontario,  his  widow  now  residing  in  Rochester. 
Thomas  was  twenty  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  this  town,  and  settled  on  the  place 
he  now  owns,  which  comprises  sixteen  acres  in  the  village  of  Ontario.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  and  cast  his  first  vote  for  Abraham  Lmcoln.  He  follows  general  farm- 
ing, and  has  about  four  acres  devoted  to  apple  culture. 

Bullock,  F.  L.,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Bullock  &  Coleman,  merchant  millers,  of 
South  Butler,  was  born  March  8,  1868,  in  the  town  of  Butler.  Educated  at  Red  Creek 
Academy,  his  business  life  began  in  April,  1893,  when  the  co-partnership  was  formed 
with  C.  A.  Coleman.  His  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  April  21,  1892,  is  Julia, 
daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Pasco.  A  young  man  of  excellent  habits,  and  business  ability, 
and  with  hosts  of  friends  wherever  known,  his  future  deserves  a  large  measure  of 
success. 

Beal,  Emery,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  this  town  April  20,  1836.  His  father  was 
Seth  Beal,  born  in  the  town  of  Palmyra,  now  Macedon.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion and  settled  on  the  place  now  owned  by  our  subject.  The  father  of  Seth  was 
Leonard,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  this  locality, 
and  his  father  was  Seth  Beal.  The  mother  of  our  subject  was  Hannah  Reed,  of  Mac- 
edon, who  had  twelve  children,  ten  now  living.  Emery  has  followed  agriculture  all  his 
life,  excepting  the  time  spent  in  the  army,  which  was  from  August,  1862,  to  March, 
1865.  He  participated  in  numerous  battles,  and  was  among  those  who  captured  the 
gunboat  "  Cotton  "  at  Fort  Bislane.  He  never  received  a  wound  during  the  service. 
In  1874  he  married  Rose  E.  Smith  and  they  have  had  three  children :  Charles,  Frank, 
and  Willis,  and  one  daughter,  Dora,  deceased.  Our  subject  is  a  G.  A.  B.  man,  and  has 
served  as  collector  and  commissioner  of  highways,  being  a  Democrat. 

Brooks,  Benjamin,  was  born  in  England,  July  12,  1818,  and  came  to  Clyde  in  1831, 
where  he  settled.  His  father,  Thomas,  followed  boating  three  years,  and  soon  acquired 
real  estate  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  died  in  1863,  aged  seventy-three  years.  Ben- 
jamin was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  In  1863  he  inherited  the  homestead  and 
the  Stephen  Smith  property  of  235  acres.  He  sold  the  Smith  property,  and  now  has 
170  acres  of  some  of  the  best  land  in  Wayne  county,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and 
stock.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Lydia  Ann,  daughter  of  William  Hopkins, 
and  they  have  six  children  :  Thomas  Buell,  Arthur,  Mary,  Fanny,  and  Emma.  Our 
subject  is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  in  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  ed- 
ucational and  religious  matters,  giving  his  service  to  build  the  cemetery  in  1832. 

Bennett,  John  A.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  November  22,  1834.  He  is  the  ninth 
child  of  a  family  of  thirteen  children  of  John  and  Jane  Nason  Bennett,  who  came  to 
Williamson  when  eleven  years  old  with  his  parents.  John  Bennett  was  a  farmer  and 
mechanic,  and  died  in  1865  aged  seventy- five  years.  Our  subject  learned  the  cooper's 
trade  when  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  also  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  for  about 
fifteen  years,  and  then  dressed  tools  in  a  blacksmith  shop  for  three  years,  after  which 
he  purchased  a  grist  mill  at  Beaver  Creek  and  followed  milling  for  seven  years.  He 
again  followed  the  carpenter's  trade  for  three  years  and  in  1893  came  to  the  village  of 
Ontario  Center,  where  he  at  present  keeps  a  meat  market.  He  owns  a  place  near  Fur- 
naceville,  where  he  raises  fruit.  He  is  a  member  of  Ontario  Grange.  In  1859  he  mar- 
ried Anna   Maria  Truax,  of  Williamson,  a  daughter  of  Jacob   Truax,  and  one  of  eight- 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  17:', 

een  children.  Mr.  Bennett  and  wife  have  two  children :  Olive,  who  died  in  infancy, 
Claud  F.,  born  January  16,  1874,  educated  at  the  common  schools  and  now  resides  at 
home. 

Booth,  Charles  R.,  a  very  estimable  young  farmer  of  Huron,  born  in  the  house  he 
now  owns  October  29, 1867,  is  a  son  of  Zenas  H.  Booth,  also  born  in  Huron  June  16, 
1831,  was  a  blacksmith  and  farmer.  His  wife  was  Marian  Morey,  born  in  Rose  in 
March,  1834,  and  their  children  are  :  Josephine  D.,  born  August  15,  1856;  Manvill  J.,  born 
in  November,  1857 ;  Edmund  D.,  born  in  January,  1861,  and  Charles  Z.  Zenas  H. 
and  wife  died  in  1877  and  1878  respectively.  Subject  was  educated  in  Wolcott  School. 
In  1888  he  purchased  the  homestead,  where  he  has  since  resided.  In  1889  he  married 
Susan,  daughter  of  Henry  McMillan,  and  they  have  one  child,  Hazel,  born  in  May, 
1892.     Subject  is  a  member  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance. 

Boss,  Cornelius,  born  in  Sodus  April  6,  1856,  is  the  fifth  of  nine  children  of  Isaac 
and  Sarah  (Dedee)  Boss,  natives  of  Holland,  who  came  to  America  in  1854  and  settled 
in  Williamson  on  a  farm.  He  bought  a  farm  in  Sodus  where  he  resided  till  1865,  when 
he  went  to  Michigan  for  a  year.  He  returned  to  Sodus,  again  buying  a  farm,  which  he 
sold  and  bought  the  farm,  a  part  of  which  is  now  owned  by  our  subject.  He  died 
April  3,  1887,  and  his  wife  March  28,  1880.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  edu 
cated  in  Sodus  and  Marion.  He  married  April  7,  1880,  Annie,  daughter  of  Frank  and 
Mary  (Lawrence)  Leroy,  natives  of  Holland.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boss  have  one  son  and  one 
daughter,  Frank  O,  born  September  6,  1866,  and  Jessie.  Mr.  Leroy  died  in  1866,  and 
Mrs.  Leroy  resides  in  Marion.  Mr.  Boss  has  always  been  engaged  in  farming,  and 
makes  a  specialty  of  fruit  growinsr.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grange,  and  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Security  Tent  K.  0.  T^M. 

Baker,  Edward,  Macedon,  was  born  in  England  July  22,  1852,  son  of  John  Baker, 
who  was  born  February  23,  1827,  who  is  a  farmer.  Subject  was  fourteen  years  of  age 
when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  this  county.  The  other  children  of  the  family  were 
Daniel,  Sarah  A.,  Charlotte  and  Ellen.  Our  subject  now  owns  a  fine  farm,  from  which 
he  produces  grain  in  abundance.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  married 
January  13,  1886,  Harriet  E.  Holloway. 

Boynton,  Frank  M.,  was  born  in  Ontario  in  1850,  one  of  four  children  of  Lorenzo  S. 
and  Philura  (Maine)  Boynton,  he  a  native  of  Walworth,  born  January  2,  1816,  and  she 
of  Connecticut,  born  April  18,  1813.  Mr.  Boynton  was  reared  and  educated  in  Wal- 
worth and  always  followed  farming.  He  came  to  Ontario  about  1845,  and  owned  a 
farm  of  eighty  acres.  He  died  September  12,  1884,  and  his  wife  July  26,  1858.  His 
father,  Jonathan,  was  born  August  10,  1779,  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Wal- 
worth, where  he  died  March  28,  1845.  Frank  M.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
and  Walworth  Academy,  also  the  Jonesville  Union  School  of  Michigan.  He  has  always 
followed  farming,  and  now  owns  the  homestead  place,  devoting  some  attention  to  fruit 
raising.  He  has  a  fine  place  and  is  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  town.  He  is  a 
Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Grange.  In  1878  he  married  Maggie  A.,  daughter 
of  Robert  and  Jane  (Walton)  Franks,  who  both  died  in  Walworth.  Lorenzo  S. 
Boynton  was  twice  married,  his  second  wife  having  been  Lenora  Wheeler,  daughter  of 
Ralph  and  Lucy  (Ray)  Lovejoy.     She  resides  in  Ontario. 

Blackmore,  H.  F.,  came  to  America  when  six  years  of  age  from  London,  England, 
where  he  was  born  in  1841.  When  the  first  call  for  volunteer  soldiers  was  made  in 
1861  he  was  a  student  at  Weedsport  and  promptly  entered  the  service  of  his  adopted 
country,  enlisting  in  Company  C,  75th  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  afterward  the  75th  New  York 
Veteran  Battalion.  He  was  an  active  participant  in  the  La  Fourche,  Port  Hudson,  and 
Red  River  campaigns,  his  brigade  being  always  at  the  front.  He  was  also  engaged  in 
the  battle  of    Winchester  and  Fisher's  Hill,  at  the  latter  receiving  a  severe  wound 


174  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

which  confined  him  to  the  hospital  five  months,  at  the  end  of  which  period,  August  30, 
1865  he  was  mustered  out  at  Savannah,  G-a.  Mr.  Blackmore's  wife  was  Emma  Rising, 
of  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  and  they  were  married  October  7,  1884.  Since  the  war  he  has  filled 
the  position  of  keeper  at  Auburn  eight  years,  and  has  held  various  offices  of  trust  at 
Wolcott,  where  he  is  highly  esteemed. 

Bradway,  A.  J.,  only  son  of  the  late  William  Bradway,  was  born  at  Victory,  Cayuga 
county,  June  1,  1839.  A  sister,  Hannah,  now  Mrs.  Uelmer,  lives  in  Wisconsin.  A.J. 
Bradway  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1S64  on  his  return  from  the  war,  in  which  he  had 
seen  three  years'  service  as  a  member  of  Company  E,  13th  Mich.  Vol.  Infantry.  For 
many  years  he  operated  a  saw  mill  at  South  Butler,  also  manufacturing  butter  tubs, 
barrels,  and  cooper's  materials.  More  recently  he  has  been  engaged  in  farming  in 
Wolcott.  He  has  served  as  collector,  constable,  and  deputy  sheriff.  November  5, 
1859,  he  married  Mary  A.  Wheeler,  of  Hannibal,  Cayuga  county,  and  has  one  daughter, 
Emma,  born  August  11,  1860. 

Brooks,  Alfred,  son  of  Augustus  R.  Brooks,  of  Cato,  Cayuga  county,  was  born  in 
1834,  and  when  seventeen  years  of  age  came  to  Wolcott,  where  his  parents  were  en- 
gaged in  farming,  and  where  he  now  pursues  the  same  avocation,  devoting  his  atten- 
tion chiefly  to  small  fruits.  His  wife  is  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  H.  B.  Carr,  of  Wolcott, 
and  they  have  two  children :  Deborah,  wife  of  D.  F.  Lockwood,  of  Lyons ;  and  Laura 
Frances,  who  died  at  fourteen  years  of  age. 

Bourne.  W.  E.,  was  born  in  Lyons  September  9,  1863.  His  father,  James,  came 
from  England  and  settled  in  Lyons.  He  married  Ann  Lee,  of  England.'  He  died  in 
1891  at  seventy-six  years  of  age.  W.  E.  Bourne  was  educated  in  Lyons  Union  School, 
after  which  he  entered  the  employ  of  E.  B.  Price  &  Son,  grocers,  and  after  several 
years  of  experience  in  business,  in  1894  purchased  a  half  interest  with  W.  M.  Young, 
carrying  the  largest  and  most  complete  stock  of  books,  stationery,  toys,  confectionery, 
baby  carriages,  and  office  supplies  in  Wayne  county.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he 
married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Arthur  M.  Sunderlin.  Our  subject  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  most  energetic  merchants  in  his  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests 
and  in  the  leading  events  of  the  day. 

Burnett,  A.  E.,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  April  29,  1852,  was  educated  at 
Phelps  Union  school  and  finished  at  Eastman  Business  College,  Poughkeepsie.  After 
leaving  school  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm  two  years,  and  in  1876  came  to  Lyons 
and  established  himself  in  the  grocery  and  general  produce  business  in  the  same  loca- 
tion he  now  occupies.  In  1888  he  established  a  coal  and  wood  yard,  handling  3,000 
tons  per  year.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married  Laura  J.,  daughter  of  Levi  Lane, 
of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Frances  H.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  held  the  office  of  supervisor  in  1889,  1891,  1892,  and  1893,  being  the  first 
Republican  elected  in  ten  years,  and  the  only  one  that  held  the  office  for  four  terms 
since  the  foundation  of  the  party.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  business  men  in 
his  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests  and  of  recognized  character  and 
sterling  worth. 

Avery,  A.  G.,  was  born  in  Lyons  November  28,  1826.  His  father,  Cyrus,  came  to 
Lyons  in  1814  and  the  following  year  purchased  part  of  the  King  estate  of  150  acres, 
which  is  well  known  as  the  Avery  homestead,  and  is  now  in  possession  of  his  son.  It 
has  been  in  the  family  eighty  years.  After  a  few  years  Cyrus  sent  for  his  father,  Benja- 
man,  who  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  Enlisting  at  the  age  of  eighteen  under  General 
Arnold,  he  took  part  in  the  storming  of  Quebec,  also  served  under  General  Anthony 
Wayne  and  passed  the  winter  with  the  Continental  Army  at  Valley  Forge,  serving  un- 
til the  close  of  the  war.  He  received  an  honorable  discharge  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
Being  destitute  he  was  granted  a  pension  by  the  United  States  Government.     He  died 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  (.75 

May  4,  1843,  at  the  house  of  his  son  Cyrus,  aged  eighty-five  years.  Cyrus  Avery  mar- 
ried Parthenia  Skilton,  of  Watertown,  Conn.,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  three 
children,  two  of  whom  are  living :  Mrs.  John  C.  Bishop,  and  A.  G.  Avery.  A.  G.  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and 
close  observation.  At  the  age  of  forty-two  he  married  Beulah,  daughter  of  B.  F.  Clark, 
of  Sodus  Center,  and  who  were  the  parents  of  two  children  :  Saxon  G.,  and  Anna  E. 
Saxon  G.  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  a  young  man  of  brilliant  attainments.  Our  sub- 
ject is  one  of  the  intelligent  farmers  of  his  town,  raising  hay,  grain  and, stock.  Conserva- 
tive and  independent  in  character  he  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and 
moral  worth. 

Arnold,  George  H.  (deceased),  was  born  at  Kichmond,  Ontario  county  May  24, 
1830.  He  was  educated  at  Lima,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  graduated  from  the  law 
school  at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  and  soon  after  located  in  Lyons  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  law  in  the  office  of  Smith  &  Cornwall.  By  force  of  character,  moral  worth, 
and  animated  by  the  high  standard  he  ever  strove  to  attain,  he  soon  made  his  mark 
among  the  members  of  his  profession  and  was  recognized  as  a  man  whose  integrity  was 
unimpeachable.  At  the  age  of  thirty  he  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Deacon  Newell 
Taft,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters :  Annie  L.,  and  Mary  A.  He  died 
July  2,  1867,  aged  thirty-seven  years,  striving  through  his  last  few  hours  to  soften  tbe 
blow  for  those  he  loved  so  dearly,  assuring  them  that  with  him  all  was  well. 

Alderman,  George  F.,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  Leicestershire,  England,  January  15, 
1848,  and  came  to  America  in  1863,  where  he  worked  for  a  number  of  years,  both  by 
the  month  and  farming  on  shares.  He  then  bought  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  and  started 
for  himself.  This  farm  he  still  owns,  and  follows  general  farming.  He  married  in 
England  Sarah  A.  Beck,  and  they  had  two  children  :  Born  in  England,  Harriet  and 
Arthur,  and  since  coming  here  they  have  reared  six,*as  follows;  William,  Bertha, 
Frederick,  Florence,  Nellie  and  Ray.  The  children  have  all  had  a  good  common  school 
education,  and  Harriet  has  attended  school  at  Palmyra.  Mr.  Alderman  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  is  a  school  trustee. 

Althen,  Daniel,  was  born  in  Lyons  January  13,  1840.  His  father,  Philip,  came  from 
Bavaria,  on  the  Rhine,  in  1835,  settled  at  Lyons,  and  was  a  clothier  and  merchant  tailor 
by  profession.  He  died  in  October,  1886,  aged  seventy-six  years.  Daniel  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  school,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close 
observation.  In  1856  he  went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  remained  six  years.  In  1862 
he  returned  to  Lyons,  and  established  his  present  business  of  dealer  in  fine  groceries 
and  fruits.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  married  Lena,  daughter  of  Frederick  Studer, 
and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children :  Mrs.  Bertha  Damon,  of  Rochester,  and  May 
F.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  oldest  merchants  in  town.  In  1886  he  built  the  brick 
block  now  occupied  by  him  in  his  business. 

Seager,  Asher  W.,  was  born  in  Rose  May  9,  1843,  son  of  David  J.  and  Hannah  War- 
ner, he  a  native  of  Connecticut,  born  December  19,  1808,  and  she  of  Sodus.  born 
July  16, 1811.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  subject  was  John  N.  Seager,  a  native  of 
Connecticut  and  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Huron,  where  he  died.  The  maternal 
grandfather  of  subject  was  Asher  Warner,  who  settled  in  Sodus  early  and  was  killed  at 
Sodus  Point  during  the  War  of  1812.  The  father  of  subject  first  settled  in  Huron  in 
1825,  and  on  the  farm  our  subject  owns  in  1837.  Mrs.  Seager  died  in  1892,  and  Mr. 
Seager  resides  in  Rose.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  at  Wayne 
Center.  He  has  followed  farming,  owns  seventy-seven  acres,  making  a  specialty  of 
raising  pepermint,  in  which  industry  he  has  been  very  successful.  Mr.  Seager  has  been 
highway  commissioner  nine  years  and  assessor  six  years.  He  married  twice,  first  in 
1869  Mary  J.  Wicks  a  native  of  Rose  and  daughter  of  Caleb  Wicks.  She  died  Decem- 
ber 1,  1890,  and  he  married  in  1892  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Klippel,  of  Lyons. 


176  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

Mr.  Seager  is  a  member  of  Rose  Lodge  No.  590  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  also  of  Sherman  Post, 
No.  401.  He  enlisted  August  19,  1862,  in  Company  D,  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  and  served 
nearly  three  years.  He  was  at  Cold  Harbor,  Monocacy,  Winchester,  Cedar  Creek,  in 
front  of  Petersburg  and  at  Sayler  Creek. 

Miller,  George  F.,  was  born  in  Lyons  November  1,  1866.  His  father,  George  F.. 
born  October  13,  1836,  came  from  Germany  and  married  Rosina  Englehardt.  He  died 
July  28,  1886,  at  forty-nine  years  of  age.  He  established  a  bakery  and  confectionery 
business  which  has  been  carried  on  by  the  family  for  twenty-five  years,  being  now  con- 
ducted by  his  son.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  in  that  line  in  the  town,  comprising  a  full 
line  of  confectionery,  toys,  etc.,  and  making  a  specialty  of  fresh  bakery  merchandise. 

Hickok,  Eugene,  was  born  in  Genoa  April  5,  1835,  a  son  of  William  and  Sophia  C. 
(Gunn)  Hickok,  of  New  England  stock,  but  the  mother  was  of  Scotch  descent.  The 
grandparents  were  Moses  and  Zesvia  (Felton)  Hickok,  who  ware  early  settlers  of 
Wayne  county  but  natives  of  New  England.  William  Hickok  was  a  wheelwright  by 
trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  a  number  of  years  in  Genoa.  He  then  came  to  Huron, 
being  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  there,  bought  a  farm,  cleared  a  home,  and  worked  at 
his  trade.  He  sold  out,  came  to  Rose  and  bought  a  farm  where  they  resided  until  their 
death.  Mr.  Hickok  died  in  1871  and  his  wife  in  1881.  Subject  was  reared  on  the 
farm,  and  with  the  exception  of  four  years  in  grocery  business,  has  been  engaged  in 
farming.  He  now  has  135  acres,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  dairying.  In  1863  he  mar- 
ried Narcissa  M.,  daughter  of  Oliver  C.  and  Jane  T.  Colvin  of  Butler,  by  whom  he  has 
had  two  children.:  Horton  E.,  born  April  14,  1868,  wko  died  January  9,  1888;  and  A. 
Jennie,  born  November  25,  1869,  married  in  1888,  and  died  in  1889,  leaving  one  daugh- 
ter, Musetta  A.  Barless.  who  lives  with  her  grandparents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hickok.  Mr. 
Hickok  is  a  member  of  Rose  Lodge  No.  590  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  of  Clyde  Grange 
No.  33. 

Fish,  Harry,  was  born  in  Williamson,  1812.  He  is  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Polly  Fish, 
early  settlers  of  Williamson,  where  they  lived  and  died.  Harry  S.  Fish  was  reared  on 
a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has  always  been  engaged  in  farming 
and  has  for  many  years  been  known  as  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  his  town.  His 
wife  was  Fannie  M.  Stewart,  and  they  have  had  nine  children.  Mrs.  Fish  died  Jan- 
uary 13,  1894,  and  Mr.  Fish  now  resides  in  his  native  town  at  the  age  of  eighty-two. 
He  has  been  highway  commissioner  of  the  town.  He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  of  which  his  wife  was  a  member  until  her  death.  He  is  a  Republican.  His 
children  are  all  away  from  home  except  his  daughter,  Hattie,  who  attends  her  father 
in  his  sickness  and  also  assists  him  in  the  management  of  his  farm. 

Foist,  George  P.  (deceased),  was  born  on  the  Foist  homestead  in  1840.  His  father 
was  John  L.  At  the  age  of  twenty-  seven  he  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Peter  Mal- 
hizer,  by  whom  he  has  one  daughter,  Mrs.  C.  M.  Robinson  of  Newark,  N.  Y.,  and  one 
son,  John  W.  Foist.  Our  subject  was  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  his  town, 
and  died  April  1,  1890.  John  W.  Foist  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  George  Oakleaf,  by 
whom  he  has  one  son,  George  P.,  who  manages  his  father's  estate  of  180  acres,  raising 
fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock. 

Everhart,  H.  L.,  was  born  at  Danby,  N.  Y.,  April  6,  1833.  His  father,  Samuel  Ever- 
hart,  is  now  and  has  been  for  fifty  years  a  resident  of  Lock  Berlin,  Wayne  couuty,  and 
is  now  ninety-two  years  of  age.  His  mother,  Katherine,  died  in  1884,  aged  seventy- 
seven  years.  Henry  was  in  earlier  life  for  ten  years  a  dealer  in  lumber,  operating  a  saw 
mill  at  Clyde.  In  1866  he  began  farming  in  Arcadia,  removing  in  1891  to  Butler. 
October  27,  1356,  he  married  Eunice,  daughter  of  Harvey  and  Maria  Bishop,  of  Galen, 
and  their  children  are:  Frank,  born  September  29/1858,  who  married  Nellie  Phelps  of 
Galen,  and  is  a  farmer  and  dairyman  in  Yates  county ;  Foist,  born  June  15,  1860,  mar- 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  177 

ried  Adele  Pulou  of  Sodus.     He  graduated  from  the  Albany  Law  school  in  1886,  and  is 
now  practicing  in  Buffalo.     Subject  and  wife  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Field,  N.  J.,  North  Wolcott,  dealer  in  dry  goods,  groceries,  hardware,  crockery,  etc., 
born  at  Sterling  September  15,  1843,  is  the  second  son  of  the  late  Simeon  and  Harriet 
Field.  Simeon  Field  was  born  in  Vermont,  and  for  many  years  was  a  builder  at  Ster- 
ling and  Victory.  Nathaniel,  our  subject,  was  educated  at  the  Red  Creek  Academy, 
and  before  he  attained  his  majority  became  a  soldier,  going  out  with  the  famous  Ninth 
Heavy  Artillery.  He  escaped  unhurt  the  perils  of  Cedar  Creek,  but  was  afterwards 
confined  to  a  hospital  many  months.  In  1865  he  married  Ellen,  daughter  of  Nelson 
Lovejoy,  of  Wolcott,  and  they  had  three  children :  the  oldest,  Lillie  Theresa,  having 
died  when  ten  years  old.  The  others  are  Nelson,  Hattie  and  Nellie.  In  1874 Mr.  Fields 
established  the  mercantile  business  at  North  Wolcott,  and  has  continued  since  without 
interruption.     He  was  postmaster  at  that  place  eight  years.     He  is  assessor  at  present. 

Foster,  William,  was  born  in  Palmyra  in  1814,  of  English  descent.  His  parents  were 
Cyrus  and  Millicent  Foster,  natives  of  Long  Island,  who  located  here  in  1892.  He  died 
in  1854  and  his  wife  in  1837.  In  1844  William  married  Esther  Young,  a  native  of 
Albany,  and  their  children  are :  Albesta,  who  married  Lyman  Herbert,  and  died  in 
1884 ;  Charles,  Cyrus,  Salem,  Whalend  and  Edward.  Mr.  Foster  has  been  prominent 
in  education  and  public  matters,  and  has  served  as  school  commissioner,  supervisor,  and 
president  of  the  School  Board. 

Fellows,  George  F.,  was  born  in  Lyons  Jannary  12,  1859.  His  father,  John  E.,  came 
to  Lyons  in  1830,  has  passed  a  very  active  business  life,  and  is  one  of  the  prominent 
men  of  the  town.  George  F.  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  school  and  finished  at 
the  Cazenovia-Oneida  Conference  Seminary,  after  which  he  taught  four  years  and  man- 
aged his  father's  farm.  In  1886  he  established  his  present  business  of  general  produce, 
agricultural  implements,  coal  and  fertilizers,  handling  the  largest  amount  of  his  special- 
ties of  any  house  in  Wayne  county.  At  the  age  of  thirty-one  he  married  Grace,  daugh- 
ter of  M.  B.  Brandage  of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Edward  F.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  now  assessor  in  the  town,  taking  an  intelligent  interest 
in  educational  and  religious  matters,  and  is  identified  in  advancing"  its  best  interests. 

Forrester,  H.  E.,  was  born  in  Tryon,  N.  Y.,  February  11,  1860.  His  father  was  a 
native  of  that  town,  also  a  wholesale  grocer  of  Elmira,  H.  E.  Forrester  was  educated 
in  Elmira.  In  1883  he  entered  the  Philadelphia  Dental  College,  also  Hospital  of  Oral 
Surgery,  and  graduated  in  1886,  then  came  to  Lyons  and  purchased  the  W.  T.  Reynolds 
dental  rooms,  where  he  is  now  established  in  business  having  one  of  the  best  appointed 
offices  in  Wayne  county,  fitted  with  all  modern  appliances  and  using  the  latest  improved 
methods  known  to  his  profession.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  married  Adelaide, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Kern,  of  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children : 
George  K.,  and  Margaret  E.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  progressive  men  of  his  town, 
identified  in  advancing  its  bests  interests  in  church  and  school  matters,  being  the  first 
president  of  Eastern  Wayne  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.,  and  chairman  of  the  organizing  committee 
of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  also  a  director  in  that  association  and  member  of  the  7th  district 
Dental  Society  of  Western  New  York. 

Finn,  Allen  S.,  was  born  at  Clifton,  Pa.,  February  4,  1840.  He  is  the  oldest  of  seven 
children  of  Urial  and  Jane  (Sanders)  Finn,  natives  of  Scranton,  Pa.  Urial  Finn  is  a 
boat  builder  by  trade,  which  he  followed  for  many  years.  He  was  also  a  farmer,  but 
has  now  retired  and  lives  in  Marion.  Mrs.  Finn  died  in  1879.  Allen  S.  in  early  life 
learned  the  trade  of  boat  builder,  at  which  he  worked  at  Lockport  for  a  number  of 
years  with  success,  but  having  met  with  reverses  he  gave  up  the  business.  He  has  since 
been  engaged  for  seven  years  in  the  insurance  business  in  Buffalo,  and  engaged  in 
farming  in  Marion,  where  in  1874  he  purchased  122  acres,  on  which  he  has  put  out 


178  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

gfty  six  acres  of  apple  orchard,  He  married,  in  1873,  Kittie  House,  of  Lockport,  by 
whom  he  has  one  daughter,  Kittie  E.  She  was  educated  at  the  schools  of  Lockport, 
and  is  now  studying  stenography  and  typewriting.  Mrs.  Finn  died  in  1885,  and  Mr. 
Finn  married,  second,  Jennie  0.  Smith,  of  Marion. 

Freeman,  Frank  R.,  was  born  in  Nova  Scotia  August  9,  1859.  His  father,  Samuel, 
a  general  trader  at  Milton,  Nova  Scotia,  also  engaged  in  West  India  trade,  and  repre- 
sented the  Legislature  for  twelve  years.  Frank  R.  laid  the  foundation  of  his  education 
in  the  common  schools,  taking  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  Medical  School  at  Halifax, 
the  Dalhousie  University,  and  in  the  Massachusetts  School  of  Pharmacy,  making  a 
special  study  of  chemistry  and  pharmacy.  In  the  spring  of  1869  he  came  to  Clyde, 
and  in  connection  wiih  C.  C.  Martin  purchased  the  drug  store  formerly  owned  by  Lyle 
Ackerman.  In  1894  he  bought  Mr.  Martin's  interest  and  is  now  carrying  on  a  large 
and  fine  selected  stock  of  imported  and  domestic  drugs.  At  the  age  of  thirty-one  he 
married  Ellen,  daughter  of  Robert  Anderson,  of  Baddick,  Cape  Britain,  and  they  have 
had  two  daughters,  Amy  and  Dorothy.  Our  subject  is  a  s-upporter  of  educational  and 
religious  institutions. 

Finch,  Charles  H.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Butler  December  27,  1852.  His  father. 
David  S.,  was  a  native  of  the  town  of  Rose,  and  is  now  a  prominent  farmer  in  Galen. 
Charles  H.  was  educated  in  the  district  schools,  Dr.  Sweeting's  private  school,  and 
finished  at  the  Falley  Seminary,  Fulton,  N.Y.  He  afterward  returned  to  his  father's 
farm  and  in  1874  came  to  Clyde  and  engaged  in  the  clothing  business,  "remaining  two 
years.  In  1876  he  went  to  Wolcott  and  established  himself  in  the  same  business,  re- 
maining ten  years.  He  then  came  back  to  Clyde  and  purchased  the  clothing  stock  of 
C.  A.  Howe,  and  is  now  carrying  one  of  the  largest  and  best  selected  stock  of  fine 
merchant  tailoring  and  gents'  furnishing  goods  in  Clyde.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Dratt  Francis,  of  Butler,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Maude. 
Our  subject  has  lived  an  active  business  life,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educational 
and  religious  matters. 

Frost,  Oscar  J.,  was  born  April  2,  1844,  on  the  spot  where  he  now  resides,  and  which 
was  reclaimed  from  the  wilderness  by  his  father,  Alanson  Frost,  who  was  a  pioneer 
from  Connecticut.  Alanson  Frost  cleared  with  his  own  hands  most  of  the  125  acres 
now  constituting  the  homestead  farm  and  upon  which  he  erected  a  log  cabin.  He  was 
a  pensioner  of  1812,  and  died  at  the  old  home  December  27,  1867.  Oscar  was  a  school 
boy.  fresh  from  Falley  Seminary,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  famous  9th  Heavy  Artillery 
in  August,  1862,  and  went  with  them  to  the  front,  a  sergeant  at  eighteen.  Through  all 
the  perils  of  Cold  Harbor,  Monocacy,  Cedar  Creek,  and  Winchester,  the  boy  soldier 
passed  unscathed,  and  so  passed  three  years  in  active  service.  November  27,  1867,  he 
married  Augusta,  daughter  of  John  Caywood,  of  Wolcott,  and  they  have  one  son, 
Alfred  W.,  born  March  9,  1869,  and  now  a  merchant  in  New  York.  Also  Bertha  M., 
a  daughter  by  adoption,  born  March  25,  1877.  Mr.  Frost  is  now  justice  of  the  peace 
for  the  second  term. 

Everhart,  W.  H.,  born  in  Galen  October  27,  1840.  His  father,  Samuel  Everhart,  a 
well  and  highly  respected  resident  of  Galen,  is  now  ninety- two  years  of  age,  and  his 
paternal  ancestors  were  all  celebrated  for  their  longevity.  W.  H.  Everhart,  who  made 
farming  his  principal  business,  first  followed  that  occupation  in  Walworth,  having  only 
recently  become  a  citizen  of  Butler.  December  24,  1867,  he  married  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Hugh  Ross,  late  of  Galen.  Their  daughter,  Alma  J.,  born  February  3,  1873,  mar- 
ried, in  1894,  William  T.  Pethic,  of  Ontario,  and  their  son,  Hugh,  born  September  1, 
1876,  is  an  expert  machinist  and  electrician  in  the  West. 

Edwards,  D.  L.,  D.D.S.,  was  born  in  Waterville,  March  2,  1864.  His  father,  David 
L,  Edwards,  was  a  native  of  Wales  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1849.     He  was  a 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  17!) 

prominent  farmer.  D.  L.  Edwards  was  educated  at  the  Waterville  Union  School  and 
Academy,  and  in  1890  he  entered  the  Philadelphia  Dental  College,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated in  1892.  In  the  same  year  he  came  to  Clyde  and  established  his  dental  parlors, 
employing  the  latest  and  most  improved  appliances,  in  all  branches  of  dentistry  and  using 
a  special  local  anesthetic  of  his  own  preparation,  which  has  been  demonstrated  to  be 
perfectly  harmless,  as  proven  by  the  testimony  of  the  leading  people  of  all  parts  of 
Wayne  county.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  and  of  the  Apollo  Club. 

Emigh,  David  A.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen  June  22,  1849.  His  father,  Peter, 
came  from  Dutchess  county  to  Wayne  county  in  1845,  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Galen. 
His  wife  was  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  Beriah  Austin  of  Dutchess  county.  He  died  in 
1887,  aged  ninety-one  years.  David  A.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Kate  C,  daughter  of  Dr.  E.  J.  Schoonmaker,  of  Tyre, 
Seneca  county.  In  1887  he  bought  the  J.  W.  Hopkins  property  of  ninety  acres,  raising 
fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of 
the  town. 

Everhart,  Samuel,  was  born  in  Winchester,  Northumberland  county,  Pa.,  January  25, 
1804.  His  father,  Frederick,  was  a  native  of  Germany,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
before  1800.  Samuel  Everhart  married  Catherine  Foist,  and  they  have  six  children  : 
Rebecca  A.,  Margaret,  Jane,  Henry,  William  and  John.  In  1842  he  bought  the  Andrew 
Yan  Hooven  property  of  113  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Lyons,  fifty-six  years,  and  is  recognized 
as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity. 

Eyer,  Henry,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen  November  17,  1848.  His  father,  Fred- 
erick, was  a  native  of  Germany  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1830.  He  married 
Lanie  Links,  and  died  in  1890  aged  seventy-two.  Henry  Eyer  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  married  Dora  E.,  daughter  of  Jacob 
Rankert,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  Mattie  L.,  and  Carrie  E.  In  1882  he  bought  the 
Israel  Phelps  property  of  208  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is 
one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  the  town,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educational 
and  religious  matters. 

Elliott,  Charles,  was  born  in  Genesee  county  August  22,  1834,  son  of  John  and  Ellen 
(Needham)  Elliott,  he  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  she  of  Yermont.  They  came  to 
Batavia  in  1830,  where  they  died  when  our  subject  was  a  child,  and  he  was  reared  by 
his  uncle,  James  Elliott.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of 
thirty  learned  the  jeweler's  trade,  which  he  followed  some  time.  Later  he  went  to 
California  and  engaged  in  mining,  where  he  remained  until  1861.  He  enlisted  in  Co.  D, 
1st  Cavalry,  California  Yols.,  and  served  three  years.  He  then  returned  to  Walworth 
and  in  1864  re-enlisted  in  Co.  F,  3d  N.  Y.  Inf.,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  was  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Craig  and  Red  River  expedition,  served  until  the  close  of 
the  war  and  three  months  afterward.  He  was  corporal  two  years  and  sergeant  most  of 
the  time  during  the  last  enlistment.  He  then  returned  to  Walworth  and  engaged  in 
partnership  with  Mr.  Rabe  in  the  boot  and  shoe  business  for  six  years,  and  since  then 
has  been  engaged  in  the  jewelry  business.  He  is  overseer  of  the  poor,  having  held  the 
office  ten  years,  and  was  also  town  clerk  two  years.  He  has  been  trustee  of  the  schools 
six  years,  a  member  of  the  Walworth  Lodge  No.  254,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  married  in  1866 
Maggie  Hartwell,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  daughter  of  Edwin  and  Rhoda  Hartwell, 
natives  of  Canada.  Mr.  Elliott  and  wife  have  four  children :  Charles  E.,  born  January 
2,  1867,  educated  in  Walworth  Academy,  learned  the  jeweler's  trade  with  his  father, 
and  is  now  in  business  in  Williamson.  He  married  in  1892  Libbie  Sawyer,  of  Walworth, 
by  whom  he  has  one  child,  Leah  E.  Jessie,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Willie,  born  July  3, 
1876,  educated  in  Walworth  Academy  and  resides  at  home  ;  and  one  who  died  in 
infancy. 


180  LANDMARKS   OP   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Ely,  George  S.,  born  in  1836,  is  the  son  of  the  late  Alvah  and  Harriet  Elizabeth  Ely, 
who  were  Jefferson  county  farmers,  and  who  reared  a  family  of  ten  children.  Our  sub- 
ject is  the  sole  living  representative  of  his  family  in  Wayne  county,  his  father  having 
died  in  1877  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  and  his  mother  in  1875,  aged  seventy-four. 
George  spent  his  boyhood  and  school  days  in  Jefferson  county,  where  he  was  for  ten 
years  a  schoolmate  and  intimate  friend  of  Roswell  P.  Flower.  In  1859  he  married 
Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Thomas  Faire,  of  Depauville,  N.Y.,  and  has  two  children, William 
and  Amy  L. 

Dratt,  L.  H.,  late  of  South  Butler,  was  a  prominent  man  in  that  locality,  and  repre- 
sented the  town  on  the  Board  of  Supervisors  in  1888  and  1889.  Republican  in  politics, 
he  was  also  for  many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  assessor.  He  was  born  in  Butler 
September  26,  1830,  and  farming  has  been  his  principal  occupation.  September  11, 
1889,  he  married  Helen,  daughter  of  Andrew  Piersall,  of  Savannah.  He  died  Novem- 
ber 20,  1893,  after  a  long  and  painful  illness. 

De  Right,  Henry,  was  born  in  Williamson,  Wayne  county,  July  22,  1860.  He  is  the 
youngest  of  six  sons  of  Adrian  and  Magdelena  De  Right.  Henry  was  reared  on  the 
farm  and  educated  in  the  schools  of  Williamson.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  Marion, 
where  he  worked  on  the  homestead  farm  till  1888,  when  he  removed  to  the  farm  he 
now  owes.  Mr.  De  Right  has  a  farm  of  124  acres,  and  carries  on  general  farming  and 
fruit  growing.  He  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Grange,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the 
K.  0.  T.  M.  January  15,  1889,  he  married  Lizzie,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Mary  McGee, 
of  Palmyra.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  De  Right  have  had  two  sons :  Samuel,  who  died  aged  one 
year,  and  Weldon. 

De  Right,  Daniel,  was  born  in  Williamson,  Wayne  county,  in  1866,  the  fourth  of  six 
sons  of  Adrian  and  Magdalena  De  Right.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  commenced 
business  as  farm  hand  and  painting,  but  soon  engaged  in  the  fruit  evaporating  business, 
which  he  has  always  followed  in  connection  with  farming  and  fruit  growing.  He  now 
owns  seventy-six  acres  of  land,  which  he  purchased  in  1893,  it  being  a  part  of  the 
homestead.  He  married,  Jannary  29,  1893,  Elizabeth  Brown,  of  Marion.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Marion  K.  O.  T.  M.,  also  of  the  Grange.  He  and  wife  attend  and  support 
the  Christian  church,  of  Marion. 

Deright,  Hermones  D.,  born  in  Williamson  in  1853,  is  a  son  of  Adrian  and  Magdelena 
Deright,  natives  of  Holland.  The  grandfather,  Jesse,  emigrated  from  France'to  Holland, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming,  fie  came  to  America  about  1849,  settled  in  Pultney- 
ville,  living  with  one  of  his  sons.  The  family  of  seven  are  all  deceased  except  Cath- 
erine, wife  of  John  Putty.  Adrian  Deright  was  born  in  1815,  and  came  to  America 
with  his  parents.  He  bought  and  sold  several  small  farms,  then  bought  sixty  acres 
which  he  gave  to  his  sons,  and  bought  seventy-seven  acres  in  Marion,  He  also  helped 
one  of  his  sons  buy  a  farm  of  140  acres.  He  died  in  November,  1892.  H.  D.  Deright 
commenced  work  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  and  worked  three  years.  He  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  Daniel  Delass,  of  East  Williamson,  by  whom  he  has  two  sons  and 
two  daughters :  Sarah,  Adrian,  and  Minnie,  who  survive,  and  Samuel,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mr.  Deright  has  a  farm  of  133  acres  and  is  largely  engaged  in  fruit  growing. 
He  has  twenty-five  acres  of  apples  and  three  acres  each  of  pears,  plums,  quinces, 
fifteen  acres  of  raspberries.  He  is  a  strong  temperance  advocate,  is  a  member  of 
Williamson  Grange,  also  of  Williamson  Tent  No.  152,  K.  0.  T.  M. 

Dow,  Jasper  E.,  was  born  in  Butler  in  1836,  son  of  John  and  Mary  Dow,  who  came 
here  from  Vermont  in  1832.  John  Dow  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  at  North  Wolcott, 
purchasing  300  acres  at  $5  an  acre.  He  died  in  1884,  leaving  six  children,  and  his  wife 
is  yet  living  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-two  years.  Jasper's  educational  advantages  were 
few,  and  he  was  for  many  years  a  traveling  salesman  and  a  speculator  in  real  estate.    In 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  181 

1872  he  bought  a  saw  mill  plant  near  Wolcott,  which  he  still  operates,  and  he  has  also 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  spring  beds,  with  every  facility  for  a  large  production, 
October  8,  1859,  he  married  Olive  Ash,  of  Primrose,  Wis.,  and  they  have  one  son,  John 
D.,  born  March  1,  1865,  now  an  employee  of  the  D.  &  R.  G.  R.  R.  at  Salida,  Colo. 

Davis,  B.  D.,  born  in  Orleans  county  December  9,  1824,  was  the  third  of  eight  chil- 
dren of  Oliver  and  Betsey  Davis,  a  native  of  Montgomery  county,  N.  Y.,  and  emigrated 
to  Palmyra  in  1815,  he  being  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  went  to  Orleans  county  and 
after  five  years  returned. to  Palmyra,  and  finally  emigrated  to  Michigan  in  1856  where 
he  died  in  1881,  and  his  wife  in  1841.  He  was  educated  in  Marion  Academy,  learned 
the  furnace  trade,  and  followed  that  twelve  and  the  blacksmith  trade  twenty-six  years. 
He  now  owns  a  farm  of  eighty-five  acres,  and  lives  in  the  village  of  Marion.  He  mar- 
ried January  4,  1847,  Arvilla  Skinner,  a  native  of  Marion,  by  whom  he  has  had  four 
children  :  John,  Allie,  deceased ;  Oliver  and  Emma.  He  and  wife  attend  the  Christian 
Church. 

Devoe,  Daniel,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Mentz,  Cayuga  county  October  24,  1837. 
His  father,  Daniel,  was  a  native  of  St.  Lawrence  county.  The  family  were  of  French 
and  English  extraction.  Daniel  Devoe,  sr.,  died  at  his  son's  residence  in  Clyde  in  1893, 
aged  eighty  years.  Daniel  Devoe,  jr.,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which 
he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five 
he  married  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Henry  Miller,  and  they  have  three  daughters :  Mrs. 
Stella  M.  Mead,  Mrs.  Olga  Watson  and  Florence  W.  In  1876  he  bought  the  Erastus 
Snidecker  property  of  112  acres,  and  in  1888  bought  the  Gideon  Ramsdell  property  of 
160  acres  in  the  town  of  Savannah,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is 
one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  his  town,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educa- 
tional and  religious  matters. 

De  Laney,  Henry  Suydam,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen  April  4,  1826.  His  father, 
Jonathan  De'Laney,  came  to  the  town  of  Galen  in  1822  and  was  a  prominent  farmer, 
and  justice  of  the  peace  of  this  town.  He  died  in  Michigan  in  1848  at  the  age  of  fifty'. 
Henry  S.De  Laney  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  in  1852  went  to  California 
and  with  the  exception  of  one  short  trip  east,  spent  thirteen  years  in  Oregon,  Washing- 
ton, British  Columbia,  engaged  in  mining  and  mercantile  enterprises,  returning  in  1866. 

Dunning,  G.  W.,  was  born  in  North  East,  Dutchess  county  January  16,  1822.  His 
father,  Samuel,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1847,  and  settled  in  Lyons.  He  was  born  in 
Dutchess  county  in  1789,  and  died  in  Lyons  in  1876.  G.  W,  Dunning  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married  Phoebe,  daughter  of 
Elisha  Barton,  of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Charles  Barton  of  Lyons. 
In  1855  he  bought  the  Judge  Churchill  property  and  afterwards  bought  part  of  the 
Vorhees  estate.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  intelligent  men  of  the  town,  and  is  identified 
in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Durfee,  Hiram  C,  of  Macedon.  was  born  in  the  town  of  Palmyra  April  5,  1830.  He 
is  a  descendant  of  the  old  family  of  Durfee  of  Tiverton,  R.  I.  In  1790  Gideon  and 
Edward  Durfee  came  to  Farmington,  and  in  the  fall  Gideon  returned,  reporting  so 
favorably  that  the  whole  family  resolved  to  come  here.  Gideon  returned  in  the  winter 
of  1790-91  on  an  ox  sled,  consuming  seventeen  and  a  half  days  upon  the  journey. 
Gideon  located  on  what  was  known  as  Durfee  street,  a  short  distance  below  Palmyra. 
The  father  of  our  subject,  William  Durfee,  was  born  May  3,  1800.  Hiram  C.  married 
December  21,  1853,  Susan  M.  Lapham,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Ruth  Lapham,  also  an 
old  pioneer  family  of  this  section.  Hiram  C.  settled  on  his  present  place  in  1854, 
(where  his  wife  was  born).  Mr.  Durfee  was  elected  supervisor,  serving  during  1880-81. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Durfee  are  members  of  the  Friends  Church,  and  own  one  of  the  finest 
farms  in  the  town. 


182  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Deuchler,  Plilip,  was  born  in  Alsace,  Germany,  September  14,  1838,  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1855,  and  settled  in  Syracuse  for  five  years.  After  various  employ- 
ments, he  established  his  present  business  in  Lyons  in  18G6.  Starting  in  a  small  way 
with  one  man,  he  has  increased  his  force  up  to  the  present  time,  employing  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  men,  and  three  separate  buildings  of  three  stories  and  basement  each,  manu- 
facturing wagons  and  sleighs  and  making  a  specialty  of  horse  shoeing,  and  all  kinds  of 
repairing.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married  Dorothy  T.,  daughter  of  George 
Hoppel,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  children  :  Edward  P.,  Charles  H.,  Albert  L., 
and  one  daughter,  Florence.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  has  been  trustee  of  the 
town.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  successful  business  men  in  Lyons.  Self-made 
and  self-educated  his  life  has  been  a  success,  owing  to  the  ability  and  sterling  integrity 
of  his  character. 

Dillingham,  Delos,  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  August  25,  1846.  His  father,  Will- 
iam S.,  was  a  native  of  Wayne  county,  the  family  coming  from  Orange  county.  Delos 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading 
and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married  Elizabeth  H.,  daughter  of 
Thomas  F.  Stanton  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  had  five  children,  four  of  whom  are  now 
living:  Ora,  Clinton  D.,  Mrs.  Cairie  E.  Aldrich  and  Belle  I.  Dillingham.  In  1876  he 
bought  the  Daniel  B.  Westfall  property  of  forty-four  acres,  raising  hay,  grain  and 
stock.     Our  subject  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  the  town. 

Doty.  John  Franklin,  was  born  in  Huron  in  1866,  is  the  son  of  John  Doty  a  native 
of  New  York,  who  was  a  carpenter  and  farmer.  His  wife  was  Mrs.  Emeline  (Ben- 
nett) Stanley,  who  had  two  children,  Richard  and  Nettie,  wife  of  Jacob  Waldruff.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Doty  have  had  these  children :  William  Wesley,  Delia  Ann,  wife  of  Edward 
Lasher  of  Huron,  and  John  F.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  subject  began  for  himself,  at 
twenty-one  purchased  the  homestead  of  seventy  acres,  and  in  connection  with  farming 
is  interested  in  the  evaporating  business.  In  1888  he  married  Adelia  O,  daughter  of 
Stephen  and  Lucy  (Doolittle)  Sherman,  of  Huron.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doty  are  members  of 
the  Huron  Grange,  and  in  politics  subject  is  a  Republican. 

Dowd,  Judson  H.,  one  of  Huron's  patriots,  was  born  in  Huron  August  7,  1843,  son 
of  Watson  Dowd  who  was  born  in  Cheringham,  Mass.,  in  1810.  The  grandfather, 
Asel  Dowd,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  came  to  Huron  in  1825  with  his  wife 
and  family  of  seven  children.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  died  in  1878 
aged  eighty.  Watson  spent  his  life  as  a  farmer  in  Huron.  His  wife  was  Harriet, 
daughter  of  Silas  Lovejoy  of  Rose,  and  their  children  were :  George,  Lucy,  Ann,  Pat- 
rick, Mrs.  Harriet  Wilder  of  Wolcott,  Judson  H.,  and  Minnie  Quereau  of  Huron.  Our 
subject  has  followed  photography  for  many  years  in  Newark,  N.  Y.,  and  the  Western 
States ;  since  1876  has  resided  in  Huron  on  his  farm.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  in  1861 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  E,  10th  N.  Y.  Cavalry,  for  three  years,  re-enlisted  on  the  field  and 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Some  of  the  principal  engagements  in  which  he  par- 
ticipated were :  Gettysburg,  Wilderness,  Brandy  Station,  Chancellorsville,  Stoneman's 
Raid  and  Sheridan's  raid  at  South  Ann  River.  He  was  captured  and  imprisoned  in 
Richmond,  was  transferred  to  Andersonville,  thence  to  Milan,  in  all  seven  months.  Of 
thirty-two  who  were  captured  he  was  one  of  three  who  survived  the  prison  hardships. 
He  returned  to  his  home  nearly  a  physical  wreck.  In  1870  he  married  Cassie  Cole, 
and  their  children  are :  Mrs.  Mabel  Gillett  of  Huron;  Emma  and  Lee  F.  Mr.  Dowd 
is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R.  Keeslar,  Post  No.  55  of  Wolcott,  and  has  served  as  town 
collector. 

Davis,  William  H.(  was  a  native  of  Tompkins  county,  born  in  1858.  He  is  the  son 
of  Caleb  Davis  of  Tompkins  county.  His  wife  was  Jane  Church  and  their  children 
were:  Sarah  H.,  William,  James.  Frank,  Lewis,  Lucinda,  Anna  (deceased),  Charles, 
Clarence,  Jennie  and  Hattie.     He  came  to  Huron  in  1861,  and  here  our  subject  grew 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  183 

to  manhood.  In  1880  he  purchased  the  farm  where  he  now  lives,  in  an  elegant  house, 
which  he  erected  in  1892.  He  is  interested  in  the  breeding  of  fine  coach  horses  and 
Jersey  cattle,  and  has  twenty-two  of  these  fine  horses  and  colts.  Since  1880  he  has 
been  extensively  engaged  in  the  apple  evaporating  business,  and  in  recent  years  has 
dealt  in  carriages,  wagons  and  harnesses.  In  1879  he  married  Minnie  E.,  daughter  of 
Alfred  and  Philena  Parker,  of  Huron,  and  they  have  one  child,  Bennie  W.,  born  in 
1883.  Mr.  Davis  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Huron  Grange  P.  of  H.,  No.  124,  and 
in  politics  our  subject  is  a  Republican. 

Delling,  Albert,  was  born  in  North  Wolcott  in  1849,  son  of  Ira  Delling,  a  native  of 
Sodus,  Wayne  county,  born  in  1823.  The  grandfather  was  Rev.  Manoah  Delling  a 
native  of  Maine,  who  came  to  Wayne  county  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Sodus  about 
1820.  Ira  at  his  death  in  1855  owned  half  interest  in  the  Dayton  Mills.  His  wife  was 
Caroline  Delametter,  of  Columbia  county,  and  their  children  were :  Albert,  Frances  and 
Edgar.  At  six  years  of  age  Mr.  Delling  went  away  from  home  to  live,  and  at  sixteen 
began  work  at  the  blacksmith  trade.  After  seven  years  he  was  interested  in  various 
enterprises,  from  1890  to  1892,  conducted  shop  in  Huron,  and  in  1893  purchased  the 
Roswell  Reed  farm.  In  1874  he  married  Belle  Harper  of  Huron,  who  died  five  years 
later,  and  in  1884  he  married  Ella,  daughter  of  Roswell  E.,  and  Almira  (Bender)  Reed, 
pioneers  of  Huron.     Mr.  Delling  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order. 

Dunn,  James  J.  (deceased),  was  born  in  Sullivan  county,  NY.,  January  7,  1822,  and 
came  to  Lyons  in  1834  with  his  parents,  James  Dunn  sr.,  and  wife,  who  purchased  412 
acres  of  land  lying  south  of  Lyons.  James,  jr.,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
to  which  he  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-nine  he  married  Nancy,  daughter  of  John  Mitchell  of  Galen,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  three  children,  of  whom  but  one,  Amelia,  now  Mrs.  Thomas  Smart,  is 
now  living.  Our  subject  died  October  31,  1863.  at  the  age  of  forty-three  years.  He 
was  one  of  the  largest  farmers  in  his  towu.  Mrs.  Amelia  Smart  married  Thomas  G. 
Smart,  of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  James  D.  Smart. 

Dunn,  James,  was  born  in  Rochester,  July  31,  1832.  His  father,  James,  was  a  native 
of  Scotland.  Subject  was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  After  leaving  school  he 
went  to  work  on  a  farm  by  the  month.  At  the  age  of  thirty  he  married  Adelia  A., 
daughter  of  John  Rook,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children:  John  R.,  William 
A.,  and  Sadie  Belle.  In  1866  he  bought  the  Thomas  Roo<  farm  of  seventy-nine  acres, 
in  1883  bought  the  Thomas  Stanton  farm  of  fifty-seven  acres,  and  in  1885  bought  the 
William  Miller  property  of  thirty-eight  acres,  having  143  acres  of  some  of  the  best 
farming  land,  raising  large  amounts  of  hay,  grain,  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  in  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  mat- 
ters, a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church  of  Lyons  forty  years. 

Doolittle,  Miss  Franc,  born  at  Butler  in  1846,  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  George 
Doolittle,  who  was  at  various  times  during  his  life  recipient  of  political  honors,  holding 
the  offices  of  assessor,  justice,  and  supervisor.  His  wife,  Thankful,  left  three  daugh- 
ters, of  whom  Franc  is  the  youngest.  Educated  at  Leavenworth  Institute,  she  first 
engaged  in  business  with  an  elder  sister  at  Howell,  Mich.,  spending  thirteen  years 
there.  In  1883  she  came  to  Wolcott  and  established  a  millinery  business  at  No.  51 
East  Main  street,  where  she  now  employs  five  assistants,  and  besides  a  large  local  busi- 
ness, shipping  finished  goods  to  the  far  West. 

Clark,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Williamson  February  27,  1816,  a  son  of  Hubbard  and 
Sarah  (Mallory)  Clark,  natives  of  Groton,  Conn.,  who  came  West,  and  spent  their  last  days 
in  Albion,  Mich.  The  grandfather  of  William  H.  was  Roswell,  a  native  of  Groton, 
Conn,  and  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  his  son,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
having  been  in  the  war  of  1812.     William  H.  was  educated  in  the  Palmyra  Academy, 


184  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY 

and  has  always  followed  farming,  with  the  exception  of  four  years,  when  he  carried 
the  mail  from  Palmyra  to  Porterville,  and  four  years  in  the  brewery  business  in  Roches- 
ter. In  1840  he  married  Sibyl  Swan,  of  Hartland,  Vt.,  and  daughter  of  Col.  Edward 
Swan,  who  fought  in  the  war  of  1812  and  died  at  the  home  of  our  subject  in  On- 
tario. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  have  had  five  children,  all  now  living:  Edward,  Sibyl, 
Austin  H.,  Mary,  John  P.,  all  residing  in  Ontario.  Mr.  Clark  came  here  in  1840.  He 
owned  275  acres  of  land,  but  has  given  his  children  homes,  and  now  owns  but  fifty 
acres,  forty-three  acres  being  near  the  village.  He  has  interested  himself  largely  in 
selling  lots  in  the  village,  building  houses,  etc.,  for  sale.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
having  voted  for  the  two  Harrisons.     Mrs.  Clark  died  March  11,  1890. 

Casey,  A.  W..  was  born  in  Nassau,  Rensselaer  county,  December  5,  1814,  the  oldest 
of  ten  children  of  Adam  and  Lucy  (Larrabee)  Casey,  the  former  born  in  1778,  and  the 
latter  in  1789.  The  father  of  Adam  was  Jesse,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  and  one  of 
the  first  settlers  of  Nassau,  where  he  died  March  22,  1867,  and  his  wife  July  1,  1868. 
The  father  of  Lucy  Larrabee  was  Richard,  who  served  throughout  the  Revolution,  and 
the  war  of  1812.  A.  W.  Casey  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  followed  the 
blacksmith's  trade  for  some  time.  In  1853  he  came  to  Ontario  and  worked  at  the 
same  trade,  but  in  1867  took  up  farming,  now  owning  100  acres  of  land.  He  has 
been  a  life-long  Democrat,  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  sixteen  years,  justice 
of  sessions  six  years,  and  postmaster  about  six  years,  first  holding  office  under  Buchan- 
an. May  12  1836,  he  married  Harriet  A.  Quinby,  a  native  of  Nassau,  born  January 
26,  1819,  and  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Mary  (Lyon)  Quinby.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Casey  have 
had  these  children  :  Mary  E..  born  October  1,  1837  ;  Lucy  A,  born  November  22,  1839  ; 
Charles  H.,  born  January  5,  1842;  Daniel  A.,  born  January  4,  1844;  Harriet  E.,  born 
May  18, 1847  ;  Phoebe  A.,  born  July  11,  1849  ;  Harriet  A.,  born  July  29,  1855;  Ella  S., 
born  October  27,  1857.  Harriet  E.  died  April  28,  1852;  Harriet  A.  died  September  22, 
1856;  Ella  S.  died  May  27,  1863.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Casey  have  been  married  fifty- eight 
years  and  have  eleven  grandchildren  and  three  great-grandchildren.  His  grandfather 
was  James  Quinby,  and  the  father  of  the  latter  was  Ephraim  Quinby,  who  lived  to  the 
age  of  106  years,  seven  months  and  ten  days,  and  voted  at  the  age  of  103,  also  walking 
three  miles  in  one  day. 

Cole,  Lafayette,  deceased,  was  born  in  Palmyra  in  1847,  and  spent  his  life  on  the  farm 
where  he  was  born,  and  on  which  his  father,  Marcus  Cole,  had  located  many  years  pre- 
vious, the  place  being  three  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Palmyra.  La  Fayette  married 
Catharine  McDermott,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  their  children  are:  William,  born 
in  1865;  Myron,  born  in  1867,  the  former  residing  on  the  home  farm  and  the  latter 
in  the  village  of  Marion.  Mr.  Cole  died  in  1890,  and  his  widow  resides  on  the  home 
farm  with  her  son. 

Cole,  Frank  W.,  was  born  in  Bellevue,  Mich.,  in  1853.  His  family  came  originally 
from  New  York  State,  and  his  father,  William  P.,  for  forty  years  was  a  well  known 
nurseryman  in  Western  New  York.  In  1871  Mr.  Cole  graduated  from  the  Lockport 
Union  school,  and  commenced  newspaper  work  on  the  Youngstown,  O.,  Miner  and 
Manufacturer  in  1872.  He  was  next  at  Hamilton,  Canada,  on  the  Spectator,  later  was 
connected  with  the  Lockport  Union.  In  conjunction  with  John  M.  Ives,  he  bought  out 
the  Brockport  Democrat.  When  he  left  this  he  started  a  paper  at  Spencerport,  where 
he  remained  for  five  years,  then  for  four  years  was  connected  with  the  Rochester  Post- 
Express.  In  1885  he  started  the  Palmyra  Democrat  and  was  so  successful  that  he 
afterward  enlarged  it  from  four  to  eight  pages.  Its  circulation  is  now  said  to  be  about 
1,700.  It  is  printed  in  a  commodious  building  of  four  floors  with  basement,  owned  by 
Mr.  Cole.  A  complete  job  printing  department  is  also  in  connection.  Mr.  Cole  has  had 
considerable  to  do  in  shaping  the  political  affairs  of  the  county,  and  has  been  a  pronounced 
Hill  Democrat.  He  has  served  on  the  county  committee,  and  in  other  ways  has  made 
his  influence  felt.     In  1872  he  married  Miss  Doddman,  of  Hamilton,  Canada,  and  three 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  is.", 

children  grace  his  household :  George  J.,  who  assists  in  the  Democrat  office,  Ruby  and 
Minnie.  He  is  a  fine  oarsman  and  has  rowed  with  Hosmer,  Hanlon  and  others.  He 
has  been  manager  of  the  Palmyra  Opera  House.  Mr.  Cole  does  a  great  deal  of  corres- 
pondence for  the  New  York  papers,  and  keeps  in  touch  with  the  times  on  popular 
questions.  He  has  also  spoken  considerably  during  political  campaigns,  and  can  both 
tell  a  funny  story  and  make  a  pointed  argument.  Mr.  Cole  has  now  disposed  of  the 
Palmyra  Democrat,  and  is  connected  with  the  Horse  World  of  Buffalo. 

Coates,  John  C,  a  native  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  1847,  residing  on  the  farm  with 
his  parents  until  they  came  to  Palmyra,  and  in  1856  moved  to  Neponset,  111.,  where  his 
father,  William  Coates,  died  in  November,  1856.  The  latter  was  a  native  of  Yorkshire, 
England,  and  the  mother,  Christiana  (Chapman)  Coates,  came  from  the  same  country. 
William  came  to  Palmyra  from  England  about  1844,  and  a  few  years  later  married  and 
settled  on  a  farm.  They  had  only  one  child,  our  subject,  who  was  educated  at  the  dis- 
trict and  Class  Union  schools  and  in  1876  engaged  in  the  livery  business.  This  he  con- 
ducted three  years,  and  in  May,  1881  was  appointed  railway  postal  clerk  from  Syracuse 
to  New  York,  soon  after  taking  charge  of  the  fast  mail  between  those  points.  In 
August,  1889,  he  was  appointed  post-office  inspector,  and  assigned  to  the  New  York 
division,  which  position  he  still  holds.  January  9,  1884,  he  married  Bertha  Bushnell, 
and  they  have  one  child,  Francis  William,  born  April  25, 1887. 

Cole,  Romain  H.,  is  one  of  Huron's  prominent  young  men,  born  in  Covert,  Seneca 
county,  in  1848,  a  son  of  Ogden  Cole,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  who  was  a  son  of  Daniel 
Cole.  Ogden  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  followed  that  vocation  all  his  life.  His 
wife  was  Clarinda,  daughter  of  Elkanah  Smith,  of  the  town  of  Rose,  and  they  raised 
two  children  :  John  E.,  and  Romain  H.  Subject  was  educated  in  music  and  in  1871 
came  to  Huron  and  taught  music.  In  1873  he  built  a  store  in  North  Rose  and  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business  ;  two  years  later  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  farm  of  his  father- 
in-law,  Benjamin  Catchpole.  In  1878  he  engaged  with  R.  A.  Catchpole  and  William  Gat- 
chell  in  the  apple  business  and  in  1880-82  he  engaged  in  the  wood  business  with  R.  A. 
Catchpole  and  John  Buerman,  known  as  Catchpole,  Buerman  &  Cole.  In  1884-85  in  com- 
pany with  James  M.  Streeter,  he  was  interested  in  the  malting  business  in  Clyde,  since 
which  time  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  the  farm  and  premises,  with  his  father-in-law. 
In  1875  he  married  Susan  Catchpole.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  while  in  North  Rose 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  postmaster.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Huron  Grange  Lodge  No.  124. 

Catchpole,  Benjamin,  commonly  called  ''  Uncle  Ben,"  is  one  of  Huron's  prominent 
and  highly  successful  citizens,  a  native  of  England,  born  May  16,  1826.  He  is  the  son  of 
James  Catchpole,  who  was  a  farmer.  He  came  to  Geneva  with  his  family  in  1835,  a 
few  years  later  he  removed  to  Huron  and  purchased  the  farm  in  lot  109,  where  his  son 
James  now  lives.  He  died  in  1882  at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  His  wife  was  Susan 
Knights,  and  their  children  were  :  Susan,  wife  of  Thomas  T.  Smith,  of  Geneva;  Ann, 
wife  of  Edward  Thomas,  of  Geneva ;  Jemima,  wife  of  John  S.  Smith,  of  Huron  ;  James, 
Benjamin,  Mary,  Hobart  A.  deceased,  and  Matilda.  At  an  early  age  our  subject  began 
life's  battles,  in  1845  he  accompanied  his  employer,  Gideon  Lee,  to  Texas,  where  he 
spent  two  years  hunting.  While  there  he  witnessed  the  final  funeral  ceremony  of  Sam 
Houston,  Davy  Crockett  and  Steve  Bowie.  He  returned  and  purchased  land  in 
Huron,  in  company  with  his  brothers  and  John  S.  Smith,  known  as  Catchpole  &  Co., 
and  engaged  extensively  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  They  cleared  800  acres,  sold 
the  mill,  later  divided  the  land,  and  has  since  devoted  his  time  to  farming.  In  1887  he 
and  his  son-in-law  purchased  fifty-seven  acres  of  the  R.  R.  Lummis  estate,  which  they 
transformed  to  a  beautiful  summer  resort,  popularly  known  as  Bonnicastle,  and  which 
is  situated  on  the  east  side  of  great  Sodus  Bay.  They  are  interested  in  the  apple  cul- 
ture, having  fifty  acres.     In  May,  1853,  our  subject  married  Hannah  M.,  daughter  of 


186  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Randall  and  Eunice  (Williams)  Comstock,  born  in  1833,  and  they  have  one  child,  Susan 
B.,  wife  of  Romain  H.  Cole.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Catchpole  are  members  of  the  Huron 
Grange  Lodge  No.  124.  Our  subject  is  a  Republican,  and  the  active  interest  he  has 
taken  in  elections  is  well  known.  He  is  the  oldest  member  of  the  Rochester  Gun  Club, 
and  is  the  oldest  participant  in  the  State  shoot. 

Carver,  George  L.,  jr.,  was  born  in  Lyons  September  26,  1851.  His  father,  George 
W.,  was  also  born  in  the  town,  and  is  one  of  its  most  prominent  business  representa- 
tives. George  L.  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  school  and  finished  at  Detroit,  after 
leaving  which  he  went  into  the  hardware  business  with  Col.  William  Kreutzer,  con- 
tinuing two  years,  afterward  engaging  in  various  small  enterprises.  In  1880  went  into 
the  flour  and  feed  business  in  Lyons,  in  Center  building  on  Williams  street.  In  1889 
he  erected  the  Joppa  Roller  Flour  Mills,  making  a  specialty  of  graham  and  buckwheat 
flour,  where  he  is  now  engaged  in  business.  In  1890  took  the  contract  to  build  the 
highway  through  the  marshes  between  Lyons  and  Galen  for  the  sum  of  $7,500.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married  Kate  P.,  daughter  of  Asaph  Waterman,  of  Lyons, 
and  they  have  one  son,  George  W.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  men  in  his  busi- 
ness and  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town,  being  recognized  as  a 
man  of  sterling  integrity  and  worth. 

Cronise,  Samuel,  was  born  in  Arcadia  January  8,  1833.  His  father,  Henry,  was  a 
native  of  Frederick  county,  Maryland,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1808,  and  purchased 
a  farm  in  what  was  then  the  town  of  Sodus,  now  Arcadia.  He  died  in  1870  at  the  age 
of  eighty-one.  Samuel  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  to  which  he  has  added 
through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation,  being  a  self-made  and  self-educated  man. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  married  Jane  E.,  daughter  of  Martin  Fredenberg,  and 
they  have  had  two  children  :  Nettie,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  and  Elbert,  who  died  at 
sixteen  years  of  age,  was  a  young  man  of  brilliant  promise  and  sterling  character.  In 
1883  he  moved  from  his  farm  in  Arcadia  to  Lyons,  where  he  engaged  in  contracting 
and  building,  and  in  1881  in  connection  with  Stephen  Reals  erected  the  block  on  the 
corner  of  Geneva  and  Elmer  streets,  known  as  the  Cronise  &  Reals  block.  In  1889  he 
was  elected  overseer  of  the  poor,  in  which  he  has  made  a  record  for  ability  and  honest 
service,  saving  his  town  large  sums  of  money  each  year. 

Carver,  George  W.,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Albany  March  6,  1831.  His  father, 
George  W.,  came  to  Lyons  in  1838,  remaining  until  1839  when  he  went  to  Toronto,  where 
he  died  at  forty-two  years  of  age.  George  W.  was  educated  in  Lyons,  and  at  the 
Academy  in  Lima.  After  leaving  school  he  learned  the  silver  plater's  trade,  following 
it  twelve  years,  and  was  then  forced  to  give  up  the  business  on  account  of  his  eyesight. 
He  was  elected  constable  and  served  fifteen  years,  deputy  marshal  and  deputy  provost- 
marshal,  making  a  specialty  of  the  private  detective  business,  and  was  the  means  of 
breaking  up  the  Loomis  gang  of  horse  thieves  and  robbers,  arresting  Clark,  alias  Tom 
Alvord,  a  noted  horse  thief,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Belcher  and  two  of  the  Loomises, 
whom  he  landed  single  handed  in  Wayne  county  jail.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  deputy 
revenue  assessor  of  the  towns  of  Lyons  and  Galen,  and  afterwards  of  all  the  towns  of 
the  eastern  assembly  district,  was  also  appointed  deputy  revenue  collector.  In  1874  he 
was  appointed  keeper  of  the  Wayne  County  Poor  House  and  Insane  Asylum,  remaining 
there  until  1885,  erecting  the  larger  part  of  the  present  buildings  under  his  administra- 
tion. In  1888  he  was  appointed  police  justice,  serving  three  years.  Our  subject  has 
lived  one  of  the  most  active  lives  of  any  man  in  the  town,  identified  in  advancing  its 
best  interests  and  the  leading  events  of  the  day,  where  he  is  recognized  as  a  man  of 
sterling  integrity  and  moral  worth. 

Cady,  Stephen  P.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Lyons,  May  12,  1844,  a  son  of  Lorenzo, 
whose  father,  Philo,  was  a  native  of  Columbia  county,  who  later  removed  to  Wayne 
county  and  settled  near  Lyons.     His  wife  was  Fannie  Parks,  and  their  children  were : 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  1*7 

Lorenzo,  Sarah  Ann,  and  Edwin.  Lorenzo  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1823,  and 
the  following  year  his  father  removed  to  Galen,  and  here  he  grew  to  manhood,  remain- 
ing on  his  father's  farm  until  about  1856,  when  he  removed  to  Huron  and  bought  the 
Major  Sheldon  farm  of  150  acres,  on  which  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He 
married  Almira,  daughter  of  Stephen  Ferguson,  and  they  had  six  children:  Stephen  P., 
Fannie  J.,  wife  of  Joseph  Chapin,  of  Huron;  Zachary  Taylor,  Chauncey,  who  died  in 
infancy ;  Martha,  who  died  aged  eight  years ;  and  Lura,  wife  of  Charles  Reed,  of 
Buffalo.  Mr.  Cady  died  in  1870,  and  his  wife  in  March.  1891.  Stephen  P.  Cady  was 
reared  on  the  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  Wolcott  and  Sodus 
Academies.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  bought  a  farm  adjoining  his  father's,  and 
later  purchased  a  part  of  his  father's  farm,  now  owning  135  acres,  which  he  leases. 
In  1864  he  married  Amanda,  daughter  of  Thomas  J.  and  Almira  (Bender)  Sherman,  of 
Huron,  where  she  was  born  in  1839,  her  only  sister  being  Philena,  wife  of  Alfred 
Parker,  of  this  town.  Her  father  was  killed  by  a  runaway  team  when  she  was  a  child, 
and  her  mother  married,  second,  Roswell  E.  Reed,  by  whom  she  had  seven  children. 
Mr.  Cady  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 

Church,  Adonijah,  was  born  in  Huron,  March  6,  1827,  the  son  of  Noah  B.  Church,  of 
Massachusetts,  whose  father  was  Osgood  Church,  a  surveyor,  who  was  prominent  in 
the  early  history  of  Huron.  Noah  B.  was  justice  of  the  peace  for  eight  years.  His 
wife  was  Ann  Burghdorf,  and  their  children  were:  Alanson,  Francis,  Adonijah,  Mary, 
Nancy,  Martha,  and  Lamira.  Our  subject  is  a  farmer.  In  1870  he  was  appointed 
keeper  of  the  State  prison  at  Sing  Sing,  N.Y.,  and  a  year  later,  by  his  request,  was 
transferred  to  the  same  position  at  Auburn.  In  March,  1858,  he  married  Josephine 
Thomas,  and  their  children  are :  Byron,  Mary  B.,  and  Anna,  wife  of  Fred  Fowler,  of 
Throopsville,  N.Y.  His  second  wife  was  Catherine  Waldron,  of  Huron,  whom  he  mar- 
ried in  1879.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Wolcott  Grange.  Our  subject  was 
overseer  of  the  poor  one  term,  and  is  now  one  of  the  excise  commissioners.  He  is 
also  a  Mason. 

Creque,  Arvin  H.,  was  born  in  Wolcott  November  1,  1853,  is  the  son  of  Herman  C. 
Creque,  a  native  of  Trumansburg,  Tompkins  county,  and  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  He 
married  Mabel,  a  daughter  of  Allen  Pease,  of  the  same  place,  and  came  to  Wolcott 
in  1830.  They  had  nine  children :  Allen  P.,  Andrew  J.,  H.  M.,  Eliza  G.,  Homer  C, 
John  W.,  Arvin  H.,  Clarissa  S.,  and  Hetty  C.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject,  John 
Creque,  was  of  French  aucestry.  Our  subject  started  for  himself  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  in  the  farming  business.  In  1885  he  moved  to  Huron  and  purchased  the  farm  where 
he  now  resides,  making  a  specialty  of  fruit  raising.  In  March,  1878,  he  married  Carrie 
A.,  daughter  of  Harry  Clapper,  of  the  town  of  Rose.  She  is  one  of  five  children.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Creque  are  members  of  the  Wolcott  Presbyterian  church,  both  being  officers 
and  teachers  of  the  Sabbath  school.  They  are  also  members  of  the  Wolcott  Grange,  P. 
of  H.,  No.  348,  of  which  Mr.  Creque  is  chairman  of  the  finance  committee.  Mrs. 
Creque  officiates  in  this  lodge  as  Pomona  and  is  a  member  of  the  choir.  In  politics 
subject  is  a  Republican. 

Clark,  C.  W.,  of  Macedon,  was  born  at  the  Center  Jannary  23,  1856.  Arsel  Clark, 
his  father,  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  a  son  of  Hubbard  Clark,  also  of  Vermont,  who 
finally  settled  in  Michigan.  Arsel  married  Pauline  Bancroft  for  his  second  wife,  and 
their  only  child  was  our  subject.  The  latter  has  always  followed  farming,  and  now  owns 
a  place  in  Macedon  Center  of  ninety-two  acres,  doing  general  farming,  and  up  to  1892 
also  carried  on  a  dairy.  He  married  Ida  B.  Eldredge,  of  Penfield,  a  daughter  of  Charles 
D.  Eldredge,  and  they  have  had  three  children  :  George  A.,  Laura  P.,  and  Vernie,  who 
died  aged  nine  months.  Our  subject  has  held  several  offices  in  the  town.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  S.  F.  A.,  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican. 

Chapman,  Robert,  was  born   in  England   September  18,    1820.      His  father,  John 


188  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Chapman,  was  a  native  of  England,  born  in  1798.  He  married  Ann  Wilson,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  two  children,  Robert  and  Christiana,  who  married  a  Mr.  Coats  and 
died  at  the  age  of  forty-five.  John  Chapman,  the  father,  came  with  his  family  to  this 
country  in  1830,  and  settled  first  in  Macedon,  then  moved  to  Walworth  and  finally  to 
Palmyra,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-four.  He  has  always  been  engaged  in 
farming,  his  son  also  following  the  same  occupation.  Robert  Chapman  is  now  the 
possessor  of  100  acres  of  land.  In  1847  he  married  Ann  Wigglesworth,  of  Macedon, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  four  children:  Anna,  William,  Christiana,  and  John.  The 
two  daughters  are  deceased.  The  youngest  son,  John,  is  traveling  salesman  for  the 
Garlock  Packing  Company  of  Palmyra.  Mr.  Chapman  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

Coniff,  John,  of  Macedon,  born  in  Ireland,  June  23,  1836,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  with  his  parents  in  1846,  being  ten  years  of  age  at  that  time.  He  was  one  of 
five  children  of  Patrick  and  Mary  Coniff,  all  of  whom  settled  here.  Patrick  was  a 
blacksmith  by  trade  and  this  he  followed  one  year,  then  bought  a  small  place  of  two 
acres  with  a  house,  added  six  acres,  and  after  a  time  sold  out  and  bought  sixty  acres. 
This  he  also  sold,  and  bought  ninety  acres,  which  he  finally  disposed  of  and  resided 
with  his  son,  our  subject,  who  bought  fifty- five  acres  near  the  village,  which  he  worked 
seven  years,  then  sold  to  his  brother  Barney,  and  now  owns  106  acres  all  under  cultiva- 
tion. In  1863  he  married  Bridget  McCue,  of  Rochester,  and  they  have  six  children: 
Burnett,  Arthur  J.,  Maggie,  Nellie,  Eliza  and  John.  Burnett  is  married  and  living  in 
Farmington.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  a  Democrat  in 
politics. 

Cogswell,  Hiram  S.,  was  born  in  Marion  November  16,  1817,  the  oldest  of  six  born 
to  Joseph  S.  and  Sarah  E.  (Smith)  Cogswell.  Joseph  S.  was  born  in  Rhode  Island, 
September  9,  1797  and  died  in  1887.  His  wife  was  born  November  15, 1798,  and  died 
January  25,  1845.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
and  has  followed  farming.  He  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Marion  on  his  farm  of  245 
acres.  He  came  to  Williamson  in  1882,  and  also  owns  135  acres  of  land  near  the  vil- 
lage. He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  politics  of  the  day.  He  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  he  has  always  been  a  temperance  advocate. 
He  married  February  17,  1841,  Ruth  Putnam,  born  in  Walworth,  November  25,  1821, 
by  whom  he  had  three  children;  Agatha  E.,  born  November  12,  1842,  who  died 
September  2,  1847;  Marvin,  born  December  9,  1851;  and  Elistine  D.,  born  October  16, 
1854,  who  died  June  9,  1863.  Marvin  married  first,  Emma  Thompson,  who  died  No- 
vember 22,  1886,  and  second  Julia  Pontie.  He  was  educated  in  the  New  York  In- 
stitute for  Deaf  Mutes.  Mrs.  Cogswell  died  March  31,  1891,  and  in  1892  he  married 
Ophelia  M.  Huggins,  a  native  of  Illinois,  and  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Jane  A.  (Put- 
nam) Huggins,  natives  of  Cornish,  Mass.,  and  of  Walworth,  N.  Y.,  respectively.  Mr. 
Huggins  died  in  1876  and  his  wife  in  1881.  Ruth  Putnam,  wife  of  our  subject,  and 
Jane  A.  Putnam,  mother  of  his  present  wife,  were  sisters,  their  father  being  Stephen 
Putnam,  an  early  settler  of  Walworth,  and  a  direct  descendant  of  Israel  Putnam.  Mr. 
Cogswell  assisted  in  drawing  lumber  from  Marion  for  the  building  of  the  first  railroad 
in  the  State  of  New  York. 

Cornelius,  John,  born  in  Holland  in  1837,  is  the  son  of  Adam  and  Sarah  Cornelius, 
who  reared  a  family  of  six  children  now  living.  They  both  died  in  Holland.  Subject 
was  reared  on  a  farm  and  afterward  engaged  as  sailor,  but  has  been  a  farmer  since  he 
came  to  Wayne  county.  He  came  to  Palmyra  in  October,  1867,  and  to  Williamson  in 
1875.  He  now  owns  150  acres  of  land  and  follows  general  farming  and  fruit  raising, 
also  mint  and  onions.  Mr.  Cornelius  married  in  1867  Cora  Scotchman,  a  native  of  Hol- 
land, by  whom  he  has  these  children  :  Adrian,  Mary,  John,  Sarah,  Cora,  Jacob  and 
Peter.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Cornelius  was  John  Scotchman  a  native  of  Holland,  where 
he  died.     Mr.  Cornelius  and  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed  Church. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  189 

Cole.  Salathiel  A.,  was  a  son  of  Welcome  Cole,  who  died  in  1883,  aged  ninety-two 
years.  He  was  a  prominent  figure  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Butler.  It  was  largely 
by  his  own  efforts  that  nearly  500  acres  of  arable  land  were  reclaimed  from  the  prime- 
val forest.  The  old  homestead  in  central  Butler,  which  was  the  theatre  of  his  life 
work  is  now  jointly  owned  by  his  sons,  Salathiel  and  Harlow,  who  were  born  here  the 
oldest  in  1827.  Some  cylinders  of  basswood  cut  by  Welcome  Cole,  seventy-five  years 
ago,  are  still  in  use  for  the  storage  of  grain.  Salathiel  married  Mary  Chamber] in  of 
Auburn,  in  1880. 

Calkins,  Clarissa  V.,  widow  of  the  late  Hudson  Calkins,  who  was  born  in  Butler  in 
1840.  They  were  married  in  1862,  and  they  had  two  children,  Hattie  and  Frank.  Mr. 
Calkins  went  to  the  front  in  1862,  as  second  lieutenant  Company  G,  9th  Artillerv,  and 
served  with  honor  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  died  in  1872.  Clarissa  Calkins  is  the 
daughter  of  F.  H.  Moore,  who  with  his  parents  came  from  Connecticut  in  1810  with  a 
team  of  oxen.  He  was  then  five  years  of  age  and  lived  in  the  town  of  Butler  for  eighty 
years  after.     His  wife  who  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1811,  survived  him  until  1894. 

Creager,  William,  was  born  in  Galen  December  26,  1836.  His  father,  William,  was 
a  native  of  Fredericksburg,  Md.,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1785,  and  settled  on  lot  93 
where  his  descendants  now  reside,  the  property  having  been  in  the  family  for  more 
than  100  years.  He  died  in  1837,  aged  forty-nine  years.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Barrick.  William  Creager  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-seven  married  Lucina  I .,  daughter  of  David  Closs,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children,  Mrs.  Belle  Sutterby  and  David  Gr.  Creager.  In  1881  he  bought  the  old  home- 
stead of  100  acres,  raising  mint,  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the 
representative  farmers  of  his  town,  elected  assessor  for  three  years,  and  takes  an  active 
interest  in  school  and  church  matters. 

Clouse,  Charles,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia  November  28,  1859.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Alsace,  Germany,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1850.  He  married 
Magdalena  Brock,  and  died  in  1888,  aged  seventy-one  years.  Charles  Clouse  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  and  a  the  age  of  twenty- three  married  Mary  A.,  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  A.  Bremner,  by  whom  he  has  two  sons,  Irving  and  Frank.  In  1882  he 
bought  the  Levanway  property  of  103  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our 
subject  is  one  the  representative  farmers  in  Wayne  county,  and  takes  an  active  interest 
in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Crane,  Zebina,  born  in  Marion  July  20,  1818,  is  the  oldest  of  two  children  of  Jacob 
G.,  and  Parmelia  (Dexter)  Crane.  Mr.  Crane  came  to  Marion  with  his  parents,  Zebina 
and  Mary  E.  Crane  in  1804,  and  here  Zebina  died  in  1820,  and  his  wife  died  in  Illinois 
in  1840.  Jacob  G.  was  a  farmer,  and  was  poormaster  of  the  town.  He  and  his  wife 
are  both  dead.  He  married  twice  afterward,  his  second  wife  being  Mary  Carr,  by 
whom  he  had  two  children  now  living.  His  third  wife  was  Ann  Smith,  and  they  had 
two  children  now  living.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer,  and  owns  110  acres.  He  has  been  high- 
way commissioner.  He  was  married  twice,  first  January  17,  1844,  to  Hannah  Peer, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Peer,  an  early  settler  of  Williamson.  Mr.  Crane  and  wife  had  four 
children  De  Witt  C,  Emily  P.,  Alonzo  B.,  and  Mary.  Mrs.  Crane  died  in  1875,  and 
Mr.  Crane  married  Mariana  Cogswell,  daughter  of  Giles  Cogswell,  a  native  of  Rhode 
Island  and  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Williamson.  His  wife  was  Parmelia  Sanford. 
Mr.  Cogswell  died  in  Marion  in  1874,  aged  eighty-four,  and  his  wife  in  1864.  They 
had  ten  children,  of  whom  six  are  living :  Eliza  J.  Eggleston,  wife  of  subject  and  twin 
sister  Marietta,  Richmond  P.,  Almond  G,  and  Marnett  H. 

Clark,  Samuel,  of  English  stock,  came  to  Palmyra  and  located  about  1790,  having 
three  sons:  Samuel,  jr.,  who  removed  to  Michigan  with  his  family  about  1840;  Ben- 


190  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

jamin,  and  Oliver,  the  latter  two  buying  land  together  one  mile  north  of  East  Palmyra. 
This  farm  was  afterward  divided,  Benjamin  taking  the  north  and  Oliver  the  south 
part.  Here  Benjamin  died,  also  his  daughters,  one  granddaughter  removing  to  the 
West  in  1840.  Oliver  was  born  February  14,  1767,  and  died  January  21,  1843.  He 
came  from  Long  Island  about  1794,  and  was  a  tailor,  having  a  farm  just  across  the 
creek  from  East  Palmyra.  Of  his  three  sisters  who  settled  and  married  here,  one  be- 
came the  wife  of  Gabriel  Rogers,  and  later  removed  to  Sodus.  She  was  the  mother 
of  B.  R.  and  James,  of  Lyons,  and  Erastus,  of  Sodus.  Another  sister  married  Sol- 
omon Franklin,  and,  after  his  death,  Luther  Sandford.  The  other  sister  married  a  Mr. 
Soverhill,  of  Arcadia,  and  had  two  sons,  Joel  and  Hiram.  Oliver  married  Sarah 
Jessup,  of  Long  Island,  who  died  January  8,  1823.  Their  children  were:  Maltby,  born 
March  31,  1798;  Matilda,  born  June  3,  1800,  who  died  April  2,  1827;  Jerry,  born  Sep- 
tember 16,  1802,  of  Orleans  county ;  Dennis,  born  March  21,  1805  ;  Nelson,   born  May 

7,  1807;  Betsey,  born  December  5,  1810;  Hannah,  born  February  14,  1812;  and  Hiram, 
born  April  29,  1814,  died  January  11,  1835.     The  mother  of  these  children  died  January 

8,  1823,  and  Oliver  married,  second,  Susan  Romeyn  in  1828,  who  died  in  1857.  Maltby, 
the  oldest  of  the  family,  who  died  in  1875,  married  Maria  Mason,  who  died  in  1822, 
and,  second,  Jerusha  Jagger,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children  :  Henry  M.,  born  March 
6,  1826  ;  Maria  M.,  born  January  25,  1829;  Abigail  J.,  born  November  3,  1831  ;  Har- 
riet E.,  born  August  8,  1834 ;  Nelson,  born  March  23,  1837  ;  Lucius  H.,  born  December 
8,  1840;  Oliver  N.,  born  January  31,  1846;  and  Mary  E.,  born  January  28,  1850. 
Maltby  served  in  various  town  offices,  was  superintendent  of  the  poor  nine  years,  and 
was  a  Republican.  Henry  M.  Clark  resided  with  his  parents  until  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  when  he  married,  April  3,  1850,  Frances  A.  Foster,  a  native  of  Palmyra,  and 
their  children  are :  Edwin  H.,  born  January  3,  1852,  who  resides  near  his  father ; 
George  W.,  born  July  26,  1853,  died  September  30,  1875 ;  Julia  F.',  born  August  14, 
1856,  who  married  Edwin  F.  White.  Henry  Clark  began  married  life  on  his  grand- 
father's farm,  remaining  four  years,  then  bought  fifty-four  acres,  which  he  afterwards 
sold  and  bought  the  place  where  he  now  resides.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  as 
supervisor  and  member  of  Assembly,  being  elected  to  the  latter  office  in  1874.  The 
family  are  Presbyterians,  and  he  has  been  clerk  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lyons  for  twenty- 
four  successive  years. 

Converse,  Charles,  was  born  in  Cayuga  connty  in  1827,  son  of  Josiah  Converse,  a  native 
of  Allegany  county,  whose  father  was  Samuel  Converse,  a  farmer.  The  father  of  our 
subject  was  also  a  farmer.  His  wife  was  Betsey  Laberrux,  and  they  have  seven  chil- 
dren. At  the  age  of  twenty-one  our  subject  went  to  Michigan,  soon  after  returned 
and  erected  a  steam  saw  mill  in  Cayuga  county  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
lumber.  In  1852  he  came  to  Huron,  and  for  some  years  followed  coopering.  Since 
then  he  has  devoted  his  time  to  farming  and  is  a  prosperous  farmer,  owning  several 
farms  and  fifty  acres  of  the  homestead  in  which  he  was  born.  In  1854  he  married 
Demorah  Schofield,  of  Onondaga  county,  and  they  have  one  child,  Eliza,  wife  of 
Charles  Davis,  of  Huron. 

Chapin,  Spencer  E.,  was  born  in  Huron  in  1845.  His  father,  Harlow,  also  born  in 
Huron  in  1822,  is  the  son  of  Spencer  Chapin,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  whose  father 
was  Phineas  Chapin,  of  Massachusetts,  who  came  to  Huron  in  1811  with  his  wife  and 
six  children,  and  was  killed  the  following  year  by  the  fall  of  a  tree.  He  was  the  first 
man  born  in  Huron.  Harlow  was  a  thrifty  and  successful  farmer.  His  wife  was 
Fannie  Reed,  and  their  children  were:  Spencer  E.,  Joseph  R.,  Charles  E.,  Frank  H., 
Ella  L.,  wife  of  Rev.  Matthew  Gafney,  of  Manlius,  Onondaga  county  ;  Edgar  W.,  Har- 
low and  Fannie  (twins).  Mr.  Chapin  began  farming  when  twenty-one  years  of  age. 
From  1875  to  1879  he  was  interested  in  a  barrel  and  stave  factory  in  Huron.  In  1877 
he  purchased  his  present  farm,  and  since  1890  has  been  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
lumber.  In  1867  he  married  Etta  L.  Persons,  born  in  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  in  1847, 
and  they  have  one  child,  Gertie,  wife  of  George  Hatcher,  of  Huron. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  191 

Church,  William  0.,  is  the  only  son  of  the  late  Hiram  Church,  who  was  a  pioneer  of 
Wolcott,  a  successful  business  man,  of  liberal  views  and  wide  information.  He  came 
from  Massachusetts  to  Wolcott  when  two  years  of  age  with  his  father,  Osgood  Church 
who  was  the  first  supervisor  of  Wolcott.  He  died  in  1889,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four 
years.  He  was  born  February  22,  1847.  William  0.  Church  graduated  from  Falley 
Seminary  in  1865,  and  two  years  later  entered  into  partnership  with  his  father.  He 
was  for  many  years  a  prime  mover  in  the  large  mercantile  interests  of  Wolcott,  but  is 
now  retired  from  active  business.  He  married  in  1867  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  Professor 
Bragdon,  of  Lima.  N.  Y.,  and  their  only  child,  Belle  B.,  born  February  16,  1876,  died 
in  infancy.  • 

Catchpole,  James,  was  born  in  England  in  March,  1825,  the  son  of  James  and  Susan 
Catchpole,  who  came  to  America  in  1835.  Their  children  are :  Mrs.  Susan  Smith,  of 
Geneva;  Mrs.  Ann  Thomas,  of  Geneva;  Jerimia  Smith,  of  Huron;  Benjamin,  Mary 
Ann,  Robert,  and  Matilda.  In  1844  they  came  to  Huron  and  settled  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  our  subject.  Mr.  Catchpole  was  at  an  early  date  in  partnership  with  his 
brothers,  Benjamin  and  Robert,  and  John  Smith  engaged  extensively  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  lumber.  They  built  the  lake  boats  called  Charger  and  Catchpole,  and  they  also 
built  a  storehouse  in  North  Rose,  and  dealt  in  produce  for  many  years.  For  several 
years  our  subject  has  devoted  his  attention  to  farming  on  the  homestead  of  118  acres, 
where  he  now  resides  with  his  sisters,  Mary  Ann.  and  Matilda. 

Curtis,  Omar  M.,  was  born  May  9,  1867,  son  of  the  well  known  veteran  soldier  and 
merchant,  George  B.  Curtis.  He  was  educated  at  Albany,  and  upon  reaching  his 
majority,  took  charge  of  the  foundry  and  machine  shop,  known  as  the  Curtis  Deoxy- 
dized  Plow  Works,  manufacturers  and  dealers  in  agricultural  implements,  probably 
the  largest  and  oldest  firm  in  the  country  in  this  line.  This  firm  makes  a  specialty  of 
Land  Rollers,  and  of  the  Giant  Fruit  Dryer,  possessing  characteristic  and  unique  points 
of  merit,  largely  due  to  the  inventive  genius  and  business  energy  of  Omar  M.  Curtis. 

Carrier,  Amaziah  T.,  son  of  Amaziah  and  Wealthy  Carrier,  was  born  in  Brutus, 
Cayuga  county.  One  of  a  family  of  five  children,  deprived  of  a  father's  care  while  a 
mere  boy — he  early  learned  the  lessons  of  patient  toil  and  economy,  and  developed 
those  sterling  qualities  of  character,  which  gave  him  in  future  years  the  esteem  of  all 
who  knew  him.  He  married  in  1831  Lois  J.  Bottum,  of  Conquest,  Cayuga  county,  N. 
Y.  Their  early  married  life  was  spent  in  the  near  vicinity,  till  in  1844  he  purchased  a 
farm  in  Rose,  one  mile  east  of  the  present  village  of  North  Rose.  There  for  twenty 
years,  he,  his  wife  and  a  family  of  five  children,  assimilated  themselves  into  the  life  of 
the  community  around  them.  Members  of  the  Methodist  Church  their  home  became 
the  half-way  house  of  the  itinerating  clergy,  and  the  center  of  the  social  life  around 
them.  In  November,  1859,  the  first  sorrow  overshadowed  the  home,  in  the  death  of  the 
eldest  daughter,  Mary,  a  beautiful  girl  of  nineteen  years.  Then  came  to  the  sixties, 
those  years  that  covered  our  whole  broad  land  with  blood  and  tears — and  when  as  of 
old  it  might  be  said  "there  was  not  a  house  where  there  was  not  one  dead."  The  old- 
est son,  William  Seward,  caught  the  patriotic  fire,  and  seeing  only  his  country's  danger, 
turned  his  back  upon  his  school  life  at  Lima  Seminary,  without  title  or  bounty,  and 
marched  southward  with  the  10th  Regiment  N.  Y.  Vol.  Cavalry,  Company  E.  The 
rigors  of  camp  life  proved  too  severe  for  the  student,  and  August  3,  1862,  at  the  hos- 
pital in  Baltimore  his  brave  young  life  went  out.  aged  twenty-four  years — only  one  of 
the  numberless  thousands  who  "counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  himself."  The  second 
son,  Elbert,  a  practicing  physician  in  Syracuse,  died  August  3,  1870,  aged  twenty-eight 
years.  In  1864  Mr.  Carrier  exchanged  his  property  in  Rose  for  a  home  in  Wolcott. 
Failing  health  caused  him  to  retire  from  active  labor,  and  June  15,  1872,  he  passed 
away.  Mrs.  Carrier  still  occupies  the  home  in  Wolcott.  Two  daughters  are  living — 
Ellen  J.,  wife  of  George  Aldrich,  North  Rose,  with  one  son,  J.  Clarence  ;  and  Lettie, 


192  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

wife  of  Rev.  B.  A.  Partridge,  member  of  Central  N.  Y.  M.   E.   Conference,  and  their 
only  daughter  Ethlyn. 

Cuyler,  John  H.,  was  born  in  Orleans  county,  in  1826.  His  father,  Abram,  a  promi- 
nent man  of  affairs  in  his  day,  settled  here  in  1833.  Our  subject  has  been  identified 
with  various  industries  in  this  locality  in  early  years;  was  the  first  producer  of  barrel 
staves  in  Wolcott,  but  since  1854  has  devoted  himself  to  farming  and  has  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  occupied  a  house  on  a  farm  of  150  acres.  March  16,  1854,  he  married 
Cordelia,  daughter  of  Nelson  De  Vinney,  a  merchant  of  Newark.  They  have  three 
children,  Ella,  Nelson  and  Id^i.  Ella  has  been  a  teacher  since  the  age  of  seventeen,  and 
it  is  due  to  her  efforts  as  orignator  and  promoter  of  the  idea  that  the  excellent  library 
at  District  No.  3  must  be  ascribed.  The  library  is  conducted  upon  a  sound  business 
basis,  and  its  value  as  an  educational  factor  is  thereby  enhanced  and  prolonged. 
Founded  in  1888,  it  consists  at  present  of  nearly  one  hundaed  volumes  of  educational 
and  historical  works. 

Cosad,  Samuel,  the  popular  and  efficient  commissioner  of  schools  in  the  first  district 
of  Wayne  county,  was  born  December  24,  1855,  in  the  town  of  Junius,  Seneca  county. 
His  father  was  James  M.  Cosad,  who  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  in  1810,  and 
who  removed  with  h's  parents  to  Seneca  county  in  1819.  He  married  first  Elizabetn 
Stout,  and  had  two  children :  Cassie  Robinson,  and  George  Combe.  He  married  sec- 
ond, Catharine  Stout,  born  in  Arcadia  in  1818,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife,  and  had  two 
children,  Frank  and  Samuel.  James  M.,  who  was  a  farmer,  removed  from  Junius  to 
Huron  in  1856,  where  he  resided  till  his  death,  August  15,  1893.  He  was  a  very  suc- 
cessful business  man  and  accumulated  a  large  property,  consisting  of  about  600  acres 
of  valuable  lands,  which,  before  his  death,  he  divided  among  his  three  surviving  chil- 
dren. Samuel  received  such  an  education  as  was  obtainable  in  the  common  schools, 
supplemented  by  two  years  attendance  at  Leavenworth  Institute,  Wolcott,  and  was  one 
year  at  Sodus  Academy,  after  which  he  spent  three  years  in  teaching  and  then  entered 
upon  the  study  of  law  with  Senator  Thomas  Robinson  at  Clyde,  N.  Y.  These  studies 
were  continued  for  two  years,  and  were  then  interrupted  by  the  necessity  of  aiding  his 
father  in  the  management  of  his  farms.  He  early  took  an  active  part  in  politics,  being 
a  Republican,  and  when  but  twenty-two  was  made  town  clerk  of  Huron,  to  which  po- 
sition he  was  thrice  elected.  In  1886  he  was  chosen  supervisor,  and  for  seven  years 
represented  the  town  of  Huron  in  the  County  Legislature.  In  1892-93  he  was  chair- 
man of  that  body.  His  advocacy  of  economical  and  reformatory  measures  made  him 
an  especial  favorite  with  his  constituency,  and  in  the  fall  of  1893  was  elected  school 
commissioner  of  the  first  district  of  Wayne  county.  In  1888  he  married  Ida  E.  Smith 
of  Galen,  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter,  Lillian,  born  January  22,  1893.  Mr.  Cosad  is 
at  present  residing  in  the  village  of  Wolcott  to  which  place  he  removed  in  the  spring 
of  1894  that  he  might  devote  his  whole  time  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  commis- 
sioner of  schools.  And  while  at  present  a  resident  of  that  village,  his  whole  life  has 
been  so  closely  identified  with  the  town  of  Huron  and  its  interests  that  it  is  proper  that 
his  biography  should  appear  among  the  citizens  of  that  town. 

Van  Duzer,  Z.  A.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Macedon,  April  25,  1833.  Caleb  Van 
Duzer,  father  of  the  above,  was  born  in  Orange  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1800.  He  came  to 
the  town  of  Macedon  when  four  years  of  age,  settling  one-half  mile  east  of  Macedon 
Centre,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  speculating.  He  married  Lydia  Maloney, 
aud  of  this  marriage  were  born  five  children,  the  youngest  being  Z.  A.  Van  Duzer. 
Z.  A.  Van  Duzer  has  been  engaged  in  farming  all  his  life  and  has  acquired  a  large 
amount  of  valuable  property.  In  connection  with  his  farm  he  also  has  a  fine  dairy  bus- 
iness. He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  and  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  Macedon 
Lodge,  No.  665.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

Vought,    Nicholas,  wholesale  and  retail  dealer  in  coal,  lime,  fertilizers,  picket  and 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  L93 

wire  fences,  at  Wolcott,  with  office  and  storehouse  near  the  R.  W.  &  0.  R.  R.  depot, 
is  the  second  son  of  David  and  Maria  (Apham)  Vought,  of  Huron,  where  he  was  born 
in  1848.  Mrs.  Maria  Vought  still  lives  upon  the  old  homestead  farm  in  Huron,  which 
is  operated  by  the  oldest  son,  A.  U.  Vought.  Nicholas  Vought  spent  his  early  years  in 
Huron,  chiefly  engaged  in  farming,  and  acquired  his  present  business  by  purchase  from 
David  De  Mell  in  1891.  His  wife,  Emma  L.,  is  a  daughter  of  Hugh  Green,  of  Wolcott. 
They  were  married  January  23,  1873,  and  have  one  daughter,  Ina  L.  Mr.  Vought  is 
commander  of  Wolcott  Lodge,  Knights  of  S.,  F,  and  I. 

Van  Der  Veer,  H.  E.,  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  N.  Y.,  April  27,  1843,  the 
only  child  of  G.  Van  Der  Veer  and  M.  Allen,  the  former  born  May  9,  1813,  and  the 
latter  June  24,  1814.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Garret  Van  Der  Veer,  a 
native  of  New  Jersey,  born' in  1765.  The  family  is  of  Holland  descent,  and  date  their 
ancestry  to  the  coming '  of  Cornelius  J.  Van  Der  Veer  to  America  from  Holland  (Alk- 
marr)  in  1659.  Garret  married  Rachael  Covenhoven,  a  native  of  Monmouth  county, 
N.  J.,  on  whose  father's  farm  the  battle  of  Monmouth  was  fought.  The  grandparents 
came  to  Montgomery  county,  where  they  lived  and  died.  The  father  of  our  subject 
came  to  Wayne  county  in  1848,  and  settled  at  Marion,  where  the  mother  died,  Decem- 
ber 1,  1890.  Mr.  Van  Der  Veer  has  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  the  manufacture  of 
machines  for  packing  apples,  and  also  kept  hotel  at  Marion  five  years.  He  has  always  been 
a  Democrat,  a  temperance  man,  and  a  prominent  anti-slavery  advocate  before  the  war. 
H.  E.  Van  Der  Veer  was  reared  in  the  village  of  Marion,  where  he  was  educated  in  the 
Colgate  Institute.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  began  as  clerk  for  F.  &  J.  B.  Reeves,  which 
he  followed  in  that  place  and  Palmyra,  and  was  also  in  the  Commissary  Department  in 
Indian  Territory,  at  Fort  Gibson,  and  was  also  in  Kansas.  In  1866  he  came  to  Marion 
and  engaged  in  the  drug  trade  and  in  1873  came  to  Ontario  village,  where  he  has  since 
conducted  a  successful  business  in  that  line.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  was  appointed 
postmaster  in  1893.  He  is  a  member  of  Wayne  Lodge  No.  416  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  the 
K.  0.  T.  M.,  in  both  of  which  he  holds  positions  of  honor.  February  22,  1870,  he  mar- 
ried Annette  L.  Pratt,  of  Williamson,  born  April  15,  1841,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Clarissa  (Jennings)  Pratt,  of  Whatiey,  Mass.,  and  Burlington,  N.  Y.,  respectively,  who 
had  fourteen  children,  six  of  whom  grew  to  maturity.  Mr.  Pratt  and  wife  settled  in 
Williamson  in  1811,  where  he  became  one  of  the  wealthiest  farmers  of  the  town.  His 
oldest  child,  Aaron  W.,  shipped  with  the  first  whaler  in  the  northern  seas.  Another 
son  was  Capt.  William  W.,  a  whaler  and  merchantman  for  forty  years. 

Van  Vleck,  Lawrence,  was  born  in  Schuyler,  Herkimer  county,  March  17,  1817,  and 
has  for  forty-two  years  been  a  continued  resident  of  the  town  of  Butler,  having  settled 
first  in  Savannah  in  1842,  and  in  1852,  removed  to  Butler.  His  parents,  Merinus  and 
Icy  Van  Vleck,  reared  a  family  of  ten  children  in  Herkimer  county,  of  whom  he  is  the 
third  son.  He  married,  September  21,  1839,  Prudy  A.,  daughter  of  John  and  Susan 
Hughes,  of  Schuyler,  Herkimer  county,  who  has  been  his  faithful  companion  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  and  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children,  of  whom  all  are  living  but 
the  older,  Louise,  who  died  during  their  residence  in  Savannah, December  18, 1850 :  Curtis 
E.,  Cady  L.,  Susan  L.,  the  wife  of  Alfred  Bullock,  of  Red  Creek;  Merinus,  Harry  D., 
Francis,  Emma,  now  Mrs.  N.  Pierce,  of  Grariby,  N.  Y.,  Ernest,  Lawrence,  and  Allen. 
The  family  group  is  one  of  which  their  parents  are  justly  proud,  and  upon  whom  no 
stigma  has  ever  befallen. 

Upham,  H.  M.,  whose  paternal  lineage  may  be  traced  to  the  earliest  known  settle- 
ment of  Butler,  was  born  February  25,  1863,  on  the  place  which  was  the  home  of  his 
grandfather,  and  which  was  also  the  birthplace  and  life-long  home  of  his  father,  Ebe- 
nezer  Upham,  who  was  hale  and  hearty  at  seventy-five  years  of  age,  and  is  the  father 
of  four  children,  of  whom  Merton  is  the  elder.  His  wife,  Marie,  a  sister  of  Jeremiah 
Lebring,  of  Wolcott,  died  January  5,  1894,  aged  sixty-nine  years.     Merton  was  edu- 


194  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

cated  at  Red  Creek  Academy,  and  is  a  young  man  of  much  ability  and  character,  and 
greatly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him.  His  wife  is  Delia,  daughter  of  Robert  O'Brien 
of  Huron. 

Vantassel,  Elmer,  of  Butler,  is  the  son  of  the  late  James  Vantassel,  who  came  here 
from  Conquest,  Cayuga  county,  in  1862.  His  wife,  who  is  Ellen  Brown,  survives  him. 
She  is  nearly  seventy  years  of  age,  and  of  four  children  none  are  living  except  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  the  eldest  of  her  children.  He  was  born  during  their 
residence  at  Conquest  June  8,  1849.  December  15,  1873,  he  married  Lucinda  Burgh- 
dorf,  daughter  of  John  Burghdorf,  of  Victory,  and  their  children  are  :  Dewayne,  born 
August  1,  1881,  and  Charlie,  born  February  28,  1873. 

Van  Lare,  Jacob,  born  in  Holland  in  1832,  was  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Zina  Van  Lare, 
natives  of  Holland,  who  came  to  Marion  and  he  died  in  Sodus  in  1859,  and  his  wife 
resides  at  East  Williamson.  Jacob  came  to  Marion  in  1854  and  bought  the  farm  now 
owned  by  the  family  of  100  acres,  and  put  up  good  buildings.  He  married  in  Wayne 
county  Frances  De  King,  a  native  of  Holland,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children  :  Adrian, 
Zina,  Abram,  Annie,  Maggie,  William,  David,  and  James.  By  his  first  wife,  Lizzie  Van 
Lare,  he  had  five  children :  John,  Jacob,  Josiah,  Isaac,  and  Peter.  The  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church.     Mr.  Van  Lare  died  November  5,  1891. 

Vosburgh,  John  (deceased),  was  born  in  Copake,  Columbia  county,  December  29, 
1807,  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1837.  He  married  Christiana,  daughter  of  Tunis 
Race,  of  Ancram,  Columbia  county,  and  they  have  seven  children :  Cornelius,  Tunis, 
John,  Lee,  Mrs.  Clarinda  Winegar,  and  Anna,  and  Mrs.  Ella  Miles.  The  family  are 
now  living  on  the  Vosburgh  homestead  of  147  acres,  which  was  settled  by  John  Vos- 
burgh, having  resided  there  fifty-seven  years.  He  came  from  Columbia  county  with  a 
sleigh.  He  raises  large  amounts  of  fruit,  hay,  grain,  and  stock.  Our  subject  was  among 
the  early  settlers  of  Wayne  county,  and  the  family  were  prominent  in  Columbia 
county.     He  died  in  1891  aged  eighty-four. 

Van  Holde,  John,  born  in  Holland  September  3,  1827,  is  the  fifth  of  fourteen  children 
of  John  and  Sarah  Van  Holde,  natives  of  Holland,  who  came  to  Marion  in  1855,  where 
Mr.  Van  Holde  died  in  1857,  and  his  wife  in  1860.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and 
educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  came  to  Williamson  in  1853,  where,  with  the 
exception  of  thirteen  years  in  Marion,  he  has  resided.  He  owns  forty-nine  acres  of 
land,  and  follows  general  farming.  He  married,  in  1853,  Tannetje  Rosencrantz,  a  native 
of  Holland,  by  whom  he  has  had  three  children:  John,  Jacob,  and  William.  Two  died 
in  infancy.  Mr.  Van  Holde  was  assessor  nine  years,  and  he  and  family  are  members 
of  the   Reformed  church. 

Tassell,  Frank  W.,  was  born  in  Williamson  August  31,  1853.  He  is  the  fifth  of  six 
children  of  Lewis  and  Harriet  Tassell,  natives  of  England,  and  who  came  to  William- 
son in  1340,  and  here  lived  the  remainder  of  their  days.  Mr.  Tassell  died  in  1880,  and 
his  wife  now  resides  in  Williamson.  Our  subject  finished  his  education  in  Marion 
College,  and  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  followed  farming  until  1885,  beginning  the 
produce  business  then,  and  in  1888  formed  a  partnership  witn  Mr.  H.  J.  Bradley,  which 
firm  has  since  continued.  Mr.  Tassell  is  a  member  of  the  Pultneyville  Lodge  No.  159, 
F.  &A.  M.  In  1876  he  married  Phoebe  M.  Wood,  a  native  of  Sodus,  and  they  have 
three  children :  Otis  L.,  Willis  G.,  Stanley,  who  died  in  1886. 

Thomas,  Philip,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ledyard,  Cayuga  county,  May  29,  1825,  son 
of  Alexander  Thomas,  a  miller.  His  wife  was  Ruth  Hart,  and  their  children  were  : 
Isaac  H.,  Alexander,  William  George,  Abram,  and  Philip.  When  twenty-one  our  sub- 
ject began  farming,  and  in  1846  came  to  Huron,  and  in  September,  1864,  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  9th   Heavy   Artillery,  was  taken  sick  and  spent  most  of  his  time  in  the 


FAMILY   SKETCH ES.  1!).-. 

hospital.  He  contracted  ailments  from  which  he  never  fully  recovered.  In  1865  he 
purchased  his  present  farm  in  lot  38,  and  in  1846  he  was  married  to  Charlotte,  daugh- 
ter of  Richard  Morey,  of  Rose.  Their  children  are  :  George,  Eliza,  wife  of  William 
Snyder,  of  Huron  :  Gene,  wife  of  Josiah  Cartwright,  of  Michigan ;  Lottie,  widow  of 
Frank  Dago  ;  Charles,  E.,  deceased ;  and  Edward.  Our  subject  is  an  honored  member 
of  the  G.  A.  R.,  Keeslar  Post  No.  55,  and  a  Republican. 

Terbush  William  Spencer,  was  born  in  Junius,  Seneca  county,  April  26,  1851,  son  of 
John  Terbush,  who  came  to  Huron  in  1859.  His  wife  was  Eunice  Jane  Weeks,  and 
their  children  were  Emma  Jane,  William  S.,  and  George  W.  His  second  wife  was 
Adelia  Abbott,  and  their  children  were:  Franklin,  Lura,  Clara  and  Adelina  ;  and  his 
third  wife  was  Frances  M.  Chase,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Wesley.  Our  subject  be- 
gan for  himself  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  conducting  his  father's  farm.  Later  years 
he  was  interested  in  dealing  in  live  stock,  and  since  1892  has  worked  at  the  carpenter 
trade.  His  wife  is  Ordice  Streeter  of  Pinkey,  daughter  of  David  Streeter.  and  their 
children  are  :  Eunice  Jane  and  Earl  S.     Subject  is  an  Odd  Fellow. 

Townsend,  Hammond  (deceased),  was  born  in  Lyons  January  1,  1847.  His  father. 
Asa,  bought  a  farm  lying  southeast  of  Lyons,  which  has  been  in  the  family  for  sixty 
years.  Hammond  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  to  which  he  added  through 
life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  He  afterward  returned  to  his  father's  farm 
(which  he  inherited  in  1880)  of  seventy  acres,  raising  hay,  grain  and  stock.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-one  he  married  Ariah,  daughter  of  Henry  W.  Leach,  and  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  two  children :  Mehan  L.  and  Mrs.  Lizzie  G.  Mehan.  Our  subject  through  life 
was  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town. 

Teller,  Daniel  V.,  was  born  in  Lyons  July  14,  1830.  His  father,  William  A.,  was  a 
native  of  Schenectady,  came  to  Lyons  in  1825.  He  married  Hannah,  oldest  daughter 
of  Daniel  Van  Etten,  who  was  among  the  first  settlers  and  one  of  the  representative 
farmers  in  the  town.  Daniel  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  finished  at  the  Ly- 
ons Union  School,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observa- 
tion. After  leaving  school  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm  in  1835,  and  bought  the 
John  B.  Shaver  business,  which  he  followed  eight  years.  In  1863  he  established  him- 
self in  the  produce,  nursery  stock,  and  agricultural  implements  business,  which  has  con- 
tinued twenty  years,  up  to  1883,  and  was  then  appointed  superintendent  of  section  8  of 
the  Erie  Canal,  holding  the  position  eight  years  and  was  then  tendered  the  position 
of  special  agent  of  the  Erie  Canal,  which  he  held  for  two  and  one-half  years.  In  No- 
vember, 1893,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Lyons  by  President  Cleveland.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Daniel  Morey  of  Lyons,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  three  sons,  two  of  whom,  Arthur  D.,  and  Dexter  M.,  are  now 
living.  Charles  W.  died  in  his  twenty-seventh  year.  Subject  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, also  takes  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Tyler,  Henry,  of  Butler,  was  born  October  3,  1845.  His  parents,  James  and  Mary 
A.  Tyler,  came  here  from  Summit,  N.  Y.,  shortly  before  his  birth,  and  have  been  suc- 
cessful, not  only  in  their  chosen  vocation  on' the  farm,  but  in  well  ordered  and  blameless 
lives.  He  married  Libbie,  daughter  of  Stephen  Fink  of  Victory,  Cayuga  county, 
December  24, 1872,  and  their  children  are  Grace  E.,  Howard  C,  and  Nellie. 

Thorn,  Thomas  P.,  was  born  at  Ely's  Corners,  Seneca  county,  August  24, 1820.  His 
father,  Joel,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1821.  He  mar- 
ried Rachel  Hobrough  of  English  birth.  He  was  a  prominent  farmer  in  his  time  and 
died  in  1867,  aged  eighty  years.  Thomas  P.  laid  the  foundation  of  his  education  in 
the  log  school  of  his  district.  At  the  age  of  thirty  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel S.  Briggs,  and  they  have  these  children :  Phineas  R.  and  Seward  T.  In  1858  he 
came  to  Clyde  and  engaged  in  the  distillery  business  remaining  up  to  1865,  and  in'1866 


196  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

bought  the  Henry  Stevens  malt  house,  to  which  he  added  and  rebuilt  in  1869,  and  is 
still  engaged  in  the  business,  having  a  capacity  of  70,000  bushels.  Our  subject  was 
supervisor  of  the  town,  and  takes  an  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious 
matters. 

Tobin,  William  M.,  was  born  in  Jordan,  October  9,  1855.  His  father,  Michael,  was  a 
native  of  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  and  came  to  Quebec  in  1839,  then  to  Clyde  in  the  spring  of 
1856,  and  was  a  cooper  by  trade.  He  died  in  1887,  aged  seventy- five  years.  William 
Tobin  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading 
and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  thirty-one  he  married  Catherine,  daughter  of  John 
O'Brien,  of  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  and  they  have  had  six  children,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living :  John  M.,  Louise,  and  Marie  E.  Our  subject  was  trustee  of  the  village  three 
years.  He  is  now  engaged  in  the  livery  business,  which  he  established  in  1880,  also  in  the 
coal  business,  handling  3,500  tons  of  coal  in  1893. 

Traver,  Henry,  was  born  near  Clifton  Springs  June  3,  1832.  His  father,  Daniel,  was  a 
native  of  Columbia  county,  and  lived  to  be  eighty-five  years  of  age.  Henry  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observa- 
tion. In  1831  his  father  bought  the  Nathan  Chase  property  of  110  acres,  and  in  1887 
bought  the  Michael  Beadle  property  at  Marengo  of  seventeen  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay, 
grain  and  stock.     Our  subject  is  a  liberal  supporter  of  all  charitable  enterprises. 

Tassell,  Charles  L.,  born  in  Williamson,  November  25,  1844,  is  the  third  of  a  family  of 
six  children  of  Lewis  and  Harriet  Tassell.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
Williamson,  followed  farming  eight  years,  and  then  came  to  Marion  in  1874  and  engaged 
in  buying  and  selling  stock  and  produce.  He  also  has  an  interest  in  the  Wayne  County 
Canning  Company,  is  one  of  the  directors  and  holds  the  office  of  treasurer.  Mr.  Tassell 
has  been  overseer  of  the  poor,  now  serving  his  twelfth  year.     He  is  a  member  of  the  John 

B.  Burred  Post  No.  444,  Department  of  New  York,  and  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  of  Marion. 
Mr.  Tassell  enlisted  March  4,  1864,  in  Co.  A,  111th  Yol.  Inf.,  and  served  over  one  year. 
He  was  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  and  Cold  Harbor  and  was  taken  sick  in  the  battle 
of  Petersburg.  He  married  January  18,  1866,  Hannah  Field  a  native  of  Orleans  county, 
born  in  1841,  and  daughter  of  Henry  acd  Elizabeth  (Clark)  Field.  The  father  died  in 
Williamson  in  June,  1893,  and  the  wife  resides  in  Williamson.  Mr  Tassell  is  also  serving 
his  third  year  as  quartermaster  of  the  Wayne  County  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Association. 

Tabor,  Charles  R.,  is  the  son  of  Lewis  Tabor,  of  Sterling,  and  known  as  one  of  the 
most  successful  farmers  of  this  locality.  Born  May  20,  1868,  his  boyhood  passed  with- 
out special  note,  except  that  he  acquired  habits  of  industry  and  frugality.  He  married 
March  12,  1890,  Sarah,  oldest  daughter  of  C.  W.  Eddy,  and  has  purchased  a  farm  of  one 
hundred  acres  at  this  place,  where  he  bids  fair  to  acquire  a  competence  before  middle 
age.     They  have  one  son,  Eddy,  born  April  26,  1892. 

Taylor,  Henry  G-.,  is  the  son  of  Garrison  Taylor,  of  Seneca  Falls,  a  well-known  mer- 
chant now  eighty-six  years  old,  and  retired  from  active  life,  and  surviving  his  wife,  Jane 
(George),  whose  ancestors  were  English,  and  who  died  in  1883.  Henry  was  born  at 
Seneca  Falls,  February  19,  1845,  acquiring  an  academic  education,  and  when  eighteen 
years  of  age  going  to  Elkhorn,  Wis.,  where  he  spent  three  years  at  bookkeeping  for  a 
dry-goods  house.  After  returning  to  his  native  place,  he  spent  several  years  as  a  teacher, 
since  when  farming  has  been  his  chosen  vocation.     December  28,  1870  he  married  Sarah 

C,  daughter  of  George  R.  and  Betsey  A.  Van  Fleet,  of  Wolcott,  the  former  of  whom 
died  March  6,  1883,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two,  and  the  latter,  now  sixty-four  years  of  age 
lives  with  a  son  at  Fairhaven.  Mr.  Taylor  has  two  lovely  children  :  Laura,  born  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1881,  and  Olive  L.,  born  March  6,  1890.  The  genealogical  tree  of  this  family 
is  one  of  great  antiquity  and  interest  and  Mr.  Taylor  is  a  contributor  of  historical  data 
for  the  volume. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  197 

Slaght,  George  Ambrose,  was  born  in  Huron  October  12,  1833,  son  of  Simeon,  who 
was  born  in  1800.  He  was  a  son  of  Jeremiah  Slaght,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  came  to 
Huron  in  1818.  Simeon  was  the  fifth  of  seven  children.  At  eighteen  he  purchased  a 
farm  of  100  acres,  which  he  cleared.  His  wife  was  Sally  Bissell,  and  their  children 
were:  Azel,  Laura,  George  A.,  and  Martha.  At  the  age  of  twenty  subject  purchased 
the  farm  where  he  now  lives.  Besides  this  he  owns  other  farms  amounting  to  300 
acres.  In  1853  he  married  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Camilla  (Hyde)  Cantrell, 
of  Huron.  Camilla  Hyde  was  the  daughter  of  John  Hyde,  and  the  first  white  child 
born  in  the  town  of  Huron.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Slaght  have  three  children  :  Carrie,  wife  of 
Lorin  Parsons  of  Huron;  Ida,  wife  of  Fred  Blauvelt;  and  Charles  A.  They  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Wolcott  Grange,  P.  of  H.,  No.  348,  of  which  our  subject  is  worthy  master. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  has  served  as  commissioner  of  highways,  assessor,  and 
justice  of  the  peace. 

Servoss,  E,  B.,  was  born  in  Fonda,  Montgomery  county,  December  10,  1838.  His 
occupation  has  been  that  of  farming,  and  he,  now  owns  a  farm  of  eighty  acres.  In  1850 
he  settled  in  she  town  of  Macedon,  and  through  his  own  efforts  acquired  his  present 
property.  In  1867  he  married  Elizabeth  Allyn,  daughter  of  Russell  Allyn,  of  Macedon. 
They  have  no  children.     Mr.  Servoss  is  a  Republican  and  has  filled  several  town  offices. 

Spencer,  Andrew,  of  Butler,  a  citizen  of  more  than  ordinary  mental  attainment,  has 
been  three  times  chosen  to  represent  his  town  in  the  County  Legislature,  was  for  two 
years  inspector  of  schools,  and  has  filled  many  minor  positions  of  trust.  Born  in  Huron 
in  1824,  his  early  manhood  was  spent  in  school  teaching.  His  parents  were  Elihu  and 
Jemima  (Upton)  Spencer.  Elihu  settled  in  Huron  in  1811,  and  for  many  years  operated 
a  grist  mill,  the  first  one  built  in  that  town,  In  1853,  Andrew  married  Maria  Soule, 
daughter  of  Rowland  Soule,  the  well  known  M.  E.  Evangelist.  They  had  three  daugh- 
ters :  Hattie,  Lucile,  and  Flora,  all  deceased. 

Shepard,  John,  was  born  in  Petershead,  Scotland,  in  April,  1869.  He  is  the  eldest 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (McRea)  Shepard,  both  natives  of  Scotland.  John,  father  of 
our  subject,  still  resides  in  Scotland  and  carries  on  a  tailoring  business  near  Peters- 
head.  His  wife  died  in  1882,  and  in  June,  1886  he  made  a  visit  to  his  son,  John,  in 
Williamson,  with  whom  he  remained  three  months,  and  then  returned  to  Scotland. 
John  Shepard,  subject  of  this  sketch,  came  to  Canada  in  1869,  to  Williamson  in  1875 
and  bought  the  farm  of  104  a^res  he  now  owns,  of  which  he  has  cleared  over  fifty 
acres.  Mr.  Shepard  received  his  education  in  Scotland,  and  has  followed  farming 
through  life.  In  the  spring  of  1875  he  married  Ellen  Rennie,  born  in  Scotland  Febru- 
ary 22,  1859,  and  daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  (Mitchell)  Rennie,  both  natives  of 
Scotland,  who  came  to  America  in  1874  and  settled  in  Canada  on  a  farm.  Mrs.  Rennie 
died  in  1881.  He  still  lives  in  Canada  at  the  age  of  seventy-four.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Shepard  have  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters:  Mary,  Thomas,  John,  Clara,  and 
Willie. 

Swift,  Elisha  T.,  born  July  17,  1818,  is  the  second  of  a  family  of  four  sons  and  four 
daughters  of  A.  and  Elizabeth  Swift,  pioneers  of  Williamson,  coming  there  from  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State.  They  went  to  Michigan,  leaving  Elisha  T.  with  Mr.  Smith, 
of  Marion,  with  whom  he  remained  till  of  age.  He  commenced  business  for  himself 
in  saw  mill  and  manufacturing  and  selling  pumps.  He  then  engaged  in  the  cooper's 
business  at  Walworth,  exchanged  this  business  for  a  farm  in  Walworth,  and  traded  that 
farm  for  the  farm  in  Williamson,  where  he  now  resides.  Here  he  was  also  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business  a  few  years.  He  has  made  nearly  all  of  the  improvements  on  the 
farm.  Mr.  Swift  has  been  three  times  married,  first  to  Catherine  Vandeshearse,  and 
after  her  death  to  Martha  Wake,  who  dfed  in  1874,  and  by  whom  he  had  one  son  and 
three  daughters,  two  now  deceased,  Emma  and  Jennie,  He  married,  third,  Maria  S. 
(Evans)   Harding,   daughter  of  Luther  and  Elizabeth    (Howland)    Evans,    natives   of 


198  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY 

Massachusetts,  who  went  to  Michigan  in  185G,  where  he  died  in  July,  1844,  and  his 
wife  in  1850.  Mrs.  Swift  came  to  Williamson  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  She  mar- 
ried, first,  John  Harding,  by  whom  she  has  one  son.  Fred,  a  farmer  in  Nebraska.  Mr. 
Harding  died  in  1866  and  she  married  Mr.  Swift,  by  whom  she  has  one  daughter,  Lizzie 
D.  Mr.  Smith  has  for  some  time  been  disabled  by  paralysis,  and  Mrs.  Swift  now  has 
charge  of  the  farm.  They  have  103  acres,  and  are  engaged  in  general  farming  and 
fruit  raising.     They  attend  and  support  the  M.  E.  church. 

Shippers,  Abram,  born  in  Holland  November  14.  1862,  is  the  oldest  of  five  children 
of  Abram  and  Mary  (Lalone)  Shippers,  natives  of  Holland.  He  was  a  farmer  in  Hol- 
land, and  died  October  17,  1877.  The  mother  came  to  America  in  1879,  bringing  the 
family  of  five  children  and  settling  on  a  farm  in  Marion,  where  she  died  June  1,  1885. 
Abram  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  attended  school  in  Holland  and  Marion.  He  com- 
menced work  as  a  farmer  and  is  also  a  carpenter  by  trade,  which  he  follows  part  of  the 
time.  He  bought  the  farm  in  1886,  and  carries  on  a  general  fruit  business.  The  family 
are  members  of  the  Reformed  Church.  He  is  a  member  of  Security  Tent  at  Marion  K. 
0.  T.  M.  No.  137. 

Sprague,  John,  of  Butler,  who  traces  his  paternal  lineage  back  to  the  famous  Sprague 
family  of  Rhode  Island,  'was  born  in  Butler,  January  22,  1835.  David  and  Violetta 
Sprague,  his  parents  settled  in  Butler  about  seventy  years  ago,  and  their  numerous 
descendants  are  to-day  representatives  of  the  best  agricultural  class  of  the  town. 
David  Sprague  had  two  wives,  and  was  the  father  of  fifteen  children.  He  died  July 
11,  1874.  at  eighty-nine  years  of  age.  Violetta  Sprague,  the  mother  of  six  of  his  chil- 
dren, is  now  living,  and  is  eighty-two  years  old.  John  received  his]early  education  at 
the  famous  old  Academy  at  Red  Creek,  and  his  mature  years  have  been  devoted  to 
farming,  with  a  full  measure  of  success.  His  wife,  Martha,  is  a  daughter  of  the  late 
John  Acken,  of  Butler.  One  daughter,  Martha,  was  born  to  them.  She  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-four  years. 

Shephard,  Harvey,  was  born  on  the  homestead  October  11,  1848.  His  father,  Harry, 
was  a  uative  of  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1817.  settling  on  lot  21 
where  his  descendants  now  reside.  He  married  Harriet,  daughter  of  William  Gordon, 
by  whom  he  had  five  children  :  Albert,  Silas,  Harvey,  Minerva,  and  Louisa.  Harvey 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  had  added  through  life  by  reading 
and  close  observation.  In  1867  he  inherited  part  of  the  well  known  Shephard  estate  of 
300  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain,  and  stock  ;  making  a  specialty  of  milk  dairying, 
producing'from  150  to  200  quarts  per  day.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  largest  farmers  in 
the  town,  was  elected  road  commissioner  from  1887  to  1893,  and  takes  an  intelligent 
interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Southard,  Henry,  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  May  15,  1829,  son  of  Israel 
R.,  who  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1827.  He  married  Elizabeth  Whitman,  and  in  1842 
bought  the  Levi  Hendrick  property  where  his  son  now  resides.  He  died  iu  1860,  aged 
fifty-seven.  Henry  Southard  laid  the  foundation  of  his  education  in  the  log  school 
house,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  mar- 
ried Lottie,  daughter  of  Abram  Myers,  by  whom  he  has  three  children  ;  Raymond  L., 
Sadie  E.,  and  Luella  May.  In  1861  he  inherited  and  purchased  his  father's  estate,  in 
1866  purchased  the  John  Reynolds  property,  and  in  1870  purchased  the  Daniel 
McDonald  farm.  He  has  275  acres  and  raises  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject 
is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  his  town,  was  elected  assessor  in  1877-78-79, 
and  takes  an  intelligent  interest  in  all  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Sweezy,  Smith,  born  in  Marion  March  8,  1829,  is  the  oldest  of  seven  children  of 
Stephen  and  Fannie  (Reeves)  Sweezy,  natives  of  Palmyra.  Stephen  was  the  oldest  son 
of  Isaac  Sweezy,  who  came  to  East  Palmyra  in  1799  and  settled  on  a  portion  of  the 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  I!)!) 

Long  Island  purchase.  The  father  of  subject  was  reared  on  the  Long  Island  purchase, 
where  he  died  in  1861,  and  his  wife  in  July,  1882.  Smith  Sweezy  was  reared  on  the 
farm,  and  came  to  Marion  in  1865.  In  1855  he  married  Mary  Danforth,  of  Sodus,  by 
whom  he  had  two  sons,  Frank,  who  died  in  1876,  aged  nineteen.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  Commercial  College  of  Rochester;  and  H.  B.,  who  is  a  clerk  in  New  Haven,  Conn. 
The  mother  died  July  16,  1881,  and  Mr.  Sweezy  married  Malissa,  daughter  of  William 
G-riswold,  of  Rose.  He  has  150  acres  of  land,  and  carries  on  general  farming  and  fruit 
growing.     He  is  a  member  of  Marion  Grange. 

Sloan,  Charles  A.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  May  19,  1848.  His  father,  Prosper 
Sloan,  was  a  farmer  and  cooper  of  that  town  and  died  in  March,  1891,  at  seventy-six 
years  of  age.  Charles  A.  Sloan  is  a  self-made  and  a  self-educated  man.  He  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade,  and  after  five  years  spent  in  Michigan  he  came  to  this  town  and 
gave  his  attention  to  farming.  In  1887  he  entered  the  employ  of  R.  J.  Rogers  &  Co., 
and  in  1891,  in  company  with  George  W.  Sloan,  purchased  the  business  and  now  carries 
one  of  the  largest  stocks  of  pine  and  hemlock  lumber,  shingles,  slat  and  wire  fencing 
in  the  county.  Mr.  Sloan  married  Miss  Amy  J.  Field,  daughter  of  Byron  Field,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  four  children  :  Walter,  Willard,  Charles,  and  Frances  J. 

Simmons,  Henry  B.,  was  born  in  Utica  August  13,  1852.  His  father,  Duane  L., 
marble  dealer  in  that  town,  was  a  native  of  Rochester.  He  died  in  1887  at  sixty-two 
years  of  age.  Henry  E.  was  educated  in  Utica,  after  which  he  entered  into  business 
with  his  father,  continuing  until  1883.  He  then  came  to  Clyde  and  entered  the  employ 
of  W.  N.  Fields,  and  in  1892  established  his  present  business  of  furniture  and  undertak- 
ing, using  the  latest  and  mort  improved  methods  of  embalming,  and  carrying  a  selected 
stock  of  fine  furniture.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  married  Lois  A.  Brewster,  of 
Clyde,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Mabel.  Our  subject  takes  an  active 
interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Stock,  John,  was  born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Hoffmansfield,  January  22,  1838.  His 
father  came  to  the  United  States  in  1861,  only  living  two  years.  He  settled  in  Balti- 
more", Md.  John  Stock,  jr.,  came  to  the  United  States  in  1868  and  settled  in  Lyons, 
remaining  until  1872,  when  he  came  to  Clyde  and  entered  the  employ  of  F.  Stoetzel| 
and  in  1874,  in  connection  with  Henry  Lanster,  established  the  market  under  the  firm 
name  of  Lanster  &  Co.,  dealers  in  fish  and  salt  meats.  In  1886  Mr.  Lanster  retired, 
and  subject  bought  his  interest  and  still  continues  the  business.  He  is  the  leading 
dealer  in  his  business,  and  was  elected  trustee  in  1890. 

Streeter,  S.  D.,  was  born  in  Berlin,  Rensselaer  county,  N.  Y.,  October  22,  1827.  His 
father,  Williard  Streeter,  was  a  native  of  Berlin,  and  the  family  settled  in  Charleston, 
Mass.,  in  1684.  Williard  Streeter  died  in  1841  at  the  age  of  forty-six.  S.  D.  Streeter 
laid  the  foundation  of  his  education  in  the  common  schools,  and  in  1852  went  to  Cali- 
fornia and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  remaining  there  six  years.  In  1861  he 
came  back  to  Clyde,  and  engaged  in  the  distilling  business  with  Briggs  &  Thorn,  closing 
out  in  1864.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  malting  and  grain  business. 
At  the  age  of  thirty-four  he  married  Mrs.  P.  J.  Casey,  daughter  of  Royal  Lilli bridge. 
Our  subject  has  served  as  supervisor  of  his  town  for  several  years. 

See,  Andrew,  born  in  Arcadia,  N.Y.,  February  7,  1830,  is  he  second  child  of  Abram 
and  Cyttie  A.  Turner,  he  a  native  of  Schenectady,  born  in  1802,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  came  to  Arcadia,  and  finally  came  to  Marion  and  bought  the  farm  now 
owned  by  subject.  He  died  in  1882,  and  his  wife  in  1868.  Subject  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools.  He  married,  March  7,  1862,  Mary  E.  Lovejoy,  a  native  of 
Elbridge,  N.  Y.,  and  daughter  of  William  Lovejoy,  who  came  to  Marion  about  1840, 
where  he  lived  and  died  May  22,  1891,  and  his  wife  February  17,  1893.  Mr.  See  and 
wife  have  had  two  children :  Charles  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Clarence  William,  born 


200  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

February  19,  18G5,  educated  in  the  common  schools,  is  a  farmer  and  resides  at  home. 
Mr.  See  owns  fifty-eight  and  one-half  acres  of  land,  and  follows  general  farming.  Mr. 
Lovejoy  was  born  in  1811  in  Williamstown,  Oswego  county.  His  wife  was  Mary  L. 
Hinds,  a  native  of  Manlius,  Onondaga  county.  They  had  seven  children,  of  whom 
five  are  living.     Mr.  Lovejoy  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church. 

Scott,  Mathew  B.,  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1850.  He  was  the  fourth  child  of  John 
and  Mary  Scott,  natives  of  Ireland,  where  the  father  died  and  the  mother  now  resides. 
Mathew  B.  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
land.  He  came  to  Macedon,  and  December  10,  1871,  came  to  Ontario,  since  which 
time  he  has  purchased  125  acres  of  land,  and  follows  general  farming.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Democrat,  and  has  been  assessor  six  years  in  a  Republican  town.  In  1875  he  mar- 
ried Mary  Kelley,  by  whom  he  had  five  children :  John,  James.  George,  Mary,  and 
Margaret.  His  first  wife  died,  and  he  married,  second,  Maggie  Regan,  by  whom  he  had 
two  children :  Sarah  and  Thomas. 

Smoulton,  John,  a  native  of  England,  came  to  America  at  the  age  of  twenty,  in  1830 
or  1830  or  1831,  first  settling  in  Montreal,  Canada,  and  then  in  Hydesville,  later  going 
to  Williamson,  where  he  remained  on  a  farm  until  his  decease,  in  1879.  His  first  wife, 
Louisa,  died  in.  1845.  She  was  a  daughter  of  James  Walton,  of  Palmyra,  and  by  her  he 
had  these  children  :  Charles  H.,  who  resides  on  the  homestead  in  Williamson  ;  James 
E. ;  Louisa  A.;  Mr.  Smoulton  married  second  Mrs.  Ann  Curtis,  nee  Culliver,  of  one  of 
the  original  families  of  Pultneyville.  She  died  in  Williamson  in  1880.  James  E. 
Smoulton  was  born  June  19,  1842,  was  reared  in  Williamson,  and  in  18G2  came  to  Pal- 
myra, where  he  married  in  1867  Henrietta  Burchard,  and  located  on  his  grandfather's 
farm,  which  he  had  been  conducting  since  1863.  In  1880  he  bought  the  place,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smoulton  have  had  these  children  :  Mary  L.,  now 
the  wife  of  Otis  Bird,  of  Manchester;  and  William  J.,  who  reside  at  home.  James 
Walton  was  a  native  of  England,  who  came  to  America  and  bought  a  tract  of  100  acres 
of  Willard  Pullman,  on  which  he  settled. 

Smith,  John  Sled,  was  born  in  Middletown,  Delaware  county,  February  15, 1821,  and 
is  the  son  of  Elkana'h  Smith,  born  in  Fishkill,  in  1789.  His  wife  was  Amanda,  daughter 
of  John  Sled,  of  Connecticut,  and  their  children  were:  Clarinda  (Cole),  Lucretia  (Cole), 
Jane  (St.  John),  Jacob,  Harrison,  Lucinda  (Becker),  John  S.,  Morgan  L.,  Rhoda,  Ada- 
line  and  Samuel.  He  died  in  March,  1880,  aged  ninety-one  years.  Our  subject's  prin- 
cipal vocation  has  been  farming.  In  1841  he  with  his  father  and  brothers  came  to  Huron 
and  purchased  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides,  and  soon  entered  into  partnership 
with  Catchpole  Bros.,  engaging  extensively  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  They  built 
one  lake  vessel  and  a  large  storehouse  at  Sodus  Bay,  dealing  largely  in  produce.  In 
April,  1848,  he  married  Jemima,  daughter  of  James  Catchpole,  of  Huron,  and  they  have 
five  children  :  William  O,  born  1852  ;  Margaret  E.,  1855;  James  E.,  and  Edgar,  1858; 
and  Nora  M.,  1860,  now  the  wife  of  Fred  Kelsey,  of  Galen.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  Republican. 
He  has  placed  the  homestead  in  the  possession  of  his  two  sons,  William  0.  and  Edgar  J., 
who  are  interested  in  berry  culture,  also  in  apples,  and  the  evaporating  business.  William 
3.,  married  Jennie  Post,  of  Rose,  and  they  have  these  children :  Harold  E.,  1882 
Walter  H,  1885;- Ralph  L,  1890;  and  Bertha  O.,  1892. 

Shuler,  George  H,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia  February  15,  1846.  His  father, 
George,  came  from  Alsace,  Germany,  in  1835.  He  married  Magdalena  Erhardt  who 
was  among  the  first  German  settlers  in  Wayne  county,  and  for  one  summer  camped  out 
on  the  court  house  and  jail  ground  and  then  bought  a  farm  in  Arcadia.  George  H.  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  and  is  a  self  educated  and  self  made  man.  Was  reared 
a  farmer  and  remained  on  the  farm  until  twenty-four  years  of  age,  and  then  came  to 
Lyons  and  bought  the  Hiram  Miniah  mill  property,  which  was  burned  in  the  spring  of 
1871,  and  which  he  rebuilt  the  same  year  and  was  again  burned  m  1886,  having  bought 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  '.'ill 

the  Miles  S.  Leaeh  milling  property  in  1875  for  a  custom  mill  He  transferred  his  whole 
business  to  that  site  where  he  is  now  established.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married 
Frances,  daughter  of  Zachariah  Avery,  of  Arcadia,  and  they  have  two  children:  Maude 
L.,  and  Clarence,  who  died  in  August,  1889,  aged  twelve  years  ;  a  boy  of  brilliant  promise 
and  character.  Our  subject  is  a  very  active  business  man,  but  finds  time  to  take  an 
interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  having  been  for  three  years  trustee  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  of  Lyons.  He  is  identified  with  advancing  the  best  interests  of 
his  town,  and  recognized  as  a  man  of  high  character  and  sterling  worth. 

Stephan  Brothers. — This  firm  is  composed  of  Edward  P.  and  Harry  A.  Stephan. 
Their  father,  George,  came  from  Germany  and  settled  in  Lyons  and  was  a  wagonmaker 
by  trade.  The  sons,  Edward  and  Harry,  were  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School. 
Edward  on  leaving  entered  the  employ  of  E.  B.  Price  &  Son  in  the  grocery  business, 
and  was  with  the  firm  ten  years.  After  the  death  of  E.  B.  Price  his  son  continued  the  busi- 
ness, carrying  a  large  line  of  fine  groceries,  wooden  ware,  and  making  a  specialty  of 
choice  teas  and  coffees.  Our  subjects  are  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  active  and 
enterprising  firms  in  the  town. 

Sparks,  Jefferson  (deceased),  was  born  in  Ulster  county,  November,  1818,  was  edu- 
cated in  Montgomery  county,  and  finished  at  Hobart  College,  Geneva.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-six  he  married  Esther  M.,  daughter  of  Ehada  Watkins  of  Fairfax,  Va.,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  three  children:  Eli  J.,  Mary  A.  and  Harriet  E.,  neither  of 
whom  is  living.  Jefferson  Sparks  came  to  Ontario  county  when  he  was  seventeen 
years  of  age,  and  removed  to  Wayne  county  in  1860,  settled  east  of  Alloway  and 
bought  the  Burnett  property,  in  1868  bought  the  Nathan  Gere  property  of  132  acres, 
raising  mint,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  his 
town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters.  He  died  June  5, 
1883,  a  loss  not  only  to  his  family  and  friends,  but  to  the  community  in  which  he  lived, 
leaving  a  wife  and  daughter. 

Schwab,  Philip,  was  born  in  Alsace,  Germany,  May  1,  1821,  came  to  the  United 
States  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Arcadia.  In  1873  he  came  to  Lyons  and  bought  the 
Barrick  estate,  in  1886  bought  the  La  Rue  estate,  having  475  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay, 
grain  and  stock.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  married  Elizabeth  Studor  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  two  of  whom  are  now  living,  Mrs.  Frederick  Stolz  and 
George.  George  Schwab  married  Lena  Brubacher,  daughter  of  Martin  Brubacher  of 
Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children  :  Charles  E.  and  Lizzie  M.  Our  sub- 
ject with  his  son  are  among  the  largest  and  leading  farmers  in  Wayne  county. 

Shannon,  Lester  H.,  an  old  and  respected  resident  of  Huron,  was  born  on  the  farm 
he  now  owns  in  October,  1850,  son  of  Archibald  R.,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  settled  in 
Huron  in  1808.  Archibald  R.  married  Jane  Hyde,  and  their  children  were  Albert  and 
Lester.  Our  subject  has  always  followed  farming,  and  served  as  poormaster  and  con- 
stable two  years  and  as  excise  commissioner.  In  1874  he  married  Frances  Helen, 
daughter  of  William  and  Jane  (Twombley)  Burns  of  the  town  of  Rose,  born  in  1850. 
Their  children  are  :  Marvin  L.,  born  October  28, 1875  ;  Frank  M.,  born  February,  1877  ; 
Albert  (deceased),  and  Nettie  B.,  born  February  19,  1887. 

Sutphen,  John  M.,  was  born  in  Cayuga  county,  February  8,  1842.  He  was  educated 
as  a  lawyer,  reading  law  under  Judge  Hastings  of  Rochester  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  taught  school  for  about  twenty  years  and  then  practiced  his  profession  for  a 
short  time.  He  afterward  abandoned  the  practice  of  law  and  devoted  himself  to  farm- 
ing, which  occupation  he  has  since  followed.  In  1863  Mr.  Sutphen  married  Mary  E. 
Boothe  of  Manchester  and  settled  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now  lives.  This  farm  con- 
sists of  eighty-five  acres  of  land.  He  has  four  children  :  Minnie  C,  Eleanor  E.,  C. 
Ames  and  Clarissa  H.     The  two  older  daughters  are  teachers,  the  son  is  at  home  with 


202  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

his  parents,  and  the  youngest  daughter  is  attending  the  Palmyra  Union  School.     Mr. 
Sutphen  was  justice  for  eight  years  and  is  a  Republican. 

Robinson,  C  K.,  manager  of  the  Lyons  Road  Cart  Co.,  was  born  in  Lyons  January  7, 
1853.  His  father,  John,  came  from  England  in  1840  and  settled  in  Lyons  in  1846,  was 
a  blacksmith  and  wagon  manufacturer  and  achieved  a  prominent  position  in  his  town 
and  trade  of  the  county.  C.  K.  Robinson  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  school, 
and  after  leaving  engaged  in  the  business  with  his  father,  and  enlarged  and  extended 
the  business,  to-day  having  an  output  of  800  buggies  per  year.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  having  been  trustee  of  the  village,  and  takes  an  intelligent  interest  in  educa- 
tional and  religious  matters,  and  is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his 
town,  where  he  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  business  ability,  of  strict  integrity  and  ster- 
ling worth. 

Snyder,  J.  F.,  born  in  Saratoga  county  January  23,  1821,  and  came  to  Wayne  county 
in  1855.  His  earlier  years  were  spent  as  a  carpenter  and  builder,  and  since  1883  he 
has  been  engaged  in  farming.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he 
was  a  member  of  Company  C,  96th  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.  July  28,  1844,  he  married  Melinda 
Drigman,  of  Gloversville,  N.  Y.,  and  they  have  five  children:  Hiram,  Sarah  M.,  Eliza- 
beth, Frances,  and  George  Henry,  who  died  in  1856  in  infancy. 

Strait,  John  GL  son  of  J.  G.  Strait,  of  Savannah,  was  born  at  that  place  in  1842. 
He  enlisted  August  21,  1861,  in  Company  8,  137th  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  and  with  the  great 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  participated  in  the  battles  of  Antietam,  Winchester,  Chancel- 
lorsville,  and  Gettysburg,  and  was  honorably  discharged  in  1864.  After  the  war  he 
engaged  for  many  years  in  carpentry  and  building  in  Wolcott  and  established  his  pres- 
ent business  in  1882,  that  of  manufacturer  and  wholesale  dealer  in  lumber,  and  in  1884 
erected  his  large  and  modern  planing  mill  and  factory.  In  1867  Mr.  Strait  married 
Sarah  E.  Rumsey,  of  Wolcott.  She  died  in  1882,  leaving  four  children,  Walter,  Mabel, 
Lena,  and  Leon.  He  again  married  in  1884  Hattie,  daughter  of  H.  P.  Lewis,  of  Huron, 
and  has  two  sons,  Robert  and  Archer. 

Schuyler,  Henry,  was  born  at  Orleans  August  23,  1844.  His  business  training  was 
completed  at  the  Albany  Commercial  College,  after  which  he  engaged  in  farming  for  a 
period  of  ten  years,  and  in  1885  began  keeping  books  for  a  mercantile  house  at  Lyons, 
where  he  remained  for  five  years.  In  1890  he  came  to  Red  Creek,  where  he  operates  a 
surburban  farm  of  eighty  acres.  Mr.  Schuyler  is  a  Republican  and  holds  the  position 
of  overseer  of  the  poor.  In  1880  he  married  Elizabeth  Reese,  of  Pavilion,  N.  Y.,  who 
died  five  years  later.  His  present  wife  was  Ida  Dominick,  of  Fulton,  N.  Y.  During 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  enlisted  in  the  132d  Illinois  as  chief  of  the  headquarters 
guard,  and  holds  a  certificate  of  thanks  for  honorable  service,  from  Abraham  Lincoln,  a 
document  which  he  naturally  prizes  highly. 

Seymour,  L.  D,,  son  of  Orrin  D.  Seymour,  of  Huron,  was  born  July  25,  1850.  He 
left  home  at  ten  years  of  age,  being  compelled  by  circumstances  to  make  his  own  way 
in  the  world,  and  was  for  a  time  a  sailor  on  the  lakes.  When  sixteen  years  old  he  de- 
cided to  adopt  he  profession  of  veterinary  surgery,  and  to  that  end  became  a  student 
under  John  Graves  of  Pultneyville,  studied  one  year  with  Professor  McKenzie  in  Buf- 
falo, and  one  year  at  the  Veterinary  College  at  Adrian,  Mich.  In  1874  he  came  to 
Wolcott,  where  he  has  practiced  his  profession  twenty  years.  April  4,  1872,  he  married 
Harriet,  daughter  of  Jacob  Reynolds,  of  Huron.  Their  children  were:  Susie  M.,  born 
May  4,  1873,  who  died  soon  after  her  graduation  from  Leavenworth  Institute,  at  the 
age  of  nineteen;  Eugene,  born  November  28,  1876,  and  Draper,  born  October  28,  1893. 

Risley,  Charles  M.,  was  born  in  Russell,  St.  Lawrence  county,  November  28,  1848, 
the  second  of  nine  children  of  Marvin  A.  and  Mariette  (Bishop)  Risley,  natives  of 
Massachusetts,  who  early  came  to  Russell.     Later  they  came  to  this  town,  and  after- 


Family  sketches.  &63 

wards  removed  to  Webster,  but  again  came  to  Ontario,  where  they  died,  he  in  1892, 
(May  27),  and  his  wife  March  22,  1889.  Mr.  Risley  served  as  constable  two  years, 
and  was  a  Republican.  Charles  M.  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  is  a  mason 
by  trade.  He  follows  farming,  owning  forty-five  acres  of  land,  and  raising  stock,  also 
devoting  some  attention  to  fruit  raising.  He  is  a  Republican  and  a  Granger,  also  a 
member  of  Fish  Post,  No.  406  G-.  A.  R.  In  1864  Mr.  Risley  enlisted  in  Company  B, 
9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery,  serving  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  at  Cold  Harbor, 
Monocacy,  Winchester,  Sayler  Run,  Cedar  Creek,  Petersburg.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  went  to  Webster,  and  in  1868  came  to  Ontario,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided.  In 
1876  he  married  Marion,  daughter  of  Hubbard  Risley,  of  Russell,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Manley  H.,  who  resides  at  home. 

Sheldon,  Roger,  and  Elizabeth  Marsh,  his  wife,  came  from  Hartford,  Conn.,  to  Huron 
in  1809,  and  took  up  a  farm  about  two  miles  east  of  Sodus  Bay.  Their  family  con- 
sisted of  these  children  :  Norman,  Wareham,  George,  Grove,  Ralsoman,  Ralph,  Amanda, 
Maria,  Flora,  and  Harriet.  Norman  lived  and  died  in  Huron,  aged  ninety-eight ; 
Wareham  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Huron,  but  died  at  Geneva,  aged  ninety-five; 
George  resided  near  the  homestead  ;  Grove  died  aged  sixteen  ;  Ralsoman  lived  in  Genoa, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  nearly  100;  Ralph  died  in  Wolcott  October  4,  1871,  aged  seventy- 
six.  His  widow,Minerva  Flint,  also  died  there,  aged  seventy-six  ;  Maria  married  a  Mr.  West 
and  died  at  advanced  age  at  Yictor;  Amanda  married  a  Mr.  Humphrey,  of  Albany,  and 
died  aged  ninety-six;  Flora  married  Wm.  Mudge,  and  died  in  Huron  ;  Harriet  married 
John  Wood,  and  died  in  Clyde.  On  the  way  from  Hartford  to  Huron  Roger  Sheldon 
and  family  stopped  over  night  with  Judge  Johnson  in  Dutchess  county,  and  Mrs.  John- 
son gave  the  children  some  pears,  the  seeds  of  which  they  saved  and  planted  in  their 
new  home.  From  this  source  came  the  Sheldon  pear,  a  famous  variety,  the  original 
tree  yet  standing  on  the  old  homestead.  The  children  of  Ralph  and  Minerva  Sheldon 
were  as  follows:  Hiram,  who  married  Hannah  Demmon,  and  resides  in  Huron; 
Sophronia,  who  married  Rev.  George  Paddock,  and  resides  in  Rochester;  Henry,  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  Kansas,  where  he  now  lives  in  Burlingame ;  Andrew  F.,  who 
married  Lucetta  Salsbury.  He  graduated  from  the  University  of  New  York,  having 
previously  read  medicine  with  Dr.  E.  W.  Bethune,  formerly  of  Huron,  and  practiced 
at  Williamson  before  the  war.  He  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  of  the  7th  N.  Y. 
Cavalry,  known  as  the  Black  Horse  in  1861,  remaining  until  April,  1862,  when  he  was 
appointed  assistant  surgeon  in  the  78th  N.  Y.  Inf.,  and  detailed  for  duty  on  General 
Wadsworth's  staff  in  the  medical  director's  office  at  Washington.  Here  he  remained  as 
executive  officer  until  Augi.st,  1863,  when  he  was  commissioned  surgeon  of  U.  S.  Vols, 
by  Lincoln  and  assumed  charge  of  Campbell  U.  S.  general  hospital  at  Washington, 
serving  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  has  been  in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession 
since  the  war,  except  for  "nine  years  while  he  served  as  county  treasurer.  His  eldest 
son,  Ralph,  is  a  graduate  of  medicine  ;  and  Albert,  the  younger  son,  is  one  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Silver  Metal  Manufacturing  Company  at  Oswego.  The  daughter,  Nora, 
married  Fremont  Powers,  and  resides  at  Junius.  Edwin  Pomeroy  Sheldon,  youngest 
son  of  Ralph,  graduated  in  medicine  from  the  University  of  New  York,  and  located  in 
Burlingame,  Kan.,  marrying  Matilda,  daughter  of  Judge  Schuyler,  of  Ithaca.  He  was 
appointed  surgeon  of  the  5th  Kansas  Cavalry,  and  after  a  few  months  of  service  died 
at  Fort  Scott,  Mo.  His  wife  still  survives  him  at  Ithaca,  Jerome  P.  married  Lydia 
Saxton  and  resides  in  Dodge  City,  Kan. 

Randal],  Peleg,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Corinth,  Saratoga  county,  November  24, 
1806.  His  father,  Hathaway,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1816  and  settled  in  the  town 
of  Lyons.  Peleg  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  only  being  able  to  attend 
through  the  winters.  In  1835  he  bought  the  John  Seabring  property  of  sixty  acres,  to 
which  he  has  added,  having  135  acres  of  some  of  the  best  farm  land  in  the  town,  rais- 
ing mint,  hay,  grain,  and  stock.     In  1879  he  married  Mrs.  Rebecca  Wright,  daughter 


S04  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

of  William  Throop,  of  England.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  of  his 
town,  having  been  assessor,  highway  commissioner,  trustee  of  school,  and  is  identified 
in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  the  town. 

Robinson,  John  W.,  was  born  in  the  town  Huron  of  September  27,  1843  His  father, 
Thomas,  was  a  native  of  the  northern  part  of  Ireland,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1830,  first  settled  in  Phelps  and  moved  to  Huron  in  1834,  where  the  family  home- 
stead is  now  located.  John  W.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  the  Academy  at 
Red  Creek,  Falley  Seminary,  Wolcott,  and  in  March,  1867,  graduated  from  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  New  York.  In  1869  he  located  at  Alloway  and  estab- 
lished a  general  practice,  which  he  still  continues.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  mar- 
ried Mary  E.,  daughter  of  John  B.  Gorwey  of  Rensselaer  county,  and  in  1890  was  ap- 
pointed physician  to  the  Wayne  county  Almshouse  and  Insane  Asylum.  Our  subject  is 
one  of  the  leading  men  in  his  profession,  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of 
the  town. 

Rice,  Amman,  second  child  of  Isaac  and  Maria  Rice,  was  born  in  Wolcott  in  1847. 
His  father,  Isaac  Rice,  was  born  in  Scipio,  Cayuga  county,  in  1811  and  came  to  Wol- 
cott in  1839,  cleared  up  the  farm  now  owned  by  our  subject,  erecting  thereon  a  log 
house.  He  died  June  12,  1893,  and  his  widow,  Maria,  who  was  born  February  8,  1818, 
survived  him  with  her  three  children,  Augustus,  Amman,  and  Adelbert.  In  1865  Am- 
man married  Helen  Morey,  who  died  May  28,  1880,  leaving  four  children,  Gilbert  and 
Charles,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  Anna  M.,  born  June  29,  1869,  and  Emma  A., 
born  August  31,  1874,  who  is  a  teacher.  Mr.  Rice's  present  wife  was  Melissa  Quick, 
of  Junius,  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  and  she  has  one  son,  Claude,  now  fifteen  years 
of  age. 

Reeve,  Abraham,  was  born  in  England  April  3,  1830.  His  father,  Abraham  Reeve, 
was  born  and  died  in  England.  Abraham  Reeve,  jr.,  came  to  this  country  when  twenty 
years  of  age.  He  went  to  Pennsylvania  where,  after  working  on  a  farm  for  some  time, 
he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade.  He  worked  at  his  trade  twenty  years  then  engaged 
in  farming.  He  moved  to  Binghamton  in  1872  and  took  up  farming  there.  In  1855 
he  married  Adaline  Tompkins  and  they  have  five  children.  In  politics  Mr.  Reeve  is  a 
Republican. 

Richards,  D.,  M.D.,  born  in  Skaneateles,  Onondaga  county,  September  16,  1835,  is 
the  seventh  of  thirteen  children  of  Joseph  and  Selinda  (Benjamin)  Richards,  natives  of 
Otsego  county,  born  in  1801  and  1805  respectively.  The  grandfather  of  subject  was 
John  Richards,  a  native  of  Otsego  county,  where  he  died.  He  was  in  the  War  of 
1812,  and  his  father  was  in  the  Revolutionary  and  French  and  Indian  Wars.  The  family 
is  of  English  descent  and  date  their  ancestry  back  to  three  brothers  who  came  over  in 
the  Mayflower.  Joseph  Richards  was  a  hatter  and  spent  his  life  in  Onondaga  county. 
He  died  in  1885  and  his  wife  in  1844.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  Union  school  of 
Marcellus,  followed  teaching  six  years  and  then  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Dimock  of 
Phelps,  N.  Y.,  graduating  from  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  in  1865. 
The  same  year  he  came  to  Marion  where  he  has  since  had  a  very  successful  practice. 
He  is  a  member  of  Palmyra  Lodge  No.  294  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  No. 
296  of  Marion.  Dr.  Richards  married  in  1858  Maria  H.  Bellows  a  native  of  Cortland 
county,  and  daughter  of  Zebulon  Bellows,  a  manufacturer  of  furniture  and  pipe  or- 
gans. He  died  in  Cortland  county  in  1865.  Dr.  Richards  and  wife  had  one  daughter 
at  home,  who  graduated  from  the  Syracuse  Univeasity  in  class  of  1894.  Dr.  Richards 
is  a  member  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  New  York  State. 

Russell,  Darius  F.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  January  24,  1839,  and  is  the  third  son  of  Na- 
thaniel and  Rachel  W.  Russell,  he  a  native  of  Williamson,  born  1804,  and  she  born  in  Ver- 
mont in  1803.     Nathaniel  was  a  son  of  Daniel  Russell,  elsewhere  mentioned  in  this  work, 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  205 

a  farmer  who  had  only  four  months  education  in  the  common  schools.  He  owned  the 
130  acres  now  owned  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm 
and  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  the  Monroe  Collegiate  Institute,  and  began 
teaching  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  taught  seven  years.  Mr.  Russell  was  the  first  man 
that  enlisted  at  the  first  war  meeting  in  the  town  of  Williamson,  although  others  had 
gone  from  the  town  and  enlisted  elsewhere  previously.  He  enlisted  September  11,  1861 
in  Co.  I,  17th  N.  Y.,  and  served  three  years  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was  in  the 
Seven  Days  before  Richmond,  2d  battle  of  Bull  Run.  He  is  a  Prohibitionist  in  politics 
and  has  been  chairman  of  the  Wayne  County  Prohibitionist  Committee  for  seven  years. 
He  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  two  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grange  and  was 
master  one  year.  He  organized  the  town  Sunday  School  Association  and  was  president 
for  seven  years.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  have  taught  the 
Young  People's  class  for  eighteen  years.  Mr.  Russell  has  been  twice  married  :  March 
19,  1865,  to  Maria  Van  Ostrand,  a  native  of  Monroe,  and  they  had  two  children,  Fred 
D.,  aud  Katie  L.,  both  residing  in  Buffalo.  Fred  is  a  real  estate  dealer.  The  second 
time  Mr.  Russell  married  Dora  V.  Tuttle,  a  native  of  Steuben  county,  N.  Y.,  and  they 
have  three  children :     Charles  P.,  Rachel  E.,  and  Mildred. 

Rodgers,  Mason  L.,  was  born  in  Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  November  17,  1825,  the  son  of  John 
and  Mary  Mason  Rodgers,  he  born  in  Rhode  Island  May  21,  1786  and  she  in  Somerset 
Mass.,  May  18,  1787.  Mr.  Rodgers  came  to  Palmyra  when  five  years  of  age  with  his 
father  William,  who  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  that  town.  He  died  at  the  a»e  of 
eighty-two  years  in  1836.  John  Rodgers  was  a  farmer  and  lived  in  Palmyra  until  1836 
when  he  moved  to  Marion  and  there  died  October  11,  1864,  and  his  wife  July  25,  1873. 
Mason  L.  resided  in  Marion  until  1881,  when  he  came  to  Williamson,  and  there  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  built  the  store  now  owned  by  Lewis  P.  Rodgers  in  1877. 
In  1848  he  married  Lydia  Putnam,  of  Macedon,  born  June  14,  1826,  and  a  daughter  of 
Stephen  and  Dorcas  Smith  Putnam.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rodgers  have  five  children:  Mary 
A.,  wife  of  Dr.  Clark,  of  Williamson  ;  Lewis  R,,  a  fruit  grower  of  Albion,  N.  Y. ;  Ida 
M.,  wife  of  Charles  F.  Adams,  of  Williamson,  who  died  in  1892;  Willis  P.,  who  married 
Matie  H.  Tuttle  and  resides  on  the  old  homestead  in  Marion ;  and  Carrie  P.,  at  home. 

Roe,  Mrs.  Sophia  H.,  widow  of  the  late  John  S.  Roe,  of  Butler  Center.  Mr.  Roe  was 
born  in  Northern  Wolcott  in  1819,  son  of  John  Roe,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  section. 
Liberally  educated  at  Lima,  N.  Y.,  he  became  a  man  of  influence  in  Butler,  and  held 
many  positions  of  responsibility,  among  them  for  ten  years  county  superintendent  of  the 
poor.  His  wife  was  Sophia  Henderson,  daughter  of  Worcester  Henderson,  of  Butler 
Center.  They  were  married  December  25,  1844,  made  their  home  upon  the  farm,  and 
reared  two  daughters,  Jennie  W.  and  Helen  W.  Universally  respected  and  widely 
mourned,  John  S.  Roe  died  October  8,  1893. 

Reed,  Enos  H.,  oldest  son  of  Daniel  and  Mary  C.  Reed,  of  Huron,  was  born  there  in 
1842.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  twenty  years  of  age  engaged  in 
farming,  which  he  followed  twelve  years  with  marked  success.  In  1874  he  came  to 
Wolcott  and  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Zenas  Booth,  establishing  a  warehouse  busi- 
ness, which  in  1879  became  the  firm  of  Reed  &  Cornwell.  In  1884  Air.  Reed  purchased 
the  Empire  Roller  Mill,  which  he  operated  for  five  years,  being  now  interested  in  agri- 
cultural machinery.  In  1862  he  married  Emma,  daughter  of  Loomis  and  Arvilla  Webb, 
of  Huron,  and  they  have  seven  children. 

Roe,  G-eorge  G.,  was  born  in  Rose  July  25,  1847,  a  son  of  John  B.  Roe,  a  prominent 
farmer  and  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Clyde.  The  latter  died  in  1885,  aged 
sixty-six  years.  George  B.  laid  the  foundation  of  his  education  in  the  common  schools , 
the  Falley  Seminary  at  Fulton,  and  is  pre-eminently  a  self-made  man.  After  traveling 
on  the  road  for  seven  years  Mr.  Roe  came  to  Clyde  in  1874,  where  he  established  his 
present  business,  that  of  harness  manufacturer  and  dealer  in  wagons,  buggies,  bicycles, 


206  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

etc.,  carrying  the  largest  and  best  stock  in  Wayne  county.  In  1885-86  our  subject  was 
elected  supervisor,  has  been  notary  public  for  ten  years,  and  in  May,  1890,  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Harrison  to  the  office  of  postmaster  of  the  town  of  Clyde,  taking 
possession  in  the  spring  of  1891.  At  the  age  of  thirty-seven  he  married  Frances  J. 
Wood,  daughter  of  Hudson  R.  Wood,  of  Rose,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Edith  J. 
Mr.  Roe  is  one  of  the  conservative  men  of  his  town,  thoroughly  alive  to  all  things  that 
will  advance  its  best  interests,  and  taking  a  prominent  part  in  its  political  and  educa- 
tional affairs. 

Reed,  John  Sherburne,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Rochester,  April  19,  1864.  His  father, 
Isaac  F.,  was  a  native  of  England.  Dr.  Reed  was  educated  at  the  Academy  in  Roches- 
ter, graduating  in  1883,  read  law  for  a  year  and  then  went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and 
took  the  medical  course  at  the  College  of  Physicians  &  Surgeons,  graduating  in  March, 
1888,  and  was  made  house  surgeon  at  Buffalo  Hospital,  and  then  went  to  London, 
England,  and  took  a  post-graduate  course  at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital.  He  returned 
to  the  United  States  in  1891  and  located  at  Lyons,  and  established  a  general  practice, 
succeeding  Dr.  J.  C.  McPherson  in  business.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  married 
Ida  L.,  daughter  of  John  Wesley  Slaughter,  of  Benton,  Yates  county.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  and  was  appointed  health  officer  of  his  town  in  1893.  Our  subject  is 
one  of  the  best  read  members  of  his  profession,  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests 
of  his  town  and  recognized  as  a  man  of  steiling  character  and  worth,  being  a  member  of 
the  N.  Y.  State  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society,  of  which  he  has  been  secretary  and 
treasurer  two  years. 

Reeves,  Stephen,  born  in  East  Palmyra  August  21,  1825,  is  the  oldest  of  twelve  chil- 
dren of  Howell  and  Phoebe  J.  (Howell)  Reeves,  he  a  native  of  East  Palmyra,  born  in 
June,  1797,  and  she  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born  July  19,  1803.  The  grandfather  of 
subject  was  Elias  Reeves,  a  native  of  South  Hampton,  born  in  1762.  He  came  to  Pal- 
myra in  1792,  where  he  died.  He  and  another  young  man  named  Foster  were  sent  to 
represent  a  colony  from  Long  Island.  His  wife  was  Eunice  (Howell)  Reeves.  Howell 
Reeves  was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  came  to  Marion  in  1837,  and  settled 
on  a  farm  now  owned  by  subject,  where  he  died  October  7,  1865.  and  his  wife  Sep- 
tember 13,  1876.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  Marion  Academy,  has 
always  followed  farming  and  owns  eighty  acres  of  land.  He  enlisted  in  1862  in  Com- 
pany" B,  9th  N.  Y.  Artillery,  and  served  three  years.  He  was  at  Cold  Harbor,  Win- 
chester, Cedar  Creek,  and  Monocacy.  He  has  been  assessor  twenty- five  years.  He 
married  September  18,  1868,  Dolly  Williams,  widow  of  Alvan  Andrew,  who  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Winchester.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Albert  and  Eliza  Williams,  who 
came  to  Ontario  in  1836  and  then  to  Marion  previous  to  the  war,  where  Mr.  Williams 
died  January  6,  1884,  and  his  wife  April  28,  1891.  Mr.  Reeves  and  wife  have  had  two 
sons:  Albert  H.,  a  clerk  in  Rochester,  and  George  S.,  at  home.  Mr.  Reeves  had  three 
brothers  in  tlie  late  war. 

Richmond,  Thomas  J.,  was  born  in  Onondaga  county  February  3,  1824.  His  father, 
Jacob  Richmond,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  moving  to  Manlius,  Onondaga  county, 
where  he  married  Esther  ClarrC,  daughter  of  Christopher  Clark.  He  was  a  tailor  by 
trade,  and  for  several  years  he  followed  this  occupation,  when  he  sold  out  his  business 
and  invested  his  money  in  a  farm,  and  was  engaged  in  farming  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1842.  Ten  children  were  born  to  him,  Thomas  J.  Richmond, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  being  the  third  child.  Mr.  Thomas  Richmond  was  connected 
with  the  building  of  several  different  railroads,  viz. :  The  Ogdensburg  R.  R.,  portions 
of  the  Malone,  N.  Y.  Central  from  Palmyra  east;  and  eight  miles  west  of  Batavia. 
He  has  built  several  miles  of  canal  and  about  forty  miles  of  railroad  in  Canada,  and  in 
company  with  Nathaniel  Green  built  the  aqueduct  in  Macedon.  He  is  the  owner  of 
one  hundred  and  ninety  acres  of  fine  land.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  207 

Roe,  William,  born  December  14,  1834,  is  the  second  son  of  Willis  and  Flora  S.  Roe, 
of  Wayne  county.  Daniel  Roe,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  William  Roe,  came  to 
Butler  from  Connecticut  in  1812,  and  was  a  man  of  much  prominence.  He  died  in 
1852,  at  the  age  of  ninety,  leaving  five  sons  and  five  daughters.  William  Roe  was 
graduated  from  Wesleyan  University  in  1855,  and  after  the  study  of  law  with  Judge 
Collin,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1862.  He  was  for  six  years  the  partner  of  his 
former  preceptor,  Judge  Collin,  beginning  an  independent  practice  in  18G8.  Mr.  Roe 
has  a  large  legal  business,  and  has  been  a  member  two  years  of  the  Democratic  State 
Central  Committee.  He  married,  June  30,  1857,  Sarah  Dill,  of  Wolcott,  and  they 
have  two  sons  and  four  daughters. 

Rogers,  Hiram  C.  (deceased),  second  son  of  Col.  Bartlett  C.  Rogers,  was  born  July 
21,  1835,  educated  at  Lyons  and  Fort  Plain,  after  which  he  accompanied  his  father, 
who  went  out  as  captain  of  the  160th  NY.  Vols.,  to  the  war,  acting  as  sutler  to  that 
regiment,  returning  in  1865.  He  served  as  deputy  sheriff.  At  the  age  of  thirty- one 
he  married  Julia  C,  daughter  of  H.  Gr.  Dickerson,  of  Lyons,  and  who  are  the  parents 
of  two  sons,  Heman  D.,  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  and  Percy  L.  Hiram  C.  died  October  28, 
1888,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three,  leaving  a  wife  and  two  sons  to  take  up  his  many  plans 
and  carry  them  to  completion.  He  was  generous  and  benevolent  in  disposition,  taking 
an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  institutions,  being  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.     He  was  ready  to  answer  when  called. 

Patridge,  Daniel,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county,  August  10, 
1844.  He  has  always  followed  farming,  working  his  father's  farm  until  he  came  on  his 
present  place.  He  married  Ann  Kipp,  of  Macedon,  and  they  have  two  children,  Carrie 
and  Anna.  Mr.  Patridge  owns  100  acres  of  land  and  keeps  a  small  dairy.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Grange  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican. 

Phillips,  John  M.,  was  born  in  Wolcott  September  25,  1860.  His  parents,  William 
W.  and  Hannah,  were  for  many  years  domiciled  where  our  subject  now  resides.  John 
Phillips  is  a  young  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  highly  esteemed  wherever 
he  is  known.  He  acquired  a  thorough  education  at  Red  Creek,  and  in  early  manhood 
engaged  in  his  chosen  vocation,  conducting  the  homestead  farm  of  100  acres.  He  has 
found  time  to  fill  various  positions  of  trust  in  his  town,  but  is  largely  devoted  to  his 
family  and  his  home.  His  wife  was  Victoria,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Elizabeth  Green, 
and  they  have  two  sons  :  William  Meric,  born  February  8,  1884,  and  John  M.,  jr.,  born 
January  9,  1893.  They  lost  a  daughter,  Beth,  November  7,  1891,  at  the  age  of  four 
years. 

Payne,  William,  was  born  in  Heathfield,  Sussex  connty,  England,  December  9,  1845, 
the  oldest  of  two  children  born  to  Peter  and  Ann  E.  Payne,  natives  of  England,  where 
the  wife  died  September  25,  1850,  and  the  family  came  to  Ontario  in  March,  1854,  and 
moved  on  the  town  line  between  Ontario  and  Williamson,  in  about  fifteen  years  moved 
on  south  town  line  between  Walworth  and  Ontario,  and  then  to  Walworth  on  a  farm 
owned  by  Tappan  Merrill,  and  finally  to  Walworth  village,  where  he  now  resides.  He 
married,  a  second  time,  Mary  A.  Payne,  by  whom  he  had  three  children.  Mr.  Payne 
has  been  a  farmer,  but  now  lives  a  retired  life  in  Walworth.  Our  subject  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  England  and  this  country.  He  came  to  America  at  the  age  of 
nine  years  and  at  sixteen  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  followed  it  about  twenty  years, 
and  in  1883  purchased  the  farm  of  thirty  acres  he  now  owns,  and  follows  general 
farming,  fruit  raising,  and  fruit  evaporating.  Mr.  Payne  married,  in  1871,  Electa  E. 
Lane,  a  native  of  Ontario,  and  daughter  of  John  and  Hannah  Lane,  early  settlers  of 
Ontario,  but  now  resides  in  Macedon.  Subject  and  wife  have  had  two  children,  Ethel 
F.,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Susie  A.  He  was  formerly  a  Democrat  and  held  the  office 
of  highway  commissioner  four  years,  but  is  now  identified  with  the  Republican  party. 
He  is  a  member  of  Wayne  County  Lodge  No.  416,  F.  &  A.  M.      He  was  made  a  Mason 


jus  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

in  1867,  and  has  held  the  office  of  master  of  lodge  six  terms,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
South  Shore  Grange  of  Ontario.     He  and  family  are  Universalists. 

Parker,  Lorenzo,  a  native  of  Delhi,  N.  Y.,  was  born  in  1810,  and  at  the  age  of  seven 
years  came  to  Palmyra,  three  miles  north  of  the  village,  where  his  brother  Seih  pur- 
chased 400  acres  of  land,  and  there  lived  and  died.  Lorenzo  was  one  of  six  children, 
and  the  only  one  whose  descendants  are  still  here.  He  resided  with  his  parents  till 
1862,  when  he  moved  to  Palmyra,  and  lived  retired  until  his  death  in  1887,  and  there 
his  widow  still  lives.  He  married  Charlotte  S.  Wales  of  Troy,  a  native  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  of  their  six  children  two  died  in  infancy,  and  the  others  are  :  Roderick  W., 
a  resident  of  Palmyra,  Charles  A.,  with  the  Metropolitan  Telephone  Company  of  New 
York  city;  John  M.  who  resides  in  Palmyra,  and  Clara  M.,  a  resident  here.  The  orig- 
inal tract  of  land  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  children. 

Pease,  Charles,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  August  2,  1810,  son  of  Abel  and 
Elizabeth  (Potts)  Pease.  By  a  previous  marriage  with  Miss  Whitbeck,  Mr.  Pease  had 
two  children,  both  of  whom  are  deceased.  In  1828  he  removed  to  Arcadia,  in  1829  to 
Manchester,  Ontario  county,  and  in  1834  came  to  Ontario,  Wayne  county,  where  he 
spent  his  last  days.  Charles  Pease  is  a  natural  mechanic,  and  has  followed  manufactur- 
ing of  various  articles  in  connection  with  his  farm  business.  To  the  original  homestead 
he  has  added  till  he  now  owns  a  splendid  farm  of  207  acres,  and  has  a  feed  mill,  cider 
mill,  etc.  He  is  the  first  man  of  Ontario  run  a  steam  engine,  and  put  in  the  first  drain 
tile  in  the  town.  January  8,  1832,  he  married  Laura  Beach,  born  in  Hamilton,  Madison 
county,  September  23,  1811,  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Lucy  (Smith)  Beach,  natives 
of  Massachusetts.  They  had  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  Mrs.  Pease  being  the  only 
one  now  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pease  have  had  two  sons  and  seven  daughters  :  Annetta, 
who  died  aged  twelve  years;  Lucy,  wife  of  Edward  H.  Pound,  deceased;  Charles 
Wesley,  general  mechanic,  now  resides  in  Rochester.  His  wife  is  Alma  Giberson,  a 
native  of  Ohio.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  war,  and  in  1863  was  made  second  lieuten- 
ant and  promoted  first  lientenant  of  the  10th  Colored  Regiment;  Emily,  wife  of  W. 
Speller  of  Ontario  ;  Louisa,  died  April  11,  1844;  Celinda,  wife  of  Isaac  Hurley  of  On- 
tario ;  Alzora,  wife  of  Charles  Gernee  of  Ontario ;  Frank,  who  is  general  manufacturer 
and  inventor  in  Rochester.  His  wife  is  Ella  Meyer  of  Rochester  ;  and  Fannie,  wife  of 
Conrad  Schnetzer,  of  Ontario.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pease  celebrated  their  golden  wedding 
ten  years  ago.  He  is  a  liberal  supporter  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  of  which  his  wife  is  a 
member. 

Powers,  William  A.,  the  genial  and  popular  owner  and  proprietor  of  the  JPowers 
Hotel,  corner  of  Main  and  Fayette  streets,  is  a  native  of  Ontario  county,  born  in  Farm- 
ington  in  1852.  The  hotel  was  built  as  the  Palmyra  Hotel,  on  the  site  of  the  old  Eagle 
Hotel,  by  a  stock  company  in  1836,  at  a  cost  of  about  $12,000,  and  was  at  the  time  the 
finest  hotel  structure  in  western  New  York.  April  5,  1838,  it  was  sold  at  auction  to 
William  P.  Nottingham,  who  became  its  first  landlord,  and  continued  its  management 
for  over  twenty-five  years.  The  house  was  owned  and  conducted  by  other  parties  for 
a  short  time  following  Mr.  Nottingham's  retirement,  and  in  1867  Robert  Hale  came  into 
possession  and  was  for  several  years  proprietor  and  owner.  Under  his  management  the 
house  was  changed  and  improved.  In  1872  Joseph  E.  Cochran  bought  the  furniture  and 
fixtures,  and  leased  the  building  for  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  C.  B. 
Stewart  become  owner  and  proprietor  for  two  years,  then  leased  it  for  five  years  to 
L.  D.  Cummings.  Pliny  T.  Sexton  then  bought  the  property,  and  in  turn  sold  it  in 
1886  to  Mr.  Powers,  who  gave  it  its  present  name.  This  hotel  is  under  the  efficient 
management  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Powers  as  host  and  hostess,  and  is  deservedly  one  of 
the  most  popular  in  the  State.  It  is  a  three-story  fifty-room  building,  with  a  wide 
porch  and  a  row  of  Ionic  columns  in  front,  making  it  strikingly  attractive  in  appear- 
ance. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  209 

Patterson,  Roger  J.,  was  born  in  Edwards,  St.  Lawrence  county,  March  11,  1834. 
His  father,  John,  came  from  Belfast,  North  Ireland,  in  1832,  and  were  of  English 
descent.  He  first  settled  at  Edwards,  and  in  1835  removed  to  Sheldon,  Wyoming 
county.  He  was  supervisor  and  a  prominent  man  in  that  town.  Roger  J.  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  attended  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary  and  afterward 
graduated  at  0.  K.  Chamberlain's  Business  College,  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  came  to  Wayne 
county  in  1859.  He  enlisted  in  the  U.  S.  Army  August  8,  1864,  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, and  was  detailed  as  hospital  steward  with  the  surgeon-general,  and  was  dis- 
charged in  March  1866.  In  1867  he  established  a  mercantile  business,  which  he  con- 
tinued up  to  1876.  and  then  traveled  on  the  road  for  ten  years.  In  1893  he  was  ap- 
pointed police  justice  in  his  town.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Martha  A., 
daughter  of  John  Veeder,  of  Marille,  Erie  county,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son. 
Harry  W.,  now  of  Denver,  Col.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  men  in  his  town, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  identified  in  advancing 
the  best  interests  of  his  town,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity. 

Phillips,  Clarence  A.,  was  born  in  Auburn,  Cayuga  county,  July  11,  1858,  and  came 
to  Lyons  in  1879.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added 
through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  In  1892  in  connection  with  Edward  B. 
Graff,  he  formed  a  partnership  and  established  his  present  business  of  dry  goods, 
groceries,  crockery  and  glassware,  carrying  the  leading  and  one  of  the  best  selected 
stocks  in  Lyons.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married  Louisa  A.,  daughter  of 
Henry  M.  Baltzel,  of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children :  Joseph  C, 
Mabel  and  Edith.  Our  subject  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  was  nominated  for  presi- 
dent of  the  village  in  1894,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educational  and  religious 
matters,  and  isidentic5ed  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town,  where  he  is  recog- 
nized as  a  man  of  conservative  character  and  strict  integrity,  whose  word  is  as  good  as 
his  bond. 

Parshall,  Rossman  J.,  was  born  in  Palmyra  November  18,  1844.  His  father,  Hendee, 
was  a  native  of  the  county,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  and  was  a  prominent 
farmer.  Rossman  J.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  the  Macedon 
Academy,  after  which  he  enlisted  in -111th  N.  Y.  Volunteers,  and  took  part  in  the 
closing  battles  of  the  war,  receiving  wounds  in  the  back  of  the  neck  and  shoulder.  He 
received  an  honorable  discharge  in  July,  1865,  holding  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant  at 
the  end  of  his  service.  The  111th  Regiment  was  a  part  of  the  Second  Army  Corps  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was  known  as  the  fighting  regiment  of  that  corps. 
After  leaving  the  army  he  returned  to  Palmyra,  and  in  1866  came  to  Lyons  and  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  bookkeeper  in  the  Lyons  National  Bank,  where  he  remained  until 
1870.  In  1872  he  went  to  Sodus  and  took  charge  of  the  Shaker  tract  of  land,  and  in 
1879  was  appointed  collector  of  the  Port  of  Sodus  Point  and  held  the  position  up  to 
1886,  when  he  was  elected  sheriff  and  came  to  Lyons.  At  the  expiration  of  the  term 
of  office  he  established  the  present  firm  of  Parshall  &  Sweeting  in  the  wholesale  and 
retail  lumber  business.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  married  Kate  E.,  daughter  of 
Charles  E.  Thurber  of  Palmyra,  and  they  have  one  son,  Ross  T.  Mrs.  Parshall  died 
April  5,  1892,  regretted  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 

Pritchard,  Edward,  one  of  the  veteran  defenders  of  his  country's  flag,  was  born  in 
Butler  December  13,  1836,  second  son  of  the  late  William  and  Lydia  Pritchard.  In 
1861  he  enlisted  in  Company  H,  75th  N.  Y.  State  Volunteers,  and  was  first  under  fire 
at  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Pickens  in  Florida.  Unable  to  endure  the  climate  and 
privations  of  Santa  Rosa  Island,  he  was  honorably  discharged  in  1863.  Josephine 
Greenfield,  of  Butler,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1870,  has  three  children  :  Elmer,  who 
died  March  20.  1893,  at  twenty-one  years  of  ag»,  leaving  a  widow  and  one  daughter, 
Sarah,  wife  of  Ernest  Knowlton,  of  Butler,  and  Leland  now  eight  years  of  age. 


21(1  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

Quereau,  George  Henry,  was  born  in  Sterling,  Cayuga  county,  June  4,  1846,  son  of 
William  Quereau,  born  in  Westchester  county  in  June,  1819,  who  came  to  Wayne 
county  in  1847,  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Wolcott.  He  was  road  commis- 
sioner, overseer  of  the  poor,  and  filled  various  other  offices.  His  wife  was  Mrs. 
Sabra  Myers  Lewis,  and  their  children  were :  George  H.,  William,  Jennie,  Frank, 
Corie,  and  Dewitt.  When  eighteen  years  of  age  our  subject  went  to  Michigan, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  egg  business  from  1872  to  1882.  Since  that  time 
he  has  been  a  resident  of  Huron.  Since  1890  he  has  been  interested  in  the  evapor- 
ated apple  business  in  Monterey,  Mich.  In  1869  he  married  Henrietta,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Sarah  Bean,  born  in  St.  Lawrence  county,  of  English  extraction,  and  their 
children  are:  Mary  Belle,  Frank  B.,  and  Henry  N.  Our  subject  has  served  as  overseer 
of  the  poor  three  terms,  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  Vernon  Lodge  No.  66,  of 
Michigan.     He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Huron  Grange. 

Patrick,  R.  Z.,  a  retired  contractor  and  builder,  of  Red  Creek,  was  born  July  23,  1814, 
in  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.  For  many  years  largely  identified  with  the  best  business 
interests  of  this  place,  he  is  yet  a  hale  and  hearty  man  at  eighty  years  of  age,  and 
worthy  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held.  His  first  wife  was  Mary  Snyder,  to  whom 
he  was  married  in  1842,  and  who  at  her  death  in  1875  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  left  two 
children:  Lucy,  the  only  daughter,  now  deceased;  and  one  son,  George,  a  resident  of 
Missouri.  In  April,  1878,  Mr.  Patrick  married  Hannah  Moore,  of  Baldwinsville,  N.  Y. 
Always  a  Republican  he  has  held  many  official  positions  with  honor  and  fidelity. 

Osborn,  P.  F.,  was  born  in  Cattaraugus  county,  N.  Y.,  April  10,  1846.  He  is  the 
second  child  of  a  family  of  five  children,  born  to  Roswell  and  Emily  J.  (Arnold)  Osborn, 
natives  of  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  and  early  settlers  of  Cattaraugus  county,  The  father 
died  in  Wisconsin  during  a  short  residence  in  that  State  in  1886,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight  years.  The  mother  still  resides  in  Ontario  Centre.  Mr.  P.  F.  Osborn  was  reared 
in  the  village  of  Sandusky,  N.  Y.,  and  there  educated.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade, 
although  he  had  spent  six  years  in  the  oil  regions.  In  1883  Mr.  Osborn  came  to  Ontario 
Centre  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  where  he  has  been  very  successful.  Mr. 
Osborn  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Webster  Lodge  No.  538, 
K.  Sz  A.  M.,  and  Palmyra  Eagle  Chapter  No.  79,  R.  A.  M.  Mr.  Osborn  was  married 
twice,  first,  in  1869  to  Augusta  Ely,  a  native  of  Rushford,  N.  Y.  By  this  marriage  he 
had  one  child,  Ernest,  who  died  at  the  age  of  five  years.  Mrs.  Osborn  died  in  1872,  and 
in  1879  he  married  B.  Agnes  Sweeney,  a  native  of  Cattaraugus  county.  Byhissecond 
marriage  he  had  one  son,  Homer  S.,  born  in  1885. 

Olmsted,  William  A.,  was  born  in  Canada,  May  7,  1852,  son  of  Lauren  Olmsted,  a 
native  of  Huron,  born  in  1818,  and  a  farmer  by  occupation.  In  1840  he  went  to  Canada, 
and  while  there  married  Sarah  Reddington,  a  native  of  Canada.  Some  years  later  he 
returned  to  the  homestead  in  Huron,  where  he  was  born  and  now  resides.  His  father 
was  Elijah  Olmsted,  a  pioneer  of  Huron.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  our  subject  began 
farming,  in  1874  purchased  his  father-in-law's  homestead,  in  1894  moved  to  North  Huron 
and  engaged  in  a  general  mercantile  business,  where  his  genial  disposition  and  business 
ability  cannot  but  insure  him  success.  In  1875  he  married  Phoebe,  daughter  of  Martin 
McLaughlin,  who  came  to  Huron  in  1830.  She  was  born  in  1854.  They  have  two 
children:  Mary  E.,  born  July  24,  1876,  and  Grare  B.,  born  March  12,  1879.  Mr.  Olmsted 
served  two  terms  as  collector,  and  he  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Huron  Grange 
Lodge. 

Orchard,  R.  P.,  was  born  in  Bath,  Somersetshire,  England,  June  9,  1811,  son  of 
Abram  K.  and  Mary  (Cuthbertson)  Orchard,  he  a  native  of  Bath,  and  she  of  Neath,  near 
Swanzey.  England.  The  father  of  Ahram  K.  was  a  bookbinder  by  trade,  and  also  a 
minister  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church.  He  died  in  1857,  aged  sixty-seven  years, 
and  his  wife  in  ,1813.   Subject  was  reared  in  South  Wales  at  Mantyglo.    He  began  work 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  ill 

in  the  iron  works  and  at  nineteen  years  of  age  took  charge  of  a  coal  yard.  He  remained 
in  that  work  until  1838,  when  he  came  to  Rochester  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  business 
twenty-eight  years,  and  in  1872  came  to  Walworth,  where  he  has  lived  retired.  Mr. 
Orchard  was  married  three  times,  first  to  Elizabeth  Whitehead  in  1844,  by  whom  he  had 
one  child,  Rowel  R.,  who  resides  in  Washington  as  a  livery  manager.  His  second  wife 
was  Charlotte  Baker,  and  his  third  wife,  whom  he  married  December  19,  1884,  was 
Diana  Turner,  widow  of  Silas  Turner,  of  Walworth.  Mr.  Turner  died  in  1881.  Rowel 
R.  married  Hannah  Everdeen,  by  whom  he  had  three  children  :  Charles,  Libbie  and 
Willie.  Mrs.  Orchard,  wife  of  subject,  first  married  Harvey  Howes,  by  whom  she  had 
five  children  now  living:  Roswell  F.,  Harriet  A.,  E.  Clarissa,  Charles  H.,  and  William 
H,  all  living  in  Michigan,  except  Charles  H.,  who  is  a  Baptist  minister  of  Clyde.  Mr. 
Orchard  has  made  his  own  property,  and  was  the  first  man  to  deliver  goods  from  a  store 
in  Rochester. 

O'Dell,  John  S.,  a  native  of  Washington  county,  born  May  31,  1845,  is  the  second  of 
two  sons  and  one  daughter  of  James  and  Hannah  (Williams)  O'Dell,  natives  of  Wash- 
ington county.  They  came  to  Marion  in  1866,  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
our  subject.  James  O'Dell  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  at  which  he  worked  in  Wash- 
ington county,  but  lie  had  a  farm.  The  grandparents  were  James  and  Sallie  O'Dell,  of 
Washington  county.  He  was  a  carpenter  and  millwright  by  trade.  He  went  from 
Washington  county  to  Onondaga  and  thence  to  Alleghany  county,  where  he  died.  The 
paternal  great-grandfather 'was  Solomon  Dutcher  of  Washington  county.  The  father  of 
our  subject  remains  on  the  farm  till  the  death  of  his  wife,  September  27,  1887.  Soon 
after  he  sold  the  farm  to  his  son  John  J.,  and  returned  to  his  native  county,  where  he 
still  resides  aged  seventy-eight  years.  Our  subject  married  in  1878  Emma  E.,  daughter 
of  Edwin  Curtis,  of  Marion,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Hattie,  born  July  6,  1883. 
Mr.  O'Dell's  farm  consists  of  one  hundred  acres,  and  he  follows  general  farming  and 
fruit  growing. 

Newberry,  E.  W.,  was  born  June  3,  1841,  at  Huron.  He  was  educated  at  Falley 
Seminary,  Fulton,  and  his  early  years  were  spent  on  a  farm.  In  1874  he  engaged  in 
general  hardware  business,  beside  undertaking,  at  Wolcott,  and  in  1884  established  the 
firm  of  Newberry  &  Burton,  furniture  dealers  and  funeral  directors.  In  1865  he  mar- 
ried Josie  C,  daughter  of  Rev.  Amasa  Jones,  of  Huron.  She  died  in  1881,  leaving 
three  children  :  Myrta  J.,  Merritt  E.,  and  Albert  J.  Mr.  Newberry  again  married  in 
1883  Cordelia  Furbush,  of  Wolcott,  who  has  two  children,  Mary  A.,  and  Bradnor  F. 
He  is  an  earnest  Republican,  and  beside  many  minor  offices  has  served  as  coroner  twelve 
years. 

Noonan,  M.  D.,  born  in  Province  of  Munster,  Clare  county,  Ireland,  February  2, 
1829,  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Ellen  Noonan.  The  father  died  in  Ireland,  and  his  wife 
came  to  Macedon  and  there  lived  and  died.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  Ireland,  in 
1849  came  to  Cayuga  county,  and  the  same  year  came  to  Sodus,  and  has  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  and  one-half  years  in  Ohio,  as  foreman  for  Thomas  Richmond,  resided  in 
Wayne  county.  He  is  a  farmer  and  owns  eighty-three  acres  of  land.  He  married, 
November  9,  1851,  Catharine  Haloran,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  daughter  of  Thomas 
Haloran,  who  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1849,  and  died  in  Ohio.  Mr.  Noonan  and  wife 
have  had  fourteen  children:  Thomas  M.,  Francis,  John  D.,  Margaret  E.,  Kittle  B., 
Sarah  W.,  Jennie  W.,  Joseph  W.,  Nellie,  Dennie  E.,  Charles  E.,  Mary  L.,  Willie,  and 
one  who  died  in  infancy.     Mr.  Noonan  is  a  member  of  the  Marion  Grange. 

Norman,  William,  of  Macedon,  was  born  here  September  1,  1844.'  His  father  was 
Isaac  Norman,  a  native  of  England,  who  came  here  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  settling 
in  Marion,  N.  Y.,  where  he  followed  farming  for  a  time,  then  took  up  masonry,  working 
at  his  trade  for  forty  years.  He  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  His  wife, 
Elizabeth  Smith,  died  in  1893,  aged  eighty  years.     Of  their  eight  children  our  subject  is 


212  LANDMARKS]>OFi  WAYNE£COUNTY. 

the  fifth.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  married  first,  Elizabeth  Plumrn, 
of  this  town,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  one  now  living.  His  second  marriage  was 
with  Elizabeth  Glover,  of  Macedon,  and  they  have  four  children,  all  living.  Mr. 
Norman's  farm  consists  of  118  acres,  and  he  follows  general  farming. 

Middleton,  Ira,  was  born  in  Ontario,  January  28,  1855,  the  youngest  of  three  children 
of  Joseph  and  Orsena  (Hill)  Middleton,  the  former  a  native  of  Johnstown,  N.  Y.,  born 
November  4,  1812,  and  the  latter  born  in  Macedon,  June  12,  1821.  The  father  of 
Joseph  was  William,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  who  came  to  Ontario  in  1813,  where  he 
died  in  1842,  and  his  wife,  Catharine  McArthur,  in  1871.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Joseph 
Middleton  was  Ira  Hill,  born  in  Macedon  in  1795,  who  married  Fannie  Gilbert,  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, born  in  1798,  and  died  in  1832.  He  married  Elvira,  sister  of  his  first  wife. 
He  died  in  1865.  Joseph  Middleton  spent  his  life  in  Ontario  and  followed  farming, 
owning  300  acres.  He  was  a  Republican  and  served  as  highway  commissioner,  assessor, 
and  supervisor.  He  died  April  10,  1891,  and  his  family  now  reside  on  the  homestead. 
Ira  was  educated  in  the  Marion  Collegiate  Institute,  and  has  always  resided  at  home. 
He  is  engaged  in  farming,  and  also  deals  in  coal  and  merchandise.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  was  appointed  postmaster  in  1887  atFruitland,  which  office  he  held  until 
1893.  December  30,  1891,  he  married  Lena  Mack,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Lucina 
(Easton)  Mack,  of  Ontario. 

Miller,  F.  L.,  was  born  in  Lee  Center,  Oneida  county,  January  26,  1859,  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  education  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life 
by  reading  and  close  observation,  being  a  self  made  and  self  educated  man.  In  1894  he 
came  to  Lyons  and  established  his  present  business,  carrying  a  large  stock  of  dry  goods, 
hardware,  crockery,  fishing  tackle,  making  a  specialty  of  all  house  furnishing  goods. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Clara  Merchant,  daughter  of  Henry  Merchant, 
of  Central  Square,  and  are  the  parents  of  two  sons:  William  H.  and  Howard  L.  Our 
subject  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  progressive  and  enterprising  merchants  in  his 
town,  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests,  and  in  the  leading  events  of  the  day. 

Mapes,  George,  was  born  in  Lyons  February  14,  1852.  His  father,  Jacob,  came 
from  Alsace,  Germany,  in  1840.  George  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School,  to 
which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  After  engaging  in 
various  enterprises,  in  1876  he  established  his  present  business  of  manufacturing  cigars, 
and  is  now  employing  twenty  hands,  having  an  output  of  from  700,000  to  one  million 
cigars  yearly,  and  is  one  of  the  best  known  manufacturers  in  Central  and  Western  New 
York.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Charles  Frank  of 
Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  two  of  whom  are  now  living:  Will- 
iam H.  and  George  F.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  active  business  men  in  his  town, 
and  takes  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Munn,  John,  deceased,  was  born  in  Kent,  England,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1820,  first  settling  in  Waterloo.  He  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1835.  He  married 
Sarah  Filkins,  who  died  in  1845,  and  afterwards  remarried  Mrs.  Fannie  Burnett, 
daughter  of  Gilbert  Noolan,  and  who  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  three  of  whom 
are  now  living:  J.  F.  Munn,  M.D.,  of  Syracuse,  and  George  and  Frank  of  Lyons,  who 
are  now  managing  the  estate  in  connection  with  their  farm  adjoining,  raising  fruit,  hay, 
gram  and  stock.  George  Munn  married  at  twenty-four  years  of  age  Eva  L.,  daughter 
of  Warren  C.  Depew,  of  Lyons,  and  have  one  son,  George  D.  George  was  educated  at 
the  Lyons  Union  School  and  at  the  Cayuga  Lake  Academy,  and  afterwards  taught  for 
eleven  years.  Frank  was  educated  at  the  Wolcott  Academy,  after  which  they  returned 
to  the  homestead  in  Lyons,  where  they  are  recognized  as  conservative  men  of  sterling 
integrity  and  moral  worth. 

Mirick,  W.  P.,  was  born  in  Lyons  April  5,  1859.  His  father,  Nelson  R.,  was  a  native 
of  the  town  of  Rose,  came  to  Lyons  in   1857,  and  was  prominently  identified  in  the 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  213 

business  interests  of  his  town.  W.  P.  Mirick  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School, 
after  leaving  which  he  engaged  in  active  business  life  establishing  a  coal  and  grocery 
business  in  1881.  In  1889  he  added  the  malting  business  to  his  other  interests,  also 
conducts  a  farm  of  150  acres  one  mile  west  of  Lyons.  At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he 
married  Ellen,  daughter  of  Van  R.  Richmond  of  Lyons.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics 
and  was  supervisor  of  the  town  in  1890.  Oursnbject  is  one  of  the  most  active  business 
men  in  nis  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests,  and  is  identified  as  a  man  of 
high  business  ability  and  sterling  worth. 

Michel,  Mrs.  Mary  (Sedore),  was  born  in  Savannah,  Wayne  county,  in  1835,  and  was 
the  daughter  of  John  B.  and  Eunice  (Weeks)  Sedore,  who  were  farmers.  She  is  the 
granddaughter  of  David  and  Catherine  Sedore  of  Saratoga.  In  1861  she  married 
Hanry,  son  of  Philip  Michel,  a  native  of  Gee,  Noghern,  near  the  Rhine  and  Cologne, 
and  who  came  to  America  in  1849.  He  has  five  children :  Andrew,  Henry,  Katie, 
Adam  and  Elizabeth.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Michel  has  been  born  one  child,  Addie,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Mr.  Michel  is  a  wide-awake,  enterprising  man.  He  began 
farming  at  twenty-five,  and  in  time  accumulated  a  large  property.  His  death  occurred 
in  1392,  since  which  time  our  subject  has  conducted  the  farm.  She  is  one  of  a  family 
of  thirteen  children.  She  is  a  member  of  Wolcott  Grange,  P.  of  H.,  No.  348,  and  a 
lady  of  business  ability. 

Myers,  J.  C,  was  born  in  the  canton  of  Arragh,  Switzerland,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1854,  at  six  years  of  age.  His  father,  Francis  Myers,  came  direct  to  Lyons. 
J.  C.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  is  pre-eminently  a  self-made  and  self 
educated  man.  At  the  age  of  tweniy-eight  he  married  Emma,  Baltzel,  daughter  of 
Henry  Baltzel  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  five  children  :  Nelton  Newell,  Belle,  Frances 
and  Florence.  In  1870  he  came  to  the  village  of  Lyons,  and  in  1884  established  the 
hardware  and  agricultural  implements,  feeds  and  produce  business.  He  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics,  and  was  a  candidate  for  county  treasurer  in  1889,  also  takes  an  active  intelli- 
gent interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters.  Subject  is  one  of  the  leading  busi- 
ness men  in  his  town,  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests,  and  is  recognized  as  a 
man  of  strict  integrity  and  sterling  worth. 

Moore,  Charles  H.,  was  born  in  Lyons,  May  4,  1841.  His  father,  Zebulon  Moore, 
was  one  of  the  prominent  business  men  and  contractors  of  Central  New  York,  and  at 
his  death  Charles  H.  took  up  his  many  large  contracts  und  business  interests  and  carried 
them  to  a  successful  completion.  He  is  now  associated  with  his  brother-in-law,  S,  D. 
Holmes,  in  prosecuting  large  business  interests  in  Canada,  where  they  have  accepted 
and  completed  severel  large  railroad  contracts.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married 
Catharine  L.,  daughter  of  Alanson  Whitney,  of  Kendall,  Orleans  county,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  three  children:  Zebulon,  Mrs.  Mary  Grace  Thornhill,  and  Bessie.  Our 
subject  is  one  of  the  most  active  business  men  in  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in 
educational  and  religious  matters. 

Munn,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Lyons,  October  15,  1861.  His  father,  John  H.,  was 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  and  produce  business.  William  H.  was  educated  in  the 
Lyons  Union  School.  In  1881  he  bought  the  Munn  homestead  property  of  ninety-seven 
acres,  which  has  been  in  the  family  fifty  years.  In  1890  he  bought  the  Philip  Goetzman 
estate  of  forty-seven  acres,  raising  mint,  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-five  he  married  Katie  E.,  daughter  of  Cornelius  0.  Brundage,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  two  children  :  John  H.,  and  Leona  B.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  enter- 
prising citizens  of  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious 
matters. 

Murphy,  John  H.,  was  born  in  Macedon,  April  24,  1855.  His  father,  John  Murphy, 
was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  came  to  this  country  in  1849,  and  settled  in  Macedon,  where 


214  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

he  bought  a  small  place.  He  married  Margaret  Coniff,  of  Ireland,  and  to  them  were 
born  six  children,  including  our  subject,  John  H.  Murphy.  Mr.  Murphy,  the  son,  was 
educated  in  the  Union  School  at  Macedon  and  studied  medicine  in  Buffalo.  He  is  now 
engaged  in  farming,  having  bought  the  Van  Duzer  farm  of  140  acres.  In  1S84  he  mar- 
ried Mary  J.  Dalton,  of  Lyons,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  five  children.  Mr.  Murphy 
is  an  Independent. 

Martz,  Frederick,  is  a  native  of  Germany  and  came  to  this  country  eighteen  years 
ago.  He  settled  in  Palmyra,  and  for  eleven  years  was  engaged  in  farm  work,  then  he 
bought  the  farm  he  now  lives  on,  consisting  of  thirty-one  acres.  He  married  Mary 
Smith,  daughter  of  Frederick  Smith,  and  they  have  two  children.  Mr.  Martz  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  German  church.     In  politic3  he  is  a  Republican. 

Mansfield,  George,  Macedon,  was  born  in  England  in  December,  1848,  came  to  this 
county  with  his  parents  in  1852,  and  settled  in  Brighton,  Monroe  county.  His  father 
is  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  worked  at  it  until  1874,  when  he  bought  a  farm  and  moved 
to  Macedon  Centre,  where  he  has  since  continued  the  business.  He  married  Charlotte 
Haygreen,  of  England,  and  they  had  two  children,  Charles,  living  in  Michigan,  and 
George,  our  subject.  Subject  followed  the  blacksmith's  trade  until  a  year  ago,  when  he 
bought  the  farm  of  eighty-four  acres,  which  he  still  owns.  He  received  a  common 
school  and  academic  education.  He  married  in  1874  Elizabeth  Ford,  of  Highland  Mills 
Orange  county,  and  they  have  two  children,  George  and  Leroy,  who  were  educated  in 
Macedon  Academy. 

Mack,  Ira  W.,  born  in  the  old  town  of  Wolcott,  June  10,  1835,  is  the  youngest  son 
of  the  late  John  and  Hannah  Mack.  John  Mack  was  a  soldier  of  1812,  and  his  father, 
the  paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject,  of  the  Revolution.  Mrs.  Ira  Mack  is  a  daughter 
of  the  late  Gansevoort  Center.  Estelle,  their  older  daughter,  married  Jacob  Crounce  of 
Hannibal,  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  and  Jennie,  next  younger,  maried  William  Crounce,  of  Butler. 
They  have  also  two  sons,  Gansevoort,  and  Ira,  jr. 

Murphy,  Joseph  E.,  was  born  in  New  York  city,  December  21,  1847.  His  father, 
Patrick  Murphy,  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  came  to  the  United  States  when  fourteen 
years  of  age  in  1830,  and  settled  in  Lockport,  where  he  died  in  1893  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven.  Joseph  E.  Murphy  was  educated  in  Lockport,  after  which  he  engaged  in  the 
clothing  trade  for  three  years,  and  then  learned  the  tanner's  trade.  In  1877  he  came 
to  Clyde  and  entered  the  employ  of  L.  B.  Denio.  Two  years  later  he  purchased  the 
interest  of  P.  S.  Nash  and  formed  a  partnership  with  P.  Ira  Lake,  continuing  up  to 
1883,  when  Mr.  Lake  disposed  of  his  interest  to  Thomas  M.  Ellicott.  The  firm  is  the 
leading  hardware  business  in  Clyde,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  fine  plumbing.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years  Mr.  Murphy  married  Miss  Susie  Kimball,  of  Northfield,  Vt.,  who 
died  in  1885.  In  1889  he  remarried,  his  second  wife  being  Mary  Fraher,  daughter  of 
Edward  Fraher,  of  Clyde,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  these  children  :  George  Harold, 
Maude  K.,  and  Mary  Alice. 

Miller,  Charles  A.,  was  born  in  Williamson.  March  23,  1860,  the  son  of  John  and 
Mary  Skinner  Miller,  he  born  in  Greenfield,  Saratorga  county,  and  she  in  Waterloo, 
N.  Y.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Philaster  Miller,  of  Greenfield,  Saratoga 
county,  N.  Y.  John  Miller  is  a  farmer  and  lives  a  retired  life  in  Pultt  eyville.  His  wife 
died  when  our  subject  was  an  infant,  and  Mr.  Miller  married  Sarah  L.  Throop,  of 
Williamson.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools. 
He  now  resides  with  his  grandfather. 

McKee,  Hiram,  was  born  in  Webster,  Monroe  county,  July  10,  1846,  the  only  son  of 
David  and  Agnes  A.  (Rodgers)  McKee,  both  of  Webster.  The  former  died  about  1850, 
and  the  latter  in   1892.     After  the  death  of  her   husband  Mrs.  McKee   married   second. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  215 

Peter  Brewer,  and  removed  to  Virginia,  where  she  died.  Hiram  was  educated  in  the 
common  and  select  schools  of  Pultneyville,  and  August  3,  1863,  enlisted  in  the  8th  N.Y. 
Cavalry,  serving  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  at  Winchester,  Cedar  Creek,  Lee's 
surrender,  and  received  several  wounds.  August  4,  1866,  he  married  Mariette,  daughter 
of  Harvey  Sherburne,  of  this  county,  who  died  in  1891.  They  have  these  children  : 
Dell,  Oliver,  May,  Clyde,  and  Marshall.  Mr.  McKee  carries  on  general  farming  and 
fruit  raising,  and  has  served  as  collector,  inspector  of  elections,  etc.  He  is  a  member  of 
Walworth  Grange  No.  254,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  also  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  Fish  Post. 

Milhan,  Martin  L.,  born  October  30,  1851,  in  Williamson,  is  a  son  of  Martin  and 
Maria  Milhan.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has 
always  been  engaged  in  farming,  and  owns  eighty  acres  of  the  old  homestead.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  P.  of  H.  of  Williamson.  He  married,  December  23,  1874,  Mary  J. 
Barclay,  who  live  in  Sodus.  Mr.  Milhan  and  wife  have  three  children :  Effie,  who  died 
in  infancy  ;  Helen  L.,  and  Martin  S. 

McCourtie,  John,  is  the  son  of  one  of  the  sturdy  pioneers  of  Butler,  bearing  the  same 
name,  who  cleared  the  homestead  where  our  subject  now  resides,  and  died  there  in  1842 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty- nine  years.  Of  his  two  sons,  John  and  William,  the  latter  is 
engaged  in  real  estate  and  milling  business  at  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  and  John,  of  whom  we 
write,  is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  this  section,  and  highly  esteemed  by  all 
who  know  him.  His  wife  is  Melissa,  daughter  of  Eleazer  Smith,  who  was  also  a  man 
of  note  in  the  early  days  of  Butler.  They  Avere  married  August  28,  1853,  and  have  two 
children:  Jennie,  born  June  10,  1870,  and  Smith,  born  December  1,  1859,  and  who 
married  Orpha  Andrews,  of  Spring  Lake. 

Mack.  I.  T.,  third  son  of  John  and  Hannah  Mack,  who  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1820, 
settling  in  Wolcott,  near  Fairhaven,  where  Isaac  was  born  in  1826,  one  of  a  family  of 
eight.  John  Mack  was  a  prisoner  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  his  father  who  reached  the 
great  age  of  ninety-seven  years,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  John  Mack  died  in 
1849  at  the  age  of  sixty  years,  and  his  wife,  Hannah,  in  1874,  when  seventy-five.  Our 
subject  has  always  devoted  himself  to  farming,  and  has  been  very  successful  in  that 
business,  still  operating  nearly  three  hundred  acres  of  land  devoted  to  general  farming 
His  wife,  Lucy  M.  Center  of  Butler,  to  whom  he  was  married  September  30,  1852,  is 
the  mother  of  six  children  :  Nancy  L.,  the  wife  of  A.  W.  Park,  of  Wolcott ;  Carrie, 
wife  of  Azael  Harder,  of  Butler;  Abraham  C,  a  resident  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.;  Gibson 
B.,  a  graduate  of  Albany  Normal  School,  and  of  Eastman  Business  College  ;  William  G., 
engaged  in  the  acquisition  of  a  medical  education,  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Lincoln  Har- 
der, of  Butler. 

Mead,  Rev.  John  Calvin,  was  born  in  Burdett,  Schuyler  county,  October  8,  1859. 
His  father,  G.  J.  Mead,  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  his  town.  The  family  are  of  Scotch 
and  English  descent,  and  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  in  Central  New  York.  John 
C.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  entered  Cook  Academy  at,  Havana, 
where  his  preparation  for  college  was  completed.  In  1879  he  entered  Hamilton,  taking 
the  classical  course,  and  graduated  in  1880  with  the  degree  of  A.B.,  receiving  special 
prizes  as  an  essayist  and  debator;  also  giving  special  attention  to  the  study  of  the  law. 
In  the  fall  of  1883  he  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn,  graduating  in  1886, 
and  the  same  year  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Canastota,  re  - 
ceiving  the  degree  of  A.M.  from  his  Alma  Mater.  He  remained  in  Canastota  six  years, 
the  church  body  increasing  threefold  under  his  pastorate.  The  death  of  his  mother  in 
1882  caused  several  extended  trips  t )  Europe  and  in  the  United  States,  entering  also 
the  lecture  field.  In  1892  he  came  to  Clyde  and  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  At  the  age  of  thirty-three  he  mairied  Martha,  daughter  of  Abram 
Lansing,  of  Albany.  The  church  under  his  charge  has  been  invigorated  and  the  mem- 
ship  increased. 


216  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Morrison,  Jacob,  a  native  of  Holland,  born  February  9,  1838,  was  the  eldest  of  five 
children  of  William  and  Janet  Morrison,  natives  of  Holland,  who  came  to  Marion  in 
I860,  where  they  died.  Oar  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  Holland  and 
Marion,  and  has  followed  general  farming-.  He  married  in  1864  Sarah,  daughter  of 
William  Lookup,  by  whom  he  had  three  children  :  William,  George  and  Frank.  Will- 
iam married  Nellie  Michel;  George  married  Alhe  Davis  and  Frank  married  Maggie 
Meatt.     Mrs.  Morrison  died  December  6,  1892. 

Murphy,  James  S.,  manufacturer  of  harnesses,  dealer  in  whips,  nets,  dusters,  blankets, 
oils,  etc.,  was  born  in  Cold  Water,  Mich.,  May  8,  1859,  son  of  Myrtie  and  Mary 
(Keeley)  Murphy,  natives  of  Ireland.  They  came  to  Palmyra  about  1840  and  worked 
on  railroad  and  canal  and  soon  went  to  Cold  Water,  but  returned  to  Palmyra.  They 
again  returned  to  Michigan  and  in  1866  came  to  Palmyra  and  purchased  a  farm  in  Wal- 
worth, which  he  sold  and  went  to  Ontario  and  bought  sixty-five  acres.  He  went  to 
Macedon  in  1892  and  purchased  eighty-two  acres,  where  he  now  lives.  Mrs.  Murphy 
died  September  13,  1891.  Subject  was  educated  in  Ontario,  and  in  1882  learned  the 
harness  trade  with  William  G.  Beckwith,  of  Williamson,  came  to  Walworth  in  1890, 
and  has  since  had  a  very  successful  business. 

Little.  Henry  M.,  was  born  December  8,  1853,  in  Macedon.  John  Little,  his  father, 
was  born  in  1819.  His  occupation  was  farming  and  drover,  handling  cattle,  sheep, 
hogs,  etc.  For  nearly  twenty  years  of  his  early  life  he  shipped  stock  to  New  York 
markets  of  many  different  States.  He  held  the  office  of  justice  of  peace  two  terms  in 
Murray.  He  married  in  1850  Harriet  T.  Allen,  by  whom  he  had  three  children:  Henry 
M.,  our  subject,  Emma  and  Mary,  the  latter  being  deceased.  Our  subject  is  engaged  in 
farming  and  the  breeding  of  blooded  stock,  also  in  the  drug  business.  He  was  educated 
at  Hulberton  and  Macedon,  where  he  finished.  He  has  been  commissioner  of  highways, 
and  for  the  last  two  years  has  been  president  of  the  village.  He  has  been  vice-presi- 
dent  of  the  Trotting  Horse  Breeders'  Association  of  the  State  of  New  York  for  seven 
vears,  has  many  times  acted  as  judge  on  stock  at  prominent  fairs  in  the  State,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  and  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  He  married  in  1875, 
and  has  two  children,  Allen  T.  and  Mable  D. 

Langden,  Alonzo,  was  born  in  Palmyra  in  1822,  where  he  resided  till  the  age  of 
twenty  six  years,  when  he  went  to  Chicago,  III,  for  a  year,  returning  to  Palmyra  in 
1851.  He  remained  here  until  1868,  then  spent  another  two  years  in  Chicago,  a  year 
in  New  York,  Buffalo,  and  then  returned  home.  In  1872  he  engaged  in  the  rectifying 
business,  which  he  followed  six  years,  and  then  worked  at  the  grocery  trade.  He  sold 
his  stock  in  the  latter  in  1884,  but  after  a  year  took  it  back,  and  has  since  been  engaged 
in  the  grocery  business.  Benjamin,  father  of  Alonzo,  came  from  the  East  to  Onondaga 
county  and  married  Nancy  Burden,  of  New  Jersey,  whose  father,  Abraham  Burden, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  died  in  Chautauqua  county.  Benjamin  Langden 
and  wife  both  died  in  Palmyra.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  of  whom  our 
subject  was  the  oldest.  The  latter  has  been  engaged  at  different  times  in  the  distilling 
business,  but  has  now  abandoned  it.  In  1862  he  bought  a  farm  near  Palmyra,  and  in 
1872  purchased  a  storehouse.  In  1846  he  married  Mary  Page,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children,  William  and  George. 

Lockwood,  B.  F.,  proprietor  of  the  Lyons  Sewer  Pipe  Works,  was  born  in  Victory, 
June  6,  1850,  came  to  Lyons  in  1883,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  sewer  pipe, 
having  the  largest  and  most  complete  plant  in  Wayne  connty.  In  1892  he  added  a 
barrel  manufactory  to  his  business,  producing  from  10  to  25,000  barrels  per  year,  and 
10,000  feet  of  different  sizes  of  cement  pipe,  500  yards  of  sand  and  gravel  and  handling 
4  to  500  tons  of  cement  per  year.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married  Jennie 
daughter  of  Alfred  Brooks,  of  Wolcott,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  Mary  L.,  and 
Florence  E.     Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  enterprising  men  in  his  town,  taking  an 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  217 

active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  and  is  identified  in  the  leading  events 
of  the  day. 

Lapham,  0.  C,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Macedon  in  August,  1837.  His  father,  0. 
Lapham,  was  born  within  half  a  mile  of  the  farm  now  owned  by  bis  son,  in  1807.  He 
has  always  been  engaged  in  farming.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the  district  schools 
of  the  town.  He  married  Elizabeth  Reed,  of  Macedon.  daughter  of  Paul  Reed,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  six  children,  including  0.  C.  Lapham.  0.  C.  Lapham,  the  son,  was 
brought  up  on  the  farm  and  has  always  been  occupied  in  farm  work.  He  was  educated 
in  the  district  schools  of  Macedon.  In  1867  he  married  Mary  White,  daughter  of  Paul 
White,  of  Walworth.  They  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Emery  D.,  who  is  at  present 
postal  clerk  between  Cleveland  and  Syracuse.  He  has  been  in  the  service  one  and  one- 
half  years.  He  received  his  education  from  the  Macedon  Academy  and  Rochester  Busi- 
ness College.  Mr.  0.  C.  Lapham  is  a  Republican  and  has  served  as  assessor  nine  years 
and  commissioner  five  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  Post  450  of  Macedon, 
having  served  in  the  war  from  1862  to  1865,  and  was  in  thirteen  battles.  Mrs.  Lapham 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Lotze,  John,  was  born  in  Germany,  August  12,  1837,  son  of  Anthony  and  Catharine 
(Pauline)  Lotze,  natives  of  Germany,  where  they  died.  He  was  a  wagonmaker  by 
trade,  and  died  in  1874,  and  his  wife  in  1864.  Subject  was  educated  in  Germany  and 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  came  to  America,  located  in  East  Walworth  and  worked  in  Marion 
on  a  farm.  He  then  learned  the  wagonmaker's  trade,  which  he  followed  thirty  years  in 
West  Walworth,  where  he  came  in  1856.  In  1890  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness, which  he  has  since  followed.  He  also  handles  phosphates  and  is  an  insurance 
agent,  representing  various  companies.  He  has  been  constable,  town  clerk,  poormaster, 
has  been  justice  of  the  peace  five  years,  which  office  he  still  holds,  and  has  also  been 
postmaster  four  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Association  of  West  Wal- 
worth, has  been  class  leader,  exhorter,  superintendent  of  Sunday  school,  and  is  now 
assistant  superintendent  in  the  Evangelical  Association  of  the  New  York  Conference. 
He  is  one  of  the  well  to  do  men  of  Walworfh.  He  married  in  1861  Emma  Baehler,  a 
native  of  Germany,  who  came  to  the  United  States  with  her  mother,  her  father  having 
died  in  Germany.  Mr.  Lotze  and  wife  have  had  one  son,  Henry  J.,  who  was  educated 
in  Walworth,  learned  the  jeweler's  trade  in  Lyons,  and  is  now  employed  by  his  father 

in  the  store.     His  wife  is  Ettie ,  by  whom  he  has  three  children,  Carl,  Elma,  and 

Blanche. 

Lux,  Charles  A.,  was  born  in  Clyde,  October  30,  1858.  His  father,  Ernest  Lux,  was 
a  native  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1840,  settling  in 
Savannah.  Charles  A.  Lux  was  educated  at  Fort  Edward  Institute  and  was  graduated 
from  Cornell  University  in  1881,  after  which  he  came  to  Clyde  and  went  into  business 
with  his  father.  Mr.  Lux  is  now  doing  a  large  cooperage  and  coal  business  and  is  one 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  town.  He  married  Anna  Myers,  daughter  of  DeWitt 
C.  Myers,  and  have  one  daughter,  Margaret  M. 

Lundy,  Levi,  was  born  in  Eden,  Erie  county,  February  22,  1822.  His  father,  Jacob, 
who  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  settled  first  in  Erie  county  and  afterwards  came  to 
Wayne  county.  He  died  in  1871,  aged  eighty -six  years.  Levi  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  after  which  he  worked  out  for  several  years,  and  in  1873  purchased 
part  of  the  Nathan  Rogers  farm  of  seventy-nine  acres.  At  the  age  of  thirty-one  he 
married  Mrs.  Julia  Rogers,  who  died  in  1862,  and  in  1870  he  married  second,  Mrs. 
Phoebe  Lynch,  daughter  of  Charles  Bonnell,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Julia 
Sloan.  Our  subject  has  been  assessor  twelve  years,  commissioner  of  highways  nine 
years,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Laing,  Captain  John  A.,  born  in  Boston,  Erie  county,  July  5,    1820,   was  a  son  of 

bb 


218  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Elijah  and  Elizabeth  Laing,  natives  of  New  Jersey.  They  went  to  Boston,  Erie  county, 
in  1815,  where  Mr.  Laing  died  in  1822,  and  his  widow  married  David  Pound  and  went 
to  Canada,  where  she  reared  three  children  by  her  second  husband.  She  also  died  in 
Canada.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools  in 
Boston,  Erie  county,  and  Waterloo  Academy.  He  learned  the  carriage  painters'  trade, 
and  followed  it  many  years,  doing  mostly  ornamental  work.  He  enlisted  in  August, 
1862,  in  Company  E,  111th  N.  Y.  Volunteer  Infantiy,  and  was  mustered  out  in  1866, 
serving  one  year  after  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant, 
promoted  to  lieutenant,  and  finally  promoted  to  captain.  Captain  Laing  was  at  Harp- 
er's Ferry,  Alexandria  Railroad,  Bristol  Station,  was  wounded  in  the  leg  and  sent  home, 
but  soon  returned  and  was  again  wounded  at  Morton's  Ford.  He  was  then  at  Mine 
Run  and  the  Wilderness,  where  he  was  twice  wounded  while  in  command  of  the  regi- 
ment. He  was  then  taken  to  Washington,  where  he  was  in  the  hospital.  He  was 
afterward  sent  to  Annapolis,  examined,  mustered  into  the  service,  and  was  in  command 
of  the  Finley  Hospital,  and  was  there  when  the  war  closed.  He  remained  until  the 
soldiers  were  mustered  out  and  was  then  transferred  to  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  and  was  mustered 
out  in  December,  1866.  He  married  in  1846  Julia  A.  Marshall,  a  native  of  Fayette, 
Seneca  county,  by  whom  he  has  had  three  children:  Charlie,  deceased;  Lucy  A.  and 
Charlie.  Captain  Laing  has  been  inspector  of  election,  town  clerk,  a  member  of  the 
Assembly  in  1859,  and  has  been  justice  of  peace  sixteen  years.  He  was  also  justice  of 
peace  four  years  in  Marion.  Our  subject  came  to  Marion  in  1856  and  removed  to  Will- 
iamson in  1873,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  spent  three  years  in  Auburn,  N.  Y., 
as  a  keeper  of  the  prison. 

Loveless,  Elnather,  son  of  Ransom  Loveless  of  Butler,  was  born  here  May  16,  1853. 
Educated  within  the  town  of  his  own  and  his  father's  birth,  he  has  shut  himself  with- 
in its  borders,  chiefly  engaged  in  farming.  July  22,  1872,  he  married  Ida  M.,  daughter 
of  J.  Adams  Lowell  of  Savannah,  of  whom  he  was  bereft,  June  17,  1894.  She  was 
thirty-nine  years  of  age,  and  the  mother  of  three  children  :  Winifred,  born  February  13, 
1879,  Grace,  born  March  10,  1881,  and  Maud,  born  May  12,  1883. 

Loomis,  F.  M.,  was  born  in  Rome,  Oneida  county,  April  12,  1841,  son  of  Oscar  and 
Lucy  Loomis,  he  a  native  of  Onondaga  county,  and  she  of  Oneida  county.  They  came 
to  Marion  in  1843  and  settled  on  a  farm,  and  finally  came  to  Walworth  and  settled  on 
the  farm  owned  by  subject,  where  he  died  in  1890,  aged  eighty-two,  and  his  wife  in 
1891,  aged  seventy-two.  Subject  was  educated  in  Walworth  Academy  and  Rochester 
Business  University.  He  enlisted  in  1863  in  Company  B,  9th  N".  Y.  Heavy  Artillery 
and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  at  Cold  Harbor,  Winchester,  Cedar 
Creek,  Monocacy,  Petersburg,  Five  Forks  and  at  Lee's  Surrender.  He  was  wounded 
at  Cold  Harbor,  Monocacy  and  Petersburg.  Mr.  Loomis  married  twice,  first  Novem- 
ber 30,  1864,  Alvira  M.,  daughter  of  Isaac  Freer,  by  whom  he  had  two  children  : 
Arthur  D.,  who  married  Earna,  daughter  of  Dr.  Russell,  of  Marion,  and  they  have  a 
son,  Russell ;  Adella  M.,  at  home.  Mrs.  Loomis  died  May  22,  1892,  and  he  married 
second  Margaret  T.  Clum,  a  daughter  of  Ferdinand  Clum,  who  came  from  Dutchess 
county  about  1844,  and  has  since  lived  in  the  town.  His  wife  is  Maria  Clum,  by  whom 
he  has  had  four  children.  Subject  is  a  member  of  Dwight  Post  of  Sodus  G.  A.  R.  Mr. 
Loomis  was  a  contractor  and  builder  for  fifteen  years,  and  in  Marion  and  Newark  was 
engaged  in  the  meat  business  three  years.  He  owns  the  old  homestead  of  forty-two 
acres. 

Jordan,  W.  T.,  the  oldest  of  twelve  children,  was  born  in  Lyons  November  26,  1852. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  England,  who  came  to  the  United  States  in  1848  and  settled 
in  M'ayne  county  ;  his  trade  was  tailor,  and  after  that  he  did  a  good  business  as  butcher, 
exchanging  his  village  accumulations  for  a  farm.  He  lived  the  later  part  of  his  life  as 
a  farmer.  His  wife  was  Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  William  Jones,  a  native  of  Wales,  who 
came  to  Wayne  county  in  1831.     W.  T.  Jordan  was  educated  in  common  schools.     At 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  2l«.) 

the  age  of  twenty-six  married  to  Josephine,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Bishop,  of  South 
Butler,  by  whom  he  has  three  children:  William  W.,  Jay  B.  and  Maud.  Me  was  a 
farmer  until  1892;  he  then  purchased  the  property  near  the  Lock  Berlin  Lock,  known 
as  the  Morgan  Cookingham  property,  erected  a  large  fruit  evaporator  and  established 
his  present  business  of  dealer  in  provisions,  general  merchandise,  hay,  grain  and  pota- 
toes, and  evaporating  fruit.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  representative  men  of  the  town, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  school  and  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Lock  Berlin. 

Briggs,  John,  was  born  in  Cortland  county,  August  8,  1834,  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Emaline  (Baker)  Briggs,  he  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  born  October  3,  1811,  and  she  of 
Connecticut,  born  May  12,  1811,  Their  children  are:  John,  Caroline,  George,  Birney, 
Luman,  Lyman,  Elbert,  and  Sophia,  human  married  Ellen  Doremus,  and  Lyman  mar- 
ried Helen  Doremus,  twin  brothers  marrying  twin  sisters.  The  paternal  grandfather  of 
subject  was  John  Briggs,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  who  in  1814  came  to  Cortland 
county,  where  he  died.  His  wife  was  Margaret  Jones,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  who 
died  in  Cortland.  Father  of  subject  came  to  Rose  and  settled  on  the  farm  owned  by 
our  subject,  where  he  died.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  town,  and  at  his 
death  owned  150  acres..  He  died  July  18,  1881,  and  his  wife  August  1,  1891.  Their 
children  were:  Birney,  a  carpenter  of  Rochester.  His  wife  is  Anna  Terry,  and  they 
have  three  sons  and  two  daughters;  Caroline,  wife  of  William  Niles,  of  Rose  Valley, 
by  whom  she  has  two  children  ;  Elbert,  resides  in  the  town  of  Lyons;  and  George,  who 
died  aged  twenty-five  years.  Subject  was  ten  years  old  when  he  came  to  Rose,  and 
except  twenty-three  years  in  Huron,  has  always  resided  here.  He  now  owns  about  300 
acres  in  the  towns  of  Huron  and  Rose,  and  follows  general  farming.  He  was  assessor 
two  terms  in  Huron,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Huron  Grange  No.  124.  He  married  in 
1861  Sarah  J.  Otto,  a  native  of  Huron,  born  October  4,  1841,  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Eliza  (Miller)  Otto.  Mr.  Briggs  and  wife  have  three  children :  Eliza  L.,  wife  of  Nathan 
Turner,  of  Sodus,  by  whom  she  has  three  children:  Benjamin  B.,  Hazel  A.,  and  Bessie 
0. ;  M.  Olive,  wife  of  Thomas  B.  Welch,  a  hardware  merchant  of  North  Rose,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Harold  J. ;  and  Jonathan  F.,  at  home. 

Scott,  William  W.,  was  born  a  slave  in  Sullivan  county,  Tenn.,  about  1842,  and  is 
one  of  twelve  children  of  Frank  Scott,  who  died  a  slave.  He  was  owned  by  four 
different  masters,  and  at  one  time  was  sold  for  $1,100.  He  did  many  heroic  acts  during 
the  war,  and  many  a  Union  soldier  he  fed  from  his  master's  larder  in  1863.  He  led  a 
large  number  of  slaves  in  an  escape  to  the  Union  lines.  He  was  a  soldier  for  eleven 
months,  captured  and  re-captured  several  times.  In  1864  he  came  to  Sheffield,  Mass., 
and  engaged  as  laborer  in  a  marble  quarry,  being  unusually  intelligent  was  made  second 
foreman  and  timekeeper,  and  two  years  later  engaged  as  charcoal  burner  in  Mount 
Washington.  He  was  there  told  of  a  State  farther  North  called  York,  where  he  decided 
to  go  and  wended  his  way  north  to  Hudson.  Later  he  went  to  Lyons,  where  he  was 
employed  by  Dr.  Bottom,  thence  to  Sodus,  and  in  1871  came  to  Huron,  where  he  mar- 
ried Nancy,  daughter  of  Lewis  Samson,  a  farmer  in  Huron,  who  was  a  slave  in  his 
early  days.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Brigg,  whom  he  married  in  1842.  Mrs.  Scott  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Galen.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scott  have  three  children :  Lewis,  born 
February,  1872  ;  Finley,  born  in  1879,  and  Fred,  born  in  1886.  Subject  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Royal  Templars  of  Temperance  of  Huron.  They  own  the  farm  of 
fifty-six  acres  formerly  owned  by  Mrs.  Scott's  father. 

Wilson,  Gorham  J.,  born  in  Savannah,  March  7,  1856,  is  the  eldest  son  of  George  R, 
and  Mary  (Gorham)  Wilson,  now  residents  of  South  Butler.  After  leaving  school  he 
engaged  in  farming  and  teaching  five  years,  and  in  January,  1881,  established  with 
Yiele  Mead  a  general  store  business  at  South  Butler,  the  co-partnership  now  being 
Wilson  &  Mitchell.  December  29, 1881,  he  married  Carrie  A.,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Harriett 
Newton,  of  Savannah,  and  their  children  are:  Florence  E.,  born  May  25,  1883;  Hattie 
A.,  born  October  16,  1885;  and  Newton  G.,  born  March  5,  1891.     Mr.  Wilson  is  an 


220  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

unassuming  gentleman  of  genial  manners,  whom  to  know  is  to  admire.  From  1890  to 
1893  inclusive  he  represented  his  town  on  the  Board  of  Supervisors  as  an  exponent  of 
Republican  principles. 

Hale,  J.  A.,  was  born  in  Wolcott,  N.  Y.,  August  13,  1842,  and  was  the  son  of  0.  H. 
and  Lamira  Hale,  who  reared  a  family  of  four  sons  and  seven  daughters.  Our  subject 
is  not  only  a  builder  by  trade  but  the  architect  of  his  own  destinies,  and  a  citizen  who 
commands  the  respect  of  all  who  know  him.  For  several  years  past  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  a  Rochester  milling  company,  building  flouring  mills.  He  is  a  staunch 
Republican,  having  cast  his  first  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln  for  president.  He  was  for 
several  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  Leavenworth  Institute,  located  in 
Wolcott  village,  where  all  his  children  were  educated.  On  March  2,  1865,  he  married 
Esther  M.,  daughter  of  Patrick  and  Emeline  Casey,  who  is  the  mother  of  four  children. 
Fred.  G.  Hale  was  born  in  Wolcott,  Ojtober  20,  1866,  who  after  completing  his  educa- 
tion learned  the  millwright's  trade  and  traveled  through  the  western  States,  building 
flouring  mills.  In  November,  1891,  he  went  to  Campeachey,  Mexico,  and  built  a  large 
mill  for  cutting  Spanish  cedar  and  mahogany.  Returning  to  the  United  States  in  July, 
1892,  took  up  his  residence  in  Jersey  city,  N.  J.,  where  he  now  has  the  supervision  of  a 
flouring  mill.  Frank  A.  Hale  was  born  September  3,  1867,  who  after  completing  his 
education  learned  the  tinner's  trade.  In  1891  he  with  a  party  of  six  young  men  went 
to  the  State  of  Washington  to  find  for  themselves  homes  on  the  Pacific  coast,  but  soon 
made  up  their  minds  that  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  had  a  more  healthful  climate  and  re- 
turned thither  in  1892,  and  is  now  connected  with  the  firm  of  Kelley  <fe  Son,  hardware 
merchants  in  Wolcott,  N.  Y.  Ida  B.  Hale  was  born  in  Wolcott,  June  )8,  1870,  and 
died  September  13,  1887.  Nellie  M.  Hale  was  born  October  17,  1876,  and  died  June  4, 
1886. 

Garratt,  Richard,  was  born  in  Westchester  county  May  1,  1824,  son  of  Richard  and 
Annie  (Hallack)  Garratt,  natives  of  Long  Island,  who  came  to  Galen  in  1838,  and  died 
in  Long  Island.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  subject  was  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  as 
was  also  the  maternal  grandfather.  The  father  of  subject  was  in  the  war  of  1812.  Sub- 
ject was  reared  on  Long  Island  and  educated  in  the  common  schools-  He  has  always 
been  a  farmer  and  has  cleared  the  land  he  owns,  and  about  200  acres  of  other  land  in 
the  county.  He  owns  twenty-eight  acres.  Mr.  Garratt  enlisted  in  1862  in  the  9th  Ar- 
tillery and  served  seven  months.  He  married  in  184"6  Frances  L.,  daughter  of  Solomon 
and  Sarah  R  (Ryan)  Smith,  in  Huron,  by  whom  he  has  had  two  daughters  :  Sarah,  wife 
of  Frank  Jones,  and  has  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  who  is  now  a  widow  and  resides 
in  Rose  ;  and  Mary  E.,  wife  of  Michael  Fisher,  of  Clyde.  She  died  in  1887,  leaving  one 
son  and  three  daughters.  The  family  is  of  English  descent,  and  date  their  ancestry  to 
three  brothers,  who  came  to  America  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  Hallacks  are 
of  Welsh  descent,  and  settled  at  Stony  Brook,  L.  I. 

Tinckelpaugh,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  May  27,  1827,  a  son  of  Adam,  a  native 
of  Columbia  county,  who  came  in  1811  to  Wayne  county  and  located  in  Marion,  being 
at  this  time  in  early  youth.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  on  arriving  at 
manhood  he  bought  a  tract  of  land  west  of  Sodus  village  and  south  of  the  "  rtdge,"  the 
whole  of  it  being  dense  forest.  Building  a  log  cabin  he  began  clearing  up  the  land, 
which  he  sold  four  years  later.  He  was  a  man  of  push  and  enterprise,  and  became -a 
prominent  and  prosperous  farmer,  taking  an  active  part  in  political  affairs.  He  was  an 
influential  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Sodus,  was  colonel  of  the  old  Rifle 
Regiment,  and  took  great  interest  in  military  affairs.  He  married  Harriet  Ailing,  of 
Sodus,  and  their  children  were  :  Amanda,  Charles,  William  H.,  Harriet  J.,  Myron  Oscar, 
Manha,  and  Delia.  Adam  Tinckelpaugh  died  April  4,  1863.  William  H.,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  six  years,  which  were  spent  in  Williamson,  has  always  lived  in  Sodus.  From 
1857  to  1877  he  was  in  the  mercantile  trade  at  Joy,  with  which  exception  he  has  fol- 
lowed farming.  "  He  is  a  leading  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Joy,  a  member 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  221 

of  the  Masonic  Lodge  at  Sodus,  and  Zenobia  Commandery  No.  41  of  Palmyra.  He 
married  Sarah  M.  Nash,  of  Williamson,  and  they  have  had  these  children  :  Martha  J., 
now  Mrs.  Samuel  E.  Allen,  of  Sodus  ;  Mettie  D.,  now  Mrs.  Leslie  M.  Snyder,  of  Sodus ; 
and  Adella  M.,  who  died  unmarried. 

Trowbridge,  Theodore  B.,  was  born  in  Susquehanna  county,  Pa,,  December  23, 1837, 
came  to  Wayne  county  in  1860,  and  settled  in  Sodus,  southeast  of  Sodus  Centre,  where 
he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  commissioner  of  highways  from  1876  to  1888,  and  was 
under  sheriff  in  1892,  and  in  1893  under  Sheriff  Thornton.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus 
Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  a  charter  member  of  Wallington  Grange.  He  mar- 
ried in  1862  Emily,  daughter  of  Durfee  Wilcox,  of  Sodus,  and  their  children  are  Melvin 
C.  and  Maud  Emma  (Mrs.  William  Sherman,  of  Allegan,  Mich.)  Durfee  Wilcox  was 
born  in  Palmyra  in  1809,  and  died  in  Sodus  in  1893.  He  was  a  son  of  Captain  William 
Wilcox,  who  came  from  Rhode  Island  about  1790  and  settled  in  Palmyra.  He  was  cap- 
tain of  a  cavalry  company  in  the  days  of  the  old  militia.  He  married  Ruth  Durfee  and 
they  had  twelve  children.  Durfee  Wilcox,  their  son,  came  to  Sodus  in  1828,  and  set- 
tled north  of  Alton.  Later  he  settled  on  the  large  farm  south  of  Sodus  Centre,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death.  He  held  numerous  positions  of  trust  and  honor,  among  which 
were  supervisor  two  years  during  the  war,  assessor  several  years,  and  for  twelve  years 
county  superintendent  of  the  poor.  He  married  Samantha  Wells,  and  they  had  five 
children:  Louisa  M.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  ;  John  M.  and  Stephen  D.,  who 
are  farmers  in  Sodus  ;  Emity  J.  (Mrs.  Theodore  B.  Trowbridge,  of  Sodus) ;  and  William 
J.,  of  California. 

Espenscheid,  Nicholas,  was  born  in  Sodus,  May  31,  1851,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam  H. 
Espenscheid,  who,  with  his  brothers  Philip  and  Frederick,  came  from  Germany  in  1835. 
Philip  and  Frederick  settled  in  Williamsport,  Pa.,  Adam  H.  settled  in  Sodus  and  was  a 
farmer.  He  married  Barbara,  daughter  of  John  Espenscheid,  of  Sodus.  He  came  from 
Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  in  1834,  and  settled  in  Sodus,  purchasing  a  farm  one-half 
mile  north  of  Alton,  and  was  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  was  a  distiller  in  the  old  coun- 
try, and  carried  on  the  business  to  some  extent  after  coming  to  this  country.  His  chil- 
dren were  John,  Carl,  Lawrence,  Andrew,  Nicholas,  Philip,  Louis,  and  Barbara.  John 
settled  in  Galen  and  was  a  farmer;  he  married  Mary  Eicb.  Carl  settled  in  Peoria,  111., 
where  he  died;  he  married  Sally  Rumage.  Lawrence  settled  on  the  homestead  and  is 
a  farmer;  he  married  Diantha  Van  Etten.  Andrew  settled  at' Alton,  is  a  harnessmaker 
and  married  Catherine  Roy.  Nicholas  settled  in  New  York  city,  and  is  engaged  in  the 
hatting  business.  Philip  settled  in  California,  where  he  died  young.  Barbara  married 
Adam  H.  Espenscheid,  and  their  children  were  Nicholas  and  Frederick. 

Jeffers,  Henry,  was  born  in  Rose  April  26,  1850,  son  of  Robert  N.,  a  son  of  Nathan 
Jeffers.  Robert  N.  was  born  April  26,  1820,  in  Rose,  was  always  a  farmer  and  stock 
dealer,  owned  341  acres  at  his  death  and  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Rose.  He 
married  twice,  first  Maria  Winchell,  by  whom  he  had  four  children :  Henry  and  Hen- 
rietta (twins).  Lana  and  Robert,  who  died,  aged  four  years.  Mrs.  Jeffers  died  in  1863, 
and  Mr.  Jeffers  married  Sarah  Holbrook,  who  resides  \\n  Rose  Valley.  Mr.  Jeffers  died 
June  11,  1893.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools,  has 
always  followed  farming,  and  except  six  years  in  Butler  has  lived  in  Rose,  and  owns 
the  old  homestead  of  160  acres.  He  married  in  1876  Mary  J.  Haviland,  a  native  of 
Rose,  by  whom  he  has  had  two  children :  Robert,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Burton  H., 
born  November  2,  1883. 

Jeffers,  George,  was  born  in  Lyons  August  22,  1846,  a  son  of  Nathan  and  Sallie 

Dunmore)  Jeffers,  he  a  native  of  Johnstown  and  she  of  Pleasant  Valley,  born  in  April, 

1808.     They  came  to  Lyons  in  1816  and  finally  came  to   Rose  and  settled  on  the  farm 

owned  by  our  subject,  where  he  died  in  1853,  and  his  wife  resides  in  Rose  Valley.     Mr. 

Jeffers  was  in  the  war  of  1812.     By  a  previous  marriage  to  Eleanor  Vandercook  he  had 


222  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

ten  children.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  has 
always  been  engaged  in  farming,  except  one  year  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  oil  regions. 
He  added  to  the  old  homestead  forty  acres,  and  now  owns  100  acres  and  follows  gen- 
eral farming.  Mr.  Jeffers  has  been  collector  four  terms,  constable  twelve  terms  and 
deputy  sheriff  twelve  years.  He  married  in  1874  Eliza  Mitchell,  whose  father  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers.  Subject  and  wife  have  three  children  :  Willard  G.,  Frank  W.  and 
May  L. 

Rogers,  Erastus,  was  born  March  14,  1815,  and  died  December  5,  1881,  in  Sodus. 
His  father  was  Gabriel  Rogers,  born  in  1776,  who  settled  in  South  Sodus  at  an  early 
day,  and  married  Hannah  Clark;  their  children  were:  Bartlett,  James,  Jerry  and  Eras- 
tus. The  latter  settled  in  South  Sodus  in  early  life  and  moved  to  Sodus  Point  in  1852, 
where  he  held  the  office  of  collector  through  two  administrations  ;  he  moved  to  Sodus 
in  1862,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  He  was  a  leading  man  in  the  affairs  of  his 
town,  where  he  filled' many  local  offices,  and  was  prominent  in  his  business  pursuits. 
He  married  Cornelia  A.  Gardiner,  of  Sag  Harbor,  L.  I.,  in  1855,  and  they  had  four 
children  :  J.  Franklin  and  Harry  G.,  who  settled  in  Aurora,  111.,  in  1892,  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits,  Kate  S.  (Mrs.  Carlton  L.  Gaylord),  of  Sodus,  and  Bertie,  who  died 
in  childhood. 

Bates,  Lewis  (deceased),  was  born  August  13,  1819,  in  Saratoga  county,  and  was  a 
son  of  Daniel  P.  Bates,  who  settled  near  Sodus  Center  about  1826  and  later  near  Sodus 
Point.  He  married  Jane  Van  Cott,  and  their  children  were:  Esther,  who  married  Ira 
Powers  and  settled  at  Geneva,  N.  Y.;  Ann,  who  married  George  Sergeant  and  settled 
in  Sodus;  Almira,  who  married  Francis  Doville,  of  Sodus;  John,  who  settled  in  Sodus 
and  is  a  wealthy  farmer,  and  Lewis,  who  early  in  life  was  a  sailor  on  the  lakes,  was  a 
captain  and  owner  of  various  vessels,  later  engaging  in  the  mercantile  trade  at  Sodus 
Point,  which  he  carried  on  for  ten  or  twelve  years.  About  1863  he  purchased  a  farm 
on  the  lake  road,  west  of  the  Point,  where  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1893.  He  took 
an  active  part  in  political  affairs,  and  was  supervisor  of  Sodus  several  years.  He  mar- 
ried in  1851  Martha  A.,  daughter  of  Henry  Finch,  of  Sodus,  and  their  children  were : 
Danipl  P.,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Sodus,  and  married  Jane  Knapp  ;  Frances  A.,  who  is  un- 
married and  resides  on  the  homestead;  Lawrence  A.,  who  lives  in  Pine  Valley, 
Chemung  county,  and  married  Kate  Farrell;  A.  Bonaparte,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Sodus, 
and  married  Mary  Comstock  ;  Edward  L.,  unmarried,  who  resides  on  the  homestead  ; 
Anna  M.,  who  married  Franklin  A.  Palmer,  resides  in  Erie,  Pa;  David  R.,  unmarried, 
who  resides  on  the  homestead,  and  De  Grape,  unmarried,  who  resides  on  the  home- 
stead. 

Fish,  Harry  S.,  son  of  Isaac  and  Polly  Rice  Fish,  was  born  in  Williamson,  N.  Y.,  No- 
vember 24,  1811.  Isaac  Fish  and  wife  came  from  Massachusetts  and  resided  in  Will- 
iamson until  their  decease.  Harry  S.  Fish  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  and  educated  in 
the  common  schools.  He  has  always  been  engaged  in  farming,  and  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  most  successful  farmers  in  his  town.  He  was  always  fond  of  fine  horses  and 
raised  many.  He  has  been  highway  commissioner  of  his  town.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
W.  M.  church,  and  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  married  Polly  Maria  Russell,  January 
29,  1835,  from  which  marriage  he  had  five  children:  Isaac  N.,  Daniel  R.,  Julia  M.,  Selby 
S.,  and  Carlton  B.  Mrs.  Fish  was  a  member  of  the  W.  M  church,  was  born  June  3, 1816, 
and  died  December  2,  1845.  Mr.  Fish  subsequently  married  Fanny  Maria  Stewart,  Oc- 
tober 15,  1846,  who  was  a  member  of  the  W.  M.  church,  and  was  born  January  9,  1817, 
and  died  January  13,  1893.  From  this  marriage  there  were  four  children:  Harriet  A., 
Timothy  S.,  William  G,  and  Sarah  L.  Selby  S..  Carlton  B..  and  Timothy  S.  Fish  en- 
listed in  the  United  States  service  early  in  the  Rebellion  of  1861-65,  and  served  until 
honorably  discharged  therefrom.  William  Stewart,  father  of  Fanny  Maria  Stewart  Fish, 
was  a  Scotchman  by  birth.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in  America  war  was  declared  against 
England.     Young  Stewart  entered  the  Continental  army  and  served  seven  years  in  the 


FAMILY    SKETCHES.  323 

war.     Harriet  A.  is  the  only  child  who  remains  at  home  to  care  for  her  invalid  father 
and  aid  him  in  his  business  transactions. 

Ellinwood,  E.  Chester,  was  born  in  Rose,  July  6,  1838,  son  of  Chester  and  Sophronia 
(Allen)  Ellinwood.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Brookline,  Vt,  and  she  a  native  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. The  paternal  grandparents  were  Jonathan  and  Naomi  (Weeks)  EllinAvood, 
and  Ezra  Allen  and  Lucy  (Kellogg)  Allen.  The  former  were  natives  of  Vermont,  and 
the  latter  of  Massanhusetts.  Chester  Ellinwood  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812.  He 
and  his  wife,  Sophronia,  were  married  in  1816,  and  settled  upon  a  large  farm  one  mile 
east  of  Rose  Valley,  and  here  they  reared  a  family  of  six  children  :  Ensign  W.,  Charlotte 
M.,  Lucy,  Lemira,  Mary  A.,  Charles  J.,  and  E.  Chester.  He  was  a  successful  and  well- 
to-do  farmer  of  his  time,  and  lived  to  be  eighty- five  years  old.  E.  Chester,  the  young- 
est of  the  family,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  received  a  liberal  education  at  the  Rose 
Valley  School,  the  Clyde  High  School,  and  Fort  Plain  Seminary.  He  studied  law  in  the 
office  of  Judge  Norton  at  Newark,  and  here  he  sought  and  won  the  heart  and  hand  of 
Mary  E.,  who  was  the  accomplished  daughter  of  Clark  and  Irene  Phillips,  of  Arcadia. 
They  were  married  September  3,  1867.  Among  the  important  results  of  this  union  five 
children  were  added  :  Irene  P.  (who  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years),  Mary,  Louise, 
John  C,  Chester,  and  Robert  E.  Louisa  is  now  a  teacher  in  the  Clyde  High  School, 
John  a  teacher  in  his  home  district,  and  Chester  and  Robert  are  among  his  pupils.  Mr. 
Ellinwood  owns  and  resides  upon  a  large  farm  situated  midway  between  Rose  and  Wol- 
cott,  and  a  very  pleasant  home  it  is  with  its  surroundings  and  attractions.  He  enjoys 
the  charms  around  his  fireside  of  a  devoted  wife  and  happy  children.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat,  attends  with  his  family  the  Baptist  church,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Wolcott 
Grange.     He  has  been  supervisor  of  his  town  two  terms. 

Graham,  Archibald  M.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Rose,  December  15,  1856,  son  of 
Henry  Graham,  a  prominent  man  in  his  town.  He  was  a  farmer  and  blacksmith,  buy- 
ing a  tract  of  land  a  mile  square  of  the  original  purchasers  of  the  tract.  He  died  in  1878 
aged  seventy-seven  years.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  Clyde 
High  School,  and  Red  Creek  Seminary,  and  took  a  business  course  at  Bryant  &Stratton 
College  at  Syracuse,  after  which  he  entered  the  employ  of  Gurney,  Streeter  &  Co.  In 
1877  he  established  a  drug  store  with  J.  H.  Childs,  which  he  sold  out  in  1879.  and  then 
engaged  in  the  boot  and  shoe  business.  In  1888  he  purchased  the  W.  H.  &  C.  F.  Groes- 
beck's  warehouse  and  flouring  plant,  making  a  specialty  of  fine  grades  of  flour,  having 
an  output  of  150  barrels  per  day.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  married  Rose  E.  Case, 
daughter  of  Harvey  Case,  by  whom  he  has  one  daughter,  Louise  R.  Our  subject  is  one 
of  the  conservative  men  of  the  town,  filling  the  office  of  trustee,  also  trustee  of  the 
school  for  eight  years,  president  of  the  village  in  1893,  and  is  identified  in  advancing  the 
best  interests  of  the  day. 

Redman,  Abraham,  was  born  in  Camillus  in  1822,  and  is  a  son  of  Isaac  and  grandson 
of  Abraham.  Isaac  Redman  came  to  Wayne  county  about  1834,  and  settled  in  the  east 
part  of  the  town  of  Sodus,  south  of  the  ridge,  and  took  up  eighty  acres,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married  Rebecca  Pitts,  and  their  children  were  :  Abram, 
Betsey,  Michael,  Mary,  and  Sarah  J.  Abram  settled  in  Sodus.  He  is  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  and  during  the  earlier  years  of  his  life  followed  that  business.  He  afterward  set- 
tled on  the  Ridge  road,  near  the  west  line  of  the  town,  and  is  engaged  in  farming.  He 
married  Sarah  E.  White,  and  their  children  are:  Virginia  Amelia  (deceased),  who  mar- 
ried Charles  Kelly  ;  Alice,  who  died  unmarried  ;  Harvey,  who  married  Frances  Miller 
and  resides  in  Williamson ;  and  Warner  D.,  is  a  farmer  on  the  homestead.  He  married 
Lillian  B.  Whaling,  of  Sodus. 

Greene,  Samuel  B.,  was  born  in  Albany  county,  February  9,  1827,  and  died  in  Sodus 
in  October,  1887.  His  father,  Joseph,  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1837,  and  settled  near 
Joy  in  the  town  of  Sodus.     He  took  an  active  part  in  political  affairs,  and  was  highway 


224  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

commissioner  and  assessor.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Christian  church  of 
Marion.  He  married  Abigail  Baker,  and  their  children  were  :  Samuel  B.,  Jeremiah, 
Benjamin  B.,  and  Joseph  A.  Joseph  Greene,  sr.,  died  in  1875;  Jeremiah  settled  in 
Clyde,  where  he  died  in  1888.  For  many  years  he  carried  on  a  drug  business  there; 
Benjamin  B.  settled  in  Newark  and  is  a  carpenter  and  builder ;  Joseph  A.  settled  in 
Indiana,  where  he  died.  He  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  hardware  trade  there; 
Samuel  B.  settled  on  a  farm  south  of  Joy,  where  he  spent  his  life.  He  was  highway 
commissioner  and  assessor  for  several  years,  also  collector.  He  was  a  liberal  supportor 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Joy,  and  for  many  years  was  superintendent  of  the  Sab- 
bath school.  He  married  in  1852  Harriet  J.,  daughter  of  Adam  Tinkelpaugh,  of  Sodus, 
and  their  children  were:  Louise  A.  (Mrs.  Lynn  D.  Wake,  of  Sodus)  ;  Harriet  A.  (Mrs. 
Franklin  L.  Butts,  of  Sodus) ;  and  Martha  M.  (deceased). 

Knapp,  Walter,  the'  pioneer  of  the  family  in  Wayne  county,  came  from  Columbia 
county  in  1833,  and  settled  two  miles  south  south  of  Sodus  village.  Soon  after  he  pur- 
chased what  is  now  the  Stickney  farm,  a  mile  south  of  the  village,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Sodus  Presbyterian  church, 
and  for  many  years  one  of  its  deacons.  He  married  Annis  Richmond,  and  they  had  five 
children:  Simeon,  who  settled  in  New  York  city  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits; 
George,  who  settled  in  Allegan,  Mich.  ;  Phineas,  who  engaged  in  railroading,  and  died 
in  New  Orleans;  Helen  (Mrs.  E.  A.  Greene);  and  James  P.,  who  settled  in  Sodus  on 
the  Flarel  Kingsley  farm.  He  is  a  leading  member  of  the  Sodus  Presbyterian  church, 
and  for  many  years  was  trustee  and  elder.  The  latter  office  he  still  holds.  He  married 
Nancy,  daughter  of  Flarel  Kingsley,  of  Sodus,  and  they  had  two  sons :  George,  who 
died  in  1874,  and  Charles  K.,  of  Sodus  village. 

Kelley,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  June  12,  1856,  educated  in  the  district 
school  and  the  academy,  and  spent  his  boyhood  on  his  father's  farm  until  the  age  of 
thirteen.  In  1884  he  began  business  as  a  druggist  and  stationer,  which  he  has  followed 
successfully  ever  since.  August  30,  1874,  he  married  Ella  R.  Van  Auken,  of  this  town, 
and  they  have  had  three  children  :  C.  Fred,  Gertrude  E.,  and  Alice  M. ;  the  son  is  a 
student  in  the  Wesleyan  College  at  Bloomington,  111.,  and  the  daughters  students  at  the 
academy.  Mr.  Kelley's  father,  Ebenezer,  was  born  in  Kinderhook,  Columbia  county, 
and  removed  here  with  his  parents  in  1830.  He  married  Anna  M.  Phillips,  of  Arcadia, 
and  they  had  'nine  children  :  Clarence  M.,  John  P.,  William  II.,  Ellen  L.,  H.  Madge, 
Charles  E.,  Frank  A.,  James  E.,  and  a  son,  Henry,  who  died  young.  Both  parents  are 
now  living  (1894).  Mrs.  Kelley's  father,  Martin  C.  Van  Auken,  was  born  in  Westfali, 
Pa.,  November  18,  1832,  and  came  here  with  his  parents  in  1833.  Mr.  Kelley  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  and  Maccabee  Orders,  also  Newark  Grange,  has  served  as  town 
clerk  two  years,  is  a  member  of  the  Village  Board,  and  is  president  of  the  Board  of 
Education. 

Delano,  Edward  Chandler,  was  born  in  Sodus  Centre,  N.  Y.,  November  30, 1854,  and 
traces  his  ancestry  back  to  Jean  and  Marie  (Mahien)  Delano,  natives  of  France,  whose 
son,  Philip,  came  to  Plymouth  witli  the  second  detachment  of  Pilgrims  in  "ye  good 
ship  Fortune"  in  1621.  The  oldest  son  of  Philip,  the  Pilgrim,  was  Dr.  Thomas  Delano, 
who  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  and  Priscilla  (Molines)  Alden,  from  which  this 
branch  of  the  family  is  descended.  William,  the  pioneer  in  Wayne  county,  was  a  son 
of  Amaziah,  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  who  was  a  great-great-grandson  of  Dr.  Thomas 
above.  William  came  to  this  locality  in  1811  from  North  Yarmouth,  Me.,  where  the 
family  had  settled  two  generations  previously.  He  took  up  a  farm  near  the  present 
village  of  Sodus  Centre,  and  carried  on  farming  and  blacksmithing.  His  wife  was 
Hannah  Hayden.  who  with  her  brothers  came  from  Maine  in  1812.  The  children  of 
William  and  Hannah  were :  William  II.  H,  Lucy  E.  A.,  Elbridge  G.,  Elvina  A., 
Gardiner  W.,  and  Rufus  Chandler,  who  all  lived  to  maturity.  Rufus  C.  has  always 
resided  in  the  town   of  Sodus ;  he  married  Almeda  Matilda,  daughter  of  Edward  and 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  225 

Mary  Ann  (Jacobs)  Taylor,  March  4,  1847,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Edward  C.  as 
above.  The  latter  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  at  Sodus  Academy,  and  from 
1874  to  1881  was  engaged  in  teaching,  being  principal  of  the  Sodus  Centre  Graded 
School.  In  the  fall  of  1881  he  was  elected  school  commissioner  of  Wayne  county,  which 
office  he  filled  for  six  consecutive  years,  and  was  then  appointed  chief  examiner  in  the 
State  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  holding  the  office  for  five  years,  or  until  his 
resignation  in  1893.  Here  he  organized  and  perfected  the  present  State  system  of 
uniform  examinations  for  teachers'  certificates.  He  was  also  the  pioneer  in  the  move- 
ment for  establishing  Arbor  Day  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  many  other  salutary 
school  laws  have  been  enacted  largely  through  his  efforts.  In  1878,  '79  and  '80  he  was 
president  of  the  Wayne  County  Teachers'  Association,  and  in  1885  and  '86  he  was  pres- 
ident of  the  New  York  State  Association  of  School  Commissioners  and  Superindendents. 
He  is  an  attendant  at  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Sodus  Centre,  of  which  he  is  a  trustee. 
January  25,  1888,  he  married  Emma  Jane,  onlv  daughter  of  Albert  G-.  and  Eliza 
(Smith)  Graham,  of  Clyde,  N.  Y. 

Robinson,  Hon.  Rowland,  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  Sodus,  was  born  in  Cam- 
bridge, Washington  county.  November  7,  1820,  his  ancestors  being  Rhode  Island 
Quakers.  In  1865  he  came  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Sodus,  buying  a  farm  south  of 
the  village,  and  at  once  began  to  identify  himself  with  the  best  interests  of  the  town. 
He  was  supervisor  of  Sodus  from  1877  to  1880,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly 
of  1881.  He  held  for  several  years  the  appointment  of  town  commissioner  of  the  Sodus 
Point  and  Southern  Railroad,  and  was  director  for  a  time  of  the  Lake  Ontario  Shore" 
Railroad ;  is  president  of  the  Wayne  County  Fire  Relief  Association,  having  insurance 
on  farm  property  amounting  to  about  $3,200,000,  with  an  average  increase  of  $200,- 
000  per  year. 

Redgrave,  Samuel  C,  leading  hardware  dealer  of  Lyons,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md., 
April  17,  1836,  is  a  son  of  John  Redgrave,  who  died  in  1840.  Samuel  was  taught  in 
the  schools  of  Wayne,  whither  his  mother  came  after  her  husband's  death,  to  be  near 
her  brother,  William  N.  Cole,  the  editor  of  one  of  the  local  papers.  He  worked  on  a 
farm  in  early  life,  and  then  served  as  clerk  in  the  hardware  store  of  William  H.  Hulelt, 
of  Lyons.  He  next  worked  a  year  in  Palmyra,  and  on  April  1,  1855,  returned  to 
■  Lyons  in  the  employ  of  P.  P.  Bradish,  who  then  carried  on  hardware  trade.  Mr. 
Bradish  sold  out  a  year  later  to  R.  H.  Murdock,  for  whom  Mr.  Redgrave  worked  until 
1860.  After  a  short  time  spent  in  Baltimore  he  came  back  to  Lyons  and  began  work 
in  the  hardware  store  of  Aaron  Remsen.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy 
Artillery,  and  was  discharged  for  disability  in  1864,  returning  to  his  former  position. 
In  1865  he  married  his  employer's  daughter,  Melvena  Remsen.  The  firm  of  Remsen  & 
Redgrave  was  formed  January  1,  1866.  Mr.  Remsen  died  in  February,  1886,  Mr.  Red- 
grave has  since  carried  on  the  business  alone.  Mr.  Remsen  was  for  many  years  one  of 
the  most  respected  citizens  of  the  town,  and  Mr.  Redgrave  enjoys  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens.     He  is  father  of  three  daughters. 

Cheetham,  William  J.,  was  born  in  London,  England,  in  1842,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
Cheetham,  who  came  from  England  in  1853  and  settled  in  the  northwest  part  of  Sodus 
on  the  lake  shore,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Mary  Welburn,  and  their 
children  are :  William  J.,  Richard  M.,  George  F.,  Anna  R.,  Emily  M.,  and  Caroline  M. 
Richard  M.  and  George  F.  reside  in  Williamson,  and  are  engaged  in  the  hardware  and 
banking  business ;  Anna  R.  is  unmarried  ;  Emily  M.  married  William  Horn ;  Caroline 
M.  married  Christopher  Ewer.  William  J.  Cheetham  settted  at  Joy,  carries  on  a  saw 
mill,  and  is  also  engaged  in  farming.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Assessors 
of  the  town,  is  a  member  and  warden  of  St.  John's  Episcopal  church  of  Sodus.  In  1863 
he  enlisted  in  the  97th  N.  Y.  Infantry,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  held  the 
rank  of  corporal  and  acting  sergeant.     He  is  a  member  of  Dwight  Post.  G.  A.  R.,  of 


226  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Sodus,  has  been  commander  one  year,  chaplain  two  years,  and  quartermaster  several 
years.  He  has  also  been  a  delegate  to  the  State  Encampment.  He  married  first  Sarah 
E.,  daughter  of  Eev.  Edmund  Burke,  and  their  children  were :  John  H.,  Charles  W., 
Francis  E.  (deceased),  Frederick  G.,  and  Maria  Isabel!.  His  second  wife  was  Mary  L., 
daughter  of  Philip  Miihl,  of  Sodus,  and  they  have  one  son,  Richard  M.  Cheetham. 

Younglove,  R.  W.,  a  resident  for  fifty  years  north  of  Wolcott,  was  born  in  Mas- 
sachusetts May  15,  1824.  He  is  a  man  of  much  force  of  character  and  moral  worth, 
with  all  the  sterling  qualities  that  cling  to  the  pioneer  who  has  achieved  success.  De- 
cember 30,  1847,  he  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  John  Washburn,  of  Victory,  Cayuga 
county,  N.  Y.  They  have  four  children :  Willis,  Frances,  Mary  and  Nettie.  Frances  is 
the  wife  of  Daniel  Robertson,  and  Mary  of  Arthur  Easton. 

York,  Benjamin  S.,  was  born  in  Huron,  November  13,  1825,  on  the  farm  he  now 
owns.  He  was  the  son  of  Benjamin  York,  born  in  Maine  in  1785,  who  came  to 
Huron  in  1812,  and  was  a  staunch  Whig.  His  wife  was  Martha  Churchill,  and  their 
children  were  John,  Irena,  Lovilla,  Lavina,  Benjamin,  and  Emeline.  Our  subject  re- 
mained with  his  father  until  the  latter  died,  and  in  1850  married  Minerva,  daughter 
of  John  and  Eliza  De  Witt  Miller,  of  Schuyler  county,  and  their  children  are :  Imo- 
gene,  wife  of  Robert  J.  Kelly,  of  Huron ;  Eliza,  widow  of  William  Mitchell,  of  Rose ; 
Josephine  and  Christina.  As  his  children  have  left  home  he  has  placed  them  each 
on  a  good  farm. 

Zimmerlin  Bros. — This  firm  is  composed  of  H.  F.  and  C.  G.  Zimmerlin,  sons  of  F.  C. 
Zimmerlin,  and  who  are  one  of  the  leading  firms  in  hardware  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments in  Lyons.  The  business  was  established  in  1885  in  the  same  location  now  occu- 
pied by  them.  The  brothers  are  recognized  in  this  town  as  business  men  of  ability  and 
strict  integrity,  and  have  met  with  success  from  the  inception  of  the  business  up  to  the 
present  time.  H.  F.  Zimmerlin  married  Sarah  L.  Warner,  and  they  have  three  children  : 
Grace,  Mez,  and  May.  C.  G.  Zimmerlin  married  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  Nelson  R.  Mirick, 
of  Lyons,  and  while  both  brothers  have  had  an  active  business  life  they  have  found 
time  to  take  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  leading  events  of  the  day,  in  educational  and 
religious  matters,  and  are  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  their  town. 

Wood,  Noah,  was  born  April  23,  1832,  the  son  of  Horatio  Wood,  a  farmer  of  Butler, 
who  was  also  a  man  of  local  prominence,  being  a  justice  for  twenty  years,  and  who  died 
in  1860.  His  wife,  Angeline,  the  mother  of  seven  children,  died  in  1886.  Noah's  edu- 
cation at  Levina,  N.  Y.,  was  of  a  theological  tendency,  but  his  principal  occupation  has 
been  farming,  and  he  now  owns  and  operates  a  dairy  farm  in  the  suburbs  of  Wolcott. 
September  10,  1861,  he  married  Hattie,  daughter  of  John  Hall,  of  Cicero,  N.  Y.,  and 
both  are  prominent  in  the  M.  E.  church  of  Wolcott.  Mr.  Wood  is  a  man  of  much  char- 
acter, and  has  filled  many  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  such  as  the  president  of 
the  village,  trustee  of  the  Leavenworth  Institute,  and  justice  of  the  peace,  holding  the 
latter  position  twelve  years. 

Whitcomb,  Flynn,  was  born  in  Washington  county,  December  20,  1833,  one  of  seven 
children  of  Selinda  and  Samuel  (Smith)  Whitcomb,  of  Washington  and  Chautauqua  coun- 
ties, respectively.  They  came  to  Walworth  when  our  subject  was  an  infant,  and  thence 
to  Ontario  in  1838,  where  they  lived  and  died.  He  and  wife  were  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  of  which  he  was  a  local  preacher.  Flynn  was  reared  on  the  farm,  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  is  a  carpenter  by  trade,  though  he  has  followed  farming  most 
of  his  life,  having  a  farm  of  eighty-seven  acres.  He  also  gives  some  attention  to  fruit 
raising.  In  1892  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  western  district  of  Wayne  county  in 
the  Assembly.  Mr.  Whitcomb  married  in  1854  Mary  A.  Clark,  a  native  of  Williamson, 
and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Clark,  who  were  born  in  England,  and  came  to 
America,  locating  in  Williamson  first,  then  in  Ontario,  where  they  spent  their  last  days. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  227 

Woodhams,  Owen,  was  born  in  Sussex,  England,  December  22,  1833.  He  is  the 
third  child  of  a  family  of  eleven  children  of  James  and  Edith  (Wren)  Woodhams, 
natives  of  England,  and  in  1850  came  to  Greece,  where  the  father  died  in  1890,  and  the 
mother  now  resides  there  at  the  age  at  eighty-six.  Subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
on  a  farm,  and  in  1855  enlisted  in  Company  A,  96th  N.  Y.  Yol.  Inf.,  and  served  until 
the  close  of  war.  He  owns  a  farm  of  eighty-seven  acres  and  follows  general  farming. 
Mr.  Woodhams  married  in  1825  Ann  Woodhams,  a  native  of  England  and  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Martha  (Jenner)  Woodhams,  who  came  to  America  when  Mrs.  Woodhams 
was  a  mere  child.  Henry  Woodhams  died  in  April,  1891,  in  Ontario,  and  his  wife  now 
lives  in  the  town  at  eighty  years  of  age.  Subject  and  wife  have  had  ten  children,  of 
whom  five  are  now  living :  Albert  E.,  Nettie,  Elizabeth,  William,  and  Thomas.  The 
family  are  members  of,  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  church. 

Waldorf,  Reuben,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1840.  His  father,  Peter 
Waldorf,  now  eighty-two  years  of  age,  is  a  resident  of  Clyde.  His  mother,  Hannah, 
died  in  1884,  leaving  a  family  of  ten  children,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the  sole  represent- 
ative in  Wolcott.  Until  1870  he  remained  at  Clyde  with  his  parents,  purchasing  at  that 
time  the  farm  where  he  has  since  resided.  February  16,  1869,  he  married  Lottie, 
daughter  of  Henry  Sheldon,  and  of  their  four  children  two  are  now  living,  Henry,  born 
March  11,  1872,  and  Frank,  born  February  11,  1877.  Lena,  born  June  26,  1873,  died  in 
infancy,  and  May,  born  November  4,  1873,  died  when  ten  years  old.  The  eldest  son, 
Harry,  is  a  graduate  of  the  0.  C.  Seminary  at  Cazenovia,  N.  Y.,  and  now  occupies  a 
position  as  teacher  at  Leavenworth  Institute,  Wolcott,  N.  Y. 

Wise,  A.  M.,  was  born  near  Clyde,  March  4,  1830,  the  eldest  son  of  Amanzo  and 
Betsey  Wise,  who  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  in  Galen.  His  wife  is  Julia,  daughter 
of  David  Waldruff,  a  prominent  farmer  and  builder  of  Clyde.  They  were  married  De- 
cember 19,  1854,  and  have  four  children  :  T.  Jefferson,  Alice,  Frank,  and  Belle.  In  1862 
Mr.  Wise  purchased  the  blast  furnace  near  Wolcott  and  operated  it  for  eight  years,  after 
which  as  senior  member  of  Wise  &  Waldruff  four  years  were  spent  in  the  manufacture 
of  lumber.  With  his  eldest  son,  Jefferson,  he  is  now  engaged  in  farming  and  the 
choicest  portion  of  the  220  acres  is  devoted  to  the  culture  of  grapes,  berries  and  smaller 
fruits.  Jefferson  married  Susan  Wadsworth,  of  Wolcott,  who  died  August  8,  1889, 
leaving  no  children. 

Wilson,  Emily  J.,  the  leading  milliner  of  Wolcott,  has  been  in  business  here  for  thirty 
years,  and  for  the  latter  half  of  that  time  at  the  present  location,  where  by  unremitting 
personal  attention  accompanied  with  unusual  sagacity,  she  has  built  up  a  large  trade 
in  fashionable  millinery  and  those  accessories  so  dear  to  the  feminine  heart. 

Waldorf.  Jefferson,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  May  15,  1839.  His  parents, 
David  T.  and  Polly  A.  (Miller)  Waldorf,  reared  a  family  of  five  sons  and  five  daughters, 
of  whom  but  two  sons  and  two  daughters  are  now  living.  David  Waldorf  was  engaged 
in  the  custom  milling  business  at  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y.,  and  for  some  years  a  dealer  in  grain 
and  produce  at  Clyde,  a  prominent  Democrat  and  a  deputy  sheriff.  He  died  in  1888 
when  eighty-one  years  of  age.  Subject's  wife  was  Mary  A.  Dillow,  of  Clinton,  Oneida 
county,  whom  he  married  February  22,  1865,  and  they  have  two  children,  Gisella,  born 
May  5,  1871,  now  a  teacher  in  Leavenworth  Institute  at  Wolcott,  where  she  was  grad- 
uated in  1892 ;  and  Guy,  born  May  6,  1877.  Mr.  Waldorf  has  filled  many  positions  of 
trust  and  honor,  and  is  very  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him. 

Whitbourn,  Joseph,  was  born  in  Ontario,  October  19,  1862,  the  fifth  child  of  seven 
children  born  to  Richard  and  Catharine  (Guy)  Whitbourn,  natives  of  England,  and  came 
to  Canada  about  1839,  in  1860  to  Ontario,  and  here  lived  and  died.  Mr.  Whitbourn 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but  also  followed  farming  and  owned  sixty- three  acres  of 
land.     He  was  killed  by  falling  from  a  barn,  and  his  wife  resides  with  subject  of  sketch. 


328  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

Joseph  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools,  has  always  been  a 
farmer,  and  now  has  charge  of  the  old  homestead.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  K.  0.  T.  M.  Cyrene  Tent  No.  203.  He  married,  June  3,  1891,  Mary  A.  Hennessey, 
a  native  of  Walworth  and  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Catharine  Hennessey,  who  were 
early  settlers  of  Walworth,  where  he  died  in  1892.  Mr.  Whitbourn  and  wife  have  had 
one  child,  Elizabeth,  born  October  6,  1893. 

Waldo  Horace,  was  born  in  Oneida  county  November  20,  1832,  the  fifth  of  a  family 
of  six  children  born  to  Thomas  and  Esther  (Beckwith)  Waldo,  natives  of  Oneida  county, 
and  the  grandparents  on  both  sides  were  among  the  first  settlers.  The  father  of  Thomas 
Waldo  was  a  captain  in  the  French  and  Indian  war.  The  father  of  Esther  Beckwith 
was  Lemuel  Beckwith,  who  with  three  brothers  came  to  Oneida  in  a  very  early  day. 
Mr.  Waldo  died  in  June,  1836,  and  his  wife  September  6,  1880,  aged  eighty-three  years. 
Horace  was  educated  in  the  Western  University,  followed  farming;  until  he  came  to 
Ontario  in  1871,  and  was  foreman  in  the  Wayne  County  Mining  Company  eleven  years, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  farming,  owns  thirty  acres  of  land,  also  property  in  Web- 
ster. Mr.  Waldo  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  and  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  five 
years,  and  has  been  excise  commissioner  three  terms.  Mr.  Waldo  married  in  187G 
Sallie  H.,  widow  of  Richard  Richmond,  and  daughter  of  Horace  Hill.  Horace  Hill  was 
born  in  Macedon  in  1799,  and  was  a  farmer  and  miller,  and  he  and  Ira  Hill  built  the 
Hill  grist  mill,  now  owned  by  Mr.  Durfee.  He  was  twice  married,  first  Sallie  Beach, 
and  had  four  children.  His  second  wife  was  Clarissa  Kingman,  whom  he  married  June 
14,  1825,  by  whom  he  had  three  children,  two  daughters  are  living.  Mr.  Hill  was  a 
Whig  and  Republican,  and  was  highway  commissioner  and  assessor.  He  settled  in 
Ontario  in  1827,  coming  from  Macedon.  He  first  settled  on  the  Hodge  farm  and  then 
on  the  Whitney  farm.  He  came  on  the  farm  where  Mr.  Waldo  now  resides  in  1854, 
and  died  here  March  10,  1883,  and  his  wife  died  August  25,  1873,  aged  seventy-one 
years.  Mr.  Waldo  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Baptist  Church,  of  which  Mr.  Waldo 
has  been  deacon  nine  years.  He  had  two  children  by  his  first  wife,  Louisa  and  Marie 
Robinson.     The  only  child  by  the  second  wife  now  living  is  Susan  A.  Mason  of  Albion. 

Wager,  D.  M.,  son  of  the  late  Alfred  and  Gertrude  E.  Wager,  was  born  at  Amster- 
dam September  1,  1847.  At  that  time  Alfred  Wager  was  a  grocer  at  Amsterdam,  but 
in  1653  purchased  a  farm  in  Galen.  His  success  in  life,  which  was  marked,  was  with- 
out doubt  largely  due  to  his  unsullied  personal  integrity,  and  to  th6  honest  and  straight- 
forward character  of  his  business  methods  ;  qualities  almost  widely  ascribed  also  to  the 
subject  of  the  sketch.  His  death  occurred  September  8,  1893,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight,  and  that  of  Gertrude  his  wife,  a  few  months  preceding.  D.  M.  Wager  married 
March  4,  1872,  Ella,  daughter  of  William  Sheldon,  of  Huron,  widely  known  as  an 
inventor  of  several  patent  mechanical  appliances  for  farm  use.  Widely  known  and 
esteemed  throughout  eastern  Wayne,  his  name  a  synonym  for  good  fellowship  and 
unassuming  integrity,  such  is  D.  M.  Wager,  of  Wolcott. 

Wilkinson,  Joseph,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  this  town  on  the  farm  he  now  owns 
August  13,  1833,  a  son  of  Joseph,  a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  who  came  to  Wayne 
county  in  1830.  In  early  life  the  latter  was  captain  of  a  sloop,  then  became  a  general 
merchant  in  Steuben  county  for  ten  years.  Returning  to  this  county  he  followed 
farming  until  his  death  in  1857,  aged  seventy-three,  fie  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
William  Smith,  of  Dutchess  county,  and  they  had  twelve  children,  five  now  living. 
Joseph  has  followed  farming,  and  keeps  a  dairy  of  twenty  head  of  cattle,  selling  milk 
in  the  city  of  Rochester,  and  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Producer's  Milk  Company  of 
Rochester.  His  farm  comprises  150  acres,  mostly  under  cultivation.  In  1855  he  mar- 
ried Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Lapham,  and  a  descendant  of  the  old  pioneer  family 
so  well  known  throughout  this  part  of  the  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilkinson  have  had 
these  childien:  Gilbert  R.,  William  L.,  John  C.  and  Minnie  E.  Mr.  Wilkinson  and 
family  aremembeis  of  the  M.  E.  Church.     He  was  assessor  two  years,  and  is  a  Granger. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  229 

White,  John  T.,  a  native  of  Schenectady  county,  was  born  May  2,  1810,  the  oldest  of 
fourteen  children  of  Ichabod  and  Sarah  (Tallman)  White,  natives  of  Dutchess  county. 
The  paternal  grandfather  of  subject  was  Ichabod  White,  a  son  of  Ichabod,  who  died  in 
Duanesburgh,  where  the  grandfather  of  subject  also  died.  Father  of  subject  died  in 
Schoharie  county  in  1856,  and  his  wife  in  1873.  Subject  started  in  life  by  farming, 
and  in  1851  came  on  the  farm  he  owns  of  113  acres,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He 
was  assessor  fifteen  years.  He  married  December  29,  1861,  Sallie  B.  Wilber,  a  native 
of  Schoharie  county,  by  whom  he  has  had  seven  children  :  Ruth,  wife  of  Henry  C. 
King;  William  B.,  who  married  Mary  Richmond  ;  John  J.,  who  married  Augusta  Wy- 
man  ;  Artemus  T.,  of  Macedon,  who  married  Abbie  Smith;  Mary  S.,  wife  of  George 
Gilbert,  of  South  Dakota  ;  Edna,  wife  of  Jerome  Parker,  of  Walworth,  and  Elias  R., 
who  died  in  infancy.     Mrs.  White  died  July  27,  1894. 

Williams,  M.  E.,  was  born  in  Penfield,  Monroe  county,  August  14,  1846,  the  oldest 
son  of  eight  children  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Heath,  he  a  native  of  England  and  she  of 
Penfield.  In  1828  he  came  to  Penfield  and  in  1851  to  West  Walworth,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  Mrs.  Williams  died  in  November,  1893.  Subject  was  reared  a  black- 
smith, and  learned  the  trade  with  his  father.  He  has  lived  in  West  Walworth  forty- 
three  years,  and  in  1890  bought  a  farm  of  sixty-five  acres  and  follows  general  farming 
and  blacksmithing.  He  married  in  1869  Frank,  daughter  of  Avery  Maine,  and  their 
children  are :  Millie,  Irvin  and  Cora.  Millie  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Echler,  by  whom  she 
has  two  children,  Ella  and  Albert.     Mr.  Williams  was  overseer  of  the  poor  three  years. 

Ward,  Reuben,  born  at  Wolcott,  August  2,  1835,  is  the  son  of  the  late  Joseph  Ward, 
a  pioneer  settler,  who  died  in  1882  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  Reuben  spent  nine 
years  of  his  earlier  manhood  farming  in  Michigan,  and  has  since  then  been  engaged  in 
the  same  business  near  North  Wolcott.  His  first  wife,  by  whom  he  had  two  children, 
Benjamin  and  Emma,  both  now  deceased,  was  Frances  Burr,  of  Wolcott,  who  died  in 
1877.  The  second  wife,  who  had  no  children,  was  Maria  Raynor,  who  died  January 
23,  1884.  The  present  mistress  of  his  pleasant  home,  which  commands  a  fine  view  of 
Lake  Ontario,  and  to  whom  he  was  united  March  11,  1885,  was  Mrs.  N  Viele,  a  sister 
of  J.  E.  Dow,  and  they  have  one  son,  Reuben  S.,  born  December  29,  1885. 

Wilson,  George  R.,  was  born  at  Elbridge,  Onondaga  county,  January  6,  1836.  His 
father,  Riley  Wilson,  a  builder  and  millwright,  died  in  1854  at  the  age  of  seventy,  and  his 
mother,  Belinda,  died  during  his  infancy.  Mr.  WiLon's  residence  in  Wayne  county 
dates  from  1844.  Until  1881  his  home  was  in  Savannah,  and  since  that  time  in  South 
Butler.  His  wife  was  Mary  Gotham,  of  Elbridge,  and  their  children  are:  Gorham  J., 
Riley  A.,  Addie  A.,  and  George  W.  Riley  is  a  superintendent  for  the  Wagner  Car 
Company,  and  George  is  an  expert  mechanic  in  the  employ  of  the  Hibbard  Basket 
Works.     Addie  was  the  wife  of  James  L.  Cox,  and  died  in  1890. 

Wells,  Edward  B.,  is  an  enterprising  young  man,  born  in  Huron,  June  25,  1861,  son 
of  Samuel  S.  Wells,  a  native  of  Rose,  whose  father  was  Rufus  Wells,  a  shoemaker  by 
trade.  Subject's  father  was  a  farmer,  and  served  as  superintendent  of  schools  several 
terms.  His  wife  was  Flavia  Wells,  and  their  children  were:  Helen,  William  H, 
Irving  S.,  Preston  S.,  Edward  B.,  Cornelia  L.,  wife  of  Bracket  K.  Reed,  of  Colorado. 
Subject  was  educated  in  Leavenworth  Institute  in  Wolcott,  and  has  always  given  his 
attention  to  farming.  He  is  now  conducting  his  father's  farm,  consisting  of  118  acres, 
making  a  specialty  of  tobacco  and  fruit.  He  served  as  inspector  of  elections  two 
terms. 

Wamesfelder,  Daniel,  born  in  Williamson,  February  21,  1861,  is  the  sixth  of  sixteen 
children  of  Philip  and  Dinah  (Enesse)  Wamesfelder,  natives  of  Holland,  born  in  1822 
and  1825  respectively.  They  came  to  America  about  1847,  bringing  one  son,  Isaac,  who 
was  born  in  Holland  in  1846.     He  has  always  followed  the  mason  trade  and  farming. 


230  LANDMARKS  OP  WAYNE  COUNTY. 

He  now  has  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Williamson,  which  is  carried  on  by  his  son  Daniel. 
His  father  was  Jacob  Wamesfelder,  who  lived  and  died  in  Holland.  He  was  the  father 
of  fifteen  children,  of  whom  five  came  to  America.  Jacob  was  a  farmer  and  garden 
seed  grower.  Daniel  has  always  followed  farming.  In  1885  he  married  Libbie,  daughter 
of  Fred  and  Sarah  Mentz,  natives  of  Germany.  Our  subject  and  wife  have  had  three 
sons:  Philip,  Fred  and  Frank.     They  attend  and  support  the  M.  B.  church. 

Watson,  Harvey  O,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead,  November  4,  1860.  His  father, 
Levi,  was  also  born  on  the  Watson  homestead,  February  28,  1835.  The  grandfather, 
Stephen  G.,  was  a  native  of  Bucks  county.  Pa.  The  family  were  of  English  and  Dutch 
extraction,  came  to  the  town  of  Galen  and  purchased  a  farm  in  1824,  and  which  is  still 
in  the  family.  Levi  Watson  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  Mary,  daughter  of 
Daniel  Chase,  and  they  have  two  children  :  our  subject  and  Sarah  Watson.  He  was  a 
prominent  farmer,  and  died  in  1890,  aged  fifty  years,  leaving  a  wife  and  children  to  take 
up  his  many  plans  and  carry  them  to  completion.  Harvey  C.  married  at  twenty-five 
years  of  age  Julia  E.,  daughter  of  Henry  Backman,  and  they  have  three  children  : 
Raymond,  Ella  and  Ruth.  The  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  county,  and  for  the 
past  seventy-five  years  have  been  identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests. 

Weed,  Benjamin,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  August  23,  1828.  His  father, 
Selleck,  was  a  native  of  New  Canaan,  Conn.  He  came  to  Galen  in  1811,  and  purchased 
one  hundred  acres  of  land.  He  died  in  1853,  aged  sixty-six  years.  Benjamin  was 
educated  at  the  Clyde  High  School  and  the  Lyons  Union  School  after  which  he  taught 
school  seven  winters,  working  on  his  father's  farm  during  the  summer.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years  he  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Joseph  Watson,  and  they  have  four 
children :  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Hunt,  Mrs.  Alice  Wendell,  and  Lucy  C,  and  Mabel  E.  In 
1854  subject  purchased  pait  of  his  father's  farm  of  eighty  acres,  on  which  he  has  erected 
new  buildings  and  the  handsome  residence.  In  1863  he  bought  part  of  the  Stephen 
Waterbury  property,  and  in  1870  bought  another  portion  of  the  same  property,  having 
164  acres,  and  raising  fruit  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  identified  in  educational 
and  religious  matters. 

Welch,  P.  J.,  was  born  in  Clyde  May  18,  1861.  His  father,  Patrick,  came  to  the 
United  States  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  Clyde.  P.  J.  Welch  was  educated  in  Clyde, 
after  leaving  school  entered  the  employ  of  Charles  A.  Howe,  remaining  fourteen  years. 
In  1884  he  established  his  present  business  in  the  center  of  Maine  street,  and  is  now 
carrying  one  of  the  finest  and  best  selected  stocks  of  mercantile  tailoring,  gents'  fur- 
nishing goods,  hats,  caps  and  ready-made  clothing  in  Wayne  county.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-seven  he  married  Mary  L.  Moriarity,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter, 
Irene.     Subject  is  collector  and  treasurer  of  Clyde  No.  132  Catholic  Benevolent  Legion. 

Williamson  Brothers. — This  firm  began  the  manufacture  of  cigars  at  Palmyra  in  1870, 
at  first  with  but  two  or  three  workmen,  but  now  employing  a  force  of  eighteen  or 
more,  having  an  exclusively  wholesale  trade  in  cigars  of  their  own  manufacture,  and 
also  in  cut  goods  in  tobacco.  Their  special  brands  are  ■'  J.  K.  W."  and  "  Fine  Stock." 
Their  factory  was  built  in  1887,  a  three-story  frame  structure,  twenty  by  fifty  feet,  the 
top  story  being  added  in  1892.  Both  the  brothers  are  natives  of  Palmyra,  their  father, 
John,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  having  located  here  in  an  early  day,  and  died  in  1892. 
His  wife  was  Marcia  Haver,  who  died  in  this  town.  John  K.  Williamson  was  born  in 
1850,  educated  at  the  Hudson  River  Institute,  and  graduated  in  the  commercial  course 
in  1866.  He  married  in  1874  a  daughter  of  David  P.  Sanford,  one  of  Palmyra's  oldest 
dry  goods  merchants.  W.  W.  Williamson  served  three  years  in  the  111th  N.  Y.  Regi- 
ment during  the  late  war.  He  has  served  as  collector  of  the  town  one  year,  assessor 
three  years,  trustee  four  years,  and  president  of  the  village  in  1891.  In  1871  he  mar- 
ried Margaret  Young,  a  native  of  Buffalo,  by  whom  he  has  had  three  sons  and  three 
daughters,  of  whom  two  sons  and  one  daughter  survive. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  231 

Whitney,  0.  F,  born  in  Ontario  July  19,  1823,  the  only  child  of  Cornelius  and  Mil- 
licent  (Gould)  Whitney,  the  former  a  native  of  Connecticut,  born  April  30,  1790,  and 
the  latter  of  Granville,  Washington  county,  born  April  25,  1790.  They  came  to  On- 
tario from  Aurelius,  Cayuga  county,  where  they  had  lived  two  years,  in  1816.  He  was 
a  farmer  and  wa«  school  commissioner  in  Ontario.  He  died  September  29,  1875,  and 
his  wife  August  21,  1872.  0.  F.  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  common  school 
and  Walworth  select  schools,  also  Ontario  select  schools.  He  has  always  been  a  farmer 
and  located  on  the  farm  he  now  owns  April  14,  1837.  He  has  ninety-three  acres  of 
land,  and  follows  general  farming  and  sheep  raising.  Mr.  Whitney  was  a  Republican 
until  1882,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  Prohibitionist.  He  and  family  are  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  married  September  30,  1846,  Laura,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Loami  Whitcomb,  a  native  of  Washington  county  and  an  early  settler  of  Ontario,  where 
he  lived  and  died.  Mrs.  Whitney  died  February  7,  1882,  and  Mr.  Whitney  married 
February  24,  1885,  the  widow  of  Dr.  E.  J.  Whitcomb  and  daughter  of  Cyrus  Thatcher 
of  Ontario.  She  had  one  daughter  by  her  first  husband,  who  is  now  Mrs.  O.  F.  Nash, 
of  Williamson,  N.  Y.  The  father  of  Cyrus  Thatcher  was  Peter,  a  native  of  Rhode 
Island,  who  came  to  Ontario  in  1809,  and  died  in  1846.  The  wife  of  Cyrus  was  Mercy 
Gage.     Cyrus  Thatcher  died  in  Ontario  in  1890,  where  his  wife  now  resides. 

Wells,  Albert,  born  at  Boyleston  August  1,  1854.  His  father,  John,  established  the 
business  in  Wolcott.  Albert  took  charge  of  the  market,  now  located  on  Maine  street, 
in  1875,  and  since  the  death  of  his  father  in  1891,  has  also  operated  a  farm  of  175  acres 
in  Butler,  which  forms  a  valuable  adjuncts  to  his  retail  business  in  meats,  etc.  He  mar- 
ried in  1884  Emma,  daughter  of  Peter  Waldorf,  of  Wolcott,  by  whom  he  has  four  chil- 
dren :  Lillian,  Wilber.  Mary  and  Laura. 

Wright,  Warren  H.,  was  born  May  24,  1828,  at  Vernon,  Oneida  county.  His  parents 
Thomas  and  Sally  (Mills)  Wright,  came  there  in  1815,  the  earliest  settlers  in  this  im- 
mediate locality,  reclaiming  from  the  virgin  forest  one-third  of  the  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  now  comprised  in  the  homestead.  January  1,  1860,  Warren  married  Eliza 
daughter  of  Ezra  and  Electa  K.  Stone  of  Cato,  Cayuga  county.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren :  Elizabeth,  born  July  4,  1861,  the  wife  of  John  Waldron,  of  Sterling,  and  the 
mother  of  three  children :  Bertha,  Elmer  and  Bessie  Waldron ;  and  Burton  born 
February  11,  1867.  Mrs.  Burton  Wright  was  Bessie  Acker,  of  Fairhaven,  and  their 
daughter  is  named  Estelle. 

Westcott,  John  H.,  son  of  John  Forbes  and  Abigail  Easton  Westcott..  J.  F.  West- 
cott  moved  into  Butler  from  Vermont  in  1828,  and  was  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  January  1, 1894,  a  prime  mover  in  the  various  business  interests  of  the  locality. 
At  Butler  Centre  and  at  South  Butler  he  had  for  a  long  period  of  time  a  blacksmith 
shop,  besides  operating  cooper  shops  with  an  annual  capacity  of  15,000  barrels.  John 
Westcott  went  from  his  desk  as  a  school  boy  at  South  Butler  into  the  thick  of  the  Civil 
War  in  1864  with  the  98th  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  but  found  himself  physically  unable  to  with- 
stand the  privations  of  a  soldier's  life,  and  was  honorably  discharged  February  18 
1865.  He  married  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Harlow  Demmon,  of  Huron,  by  whom  he 
had  five  children  :  Charles  L,  Eugene,  a  traveling  salesman  with  business  headquarters 
at  Auburn;  Demmon,  in  partnership  with  Eugene;  and  Howard.  September  12, 1893, 
Mr.  Westcott  was  bereft  of  his  faithful  wife,  and  before  half  a  year  had  elapsed,  of  his 
only  daughter,  Emma. 

Wilson,  John,  a  native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  in  1830,  emigrated  to  America 
at  thirteen  years  of  age.  His  father,  the  late  Hugh  Wilson,  was  a  mason  by  trade. 
John  Wilson  is  a  farmer,  residing  in  the  southern  part  of  Wolcott,  near  the  point  where 
the  four  towns  of  Wolcott,  Huron,  Rose,  and  Butler  meet.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 


232  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Wetherel,  Darius,  became  a  resident  of  Wayne  county  nearly  sixty  years  ago,  remov- 
ing from  Richmand,  Ontario  county,  where  he  was  born  September  11,  1816.  Of  a 
retiring  disposition  his  whole  life  since  1840  has  been  spent  upon  the  farm,  now  his 
home,  and  where  his  wife,  Jeannette  died  in  1890  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 
Of  the  four  children  born  they  all  died  in  infancy  but  one  daughter,  Narcissa  W.  Burnett, 
who  is  again  an  inmate  of  her  father's  home,  the  prop  of  his  declining  years. 

Wiggins,  William  H.,  of  Red  Creek,  is  a  veteran  of  the  late  war,  having  served  three 
years  in  the  famous  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  enlisting  in  1802.  He  was  born  in  Wolcott  in 
1840,  son  of  the  late  Richard  Wiggins,  a  physician,  of  whose  five  children  William  is 
sole  representative.  In  1808  he  married  Aurilla  Garnor,  of  Wolcott,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Mary  C,  born  May  18,  1870,  now  engaged  in  school  teaching,  and  George, 
born  August  28,  1873.  Mr.  Wiggins  is  now  engaged  in  farming  on  the  farm  where  he 
located  in  1870. 

Watson,  Garhardus  L.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Galen,  March  3,  1831.  His  father, 
Joseph  C,  was  a  native  of  Bucks  county  and  came  to  Galen  in  1824.  He  died  in  1872, 
aged  seventy  years.  G.  L.  Watson  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he 
has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  He  returned  to  his  father's 
farm,  teaching  several  winters  and  working  on  the  farm  during  the  summer.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-four  he  married  Ellen,  daughter  of  Robert  Catchpole,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children,  George  C,  and  Mrs.  Lillian  Wing.  In  1873  inherited  and  purchased  the  old 
homestead  of  104  acres,  which  has  been  in  the  family  since  1825.  In  1855  he  bought 
the  James  Rogers  estate,  in  1859  bought  part  of  the  Weed  estate,  having  200  acres, 
and  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  in  his 
town. 

Wilcox,  H.  H.,  was  born  in  Manchester,  Ontario  county,  November  20,  1823,  a  son 
of  Earl  and  Jane  (Stewart)  Wilcox,  he  a  native  of  Palmyra,  born  March  30,  1794,  and 
she  of  Massachusetts.  The  grandfather,  William  Wilcox,  was  born  in  Rhode  Island, 
April  24,  1770,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  (1788)  came  to  .Palmyra.  March  7,  1793,  he 
married  Ruth  Durfee,  they  being  the  first  couple  married  in  Palmyra.  They  prospered 
and  became  possessed  of  500  acres  of  land,  their  residence  being  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
east  of  Palmyra  Station.  They  had  five  sons  and  five  daughters.  The  grandfather  was 
a  farmer  and  for  many  years  captain  of  the  Light  Horse  Military  Company,  with  whom 
he  was  very  popular.  Earl,  the  eldest  of  the  family  of  William,  was  born  March  29, 
1794,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  was  drafted  as  a  soldier,  being  the  only  one  drafted  in 
that  town.  He  married  Jane  Stewart,  September  24,  1815,  and  became  a  farmer.  He 
was  a  well  informed  man,  but  never  cared  for  public  office.  He  had  six  sons  and  one 
daughter,  of  whom  our  subject  was  the  fourth.  He  was  born  November  20,  1823,  at 
Manchester,  Wayne  county,  and  came  to  Marion  in  1S26,  where  he  has  lived  ever  since, 
engaged  in  farming.  He  owns  142  acres  of  the  old  homestead,  and  is  a  member  of 
Williamson  Grange  No.  338.  January  22,  1850,  he  married  Mary  E.  Button,  of  England, 
born  in  July,  1831,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Button.  Mr.  Wilcox  has  one  son, 
Francis,  born  October  21,  1854.  He  was  educated  in  Marion  Collegiate  Institute,  and 
has  always  resided  at  home.  December  12,  1877,  he  married  Eliza  A.,  daughter  of 
Augustus  and  Amanda  Beach,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Mildred  M.,  born  October 
25,  1891.     Francis  is  a  member  of  Williamson  Grange,  and  also  of  the  K.  O.  T.  M. 

West,  Solomon  B.,  was  born  in  Oneida  county  December  11,  1799.  His  father  was 
James,  a  native  of  New  York,  in  which  State  he  lived  and  died  at  Verona.  The  wife 
of  Solomon  West  was  Relief  Pierce,  born  in  Grafton,  Mass.,  December  12,  1801.  Her 
father,  Amos  Pierce,  a  native  of  England,  came  to  the  United  States  with  two  brothers. 
He  settled  in  Watertown,  Jefferson  county,  and  then  went  to  Grafton,  Mass.,  where  he 
died,  aged  eighty-three.  His  wife  was  Mollie  Weston,  of  native  of  Vermont,  by  whom 
he  had  nine  children.     Solomon  West  and  wife  came  to  Marion  in   1836.     He  was  a 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  233 

carpenter  by  trade  and  died  in  1872,  aged  seventy-two  years,  and  his  wife  now  resides 
in  Marion  at  the  age  of  ninety-three.  They  had  six  children,  of  whom  three  are  now 
living :  Albert  A.,  born  in  Verona,  Oneida  county,  February  12,  1836,  educated  in 
Marion  Collegiate  Institute,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  went  to  Palmyra,  where  he 
learned  the  tanners'  trade.  He  has  worked  at  his  trade  in  Boston,  Springfield,  Mass., 
Worcester,  and  spent  four  and  one-half  years  in  California,  going  there  in  1864.  He  is 
at  present  engaged  in  the  hardware  trade  in  the  village  of  Marion,  where  he  has  been 
sixteen  years.  He  served  nine  months  in  Company  H,  9th  Mass.  Volunteer  Infantry, 
enlisting  in  1862.  In  1862  he  married  Katie  Winslow,  of  Buffalo.  Mr.  West  is  a  mem- 
ber of  John  B.  Burred  Post,  No.  444,  G.  A.  E.  A.  G.  West  born  October  4,  1832,  is  a 
tinsmith  in  Canandaigua.  His  wife  is  Delia  Landon,  and  they  have  one  son,  Roswell. 
He  served  one  year  in  160th  N.  Y.  Volunteer  Infantry,  enlisting  1864.  James  was 
born  September  4,  1841,  educated  in  Marion  Collegiate  Institute.  He  clerked  in  a  drug 
store  in  Marion  and  in  1872  went  to  Detroit,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  with  the 
Detroit  Stove  Works,  and  at  present  is  shipping  clerk.  He  is  a  Free  Mason,  and  has 
served  one  year  in  the  111th  N.  Y.  Volunteer  Infantry,  enlisting  in  1862. 

Van  Fleet,  B.  D.,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  June  27,  1857.  His  father, 
Cornelius,  is  a  prominent  farmer  in  that  town.  B.  D.  Van  Fleet  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  finished  at  the  Geneva  High  School,  after  which  he  taught  school 
three  years  and  then  established  the  grocery  business  at  Mitchell's  Station  and  at  Dub- 
lin ;  and  in  1892  came  to  Alloway  and  established  the  same  business.  In  1893  he 
bought  the  David  Trimmer  property,  and  is  now  the  largest  dealer  in  general  merchan- 
dise in  the  town  of  Alloway.  At  the  age  of  thirty-one  he  married  Nettie,  daughter  of 
William  Thorn,  of  Junius,  Seneca  county,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter. 
Our  subject  is  one  of  the  active  business  men  in  his  town,  identified  in  educational  and 
religious  matters. 

Meade,  M.  W.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  New  Lisbon,  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  April 
17,  1838.  His  father,  George  W.  Meade,  was  a  native  of  New  Lisbon,  and  a  Baptist 
minister,  and  was  engaged  in  active  service  for  more  than  twenty  years.  He  died  at 
Parma,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  M.  W.  Meade  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  finishing  at  Phelps  Academy.  In  1855  he  came  to  Clyde,  and  engaged  in 
farming  on  his  father's  farm,  which  he  purchased  in  1870.  He  has  also  made  the  sell- 
ing of  agricultural  implements  a  part  of  his  business  for  twenty  years.  In  1850  he  mar- 
ried Emily,  daughter  of  John  W.  Millius,  and  they  have  four  children :  James  H.,  Will- 
iam E.,  G.  L.  Meade,  and  M.  B.  Meade.  Our  subject  has  been  steward  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  for  twenty-five  years,  and  his  wife  has  had  charge  of  the  infant  class  for  more 
than  thirty  years. 

Mather,  Elisha  B.,  was  born  in  Rochester  in  1851.  His  father  was  Elisha,  the  son  of 
Dr.  Elisha  Mather,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  Wayne 
county.  The  family  is  of  English  descent,  and  traces  its  ancestry  back  to  Increase 
Mather,  the  father  of  Cotton  Mather.  Dr.  Elisha  Mather  settled  in  Wayne  county 
about  1825,  being  a  man  of  affairs,  enterprising  and  interested  in  all  that  concerned  the 
good  of  his  adopted  town  and  county.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Hobart  College, 
Geneva,  and  a  prominent  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  He  had  two  sons :  Robert 
and  Elisha,  jr.  The  latter  was  for  many  years  a  successful  attorney  in  Rochester,  and 
later  in  life  came  to  Sodus  Center  and  engaged  in  the  milling  business  and  farming. 
He  married  Catharine  Barker,  and  they  had  three  children  :  Elisha  B.,  Susan  P.  and 
Elizabeth  S.  Elisha  B.  on  reaching  manhood  engaged  in  1871  in  the  mercantile  trade 
in  Sodus,  which  business  he  has  carried  on  ever  since.  He  is  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  quick  lime  and  is  extensively  engaged  in  fruit  evaporating  also.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Sodus  Center  Episcopal  Church,  and  his  wife  was  Anna,  daughter  of  John 
Preston,  of  this  town. 
<ld 


234  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Main,  Marquis  S.,  was  born  in  North  Stonington,  New  London  county,  Conn., 
September  15,  1834,  son  of  Avery  and  Laura  Baldwin,  he  a  native  of  Stonington, 
Conn.,  born  in  1806,  and  she  a  native  of  Fenner,  Madison  county,  born  in  1816.  He 
and  wife  came  to  West  Walworth  in  1863,  where  he  died  April  17,  1892,  and  his  wife 
resides  with  her  children.  He  was  a  mason  by  trade  and  a  farmer.  Subject  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  and  Oneida  Castle  and  Cazenovia  Academies.  He  taught 
school  one  term,  and  then  engaged  in  farming,  which  has  been  his  principal  occupation, 
was  also  agent  for  Lester  Bros.,  selling  phosphate  and  sold  first  of  that  brand  in  the 
town.  He  owns  229  acres  in  Walworth  and  follows  general  farming  and  fruit  raising, 
last  year  evaporating  22,000  quarts  of  black  caps.  He  was  assessor.  He  married, 
September  21,  1858,  Mary  J.  Ten  Eyck,  a  native  of  Chenango  county,  and  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Sarah  (Duncan)  Ten  Eyck,  natives  of  Dutchess  county,  who  settled  in  Chenango 
county,  and  he  died  in  Madison  county  in  1882,  and  she  in  1835.  Subject  and  wife  had 
seven  children:  Florence,  Luella,  Edith,  who  died  aged  eighteen;  Jennie,  Marcus  A., 
Willis  J.,  and  Edward  E.  Mr.  Main  is  also  engaged  in  evaporating  apples  and  does  an 
extensive  business.     He  is  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  the  town.       • 

Mestler,  Nicholas  A.,  was  born  in  Alsace,  Germany,  March  14,  1857,  and  in  1870 
came  to  the  town  of  Lyons.  He  was  educated  in  Germany  and  at  the  Lyons  High 
School,  after  which  he  taught  school  eleven  years.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  mar- 
ried Rosa  Kriess,  and  they  have  three  children :  Grover,  Bertha  and  Florence.  In  1890 
he  established  his  present  business,  and  is  now  carrying  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
selected  stocks  of  general  merchandise  in  Lock  Berlin  and  its  vicinity,  keeping  a  wagon 
for  distribution.  Our  subject  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  self-made  men  of  the  town  of 
Galen,  buying  and  handling  a  large  part  of  the  produce  of  his  town. 

Mason,  D.,  was  born  April  6,  1849,  and  is  the  only  son  of  Charles  and  Iantha  Mason, 
mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  book.  He  was  educated  at  the  Sodus  Academy,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  coopering,  and  makes  5,000  barrels  yearly.  He  also  owns  ninety 
acres  of  land  and  follows  general  farming,  He  is  a  Democrat.  In  1880  he  married 
Lillian  Kelsey,  and  they  have  two  children,  Charles  J.,  and  Elsie.  Mrs.  Mason  died  in 
1885,  and  Mr.  Mason  married  Mary  Roby  in  1889,  and  they  had  one  daughter,  Jessie, 
who  died  in  April,  1893. 

Lawrence,  Walter,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  November  21,  1825.  Walter  Lawrence, 
his  father,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  coming  to  New  York  State  at  an  early  age.  He 
settled  at  Farmington,  Ontario  county,  and  from  there  came  to  Macedon,  where  he 
worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  and  then  engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Susan 
Johnson,  of  New  Jersey,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  Walter  being  the 
sixth  child.  Walter  Lawrence,  jr.,  is  a  farmer,  having  been  engaged  in  farming  all  his 
life,  and  at  present  owns  a  farm  of  89  acres  of  fine  land.  He  married  Phebe  F.  Fritts 
of  Onondaga  county,  and  to  them  nine  children  were  born.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

Lane,  John  D.,  was  born  in  Canada,  May  22,  1805.  His  father,  Thomas  Lane,  was  a 
native  of  Charleston,  N.  Y.,  but  moved  to  Canada  during  the  time  of  the  late  war,  re- 
turning to  Victor  in  this  State  at  the  close  of  the  war.  He  married  Luthelia  Dickson, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  ten  childreu,  John  D.  being  the  seventh  child.  John  D. 
Lane  is  now  eighty-nine  years  old.  He  has  always  followed  farming  as  an  occupation, 
and  now  owns  a  farm  of  253  acres,  which  is  worked  by  his  son.  He  married  Hannah 
Hodes,  and  to  them  thirteen  children  were  born.  Mr.  Lane  has  always  been  a  Democrat. 

Knowles,  George  H.,  was  born  in  Lyons  July,  1836.  His  father,  John,  came  from 
Newburg  to  Lyons  in  1811,  and  then  moved  to  Butler  and  was  a  farmer.  George  W. 
was  educated  in  the  Lyons  Union  School,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  read- 
ing   and  close    observation.      After  leaving    school     he  entered   the    employ  of  his 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  235 

brother  in  the  drygoods  business,  then  succeeded  his  brother,  continuing  the  business 
four  years.  He  established  the  produce  and  forwarding  business  in  1860,  and  in  which 
he  is  still  engaged.  Mr.  Knowles  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  1874  was  president  of  the'vil- 
lage,  also  was  appointed  sheriff  of  his  county  in  1890  to  succeed  Charles  Reed  deceased. 
Subject  is  one  of  the  largest  buyers  and  shippers  of  produce  in  the  town,  where  he  is 
identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests  and  the  leading  events  of  the  day,  and  is  recog- 
nized as  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  character. 

Keller,  Dwight,  was  born  in  Newark  September  5,  1835.  His  father,  Jacob,  came 
from  Columbia  county  when  he  was  a  boy  about  1810  to  Newark,  learning  the  hatter's 
trade.  He  continued  the  business  for  some  years,  and  then  purchased  a  farm.  Dwight 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Newark,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  married  Sarah  C, 
daughter  of  Reuben  Richmond.  In  1866  he  bought  the  Daniel  Cole  property  of  sixty 
acres,  in  1867  bought  part  of  the  Richmond  estate,  also  part  of  the  Allen  estate,  having 
140  acres  and  raising  grain,  fruit,  hay  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  substantial 
farmers  of  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Kellogg,  Ethan  B.,  is  one  of  Huron's  representatives,  born  in  Butler,  Wayne  county, 
in  October,  1841,  son  of  Charles  B.  Kellogg.  His  wife  was  Marietta  McKoon,  born  in 
July,  1819,  daughter  of  Rev.  William  and  Lucy  Ann  (Cole)  McKoon.  They  had  four 
children :  William  B  ,  Ethan  B.,  John  C.  and  Lucy  Ann,  wife  of  J.  Byron  Smith,  of 
Wolcott.  Mr.  Kellogg  died  in  1854,  and  his  wife  in  1879.  The  grandfather  of  Mr. 
Kellogg  was  Benjamin  Kellogg.  In  1862  subject  enlisted  in  Company  H,  9th  N.  Y. 
Heavy  Artillery,  under  Col.  Joseph  Willing.  He  was  stationed  at  Fort  Mansfield,  Md., 
in  defense  of  Washington,  and  in  March,  1864,  was  discharged  on  account  of  physical 
disability,  from  which  he  has  never  recovered.  In  1883  subject  moved  to  Huron  and 
purchased  land  near  Rice's  Mills,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was  appointed  town 
clerk  in  1889,  and  served  as  collector  one  term  in  the  town  of  Wolcott.  In  January, 
1869,  he  married  Harriet,  daughter  of  Jonathan  C,  and  Levinne  H.  (Doolittle)  Rice,  and 
they  have  had  these  children :  Charles  J.,  born  December  25,  1873,  and  Yinnie  Mae, 
born  October  17,  1876.  Subject  is  a  member  of  the  G-.  A.  R.,  Keeslar  Post,  No.  55,  of 
Wolcott,  also  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  TJ.  W.  Charles  J.,  his  son,  married  November  4, 
1893,  Ada  C.  Lock  wood,  of  the  town  of  Butler,  and  they  reside  with  subject  of  sketch. 

Kellogg,  Henry',  was  born  in  Galen  July  20,  1847.  His  father,  Ethan  B.  was  a 
native  of  Franklin  county,  Mass.,  born  October  24,  1808,  a  son  of  Benjamin,  who  came 
to  Wayne  in  1812.  The  next  day  after  their  arrival  the  neighbors  turned  out  and  built 
him  a  log  cabin,  and  furnished  bear  meat  for  the  family  supper.  Ethan  B.  Kellogg  fol- 
lowed farming  through  life  and  was  a  prominent  man,  holding  the  office  of  school  com- 
missioner and  other  offices.  He  died  in  1880  in  his  seventy-third  year.  Henry  Kel- 
logg was  educated  in  the  Clyde  High  School,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by 
reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  thirty-two  he  married  Jennie,  daughter 
of  Flavius  B.  Pomeroy,  and  they  have  one  son,  Lewis  P.  In  1879  he  purchased  his 
father's  estate,  known  as  the  Deacon  Tunis  I.  Smith  property  of  eighty  acres,  raising 
fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is  identified  in  educational  and  religious  mat- 
ters. 

Knapp,  Allen,  born  in  Walworth  January  29,  1826,  is  the  son  of  Charles  and  Mary 
Knapp.  The  grandfather  was  Caleb  Knapp,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  who  came  to 
Marion  in  a  very  early  day  and  died  on  the  farm  he  settled.  He  was  a  weaver  by 
trade.  Charles  Knapp  was  born  in  Marion  in  1800,  and  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  He  followed  farming,  resided  in  Chautauqua  county  seven  years,  and  finally 
settled  in  Walworth,  where  he  died  in  1870.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  has 
always  followed  farming.  He  owns  seventy-five  acres  of  land  in  Marion,  having  sold 
a  part  of  the  farm  he  owned.  He  came  to  Marion  in  1886,  and  has  since  lived  a  re- 
tired life.     Mr.  Knapp  married  September  6,  1848,  Caroline  Shaw,  a  native  of  Marion, 


236  LANDMARKS   OP  WAYNE   COUNTY 

born  April  10,  1831,  by  whom  he  has  had  one  son,  Miles  Knapp,  a  farmer  of  Palmyra. 
He  married  Mahssa  Bristol,  of  Lansing,  Mich.     Mrs.  Knapp  died  March  10,  1894. 

Kyle,  David  J.,  postmaster  at  North  Wolcott,  was  born  at  Picton,  Ont.,  September 
24,  1846,  and  became  a  citizen  of  Wayne  in  1862.  His  father,  Joseph  Kyle,  is  a 
wealthy  land  owner  in  Ontario,  but  our  subject  was  of  too  adventurous  a  disposition  to 
be  content  at  home.     He  established  a  grocery  and  general  store  at  North  Wolcott  in 

1880,  and  received  his  appointment  as  postmaster  October  1,  1893.  January  23,  1870, 
he  married  Genevieve,  daughter  of  Timothy  Isham,  of  Wolcott,  who  is  still  living  at 
the  age  of  ninety-five.     Of  their  eight  children,  five  are  now  living. 

Klumpp,  Daniel,  was  born  in  Elsatz,  France,  in  1835,  son  of  Philip  and  Sally  Klumpp. 
When  fifteen  years  of  age  he  came  alone  to  America,  coming  direct  to  Clyde  where  he 
learned  the  blacksmith  trade.  Five  years  later  he  moved  to  Sodus,  where  he  conducted 
a  blacksmith  shop  until  1885.  He  then  came  to  Lake  Bluff,  the  popular  pleasure  summer 
resort,  and  pnrchased  a  small  piece  of  land,  on  which  he  erected  a  three-story  hotel, 
known  as  the  Lakeview  House,  which  he  now  conducts  and  where  friends  and  strangers 
are  always  welcomed  by  the  genial  landlord.  In  1874  he  married  Lena  Yaeckel,  born 
in  Elsatz,  France,  and  their  children  were:  Mrs.  Eva  McMullen,  of  Sodus  Centre; 
Helen,  Mrs.  Lizzie  Hendricks,  of  Sodus;  Charles,  E.,  Emma  E.,  Mrs.  Hattie  Smith,  of 
Sodus;  Edward  E.,  and  Frederick.  His  wife  died  in  1878,  and  in  1882  he  married 
Millie,  daughter  of  Barrett  Clary,  of  Sodus. 

Kimball,  S.  F.,  the  only  son  of  George  Kimball,  of  Sterling,  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y., 
was  born  March  1,  1838.  George  Kimball  came  here  from  Manlius  in  1829.  He  and 
his  wife,  Louise  (Pulsifer),  where  shining  lights  in  the  M.  E.  church.     He  died  May  14, 

1881,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  and  his  wife  two  years  later  at  an  advanced  age.  Our 
subject  received  but  limited  educational  opportunities,  and  has  always  been  a  reader  and 
close  observer.  He  has  been  honored  with  positions  of  local  trust,  attesting  the  esteem 
and  confidence  of  his  friends.  He  is  a  staunch  Democrat  and  has  served  as  overseer  of 
the  poor,  assessor,  and  justice  of  the  peace,  etc.  He  began  business  life  as  a  farmer  in 
Sterling,  and  came  to  Red  Creek  in  1865.  He  now  makes  a  specialty  of  registered 
Jersey  cattle.  February  15, 1860,  he  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Walter  Bloomingdale, 
an  old  resident  from  Schoharie  county,  and  they  have  two  children :  Melvin  J.,  born 
January  2,  1865  ;  and  Ray  W.,  born  June  23,  1878.  Carrie,  their  first-born,  died  March 
21,  1872,  aged  eleven  years. 

Jenkins,  Burgess  E.,  was  born  in  Butler,  March  13,  1848,  and  is  the  son  of  the  late 
James  M.  Jenkins,  who  died  in  1879.  and  was  a  local  preacher  of  considerable  renown. 
James  Jenkins  made  his  home  upon  a  farm,  but  was  prompt  to  respond  to  the  call  of 
duty,  an  ordained  minister  of  the  M.  E.  church  and  widely  known  for  his  benevolence 
and  genuine  piety.  His  wife,  Pamelia  Jane,  died  in  1884,  leaving  five  children.  Burgess 
was  educated  at  Red  Creek  Seminary,  and  at  nineteen  years  of  age  began  his  business 
life  by  embarking  in  the  flax  business  with  Charles  W.  Eddy  as  a  partner.  Ten  years 
later,  in  1877,  he  became  known  as  a  builder  and  contractor,  and  at  the  present  writing 
is  commissioner  of  highways,  and  a  man  whom  to  know  is  to  honor.  February  19, 
1868,  he  married  Aurelia,  daughter  of  Josephus  Cross,  of  Wolcott,  and  the  mother  of 
seven  children:  Grace,  Morris,  Cora,  Milton,  Gertrude,  Darrie,  and  Cecil.  Cora  died 
April  18,  1874,  in  early  childhood;  and  Morris,  who  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-two 
and  was  engaged  in  telegraphic  work  in  New  Jersey,  died  there  in  July,  1893. 

Jordan,  J.  S.,  was  born  in  Galen,  July  9,  1857.  His  father,  William,  was  born  in 
England,  and  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Lyons.  J.  S.  Jordan  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close 
observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  marriod  Hattie  T.,  daughter  of  Moses  Cook, 
of  Savannah,  and  they  have  one  son,  Lloyd  S.    At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  went  to  woik 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  237 

on  a  farm  for  Elias  E.  Rumells.  In  1881  he  went  to  the  County  House  and  took  charge 
of  the  insane  department,  in  1884  entered  the  employ  of  the  West  Shorer  Railroad,  also 
bought  and  shipped  produce,  coal  and  wood,  in  which  he  still  continues.  Our  subject 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  is  now  serving  his  fourth  term  as  trustee,  and  is  now  assessor 
of  the  town.     He  takes  an  active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Hopkins,  W.  A.,  was  born  in  Lyons,  April  27,  1850.  His  father,  Robert  A.,  was  also 
a  native  of  the  town.  W.  A.  Hopkins  was  educated  in  the  Lyons  High  School,  to  which 
he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  In  1889  he  established  his 
present  business  of  grocer,  confectioner  and  baker,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  fine  teas 
and  coffees,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  men  in  his  line  of  business.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  he  married  Sallie  A.,  daughter  of  Gideon  Robinson,  of  Lyons.  Subject  takes  an 
active  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters. 

Hoag,  Isaac  R.,  Macedon,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Walworth,  March  8,  1838. 
Humphrey,  his  father,  was  born  in  Macedon  (then  known  as  Palmyra),  December  22, 
1810,  and  at  present  is  living  with  our  subject  at  Macedon.  He  married  Rachael  Briggs, 
of  Scipio,  Cayuga  county,  who  was  born  in  1815.  They  had  four  children,  two  now 
living  :  Marion  L.,  and  our  subject.  His  occupation  has  been  farming,  but  for  the  past 
four  years  he  has  lived  retired  with  his  son.  The  Hoags  are  one  of  the  old  families  in 
this  section,  dating  back  for  many  years.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools  of  this  State,  was  supervisor  of  the  towns  of  Walworth  and  Macedon,  and  in 
early  life  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  which  he  conducted  in  Trenton,  N.  J. 
He  then  came  to  Wayne  county  and  took  up  farming.  He  married,  March  15,  1865, 
Mary  E.  Wright,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  two  children  and  one  adopted  daughter. 
He  is  at  present  road  commissioner. 

Hickox,  William,  of  Macedon  Centre,  was  born  in  Canandaigua,  Ontario  county, 
September  2,  1840.  Zopher  Hickox,  his  father,  was  also  born  in  Canandaigua.  He  was 
a  farmer  and  died  in  1863,  aged  fifty-three  years.  He  married  Sallie  M.  Mallory,  of 
Canandaigua,  and  they  had  four  children  :  Martha  A.,  Mary  E.,  William  (our  subject), 
and  Henry  H.  Mary  E.  and  Henry  H.  are  deceased ;  Martha  A.  is  now  living  in  Gales- 
ville,  Wis.  The  family  is  one  of  the  old  settlers  in  New  York  State.  The  grandfather, 
George,  was  a  military  officer,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Ontario  county,  helping  to 
clear  the  land  where  the  city  of  Canandaigua  now  stands,  was  the  first  man  to  bring 
goods  from  Albany  to  Canandaigua,  transporting  them  with  oxen  and  cart  or  sled. 
There  were  no  houses  at  that  time  and  he  was  obliged  to  sleep  out  in  his  sled.  Subject 
is  a  farmer  and  has  a  fruit  and  berry  farm,  producing  about  10,000  quarts  of  the  different 
qualities.  He  married  first  Jennie  R^y,  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  daughter  of  William 
Roy.  They  had  these  children  :  M.  Belle,  J.  Elton,  George  S.,  E.  Grace,  and  Albert  R. 
The  first  wife  died  in  1883,  and  he  married  second,  in  1887,  Susan,  daughter  of  Samuel 
S.  Wilber,  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Henry  H.  Our 
subject  was  educated  in  Macedon  Academy,  and  is  a  member  of  the  order  of  S.  F.  I. 

Hurley,  N.  A.,  was  born  in  Clyde  August  19,  1876.  His  father,  Dennis  Hurley,  was 
a  native  of  the  province  of  Quebec,  Lower  Canada,  and  came  to  Clyde  in  1864.  N.  A. 
Hurley  was  educated  at  the  Clyde  High  School  and  entered  the  employ  of  E.  Sands, 
remaining  three  years.  In  the  spring  of  1893  he  established  his  present  business,  carry- 
ing a  large  line  of  imported  and  domestic  groceries  and  also  a  full  stock  of  crockery.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  married  Lizzie,  daughter  of  Dennis  Sheehan.  Our  subject  is 
identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  the  town,  and  is  a  trustee  of  St.  John's 
church. 

Hibbard,  Fremont,  born  at  Butler,  July  5,  1856,  is  the  only  son  of  the  late  Jerome 
Hibbard,  and  joint  proprietor  with  his  sister  Nettie  of  the  Hibbard  Basket  Works,  the 
most  important   industry  of  South  Butler.    All  the  machinery  used  at  this  factory  was 


238  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

designed  by  Mr.  Jerome  Hibbard,  and  evinces  not  only  his  superior  mechanical  ability, 
but  stands  a  monument  to  his  energy  and  sagacity.  He  died  April  4,  1888,  at  the  age 
of  fifty- eight  years,  and  his  memory  will  long  be  cherished  for  his  many  good  qualities 
and  generosity.  Fremont  Hibbard  married,  April  25,  1889,  Marian,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Piersall,  of  Savannah. 

Haugh,  Frank  A.,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Clyde.  His  father,  John  Haugh,  was  a 
native  of  the  town  of  Galen  and  is  a  prominent  farmer  of  his  town.  Frank  A.  Haugh 
was  educated  at  Clyde  and  has  always  lived  in  this  town.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four 
he  married  Kittie  Hallett,  daughter  of  Horace  B.  Hallett,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
two  children,  Lena  and  Leora.  Mr.  Haugh  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  the  town, 
and  has  held  office  as  town  clerk  and  deputy  postmaster. 

Hunt,  William,  was  born  in  Farmington.  Ontario  county,  March  25,  1832,  a  son  of 
Micajah  and  Sarah  (Gardner)  Hunt,  who  settled  in  Walworth  in  1844.  The  father  died 
there  in  1880,  and  the  mother  in  1860.  The  grandparents  were  Micajah  and  Sarah 
(Nichols)  Hunt,  whose  parents  came  from  England.  Our  subject  was  educated  in  the 
Macedon  CeDter  Academy  and  first  engaged  in  the  fruit  tree  business  for  ten  years.  He 
married  in  1863  Alice,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Louise  (Reed)  Knowles,  of  Rensselaer- 
ville,  and  they  have  these  children:  Lilian,  wife  of  Loren  Hill,  of  Iowa;  Miriam,  of 
Nebraska ;  Jessie,  Carrie,  and  Cora,  all  of  whom  are  teachers.  Mr.  Hunt  is  a  farmer 
and  makes  a  specialty  of  fruit  evaporating,  the  raising  of  garden  truck,  etc.  They  are 
members  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church. 

Harris,  Calvin  P.,  was  born  in  Penfield  May  14,  1857,  son  of  Peter  and  Ellen  (Bur- 
rows) Harris,  natives  of  Penfield.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  a  native 
of  Scotland,  who  came  to  Penfield  at  an  early  d?iy  where  he  died.  The  maternal  grand- 
father was  Amos  Burrows,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  who  died  in  Rochester  in  1874. 
His  wife  was  Sallie  Cornwell,  a  native  of  Connecticut.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812.  The  father  of  subject  is  a  farmer  and  resides  in  Penfield.  Subject  has  always 
been  a  farmer,  and  owns  100  acres.  He  married  in  1878  Ella  C.  Butler,  a  native  of 
Detroit,  Mich.,  and  daughter  of  Amasa  and  Esther  Butler,  who  reside  in  East  Penfield. 
Mr.  Harris  and  wife  have  had  four  children :  Arthur  P.,  Ellen  L.,  Esther  H.  and  Donald 
D.  The  great-grandfather  of  subject  was  Joseph  Burrows,  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
whose  parents  came  in  the  Mayflower  and  settled  in  Connecticut.  Joseph  Burrows 
was  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  an  aid  to  Washington.  He  died  in  Penfield  in 
1848. 

Hoagland,  Charles  B.,  born  in  Williamson  May  2,  1859,  is  the  youngest  of  two  sons 
of  William  and  Harriet  (Luce)  Hoagland.  The  grandfather,  Albert,  came  to  William- 
son about  1825,  and  purchased  a  farm  where  subject  now  resides.  He  died  July  25, 
1852.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  died  January  20,  1865.  William  was  reared  on  the  home- 
stead in  Williamson.  He  made  many  improvements  and  increased  it  to  208  acres, 
which  he  left  to  the  family.  His  wife,  Harriet,  was  a  daughter  of  William  Luce,  who 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Palmyra.  Their  son  Albert  was  born  July  15,  1854.  He 
married  Mattie  Cady,  followed  farming,  and  died  February  28,  1893.  He  left  one  son, 
Willie.  Mr.  Hoagland  died  June  12,  1893,  and  his  wife  April  26,  1892.  C.  B.  Hoag- 
land was  educated  in  Marion,  Walworth  and  Williamson,  and  has  always  followed 
farming  on  the  homestead.  He  now  has  104  acres  of  land,  and  carries  on  general  farm- 
ing. November  25,  1884,  he  married  Nellie,  daughter  of  William  Reed,  of  Ontario, 
Wayne  county,  by  whom  he  has  two  children :  Blanche  and  Stanley.  Mr.  Hoagland 
is  at  present  road  commissioner  of  the  town.  He  is  a  member  of  Williamson  Grange, 
and  of  the  Williamson  Tent,  No.  162,  K.  O.  T.  M. 

Hoag,  Benjamin  H.,  was  born  in  Walworth  March  14,  1849,  the  fifth  of  six  children 
born  to  Hiram  C.  and  Sallie  A.  Wyman,  daughter  of  Abel  B.  Wyman,  of  Walworth, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  239 

one  of  the  early  settlers  in  the  town.  Hiram  C.  was  born  in  Macedon  in  1818,  son  of 
Benjamin  Hoag,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Macedon.  He  is  a  farmer  and  resides  in 
West  Walworth,  where  he  has  resided  since  1857.  He  enlisted  in  Company  B,  9th 
Heavy  Artillery,  and  served  three  years.  Benjamin  H.  Hoag  was  reared  on  a  farm,  at 
fourteen  years  old  learned  the  harness  trade  and  followed  it  ten  years  in  West  Wal- 
worth, and  in  1878  went  to  Kansas,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  ten  years  and 
returned  to  Ontario  and  settled  on  the  S.  N.  Maine  farm,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
He  has  sixty  acres  and  follows  general  farming.  He  is  a  Republican  and  married  De- 
cember 24,  1868,  Jennie  Maine,  a  native  of  Ontario  and  daughter  of  Stephen  N.  Maine, 
a  native  of  Connecticut,  who  came  to  Ontario  in  1836,  and  settled  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Hoag.  His  father,  Stephen  Maine,  was  also  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
came  to  Ontario  in  1836,  and  died  here  in  1864.  His  wife  was  Lucinda  Ray,  a  native 
of  Vermont,  who  died  in  1851.  The  wife  of  Stephen  H.  Maine  died  in  1878,  and  Mr. 
Maine  resides  with  his  daughters.  Mr.  Maine  was  supervisor  ten  years,  county  super- 
intendent of  schools  for  some  years,  and  taught  school  twenty-one  terms.  He  married 
Cornelia  Pratt,  a  native  of  Williamson,  and  daughter  of  Alvah  Pratt,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Williamson.  Mr.  Maine  and  wife  have  had  five  children,  of  whom  two  are 
living :  Mrs.  Hoag  and  Dr.  Maine,  of  Webster.  Mr.  Hoag  and  wife  have  had  two 
children :  Cora,  wife  of  Thomas  Ransley,  by  whom  she  has  two  children,  Benjamin  D. 
Murray,  and  Esca,  at  home. 

Hennessy,  Dr.  W.  J.,  is  a  native  of  Rochester,  born  in  1856,  educated  at  the  Victor 
Union  School,  Macedon  Academy  and  Syracuse  University,  graduating  from  the  latter 
in  1881.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  C.  M.  Kingman,  of  Palmyra,  in 
1877,  and  graduated  from  the  Syracuse  Medical  College  in  1881.  He  practiced  at 
Palmyra  till  1883,  then  moved  to  Valley  Center,  Kan.,  where  he  practiced  till  April, 
1884,  when  he  returned  to  Palmyra  and  has  since  practiced  here.  He  married  in  1883 
Minnie,  daughter  of  J.  C.  Lovett,  dry  goods  merchant  of  Palmyra,  and  they  have  had 
one  son,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Hennessy  died  in  May,  1884,  and  October  29, 
1888,  Dr.  Hennessy  married  May,  daughter  of  Henry  Birdsall,  of  Palmyra,  and  they 
have  had  one  son  and  one  daughter.  Dr.  Hennessy  was  trustee  of  the  village  in  18B9- 
93;  president  of  Wayne  County  Medical  Society  1889-90,  and  has  been  health  officer 
for  the  past  seven  years. 

Hillimire,  Anson,  a  native  of  Germany,  was  born  in  1824,  and  came  to  America  in 
1849,  locating  at  East  Palmyra.  In  1852  he  married  Celestia  Cole,  and  a  few  years 
afterward  purchased  107  acres  of  land,  where  he  now  resides.  He  makes  a  specialty  of 
growing  and  distilling  peppermint.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hillimire  are:  David, 
deceased ;  Edwin,  Kittie,  deceased,  and  Frederick. 

Hill,  Joseph  G.,  graduate  Toronto  Veterinary  College,  was  born  at  Sennett,  Cay- 
uaga  county,  N.  Y.,  January  16,  1864.  His  earlier  education  was  acquired  at  the  Mon- 
roe Collegiate  Institute,  after  which  he  spent  three  years  at  Toronto,  graduating  with 
high  honors,  besides  holding  special  dental  and  medical  diplomas.  January  11,  1893, 
he  married  Ida  Barrell,  of  Wolcott.  Dr.  Hill  began  practice  at  Weedsport,  but  is  now 
located  at  Red  Creek,  where  his  manifest  ability  and  genial  nature  have  already  given 
him  a  wide  clientele. 

Hoag,  Jefferson  W.,  was  born  and  reared  on  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  Wayne 
county,  N.  Y.  While  preparing  for  college  he  taught  a  district  school  for  one  term  and 
for  two  terms  taught  in  the  Canandaigua  Academy.  He  prepared  for  college  at  the 
Newark  Academy,  under  the  principalship  of  J.  Forman  Steele.  He  entered  the  class 
of  1870  at  Union  College,  and  graduated  with  that  class.  After  his  graduation  he  en- 
gaged in  teaching,  for  two  years  as  principal  of  Leavenworth  College  at  Wolcott,  N.  Y. 
He  graduated  from  the  Albany  Law  School  in  1873,  and  was  then  admitted  to  practice 
as  attorney  at  law.     Shortly  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  opened  an  office  at 


240  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Wolcott,  N.  Y.,  where  he  has  ever  since  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
In  1882  he  was  elected  district  attorney  for  Wayne  county  and  served  three  years  in 
that  capacity.     In  1877  he  married  Ada  H.  Rowland,  of  Newark,  N.  Y. 

Hoff,  Hubbard,  a  veteran  soldier,  who  is  a  familiar  figure  at  Red  Creek,  and  whose 
disabilities  are  a  constant  reminder  of  those  "  times  that  tried  men's  souls,"  was  born  in 
Schoharie  county,  June  2,  1826.  His  father,  R.  C.  Hoff,  came  here  in  1834  and  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  life.  Hubbard  learned  the  trade  of  cabinet  making,  which  he 
practiced  in  various  cities  of  the  State  until  August  28,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
160th  N.  Y.  S.  Vols,  as  hospital  steward.  At  the  battle  of  Winchester  he  was  severely 
wounded  by  a  shell,  subjecting  him  to  a  weary  confinement  in  the  hospital,  a  long  con- 
valescence at  home,  and  causing  permanent  lameness.  July  28,  1847,  he  married  Mary 
G.  Rassmussen,  of  Sterling,  and  they  haye  two  children:  William  D.,  born  September 
10,  1848,  and  Ives  P.,  born  November  26,  1852. 

Hyde,  J.  H.,  is  the  only  son  of  Harlow  Hyde,  who  came  to  Wolcott  in  1807,  when 
four  years  of  age,  and  whose  father,  Zenos  Hyde,  was  the  first  practicing  physician  in 
Wolcott.  Harlow  Hyde,  now  ninety-two  years  of  age,  and  in  possession  of  all  his 
faculties,  is  in  many  ways  a  remarkable  man.  He  is  the  oldest  living  ex-supervisor  of 
Wolcott,  was  for  twenty  years  a  justice,  and  a  Repubhcan  assemblyman  from  1856  to 
1860.  James  H.,  when  eleven  years  old,  was  by  an  accident  deprived  of  an  eye,  not- 
withstanding which  he  acquired  a  good  education,  and  in  1862  accepted  the  lieutenancy 
of  Company  A.,  138th  Inf.,  and  went  at  once  to  the  front,  participating  in  the  battles 
of  Monocacy  Junction,  Petersburg,  Cold  Harbor,  and  Cedar  Creek.  At  the  latter,  while 
in  command  of  cavalry,  ke  was  shot  through  the  arm  and  unhorsed.  He  married  in 
1850  Sarah  A.  Avery,  who  lost  her  life  while  caring  for  sick  soldiers  at  Alexandria,  Va., 
and  whose  four  sons  are  also  now  deceased. 

Hoyt,  A.  W.,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  was  born  at  Weedsport,  Cayuga  county, 
November  5,  1846,  the  youngest  son  of  Aaron  F.  Hoyt.  At  sixteen  years  of  age,  a 
student  at  Weedsport,  he  enlisted  in  Battery  I,  3d  N.  Y.  Light  Artillery.  His  ex- 
perience during  the  war  possessed  more  than  the  usual  vicissitudes  of  a  soldier's  life,  and 
during  an  expedition  to  Plymouth,  N.  O,  he  received  injuries  which  culminated  in  the 
loss  of  an  eye,  and  for  disability  he  was  discharged  in  July,  1865,  after  three  years  of 
service.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  he  was  the  youngest  of  five  brothers:  William, 
Aaron,  Abner,  Judson,  and  Adin,  all  of  whom  were  in  the  service  and  in  the  same  com- 
pany and  regiment. 

Hawley,  William,  is  the  son  of  Aaron  Hawley,  for  many  years  a  prominent  builder 
and  contractor  at  Albany,  N.  Y.  William,  born  in  New  York  city,  September  30,  1819, 
and  educated  at  Albany,  came  to  Wolcott  in  1834,  and  was  for  a  period  of  ten  years  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business  at  Red  Creek.  Afterwards  adopting  agriculture  as  his 
principal  vocation  he  has  achieved  a  signal  success,  being  one  of  the  largest  landholders 
of  this  locality,  and  his  farms  are  adorned  with  large  and  handsome  buildings.  In  1849 
he  married  Sophia  Hamilton,  of  Victory,  Cayuga  county,  and  they  have  two  sons, 
Aaron,  born  in  1850,  and  Charles  H,  born  in  1857.  Sophia  Hawley  died  in  1863,  and 
Mr.  Hawley's  present  wife  was  Miss  Hannah  Ward,  of  Wolcott,  Mr.  Hawley  has  been 
a  steadfast  Republican  all  his  life. 

Hoyt,  George  H.,  was  born  near  Dexter,  Me.,  in  the  town  of  Ripley,  September  6, 
1825,  a  son  of  George  W.  Hoyt,  who  was  a  native  of  Bradford,  N.  H.  George  H.  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Bradford  and  at  the  Francistown  Academv.  His 
parents  died  when  he  was  three  years  of  age,  and  he  journeyed  through  Maine  into 
New  Hampshire,  a  distance  of  250  miles  and  resided  with  his  grandfather  on  the  farm 
until  reaching  his  majority.  After  various  experiences  he  came  in  1850  to  Newark, 
Wayne  county,  and  in  1854  returned  to_Concord,jN.  H.    That  year  he  married  Mary  H., 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  241 

daughter  of  Jonathan  Scribner,  of  Salisbury,  N.  H.,  and  they  have  had  three  children : 
George  H.,  jr.,  Carrie,  now  Mrs.  Green ;  and  Lillie,  now  Mrs.  Barnard,  of  Baltimore, 
Md.  In  1857  Mr.  Hoyt  came  with  his  wife  to  Clyde,  where  he  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business,  continuing  up  to  1861,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  William  C.  Ely  at  the 
glass  works,  being  soon  after  appointed  agent  for  Dr.  Linus  Ely  in  the  same  business. 
Dr.  Ely  was  succeeded  by  Orrin  Southvvick,  and  in  1868  Mr,  Hoyt  became  a  partner  in 
the  firm  of  Southwick,  Reed  &  Co.,  they  being  succeeded  by  Ely,  Reed  &  Co.,  which 
firm  continued  up  to  the  time  of  the  death  of  William  C.  Ely  in  1886.  The  firm  was 
then  reorganized  and  continued  under  the  style  of  William  C.  Ely's  Sons  &  Hoyt, 
manufacturers  of  fruit  jars  and  glass  bottles.  Our  subject  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
conservative  men  of  his  town,  and  has  always  been  identified  in  advancing  its  best 
interests.     He  is  a  trustee  of  the  M.  E.  church  of  Clyde. 

Warren,  Gardiner  D.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Sodus  July  8, 1827,  a  son  of  Gardiner, 
and  a  grandson  of  Samuel  Warren,  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Wayne  county. 
He  came  from  Cheshire,  N.  H.,  with  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  six  sons, 
arriving  in  1807,  on  an  ox  sled.  The  place  was  a  wilderness,  and  many  trials  and 
hardships  were  met  by  this  pioneer  family,  which  became  one  of  the  first  in  importance 
in  the  county.  His  son,  Gardiner,  father  of  our  subject,  came  to  South  Sodus,  where 
he  died.  He  was  a  farmer  and  also  engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade.  For  several 
years  he  was  county  superintendent  of  the  poor,  and  was  a  leading  member  of  the 
South  Sodus  M.  E.  church.  He  married  Abigal  Davis,  and  their  children  were:  Aldace 
P.,  Gardiner  D.,  and  Mary  E.  The  latter  married  C.  T.  Cure,  and  settled  in  Grant 
City,  Mo.  Aldace  P.  settled  at  South  Sodus  and  was  for  several  years  a  major  in  the 
old  State  militia.  He  was  for  twenty-eight  years  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for  thirty 
years  engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade.  He  removed  to  Ohio,  where  he  died  December 
12,  1881.  Gardiner  D.  was  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  trade  at  South  Sodus  for  five 
years,  prior  to  1852,  when  he  went  to  New  York  city,  and  for  fourteen  years  was  en- 
gaged in  jobbing.  In  1872  he  formed  the  jobbing  house  of  S.  J.  Arnold  &  Co.,  from 
which  firm  he  retired  in  1878,  then  went  to  Chicago  and  formed  the  firm  of  Lee, 
Reynolds  &  Warren,  wholesale  dealers  in  buffalo  robes.  In  1881  Mr.  Warren  retired 
from  business,  returning  to  Sodus,  but  he  spends  his  winters  in  the  South.  In  1866  he 
married  Ann  De  Kay,  who  died  in  1882. 

Hill,  Charles  H.,  was  born  at  Sodus  Point  in  1838,  and  is  a  son  of  John  Hill,  who 
came  from  Oswego  to  Sodus  Point  in  1837.  His  father  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 
The  family  is  of  English  descent  and  trace  their  ancestry  back  to  1640,  when  he  first 
came  to  this  country  and  settled  in  Connecticut.  The  grandfather  of  John  Hill  settled 
in  Yermont  and  his  father  settled  in  Jefferson  county.  John  Hill  was  a  carpenter  and 
builder  and  for  many  years  carried  on  an  extensive  business.  He  resided  at  Sodus 
Point  until  1865,  when  he  removed  to  New  York  and  entered  the  employ  of  the 
N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  as  master  carpenter.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  militia  and 
was  adjutant.  He  married  Jerusha  C,  daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel  Freeman,  who  was  a 
merchant  trader  to  the  West  Indies.  Their  children  were :  Edward,  Charles  H.,  Mary 
E.,  John  J.,  and  Helen  A.  Charles  H.  Hill  settled  at  Sodus  Point.  He  is  a  carpenter 
and  builder  and  has  a  large  and  prosperous  business.  For  three  years  he  carried  on  the 
business  at  Albany,  N.Y.  He  takes  an  active  part  in  political  affairs,  and  was  a  deputy 
collector  of  customs  at  Sodus  Point  from  1889  to  1893.  He  married  October  18,  1866. 
Mary  E.  Waters,  of  Pultneyville,  N.Y. 

Gordon.  John,  son  of  David  and  Polly  Gordon,  was  born  October  14,  1807,  in  Carlisle, 
N.Y.,  was  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  ten  children.  His  parents  were  of  German  and 
Scotch  descent,  and  moved  from  Carlisle  to  Galen  when  John  was  about  six  years 
old,  and  purchased  near  Lockpit  what  is  now  called  the  Burton  farm.  John  re- 
mained    on  the  farm    with    his    father    until  he    was    twenty-one    years    of    age, 


242  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

attended  the  district  school  winters  and  summers  whenever  his  father  could  spare  him 
from  work,  where  he  obtained  what  was  called  in  those  days  a  good  education.  In  1831 
he  had  accumulated  by  his  industry  enough  to  enable  him  to  purchase  a  farm  of  i  44  acres, 
which  he  occupied  at  his  death.  It  was  a  dense  forest  when  he  purchased  it.  In  1835 
he  married  Pboebe,  daughter  of  Jedediah  and  Mary  Jenkins.  She  was  born  Novem- 
ber 15,  1807,  in  Queensburg,  N.  Y.,  and  moved  with  her  parents  to  Galen  when  twelve 
years  old.  So  both  may  be  classed  among  the  early  settlers.  By  their  united  industry 
they  built  up  the  home  which  they  occupied  fifty-five  years.  They  had  eight  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living:  Clarissa,  Dora  O,  and  T.  Adelbert.  He  was  a  very  success- 
ful farmer,  raising  grain,  hay,  fruit  and  stock.  During  the  spring  of  1891  both  passed 
away,  April  14th  the  wife  died  and  May  17th  the  husband.  Adelbert,  the  only  son 
living,  lives  on  the  homestead.  He  was  married  to  Hattie,  daughter  of  Roswell  Crane, 
of  Waterloo,  February  26,  1889,  and  now  has  five  children :  Olive,  Amy,  Lillian  May, 
and  twins,  Hiram  and  John.  "  There  ever  existed  between  them  and  between  the 
members  of  their  family  uninterrupted  domestic  concord  and  felicity.  In  all  things  the 
members  of  the  household,  by  influence  of  the  conjugal  example,  have  been  affectionate, 
faithful  and  true  to  each  other.  As  citizens  their  life  was  not  conspicuous  before  the 
world,  but  their  influence  was  none  the.  less  effective  and  salutary,  since  it  is  ever  true 
that  the  power  of  virtue  is  inherent  in  itself  and  cannot  be  lost,  though  there  be  no 
tongue  to  herald  it  abroad.  A  long  life  of  integrity  and  honor  has  an  earthly  im- 
mortality, the  dying  breath  does  not  fade  it  out.  As  religionists  they  were  broad  of 
faith  and  unrestrained  and  sincere  in  charity.  As  citizens  they  are  public  spirited,  in- 
telligent and  patriotic.  As  parents  they  were  affectionate,  wise  and  faithful.  As 
neighbors  they  were  neighborly.  In  character  they  were  a  noble  man  and  woman. 
They  had  lived  together  so  long  and  tenderly,  had  so  grown  to  become  one  in  their 
union  that  they  could  not  live  apart.  The  stroke  that  sundered  them  served  to  reunite 
them,  the  husband  surviving  the  wife  but  a  few  weeks." 

Arnold,  William  T.,  was  born  in  Perry,  Wyoming  county.  December  16,  1832.  His 
father,  George,  was  a  native  of  Yorkshire,  England,  came  to  America  in  1830  and  in 
1835  settled  in  Sodus,  purchasing  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  on  the  lake  road,  northeast  of 
the  village,  where  he  lived  until  his  death,  December  16,  1887.  He  was  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Sodus  M.  E.  church.  He  married  Catherine  Wride,  and  they  had  one 
son,  William  T.,  our  subject.  He  settled  on  the  homestead  and  is  a  prosperous  farmer. 
He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Hewson,  and  they  have  two  children  : 
George,  who  married  Sarah  Drake,  and  Charles,  who  married  Elizabeth  Swailes,  both 
settled  in  Sodus. 

Hartman,  P.  T.,  was  born  in  Tuscola  county,  Mich.,  August  28,  1858.  His  father, 
Joseph,  was  a  native  of  Wayne  county,  and  retired  in  1860.  P.  T.  Hartman  was  edu- 
cated in  Lyons  Union  School,  after  leaving  which  he  farmed  two  years,  and  then  en- 
gaged as  clerk  in  the  hardware  business  with  Col.  William  Kreutzer,  then  associated 
with  the  express  company  two  years  and  then  entered  the  employ  of  E.  G.  Leonard 
for  five  years  and  then  went  to  Canandaigua  with  George  B.  Anderson  and  returned  to 
Lyons  in  the  spring  of  1880,  and  entered  into  partnership  with  F.  L.  Breisch,  the  firm 
name  Breisch  &  Hartman,  carrying  one  of  the  largest  stocks  of  dry  goods,  cloaks,  car- 
pets and  notions  in  Wayne  county.  The  firm  originally  located  at  36  Canal  street,  but 
in  1892  removed  to  the  Parshall  Memorial  building,  occupying  two  floors,  with  a  depth 
of  120  and  width  of  50  feet.  P.  T.  Hartman  married  at  twenty-nine  Ada,  daughter  of 
James  S.  Hickox,  of  Canandaigua,  Ontario  county,  and  they  have  two  children :  P.  H. 
Hartman  and  Ruth  M.  Hartman.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  leading  merchants  in  his 
town,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  and  is  recog- 
nized as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and  worth. 

Swift,  Elisha  T.,   born  in  Sullivan  county,   N.  Y.,   July  17,  1818,  is  the  second  of  a 
of  four  sons  and  four  daughters  of  Silas  and  Elizabeth  Swift,  pioneers  of  William- 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  243 

son,  coming  there  from  Sullivan  county,  N.  Y.  They  went  to  Michigan  leaving  Elisha 
T.,  who  was  about  14  years  of  age,  with  Mr.  Smith  of  Marion  with  whom  he  remained 
till  of  age.  He  commenced  business  for  himself  in  a  saw  mill,  manufacturing  and  selling- 
pumps.  He  then  engaged  in  the  cooper  business  in  Walworth,  exchanged  this  business 
for  a  farm  in  Walworth  which  he  traded  for  the  farm  in  Williamson,  where  he  now  resides. 
Here  he  was  also  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  a  few  years.  He  made  nearly  all  of 
the  improvements  on  the  farm.  Mr.  Swift  has  been  three  times  married,  first  to  Cath- 
erine Rounserville,  aud  after  her  death  to  Martha  Wake,  who  died  in  1873  and  by  whom 
he  has  one  son  and  three  daughters,  two  now  deceased,  Emma  and  Jennie.  He  married 
third  Maria  S.  (Evans)  Harding,  daughter  of  Luther  and  Elizabeth  (Howland)  Evans, 
natives  of  Massachusetts,  who  went  to  Michigan  in  1844,  where  he  died  in  1851,  and 
his  wife  in  1858.  Mrs.  Swift  came  to  Palmyra  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  She  mar- 
ried first  John  Harding,  by  whom  she  has  one  son,  Fred,  a  farmer  in  Nebraska.  Mr. 
Harding  died  1866  and  she  married  Mr.  Swift,  by  whom  she  has  one  daughter  Lizzie  D. 
Mr.  Swift  has  for  some  time  been  disabled  by  paralysis,  and  Mrs.  Swift  now  has  charge 
of  the  farm.  They  have  103  acres,  and  are  engaged  in  general  farming  and  fruit  raising. 
They  attended  and  supported  the  M.  E.  church  until  the  few  last  years. 

Le  Vanway,  Joseph,  father  of  Henry  W.,  was  a  native  of  France,  and  was  an  orphan 
at  the  age  of  ten  years.  He  was  bound  out  to  a  man  and  brought  to  America  when 
twelve  years  old,  and  after  serving  his  time  he  married  Margery  Moore,  she  being  of 
German  descent.  He  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  purchasing  a  farm  in  Peru, 
Clinton  county,  and  gave  it  his  entire  attention  for  several  years.  He  then  engaged 
extensively  in  the  lumbering  business,  sometimes  employing  100  men,  and  took  the  lar- 
gest raft  of  lumber  to  Quebec  that  had  ever  been  taken  there,  which  covered  four  acres 
of  water.  He  sold  his  property  in  Clinton  county  and  bought  a  farm  in  St.  Lawrence 
county.  The  children  of  Joseph  and  Margery  Le  Vanway  were  as  follows :  Betsey, 
Doras.  Julia,  Harriet,  George,  Harrison,  Hardy,  Wellington  (who  is  a  minister),  Henry 
W.  (our  subject),  Hardy  2d,  Adeline,  Anderson  (who  was  a  doctor)  and  Charles  N., 
who  left  his  law  office  and  raised  a  company  of  men  and  went  into  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  where  he  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  while  acting  in  place  of  Colonel 
Bosworth,  of  the  34th  Illinois  regiment.  The  brothers  all  grew  to  be  temperate,  with 
one  exception.  When  Mr.  Le  Vanway  went  to  St.  Lawrence  county  the  whole  territory 
was  a  dense  forest,  and  he  took  with  him  his  seven  sons  to  assist  him  in  felling  trees 
and  clearing  the  land.  Henrv  W.,  not  liking  the  wild  forest  so  well,  started  out  for 
himself  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  on  arriving  in  Wayne  county  among 
strangers,  had  only  three  shillings  left.  He  engaged  as  a  farm  hand  on  his  arrival,  and 
now  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  the  county,  consisting  of  200  acres  of 
fine  land  (fifty  of  which,  however,  he  has  sold  to  his  daughter).  He  is  now  the  only 
survivor  of  his  father's  family.  The  father  died  in  1841,  and  the  mother  in  1860.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-eight  our  subject  married  Cynthia  D.,  daughter  of  Alanson  S.  Curtis, 
and  they  had  two  children :  Alanson  H.,  who  died  aged  four  years  and  Edra  A.,  wife 
of  R.  R.  Barnes,  a  clothier,  of  Clyde.     Mrs.  Le  Vanway  died  July  18,  1894. 

Brundige,  Cornelius  O.,  was  born  at  Fishkill,  N.  Y.,  in  1827  and  is  of  German  descent. 
Alvah,  his  father,  was  born  in  1799  and  died  in  1874.  He  was  a  son  of  Abram  who 
served  in  the  War  of  1812.  Alvah  Brundige  came  from  Fishkill  in  1838  and  settled  in 
Lyons,  purchasing  of  Daniel  Paul  a  farm  of  seventy-six  acres.  He  was  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  South  Sodus  M.  E.  church.  By  trade  he  was  a  blacksmith  and  edged  tool 
maker,  and  carried  on  that  business  after  coming  to  Wayne  county.  He  married  Bar- 
bara A.  Ostrander,  and  their  children  were :  Harvey,  who  settled  in  Huron  and  is  a 
farmer;  he  married  Sophia  Upson.  Catherine  married  Myron  M.  Alden,  of  Lyons. 
Emily,  who  is  unmarried.  Margaret  A.,  who  died  unmarried.  Abraham,  who  enlisted 
in  1862  in  the  8th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery  and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war;  he  mar- 
ried Hattie  Davis  and  settled  first  in  Sodus  and  later  at  Niagara  Falls.     Much  of  his  life 


244  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

was  spent  in  teaching  and  he  died  in  1891.  Mary  E.  married  David  S.  Dawes  and 
settled  near  Weedsport,  N.  Y.  Alson  died  in  childhood,  Cornelius  O.,  first  settled  in 
the  town  of  Lyons  but  soon  after  settled  near  South  Sodus.  He  is  a  veterinary  surgeon 
by  profession,  but  for  eighteen  years  was  an  extensive  apple  buyer.  In  1890  he  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace,  is  a  member  of  the  South  Sodus  M.  E.  church  and  Lyons 
Grange.  He  married  in  1851  Lucy,  daughter  of  Jonathan  H.  Lamson,  of  Lyons,  and 
their  children  are:  Alice  A.  (Mrs.  Cornelius  B.  Horton,  of  Sodus)  ;  Lucy  E.  (Mrs.  Oscar 
H.  Sweet,  of  Rochester) ;  and  Kate  E.  (Mrs.  William  Munn,  of  Lyons). 

Lyman,  Samuel,  and  Clementina  (Evarts)  Lyman  were  born  in  Salisbury,  Conn.,  the 
former  August  18, 1794,  the  latter  July  7,  1793.  They  removed  to  Rose  (then  Wolcott), 
N.Y.,  in  February,  1818,  coming  with  sled  and  oxen,  and  were  seventeen  days  on  the 
road.  They  endured  with  patience  and  hope  the  privations  and  discomforts  incident  to 
all  settlers  of  a  new  heavily  timbered  country,  subject  to  malarial  diseases,  from  the 
annual  drying  of  undrained  swamps.  For  a  number  of  winters  Mr.  Lyman  taught 
school,  and  his  help-mate,  taking  advantage  of  a  trade  learned  in  Connecticut,  sup- 
plied many  of  her  neighbors  with  that  indispensable  article  of  feminine  attire,  a  bon- 
net, and  by  united  efforts  they  succeeded  in  keeping  the  wolf  from  the  door.  Their 
children  were:  Caroline,  born,  May  7.  1817;  John,  born  April  28,  1819;  Mary,  born 
May  16.  1821;  Charles  and  David  (twins),  born  February  7,  1824;  Lavius  H.,  born 
April  15,  1828;  Frederick,  born  July  21.  1830;  Flavia  E.,  born  May  31,  1833;  Samuel 
E.,  born  June  16,  1836.  Samuel  Lyman  died  May  28,  1877,  his  wife  having  died 
June  25,  1870.  In  politics  Mr.  Lyman  was  a  partisan  only  in  so  far  as  he  believed  the 
action  of  his  party  to  be  in  line  with  public  interests  and  individual  rights.  He  was 
originally  a  Democrat,  but  in  the  Morgan  excitement  he  became  an  anti-Mason,  and, 
in  succession,  a  Whig,  Liberty  party  man,  Free  Soiler,  and,  last  of  all,  a  Republican. 
He  was  the  leading  abolitionist  of  Rose,  and  occasionally  his  house  was  used  as  a 
station  on  the  underground  railroad.  He  was  also  one  of  the  earliest  temperance 
men,  and  the  first  cold  water  raising  in  town  was  that  of  a  barn  built  by  him  in  1830, 
where  the  cold  water  and  hot  water  forces  met  in  a  trial  of  strength,  and  for  a  while 
the  result  seemed  doubtful,  one  party  raising  up  and  the  other  party  pulling  down  ; 
but  the  hot  water  men  were  finally  beaten,  and  with  bruised  fingers  and  trailing 
colors  abandoned  the  contest.  They  succeeded  some  half  dozen  times  in  forcing  back 
the  first  bent  after  it  had  taken  quite  a  start  upward,  and  at  the  next  attempt,  when 
the  beam  had  reached  the  proper  height  to  make  the  action  effective,  a  stout  beechen 
lever  in  the  hands  of  Elizur  Flint  was  swept  along  its  length,  to  the  detriment  of 
numerous  fingers  that  were  tugging  at  its  upper  instead  of  its  under  side,  and  the 
bent  moved  steadily  to  its  place,  to  the  great  disgust  of  the  whiskyites,  a  near  by 
whiskey  seller  saying  he  would  rather  have  given  $5  than  to  see  the  barn  go  up  ;  but 
the  joke  was,  he  had  no  $5  to  give.  Conspicuous  among  the  men  who  stood  for  the 
right  on  that  occasion  were  Elizur  Flint,  Chauncey  Bishop,  Stephen  Collins,  Joel  N. 
Lee,  Rev.  Ansel  Gardiner,  and  C.  W.  Fairbank.  Samuel  Lyman  was  social,  humorous, 
wittv,  a  good  story-teller,  intelligent,  argumentative,  honest,  and  his  motto  was:  ''Do 
Right." 

Boss,  Cornelius,  born  in  Sodus  April  6,  1856,  is  the  fifth  of  nine  children  of  Isaac 
and  Sarah  (Dedee)  Boss,  natives  of  Holland,  who  came  to  America  in  1854  and 
settled  in  Williamson  on  a  farm.  He  bought  a  farm  in  Sodus,  where  he  resided  till 
1865,  when  he  went  to  Michigan  for  a  year.  He  returned  to  Sodus,  again  buying  a 
farm,  which  he  sold  and  bought  the  farm,  a  part  of  which  is  now  owned  by  our  sub- 
ject. He  died  April  3,  1887,  and  his  wife  March  29,  1880.  Subject  was  reared  on  a 
farm  and  educated  in  Sodus  and  Marion.  He  married,  April  7,  1880,  Annie,  daughter 
of  Frank  and  Mary  (Lawrence)  Leroy,  natives  of  Holland.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boss  have 
one  son  and  one  daughter:  Frank  O,  born  September  6,  1886,  and  Jessie  May,  born 
July  13,  1891.     Mr.  Leroy  died  in    1866,  and  Mrs.  Leroy  resides  in  Marion.     Mr.  Boss 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  245 

has  always  been  engaged  in  farming,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  fruit  growing.     He  is  a 
member  of  the  Grange,  and  is  also  a  member  of  Security  Tent,  K.  0.  T.  M. 

Ford,  Charles  H.,  was  born  in  Utica,  October  19,  1861.  His  father,  Harvey  Ford, 
was  a  well  known  contractor  and  builder  throughout  Oneida  and  Herkimer  counties. 
Charles  H.  Ford  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  the  Whitestown 
Seminary,  then  went  to  Auburn  and  engaged  in  the  tobacco  trade;  in  1882  came  to 
Clyde  and  established  his  present  business  as  jobber  in  tobacco  and  cigars.  In  1889  he 
was  elected  trustee  of  the  village,  in  1890  supervisor,  and  re-elected  in  1891.  He  was 
appointed  the  same  year  superintendent  of  section  8,  of  the  Erie  Canal,  resigned  in 
1893,  and  was  appointed  under  Governor  Flower  sheriff  of  Wayne  county  in  the  spring 
of  1894.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Miss  Emma  W.  Gilbert,  daughter  of 
Horace  Gilbert,  of  Auburn,  and  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Vivian  Ford.  Our  subject 
is  identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town  and  county  and  leading  events  of 
the  day.  He  is  a  member  of  the  fire  department  for  ten  years,  foreman,  and  drill 
master  for  six  years ;  also  member  of  Clyde  Lodge  No.  300,  Wayne  Encampment  of 
Newark  ;  Canton  Galen  No.  49,  of  which  he  is  the  present  commander. 

Eaton,  William  L.,  was  born  in  Marion,  February  20,  1841,  and  is  the  son  of  Ira  and 
Almira  (Hall)  Eaton,  she  being  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  town  of  Marion.  Mr. 
Eaton  settled  in  Marion  after  his  marriage  and  came  to  Ontario,  where  he  died.  His 
wife  died  January  20,  1894.  William  Eaton  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
Ontario,  and  went  to  Pultneyville  to  learn  the  miller's  trade  with  J.  B.  Craggs,  and 
worked  at  Ontario  and  at  Sodus  Point.  He  came  to  Williamson  in  1873,  and  built  the 
present  mill,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Thomas  Seeley,  which  continued  until 
1878,  when  he  entered  into  partnership  with  J.  A.  Eidgeway,  which  was  dissolved  in 
1880.  He  has  since  continued  the  business  alone.  He  has  the  full  roller  process,  with 
a  capacity  of  fifty  barrels  per  day  and  grinds  about  25,000  to  30,000  bushels  of  wheat 
yearly,  and  about  20,000  bushels  of  coarse  grain.  Mr.  Eaton  has  served  as  excise  com- 
missioner, but  devotes  his  energies  mainly  to  his  farm.  In  1866  he  married  Eebecca 
Jackson,  of  Williamson,  and  they  have  two  children :  Mary,  wife  of  Alfred  J.  Paget, 
who  assists  his  father-in-law  in  the  mill;  and  Clarence  W.,  who  is  at  home.  Our 
subject  is  a  member  of  the  Pultneyville  Lodge  No.  159,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paget  have  one  daughter, 
Gladys. 

Young.  Dr.  Augustus  A.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Clay,  Onondaga  county,  November 
8,  1849.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  two  years  in  Cazenovia  Seminary,  and 
in  Syracuse  University,  graduating  from  the  liberal  art  department  in  June,  1876,  with 
the  degree  of  B.S.  The  same  year  he  entered  the  medical  department  of  Syracuse 
University,  graduating  June  25,  1879,  with  the  degree  of  M.S.,  and  immediately  began 
to  practice  with  much  success  at  Newark.  August  18,  1879,  he  married  Sarah  E., 
daughter  of  John  M.  Carver,  of  Mallory,  Oswego  county.  They  have  one  adopted 
daughter,  A.  Marguerite,  who  is  a  student  in  the  academy.  The  doctor's  father,  Peter 
J.,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  1819.  He  was  educated  iu  the  schools  of  his  day,  was 
a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  married  Catherine  Somers,  of  Schoharie  county,  N.  Y.,  by 
whom  he  had  two  children  :  Gilbert  T.,  and  Augustus  A.  His  grandfather,  Jacob  V. 
Young,  was  born  at  Hinesville,  Schoharie  county,  N.Y.  He  married  Isabell  McNaughton, 
of  Onondaga  county,  and  they  had  four  children  :  Mary,  John,  Elizabeth,  and  Peter,  jr. 
Jacob  V.  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Dr.  Young  is  a  member  of  the  Wayne 
County  Medical  Society,  the  Central  New  York  Society,  also  of  the  New  York  State 
Medical  Association,  and  Fellow  of  the  Academy  of  Medicine  of  Syracuse.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  American  Microscopical  Society.  He  has  contributed  articles  to 
medical  and  other  papers,  and  is  also  president  of  the  Pension  Examining  Board  at 
Lyons.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  of  Newark 
Lodge  No.  250,  I.  0.  O.  F.,  and  health  officer  of  Newark  the  past  six  years. 


246  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

Wride,  William,  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  whence  he  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1S30,  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Sodus,  on  the  Lake  Road.  With  him,  or 
about  that  time,  came  his  sons,  Robert,  John,  William,  jr.,  and  James.  Robert,  born 
in  1803,  came  to  America  in  1831  and  settled  at  Perry,  N.  Y.,  where  he  lived  until 
1835,  then  removed  to  the  town  of  Sodus,  settling  on  the  Lake  Road,  then  two  years 
later  near  the  Centenary  M.  E.  Church,  where  he  has  since  resided.  The  family  were 
among  the  early  Methodists  of  the  town,  Robert  being  a  leading  member  of  the  Cen- 
tenary Church,  and  largely  responsible  for  its  erection.  John  Wride  settled  at  Geneva, 
soon  after  coming  to  Sodus.  James  settled  in  Huron,  and  became  one  of  the  influential 
farmers  of  the  town.  He  was  deputy  collector  of  customs  for  several  years  at  Port 
Gibson,  and  was  justice  of  the  peace  a  number  of  years.  He  married  Martha  Sowerby, 
and  their  children  who  lived  to  maturity  were  :  Fletcher,  George  S.,  and  Alice,  now 
Mrs.  S.  S.  Granger.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Wride  his  widow  married  William  Hew- 
son  (deceased),  of  Sodus. 

Walch,  Edward,  was  born  in  Schenectady  December  25,  1861,  received  his  higher 
education  at  the  Union  school,  then  learned  the  tinsmith's  trade,  then  entered  a  boiler 
shop  and  learned  the  machinist's  trade,  and  afterwards  learned  blacksmithing.  Going 
to  Paterson,  N.  J.,  he  entered  the  Rogers  Locomotive  Works,  and  six  months  later  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Danforth  &  Cook  Locomotive  Co.,  still  later  in  the  Grant  Loco- 
motive Works,  and  then  went  to  New  York  and  entered  the  employ  of  Fletcher  & 
Harrison,  in  their  marine  shop.  He  next  went  to  McNeil's  Iron  Works  in  Brooklyn, 
and  then  engaged  with  the  Scranton  Locomotive  Works.  He  then  obtained  a  position 
in  the  West  Shore  shops  at  East  Buffalo,  and  in  1884  was  sent  to  Newark,  one  of  the 
terminal  points  of  the  road,  in  charge  of  the  boiler  works  at  this  point,  and  then  was 
sent  to  Buffalo.  Two  months  later  he  was  returned  to  Newark  as  general  foreman  of 
the  West  Shore  Engine  House  here,  which  position  he  has  filled  since.  December  27, 
1887,  he  married  Lucy  M.,  daughter  of  Hugh  and  Mary  Crowe,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren :  Edward,  jr.,  and  Maria  N.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walch  are  members  of  St.  Michael's 
Church,  and  he  was  first  president  of  the  Catholic  Benevolent  Legion, was  its  chancellor, 
orator  and  secretary,  and  represented  it  at  the  conventions  of  Buffalo,  Brooklyn,  and 
New  York. 

The  Whitbeck  Family. — The  first  to  settle  in  Wayne  county  was  Albert  Whitbeck, 
who  came  from  Kinderhook,  Columbia  county,  about  1824  and  settled  in  Arcadia.  His 
ancestors  came  from  Holland  in  an  early  day  and  settled  on  the  Hudson.  He  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Schumerhorn,  and  their  children  were  James,  who  settled  in  Newark  where 
he  died ;  Dorcas,  who  married  Jacob  Trumper  and  settled  in  Arcadia ;  Caroline,  who 
married  George  Van  Housen  and  settled  in  Arcadia ;  Maria,  married  William  New 
and  settled  in  Arcadia;  John  settled  in  Arcadia  and  later  removed  to  Michigan  ; 
Peter  settled  in  Palmyra  and  was  a  farmer;  Edward  died  in  Arcadia;  Jane  married 
Henry  Cronise  and  settled  in  Newark.  Andrew  A.  settled  in  Sodus  in  1834  and  was 
one  of  the  prominent  and  influential  men  of  the  town.  He  was  at  one  time  supervisor 
of  the  town  and  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Sodus  M.  E.  Church,  being  for  many 
years  one  of  its  trustees.  He  married  first  Cynthia  K.  Whitbeck  and  their  children 
were  William,  George,  Cornelius  A.,  Ahda  and  Edmund.  For  his  second  wife  he  mar- 
ried Imogene  Filkins,  and  for  his  third  wife  Almira  M.  Willard,  by  whom  he  had  four 
childred  John  D.,  Frank,  Carrie  and  Arthur  L.     Andrew  A.  died  in  1885. 

Welcher,  Charles  A.,  was  born  in  Arcadia  October  3,  1855,  and  was  educated  in  the 
district,  and  the  Union  school  and  Academy  of  Newark.  His  early  life  was  spent  on 
his  father's  farm,  and  he  is  now  one  of  Newark's  enterprising  grocery  merchants.  He 
married  Jennie  E.  Garlock  of  Newark,  and  they  have  five  children,  Fred  G.,  Frank  C, 
Le  Fern,  Ernest  L.  V.,  and  James.  Mr.  Welcher's  father,  J.  Philester,  was  born  on  the 
homestead  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of  the  village  of  Newark  March  13,  1821. 
September  22,  L845,  he  married  Abigail  Lee  of  Arcadia,  by  whom  he  had  seven  chil- 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  ■_•  |  J 

dren  Alice,  Amanda,  Rev.  Mant'ord  P.,  Valora  E.,  Charles  A.,  as  above,  Lucy  V.,  and 
Byron  R.,  who  died,  aged  fifteen  years.  Subject's  grandfather,  John,  was  born  in  Nor- 
ristown,  N.  J.,  in  1790  and  came  to  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  when  in  his  ninth  year, 
and  went  to  live  with  Oliver  Clark  of  East  Palmyra  until  he  was  twenty  one  years  old! 
He  then  took  up  the  land  for  the  homestead  from  the  primeval  forest.  He  married 
twice,  first  Mebetabel  Culver,  and  second  Electa  Jagger  of  Batavia,  formerly  of  Long 
Island. 

White,  Patrick  S.,  was  born  in  Syracuse  May  6,  1852,  where  he  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools.  He  entered  the  N.  Y.  C.  Railway  shops,  learned  the  trade  of  machinist, 
and  worked  his  way  through  the  various  grades  to  locomotive  engineer  of  passenger 
train,  which  position  he  still  holds.  He  ran  the  first  passenger  train  out  of  Newark  on 
the  West  Shore  Railway  in  1884.  December  22,  1874,  he  married  Mary  Kenny  of 
Rochester,  and  they  have  had  four  children  :  Hattie,  who  died  in  infancy  in  Rochester; 
Dalros  M.,  who  died  in  Syracuse,  aged  three  years;  Florence  M.,  born  in  Rochester' 
and  Bertha  E.,  born  in  Newark.  Mr.  White's  father,  Moses,  was  born  in  Ireland  in 
1825.  He  married  Elizabeth  Powers  and  had  four  children,  Patrick,  as  above,  George, 
Charles  and  Elizabeth.  He  too  was  a  railroad  man  and  came  to  the  United  States  be- 
fore 1852.  He  died,  aged  fifty-two,  and  his  wife  still  survives,  living  at  the  old  home 
in  Syracuse.     Mr.  White  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Benevolent  Legion. 

Weinman,  Jacob,  was  born  in  Rhinefaltz,  Germany,  September  7,  1832,  educated  in 
their  schools  and  worked  at  various  occupations.  May  13,  1859,  he  married  Catherine 
Mencner  of  his  native  place,  and  they  have  had  "eight  children :  Jacob,  jr.,  who  is  a 
farmer  in  Clifton,  Ontario  county,  and  married  Emma  Fresch  of  Newark,  by  whom  he 
has  three  children:  Carrie  M.,  Carl  F.  and  Ruth  E;  Philip  is  a  farmer  in  Phelps,  Ontario 
county.  He  married  Julia  Werner  and  has  one  son,  John  P.;  Frederick  is  a  carpenter 
and  builder  in  Newark,  and  married  Neilie  Fresch;  Theresa  M.  and  Julia  A.  reside  at 
home ;  Elizabeth  C.  died  in  infancy  ;  Lon  also  died  at  the  age  of  two  years ;  and  Chris- 
tian was  killed  on  the  West  Shore  railroad  near  his  home  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  They 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1871.  Mrs.  Weinman  died  in  1885,  mourned  by  a  bereaved 
husband  and  family.  Mr.  Weinman  and  family  are  members  of  the  German  Evangelical 
Church  of  Newark,  and  the  family  have  resided  on  their  farm  twenty  years. 

West,  George  H.;  was  born  about  two  miles  east  of  Newark,  November  19,  1840.  He 
married  twice,  first,  Mary  L.  Lee  of  Newark,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  K.  Eudora 
and  Charles  E.,  who  married  January  13, 1886,  Harriet  E.  Richmond  of  Newark,  and 
has  three  children :  Mary  A.,  Mabel  E.,  and  Ada  B.  Mrs.  West  died  October  16,  1892, 
and  Mr.  West  married,  second,  March  7,  1894,  Lizzie  S.  Yeo,  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county. 
Mrs.  West  was  born  near  Le  Roy,  Genesee  county.  Mr.  West's  father,  Matthew  W., 
was  born  near  Fairville,  this  town,  June  18,  1818,  and  was  a  farmer.  February  5, 1839, 
he  married  Mary  Hughes  of  this  town,  formerly  of  Vermont,  and  they  had  five  chil- 
dren ;  George  H.,  as  above  noted ;  S.  Maria,  Catherine,  Emma  J.  and  Lewis  G.,  who 
married  Effie  M.  Lake  of  Marbletown,  of  the  south  part  of  the  town  of  Arcadia.  They 
have  two  children  Edward  W.  and  Ethel.  Mathew  W.  West  died  March  4,  1874, 
mourned  by  a  bereaved  wife  and  family.  His  father,  Moses,  was  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  1812,  and  some  members  of  the  family  were  in  the  late  war.  Mrs.  George  H.  West's 
father  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  September  28,  1814,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  when  a  young  man,  locating  at  Mount  Morris,  Livingston  county.  He  married 
twice,  first,  Mary  Stillson,  sister  of  Judge  Norton's  wife,  by  whom  he  had  four  children  : 
Arthur  E.,  Frank  S.,  M.  Ella  and  Lizzie  S.  Mrs.  Yeo  died  April  12,  1860,  and  he  mar- 
ried in  1866  Adaline  Knapp.  Mr.  Yeo  died  April  25,  1893,  and  his  wife  in  1892.  The 
family  resided  in  Le  Roy  for  a  time,  also  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  for  twenty-eight 
years.     Mr.  West  is  a  member  of  the  official  board  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Welch,  T.  B.,  a  native  of  Rose,  was  born  February  18,  1864,  son  of  William  and  Mary 


248  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

(Powers)  Welch,  natives  of  Ireland ;  he  was  born  March  25,  1821,  and  she  was  born 
April  25,  1829.  They  came  to  Rose  in  1849,  where  he  died  May  15,  1883,  and  his  wife 
July  15,  1892.  He  owned  seventy  acres  at  his  death.  Subject  was  educated  in  Rose 
Union  School  and  Sodus  Academy,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1886.  foilowed  teaching 
two  years  and  then  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in  North  Rose  in  partnership 
with  his  brother,  J.  J.  Welch,  born  August  29,  1867.  He  learned  the  tinner's  trade  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  which  he  followed  in  Clyde  and  Rochester  until  he  formed  a  part- 
nershiy  with  his  brother.  They  occupy  a  two  story  building  56  x  22  feet,  and  have  had 
a  successful  business.  S  bject  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  to  fill  a  vacancy  of 
H.  E.  Scutt  in  1892,  and  re-elected  in  1893.  He  was  postmaster  at  North  Rose  in  1888, 
and  was  again  appointed  December  27,  1893.  Mr.  Welch  married  February  10,  1891, 
M.  Olive  Briggs  a  native  of  Huron,  and  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Briggs.  They 
have  had  one  son,  Harold  J.  W.  The  firm  is  known  as  Welch  Bros.,  and  they  also  own 
a  farm  of  eighty-five  acres,  part  of  the  Sheer  farm. 

Wilson,  Ephraim  B.,  was  born  in  Connecticut,  November  12,  1809,  son  of  Jonathan 
and  Demaris  (Wimsil)  Wilson,  who  came  to  Wayne  county  when  E.  B.  was  about  two 
years  of  age,  they  being  pioneers  of  the  county.  They  resided  at  various  places  in  the 
county  and  were  farmers  by  occupation.  Their  last  days  were  spent  in  Galen,  where 
Mr.  Wilson  and  his  wife  died.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  coming  to  Rose  when 
the  country  was  new.  He  has  cleared  ninety-five  acres  and  made  many  improvements, 
besides  rearing  a  family  of  four  sons  and  six  daughters,  two  of  the  latter  now  deceased. 
He  married  Celesta  Flint  of  Rose.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  are  active  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  strong  temperance  advocates.  They  are  also  members  of  the 
Clyde  Grange. 

Whitney,  the  late  William,  was  born  in  Ulster  county  October  15,  1820,  and  came 
to  Western  New  York  with  his  parents  when  he  was  eleven  years  of  age.  He  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  that  day,  in  Fairport  High  School  and  Genesee  Wesleyan 
Seminary  at  Lima,  N.  Y.  He  was  always  a  farmer.  January  24,  1844,  he  married 
Jane  Nichols,  of  Fairport,  formerly  of  Rensselaer  county,  and  they  had  two  children : 
Mary  E.,  who  married  Merian  Filkins  and  had  one  daughter  Jessie,  who  is  a  student  in 
Genesee  State  Normal  School.  Mrs.  Filkins  died  May  3,  1879;  and  Estella  M.,  who 
married  Robert  Mitchell  of  the  town  of  Huron,  formerly  of  Sodus,  March  15,  1893. 
Mr.  Mitchell  runs  the  farm,  and  is  trustee  of  the  school  in  his  district.  Mr.  Whitney 
died  January  4,  1892.  The  family  resided  in  Fairport,  Monroe  county,  twenty-five 
years,  and  also  in  Arcadia  many  years.  Mrs.  Whitney's  father,  Elijah  Nichols,  was 
born  in  Rensselaer  county  in  1786.  He  married  Marie  Filkins,  and  had  the  following 
children  :  William,  Betsey,  Polly,  Jane,  Elijah,  jr.,  John,  Trowbridge,  Robert  and 
Sarah.  He  died  August  22,  1864,  and  his  wife  August  9,  1855.  Mr.  Whitney's  father, 
Jesse,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Ulster  county,  and  married  Emeline  Simpkins,  by 
whom  he  had  six  children:  William,  as  above;  Loring,  Eliza  J.,  Sarah  A.,  Albert  and 
Mary.     He  died  August  27,  1876,  and  his  wife  several  years  before. 

Waters,  John,  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  Wayne  county,  was  of  German  descent, 
George  Waters,  his  grandfather,  having  come  from  Germany  in  an  early  day,  and  set- 
tled at  Pine  Plains,  N.  Y.  John  Waters  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  came  to 
Wayne  county  in  1833  with  his  sons  George,  William,  Henry  and  John,  and  settled  in 
Sodus,  purchasing  300  acres  of  land  near  Joy,  there  being  only  a  small  clearing  on  it 
with  a  log  house.  John  Waters,  sr.,  married  Elizabeth  Rarrick.  The  sons  were  all 
farmers,  John  settled  in  Sodus,  and  married  Jennie  Ireland;  George  died  at  Joy  on  the 
homestead.  He  married  Lydia  Jaqua;  William  resides  in  Newark,  and  married  Abbie 
Bishop.  Henry  Waters  went  to  Albany  in  1845  and  studied  law  for  a  time,  but 
abandoning  that  he  engaged  in  the  drover  business,  and  for  many  years  was  an  exten- 
sive dealer,  buying  and  shipping  to  New  York  markets.  In  1864  he  purchased  a  farm 
west  of  Joy  near  the  the  town  line,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  farming.     He  served 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  249 

one  term  as  justice  of  the  peace.  Although  never  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  practiced  suc- 
cessfully injustice  court  for  many  years.  He  married  Margaret  Murphy,  and  their 
children  are:  Josephine  (Mrs.  John  Crosby)  and  Lillian,  (Mrs.  John  Constantabouver). 

Van  Slyck,  Charles,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  James,  whose  father, 
Isaac  Van  Slyck,  was  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  this  county.  The  latter  married 
first  Elizabeth  Van  Duzer,  and  their  children  were:  Peter,  James,  John,  William,  Mar- 
garet, Sophronia,  and  Hannah.  He  married  second  Hannah  Bain.  Of  his  children, 
John  settled  near  Albany,  where  he  died  ;  William  moved  to  Coldwater,  Mich.;  Mar- 
garet, married  Wesley  Wilbur  and  settled  at  Palmyra ;  Sophronia  married  Hugh  Wil- 
son, and  settled  at  Sodus;  Hannah  married  Darius  Kettle,  and  moved  to  Coldwater, 
Mich.;  James  Van  Slyck  spent  his  life  in  Sodus,  and  was  a  farmer.  He  was  a  man  of 
quiet  tastes,  and  never  sought  political  honors.  He  married  Olive  Ellrington,  and  their 
children  were:  Nellie  E.  (Mrs.  E.  J.  Harvey),  of  Coldwater,  Mich.;  Mary  H.;  Carrie  A., 
who  married  James  Handy,  of  Sodus;  and  Charles  D.,  a  farmer  on  the  old  homestead. 
He  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  Sodus  Grange.     His  wife  was  Miss  Eva  C.  Stickney. 

Van  Tassel,  Philip,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Austerlitz,  Columbia  county,  May  27, 
1820,  and  at  the  age  of  seven  years  was  thrown  on  his  own  resources.  He  followed 
farming  ten  years,  and  was  a  hotel  keeper  for  the  same  period,  also  following  droving 
and  speculating  several  years.  October  14,  1839,  he  married  Catharine  Messenger,  of 
Washington,  Mass.,  by  whom  he  had  six  sons:  William  H.,  George  W.,  Thomas  M., 
John  E.,  Francis  and  Philip.  William  H.  was  elected  sheriff  of  Columbia  county ; 
George  W.  was  killed  by  a  horse  falling  on  him.  Thomas  M.  died  young.  John  E. 
resides  in  Sullivan  county.  Francis  married  Cora  Wood,  and  lives  in  Newark.  Philip 
married  Flora  Tillottson,  who  died,  leaving  four  children.  He  resides  on  the  home 
farm.  This  family  came  to  reside  in  this  town  in  1865,  and  Mr.  Van  Tassel  retired 
from  active  business  in  1888,  and  has  since  resided  in  the  village.  William,  father  of 
our  subject,  was  born  in  Hillsdale,  Columbia  county,  in  1788,  and  married  Catharine 
Holsapple,  of  his  native  place,  by  whom  he  had  seven  childien :  Maria,  Martin,  Fred- 
erick, William,  Philip,  Harriet,  and  Sarah.  Mr.  Van  Tassel  died  in  1834,  and  his  wife 
in  1883.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Tassel  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  of  which  he  is 
steward. 

Vosburgh,  William,  son  of  Jacob,  came  from  Dutchess  county  about  1845,  and  set- 
tled in  the  northeast  corner  of  Sodus  on  the  lake  road,  purchasing  a  farm  of  250  acres, 
and  was  an  extensive  farmer.  He  married  first  Henrietta  Trumper  and  second  Eliza- 
beth Trowbridge,  and  their  children  were  :  Jacob,  Anna  E.,  Margaret,  Sarah  C,  Mary 
E.,  Eunice,  who  died  in  infancy,  Emma  and  Antoinette.  Anna  E.  married  Robert  Wat- 
son ;  Margaret  married  Thomas  Youmans;  Sarah  C.  married  Wesley  T.  Jolly;  Mary 
E.  married  Rowland  Smith;  Antoinette  married  Henry  Toor;  Jacob  settled  on  the 
homestead  and  is  a  farmer.  He  taught  school  for  several  years  during  the  winter.  He 
married  Catherine  Youmans  of  Sodus,  and  they  have  five  children :  William,  Edith  A., 
Wesley,  Henrietta  and  George  Y. 

Vosburg,  Rev.  Robert  T.,  was  born  in  Milwaukee.  Wis.,  April  19,  1868.  When  a 
child,  his  father,  who  was  a  minister,  received  a  call  to  preach  in  New  York  city.  Mr. 
Vosburg  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Rochester,  five  years  in  Wagner 
College  in  that  city  and  three  years  in  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Theological  Seminary 
at  Mount  Airy,  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1892  and  began  to  preach  in 
Newark  July  1,  1892,  in  Zion  Lutheran  church.  May  17,  1893,  he  married  Salome 
Hungerer,  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Magdalene  E.  Mr.  Vosburg's  father, 
George,  was  born  in  Madgeburg,  Germany,  August  26,  1835.  He  was  educated  at 
Madgeburg  Gymnasium,  studied  at  Friedrechs  University,  at  Hall  Wurtenburg,  also  at 
the  University  of  Tuebingen,  and  completed  his  theological  studies  at  the  University  of 
Erlangerin  in  March,  1860,  and  taught  at  a  ladies'  seminary  two  years.  In  1863  he  was 
■   ff 


250  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

sent  to  the  United  States  as  a  missionary,  locating  and  preaching  in  many  places  in 
Wisconsin.  In  February,  1867,  he  married  Emily,  daughter  of  Rev.  George  Kinne, 
of  Rochester,  and  they  had  three  sons:  Robert  T.,  George,  and  Gustave.  He  died 
and  his  widow  now  resides  in  Rochester. 

Van  Marter,  David,  father  of  Mrs.  William  J.  Holland,  was  born  in  Arcadia  April  19, 
1819,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  in  early  life  was  a  cooper,  later  taking 
up  farming.  October  30,  1853,  he  married  Elizabeth  J.  Baldwin,  of  Lyons,  by  whom  he 
had  two  children:  Mary,  who  died  in  her  ninth  year,  and  Jennie  M.  Mr.  Van  Master 
died  February  4,  1881,  and  his  wife  died  September  20,  1889.  Jennie  M.  married, 
September  16,  1890,  William  J.  Holland,  of  Fairville,  and  they  have  two  children: 
Viola  M.,  and  D.  Cole.  The  family  are  nicely  situated  on  the  Van  Marter  homestead. 
Mr.  Holland's  father,  Thomas,  was  born  about  1836,  in  England,  and  married  Mary  S. 
West,  of  Michigan,  formerly  of  England.  Their  six  children  were:  Mary  A.,  William 
James,  Sarah  S.,  Helen  D.  A.,  who  died  young,  Henry  K.,  and  Emma  J.  Both  parents 
reside  in  Fairville. 

Van  Dusen,  Richard,  was  born  in  Marion,  Wayne  county,  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon school  and  has  taught  school  fifteen  years,  three  of  which  he  taught  in  the  Union 
School  of  Palmyra.  For  the  past  thirteen  years  he  has  been  conducting  a  fruit  farm 
near  Marbletown.  August  10,  1886,  he  married  Elizabeth  Reutchler,  of  East  Newark, 
and  they  have  one  daughter,  Mary  E.,  who  is  a  student.  Mr.  Van  Dusen's  father, 
Hiram,  was  born  in  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  June  27.  1799.  The  family  moved  to 
Columbia  county  when  he  was  a  boy,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day. 
June  30,  1816,  he  married  Maria  Crandall,  of  his  native  county,  and  they  had  eleven 
children  :  Maria,  Hannah,  William,  Henry  J.,  Lucinda,  Catherine,  John  EL,  Margaret, 
Stephen,  Hannah,  2d,  and  Richard.  Mr.  Van  Dusen  died  hi  1866,  and  his  wife  April 
17,  1850.  Subject's  grandfather,  William,  was  born  September  6,  1772.  He  married 
Hannah  Spencer  and  had  seven  children.  Mrs.  Richard  Van  Dusen's  father,  John 
Reutschler,  was  born  in  Germany.  He  married  Mary  Schwartz,  of  his  native  place, 
and  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in  East  Newark.  They  had  seven  children. 
Mr.  Van  Dusen  was  elected  assessor  in  1892  and  is  trustee  of  the  district  school.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor. 

Thurston,  Albert  L.,  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence  county  October  10,  1848,  and  was 
educated  in  the  district  schools.  He  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  West  Shore  Rail- 
road Company  three  years  as  brakeman  and  conductor,  and  has  been  cooper  and 
engineer.  December  25,  1873,  he  married  Susan  Hildrith,  and  they  have  had  six  chil- 
dren :  Warren,  Jesse  G.,  Albert,  Arvilla  M.,  Frank  L.,  and  George  R.,  who  died  aged 
twenty-two  years.  Mr.  Thurston's  father,  Daniel,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  1822. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day,  and  was  a  cooper  by  trade.  He  married 
Sarah  Herriman,  of  his  native  country,  and  they  have  two  children  :  Albert  L,  as 
above,  and  Harriet  A.  Mr.  Thurston  come  to  reside  with  his  son  in  1892.  He  en- 
listed in  Company  G,  106th  Inf.,  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  was  wounded,  and  honorably  dis- 
charged June  22,  1865.  He  was  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R.,  depart- 
ment of  New  York,  and  died  October  19,  1892.  Mr.  Thurston  is  engineer  in  the 
electric  light  and  water  works  at  Newark,  and  his  son,  Warren,  is  one  of  the  assistants. 
Mr.  Thurston  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Newark  Chapter  No. 
117,  R.  A.  M.,  Zenobia  Commandery  No.  41,  K.  T.,  and  of  N.  A.  S.  E.  No.  43. 

Thompson,  S.  P.,  was  born  in  Rose,  April  26,  1845,  son  of  Robert  R.  and  Elizabeth 
(Fulton)  Thompson,  he  a  native  of  Saratoga,  born  in  1821,  and  she  of  Sodus.  The 
paternal  grandfather  of  subject  was  Ezekiel,  who  came  to  Huron,  being  one  of  the  first 
settlers  and  afterwards  on  the  farm  where  our  subject  now  resides,  where  he  died.  He 
was  in  the  war  of  1812.     The  father  of  subject  was  a  farmer,  owned  fifty  acres  of  land, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  251 

and  died  in  1889.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  enlisted 
in  Company  C,  8th  N.  Y.  Cavalry,  and  served  four  years,  and  nine  months  in  Anderson- 
ville.  He  was  with  the  8th  Cavalry  in  every  engagement,  until  he  was  captured  twenty 
miles  south  of  Richmond,  at  Stony  Creek,  June  29,  1864.  He  was  in  the  regiment  who 
fired  the  first  shot  at  Gettysburg.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Rose,  and 
except  five  years  on  the  Erie  Canal,  where  he  owned  a  boat  and  followed  boating.,  has 
resided  in  Rose.  He  is  a  farmer,  has  followed  threshing  twenty  years,  and  now  owns 
fifty  acres  in  Rose  and  one  hundred  acres  in  Sodus.  Mr.  Thompson  has  been  highway 
commissioner  six  years.  He  is  a  member  of  John  Sherman  Post  No.  401.  He  married 
Emily  Burns,  a  native  of  Rose,  and  daughter  of  William  and  Jane  Burns,  early  settlers 
in  the  town,  where  they  died.  Mr.  Thompson  and  wife  have  two  sons,  James  P.,  and 
Robert  L.,  at  home. 

Toor,  Charles  H.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  January  18,  1845,  and  is  a  son  of  John  Toor, 
who  came  from  England  about  1830,  and  settled  in  Gorham,  Ontario  county,  where  he 
lived  until  1839,  when  he  removed  to  Sodus,  purchasing  a  farm  in  the  northwest  part  of 
the  town  and  was  a  successful  farmer.  He  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Centenary 
M.  E.  church  of  Sodus.  He  married  Sarah  Box,  and  their  children  were:  Sarah  A., 
George,  Thomas,  Charles  H.,  and  William.  Charles  H.  settled  in  Sodus  and  is  a  thrifty 
farmer.  For  many  years  he  taught  school  during  the  winter.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus 
Grange.  He  married  in  1872  Mary  Wilkes,  and  their  children  were:  Frank  W.  and 
Mary  A.  Mrs.  Toor  died  in  1882,  and  in  1884  he  married  Lizzie  Welburn,  and  they 
have  one  son,  George  C. 

Turner,  Nathan  M.,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1855,  and  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  Turner,  who 
came  from  Yorkshire,  England,  in  1849,  and  settled  in  Lyons,  and  in  the  spring  of  1850 
purchased  the  farm  of  Jesse  H.  Green  northwest  of  Sodus  village,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  died  in  January,  1877.  He  was  an  enterprising  and  thrifty 
farmer  and  acquired  a  compe'ence.  He  married  Ann  Watson,  and  their  children  were : 
Ann,  who  married  John  Toor,  of  Sodas  ;  Joseph,  who  settled  in  Northern  Michigan, 
where  he  died  in  1875 ;  Elizabeth,  who  married  George  Toor  ;  William,  who  settled  in 
Sodus.  He  married  Emma  C.  Baldwin  ;  Mary,  who  married  Thomas  Toor  (deceased); 
Rachel,  who  married  Richard  Toor ;  Stephen  G.,  who  resides  in  Sodus ;  Nathan  M., 
who  resides  on  the  homestead  and  is  a  farmer.  He  is  a  strong  Democrat,  and  in  1894 
was  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  supervisor.  He  married  in  1885  Eliza  L.  Briggs,  of 
Huron,  N.  Y.,  and  their  children  are:  Sarah,  Isabel  (deceased);  Benjamin  B.,  Hazel  A., 
and  Bessie  0. 

Tiffany,  George  W.,  was  born  at  Green  River,  Columbia  county,  February  18,  1844, 
and  came  to  Ontario  county  with  his  parents  when  he  was  three  years  of  age.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  and  has  always  followed  farming.  He  has  also  had 
charge  of  and  settled  several  estates.  January  24,  1868,  he  married  Theresa  Coons,  of 
the  town  of  Arcadia,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Iva  T.,  who  is  a  student.  Mr. 
Tiffany's  father,  Lamont,  was  born  at  Austerlitz,  Columbia  county,  in  1808,  and  married 
Sophia  Clark,  of  that  county.  They  had  ten  children  :  Charles  L.,  Jane,  Esther  M., 
George  W.,  as  noted,  Edward  D.,  Louis  R.,  Florence  A.,  Sophia  E.,  Millie  E.,  and  AnnaB. 
He  died  in  1869,  and  his  wife  May  4,  1877.  Mrs.  Tiffany's  father.  Alexander  Coons, 
was  born  at  Red  Hook,  Dutchess  county,  July  4,  1812.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  his  day,  and  always  followed  farming.  April  10,  1845,  he  married  Deborah  E. 
Ackley,  of  Newark,  formerly  of  Sing  Sing,  Westchester  county.  They  had  two 
children,  one  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Theresa,  as  above.  The  family  came  to  Newark 
in  November,  1849.  He  died  in  1887,  and  his  widow  resides  with  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Tiffany.     Mr.  Tiffany  is  a  member  of  Newark  Grange. 

Sherman,  the  late  Levi,  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county,  February  19,  1819.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.     February  3,  1841, 


252  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

he  married  Angeline,  daughter  of  James  and  Hannah  (Gifford)  Aikin  of  his  native 
county.  She  was  born  April  15,  181G.  They  had  three  children  :  Deborah  G.,  Justus 
H.  A  ,  and  Hannah  J.  Deborah  G.  married  Sidney  Murphy  of  Washington  county, 
and  they  have  five  sons  :  Clarence  B.,  Pardon  C,  William  E.,  and  Myron  E.  Justus 
H.  A.  married  Hattie  Doolittle  of  that  county,  and  they  had  seven  children:  Minnie  A., 
Levi  W.,  Myrtle,  Mabel,  Ina,  Gracie  and  Edward.  Hannah  J.  married  Andrew  Pratt 
of  Washington  county,  and  they  had  five  children  :  Gracie,  George  L.,  Ira  J.,  Angie  and 
Eva.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sherman  came  to  Newark  from  Washington  county  in  1864.  Mr. 
Sherman  died  December  20,  1887.  Mrs.  Sherman's  father,  James  Aikin,  was  born  at  the 
old  home  in  1702.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day,  and  was  a  farmer  and 
lumber  merchant.  He  married  Hannah  Gifford  of  his  own  county,  and  they  had  fifteen 
children  :  Angeline,  Justus,  Elihu  G.,  James,  Nathaniel,  Lafayette,  Gifford,  Sarah  C, 
Patience,  Elizabeth,  Abigail  H.,  Deborah  and  Louisa.  He  died  in  1848,  and  his  wife  in 
1881.  Mrs.  Sherman  is  a  bright  active  business  lady.  The  family  is  of  the  Friends  de- 
nomination. 

Stuart,  John  E.,  was  born  in  Greene  county,  N.  Y.,  August  6,  1843.  The  family  at 
an  early  day  moved  to  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  where  our  subject  was  educated  in  the  high 
school.  He  then  iearned  the  jeweler  and  watch  trade,  and  came  to  Newark  in  1864. 
Hs  followed  the  jeweler's  trade  twenty  years,  doing  a  vtry  prosperous  trade  here.  He 
was  in  company  with  his  brother,  Charles  W.,  in  the  nursery  business  several  years. 
He  erected  the  building  Mr.  Robinson  now  occupies  and  carried  on  the  business  until 
1880.  In  1884  the  Stuart  Manufacturing  Co.  was  organized  to  manufacture  advertising 
specialties.  This  factory  was  burned  in  1886.  Mr.  Stuart  has  devoted  his  time  to  sev- 
eral inventions,  many  of  which  are  manufactured  in  Syracuse.  He  is  serving  his  second 
term  as  president  of  Newark  village,  being  elected  in  January,  1894.  June  7,  1871,  he 
married  Sarah  E.  Reed  of  Newark,  and  they  had  three  children :  Harvey  R.,  Am  ie  R., 
and  Marguerite,  all  students  in  the  Union  School  Academy  here. 

Soverhill,  the  late  Charles  W.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia  September  7,  1840. 
His  education  was  obtained  in  the  common  schools,  and  he  finished  at  the  High  school 
of  Clifton  Springs,  afterwards  taking  up  farming.  November  20,  1862,  he  married 
Jennie  Turnbull,  and  had  by  her  two  children  :  Robert  M.  and  K.  Isabel,  both  of  whom 
reside  at  home.  In  the  spring  of  1861  Mr.  Soverhill  enlisted  in  the  17th  Inf.,  N.Y. 
Yols.,  and  was  honorably  discharged  for  disability  in  September,  1861.  He  died  April 
20,  1892,  deeply  mourned  by  family  and  friends.  Mrs.  Soverhill's  father,  Robert  Turn- 
bull,  was  born  near  Glasgow,  Scotland,  in  1797  and  came  to  this  country  in  1801,  first 
locating  on  the  Hudson  River.  He  married  Catherine  Morrison,  of  Hudson.  After 
living  in  Montgomery  county  five  years  they  came  to  Arcadia,  then  to  Lyons.  Their  six 
children  were  James,  Eleanor.  Mary  E.,  William  M.,  Gertrude  A.,  and  L.  Jennie. 
Mr.  Turnbull  died  September  18,  1889,  and  his  wife  in  1880.  The  ancestry  of  this 
family  is  Scotch  on  both  sides. 

Sauer,  Martin,  was  born  in  Germany  near  Bingen  on  the  Rhine,  came  to  America  in 
1834,  and  settled  in  the  south  part  of  Sudus.  Two  brothers,  Christopher  and  John, 
came  about  the  same  time,  all  settling  in  the  same  part  of  the  town.  Christopher  re- 
moved to  Illinois  about  1860.  John  Sauer  purchased  a  large  farm  and  was  one  of  the 
prosperous  farmers  of  the  town.  He  married  Eva  Lang,  and  their  children  were  John, 
Henry  J.,  Christiana,  Mary  and  George,  all  of  whom  reside  in  Sodus.  Martin  Sauer 
purchased  a  large  tract  of  land,  and  by  industry  has  become  one  of  the  most  prominent 
and  wealthy  farmers  in  the  town.  He  married  Caroline  Lang,  and  their  children  are 
Henry,  who  settled  in  Arcadia  and  is  a  farmer.  He  married  Mary  Sauer;  Caroline, 
who  married  Nicholas  Espenschied,  of  Sodus;  Barbara;  William,  Jacob  and  Charles  of 
Sodus;  Catherine,  who  married  Adam  Fry,  of  East  Palmyra,  and  Margaret,  who  mar- 
ried Asa  F.  Andrews,  of  Joy. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  253 

Spear,  Mahlon,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  in  1845,  a  son  of  William,  whose 
father,  William,  was  a  pioneer  of  Wayne  county.  He  came  from  New  England  as 
early  as  1808,  settled  in  Arcadia  and  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Rachel  Cook,  and  they 
had  one  son  William,  jr.  He  settled  in  Phelps  but  in  1853  settled  in  the  south  part  of 
Sodus,  and  was  one  of  the  most  successful  and  prosperous  farmers  in  the  town.  He 
married  Louise  Lewis  and  they  had  one  son,  Mahlon,  our  subject.  He  settled  on  the 
homestead,  and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  extensive  farmers  of  the  town.  He 
is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392  F.  &  A.  M.,  Sodus  Chapter  and  Zenobia  Com- 
mandary.  He  married  in  1884  Frances  A.  Olmstead,  and  they  have  two  children,  Helen 
M.  and  Louise  F. 

Snyder,  Henry  J.,  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Wayne  county,  coming  from 
Columbia  county  about  1845,  and  settling  in  the  south  part  of  Sodus.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Miller,  and  their  children  were  Harmon  J.,  who  settled  in  Illinois,  and  after- 
ward in  Texas  ;  Leonard  lived  and  died  in  Sodus.  He  served  through  the  Civil  War ; 
Samuel  died  in  early  manhood ;  Catherine,  who  married  Freeman  Hawver  and  settled 
in  Marion;  Sarah  married  Joseph  Breggsand  settled  in  Michigan;  Lydia  married  John 
Simmons  and  settled  in  Illinois;  Jane  married  Andrew  French  and  settled  in  South 
Dakota;  Mary  marrie  I  Horace  Gilbert,  and  settled  in  Marion.  Jacob  M.  Snyder  for 
many  years  during  his  early  life  was  engaged  in  teaching,  later  engaged  in  farming  which 
he  followed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married  Julia  A.  Miller,  and  they  had  three 
children  :  Charles,  who  died  in  infancy ;  Frank  M.,  who  settled  on  the  homestead  and 
is  engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Helen  Sauer;  Leslie  M.  was  a  school  teacher  for 
several  years  and  then  engaged  in  farming,  purchasing  a  farm  southwest  of  Sodus  vil- 
lage. He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Grange.  He  married  Nettie  D.,  daughter  of  William 
H.  Tincklepaugh  of  Sodus,  and  they  have  one  son,  Kenneth  E.  Jacob  M.  Snyder  died 
in  1892. 

Smith,  Daniel  P.,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  in  the  southwest  part  of  Arcadia 
November  23,  1842.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  the  Union  School  and 
Academy  of  Newark,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  November  15,  1876,  he  mar- 
ried Emma  L.  Fisk  of  this  town,  and  they  had  two  children  William  P.,  born  Septem- 
ber 9,  1878,  and  Leslie  E.,  born  May  25,  1887.  Mrs.  Smith  was  born  September  26, 
1849,  and  died  July  4,  1891,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  husband  and  children.  Mr.  Smith's 
father,  Daniel,  was  born  in  Nassau,  Rensselaer  county  March  18,  1802.  September  23, 
1836,  he  married  Deborah  Vary  of  his  native  county,  born  October  9,  1809,  and  settled 
here  the  same  year.  They  have  had  two  children,  Esther  S.  and  Daniel  P.  He  died 
April  7,  1874,  and  his  wife  March  3,  1887.  Shis  family  located  here  fifty-eight  years 
ago.  Mr.  Smith's  grandfather,  Conradt  Smith,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  the 
State.     The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  German  and  Welsh. 

Sherman,  Charles  B.,  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  December  21,  1804,  was  a  son  of 
John  and  Chloe  (Dickenson)  Sherman,  natives  of  Massachusetts  who  were  early  set- 
tlers of  Phelps,  and  came  to  Rose  Valley  in  an  early  day  where  they  died.  Mr.  Sher- 
man served  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Father  of  subject  was  a  child  when  he  came  to 
Rose.  He  was  a  farmer  and  at  his  death  owned  111  acres,  where  the  family  now  re- 
side, and  the  farm  is  now  carried  on  by  Ezra  A.  Sherman.  His  first  wife  was  Lucinda 
Allen,  by  whom  he  had  five  sons  and  one  daughter.  His  second  wife  was  Charlotte 
Tyler,  a  native  of  Oneida  county  and  daughter  of  Chester  and  Harriet  Strong  ;  he  was 
a  native  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.  They  came  to  Oneida  in  an  early  day  where  Mr.  Tyler 
died,  and  his  wife  died  in  Hannibalville.  Mr.  Sherman  and  second  wife  had  three  chil- 
dren :  Chester,  who  married  Harriet  Kimberly  of  Auburn,  by  whom  he  has  one  daugh- 
ter, Marion  C.  He  was  educated  in  Auburn  Academy  and  Rochester  Business  College, 
from  which  he  graduated  May  9,  1885.  He  is  now  clerk  of  the  revision  of  the  pensions 
at  Washington,  D.  C,  resigning  the  office  of  assessor  of  Rose  when  he  received  the  ap- 
pointment; Ezra  A.,  born  in  Rose  January  7,  1866,  and  educated  at  the  Union  Schools 


254  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE    COUNTY 

of  Rose.  He  is  a  farmer  and  makes  a  specialty  of  breeding  Hambletonian  horses,  and 
at  present  owns  Ezra  A.,  who  has  a  record  of  232 -J-.  Mr.  Sherman  has  been  town 
clerk  one  term  ;  and  HattieE.,  wife  of  Manley  G.  Fowler  of  Rochester. 

Snyder,  Eli,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1831,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  grandson  of  John 
Snyder,  of  Montgomery  county.  Peter  came  from  Columbia  county  to  Oswego  about 
1820,  and  about  1824  purchased  a  farm  in  the  southwest  part  of  Sodus,  where  he  re- 
moved. He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Christian  church  of  Marion.  In  1874  he 
settled  in  that  village,  where  he  died  in  1881.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John 
Beam,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Sodus,  and  their  children  were:  Peter,  jr.,  George, 
Eli,  Sarah,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Ann,  and  Mahala.  Peter  settled  in  Sodus  and  later  in 
Palmyra,  where  he  died.  He  married  Jane  Welcher;  George  settled  in  Marion,  and 
married  Hannah  Covey ;  Sarah  married  Isaac  Stone ;  Mary  married  Abijah  White  ; 
Elizabeth  married  Sylvester  Campbell ;  Ann  married  Mark  Johnson  ;  Mahala  married 
Lorenzo  French.  Eli  Snyder  has  always  lived  in  Sodus  and  is  an  enterprising  farmer. 
He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Grange  and  the  Christian  church  of  Marion.  He  married 
Louisa  Adams,  of  Marion,  and  they  have  one  son,  Frank  E.,  of  Newark,  who  married 
Lizzie  Bowen. 

Snyder,  George,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1829,  son  of  Samuel,  who  was  a  son  of  John 
Snyder,  a  resident  of  Montgomery  county.  His  ancestors  came  from  Germany.  Samuel 
and  Peter,  sons  of  John,  came  to  Sodus  about  1824,  and  took  up  farms  in  the  southwest 
part  of  the  town.  Benjamin,  another  brother,  settled  in  Sodus  in  1855,  where  he  died. 
He  married  Betsey  Lovell.  Two  sons  survive  him,  John  Snyder,  of  Joy,  and  Esmond, 
of  Williamson.  Peter  married  Betsey  Beam.  Samuel  Snyder  married  Mary  Borden, 
by  whom  he  had  eight  children :  Emeline,  Ann,  Eliza,  Stephen  B.,  George,  Charles, 
Albert,  and  Edward.  Emeline  married  Orvilla  Carpenter,  of  Sodus ;  Ann  married 
Horace  Dennison  and  settled  in  Michigan  ;  Eliza  married  Henry  Husted  and  settled  in 
Michigan  ;  Stephen  B.  settled  first  in  Sodus  and  afterward  in  Marion.  He  married 
Celia  Welcher ;  Charles  settled  in  Sodus,  removing  later  to  Michigan,  where  he  died  ; 
Albeit  and  Edward  both  settled  in  Michigan.  George  Snyder  has  always  lived  in 
Sodus,  and  follows  farming.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Grange.  He  married  Mary 
Briggs,  and  their  children  are:  Mattie  (Mrs.  Samuel  Thorn,  of  Syracuse)  and  Irving  J., 
of  Marion. 

Snow,  Lorenzo  M.,  a  native  of  Hamilton,  Madison  county,  was  born  October  29, 
1828,  son  of  Nathan  and  Hannah  (Groves)  Snow,  he  a  native  of  Plainfield,  Mass.,  born 
May  26,  1790,  and  she  of  Whitesboro,  Oneida  county,  born  February  13,  1791.  Abijah 
Snow,  grandfather  of  subject,  was  a  pioneer  of  Hamilton,  settling  there  in  1802.  He 
was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  owned  a  farm  of  120  acres,  which  was  afterward  owned 
and  improved  by  his  son.  Nathan.  Nathan  Snow  was  a  farmer  of  Hamilton,  where  he 
lived,  and  died  July  17,  1852.  and  his  wife  February  20,  1875.  Mr.  Snow  was  a  very 
active  member  and  liberal  contributor  to  the  Congregational  church.  Lorenzo  M.  was 
reared  on  the  farm  and  has  always  followed  farming.  He  purchased  the  old  homestead, 
where  he  remained  till  1855,  when  he  came  to  Rose  and  bought  the  farm  he  now  owns 
of  256  acres,  160  of  which  he  has  cleared.  Mr.  Snow  has  erected  a  fine  large  dwelling 
and  excellent  out-houses.  His  specialty  is  thoroughbred  Jersey  cattle  and  Hambletonian 
horses.  September  1,  1858,  he  married  Harriet  L.,  daughter  of  Norman  Sexton  and 
Sarah  A.  (Crofford)  Sexton,  of  Smyrna,  Chenango  county.  Mr.  Sexton  was  a  native  of 
Milford,  Conn.,  and  Mrs.  Sexton  of  Johnstown,  N.  Y.  He  was  a  farmer  at  Smyrna,  and 
the  grandfather,  Elijah,  was  a  pioneer  of  the  county.  Norman  Sexton  died  in  January, 
1874,  and  his  wife,  who  spent  her  last  days  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snow,  died  June  8, 
1885. 

See,  Myron,  was  born  on  the  homestead  near  Fairville,  May  31,  1843,  was  educated 
in  the  district  schools  and  was  a  carpenter  by  occupation  until  the  accidental  death  of 


FAMILY   SKETCHES. 

his  brother,  September  9,  1867,  when  he  became  a  farmer  in  the  place  of  his  brother. 
He  married  twice,  first  in  1861,  Emily  F.  Warfield,  of  this  town,  by  whom  he  had  one 
daughter,  Minnie  L.,  who  married  Edward  H.  Schwab,  of  this  town,  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Mary  E.  Mrs.  See  died  in  1865,  and  he  married  second,  September  29,  1868, 
Adelaide  Southworth,  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county.  They  have  one  daughter,  Eva  B., 
residing  at  home.  Mr.  See's  father,  John,  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county,  December  1 
1799,  and  left  home  when  young.  He  married  twice,  first,  Eve  Turner,  and  had  seven 
children,  three  of  whom  are  deceased;  Marvin,  Jerome,  Myron,  and  Mary  A.,  now  Mrs. 
Riggs.  of  Lockport.  Mrs.  See  died  March  2,  1874,  and  he  married  second,  Maria 
Roberts,  of  Palmyra.  He  died  April  22,  1883,  his  wife  survives.  Mrs.  See's  father, 
George  W.  Soverhill,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county  in  1814,  and  came  to  Purington, 
Monroe  county,  with  his  parents  when  a  boy.  He  married  Sarah  McNutt,  of  Ontario, 
and  they  had  four  children  :  Eleanor,  Adelaide,  Lucy,  and  Mary.  He  had  married 
previously  to  Arabella  Counant,  and  had  one  daughter,  Laura.  Mr.  Southworth  still 
survives,  aged  eighty  years. 

Sentell,  Edward  W.,  the  first  of  the  family  in  Wayne  county,  was  born  June  25,  1806, 
and  was  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia.  About  1822  he  came  to  Geneva  and  became  a  con- 
tractor and  builder.  About  1828,  with  a  Mr.  Barclay,  he  secured  the  contract  for  the 
building  of  the  first  pier  constructed  at  Sodus  Point.  Later  he  purchased  the  Loomis 
property  at  Maxwell's  Mill,  including  a  farm,  saw  mill,  and  grist  mill,  and  removed 
there.  He  carried  on  the  milling  business  until  1855.  He  was  enterprising  and  public 
spirited,  and  was  identified  with  the  best  interests  of  the  town.  In  1857  he  was  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Sodus  M.  E. 
church  for  over  forty  years.  He  was  railroad  commissioner  from  the  building  of  the 
Sodus  Point  and  Southern  Railroad  until  his  death,  September  19,  1892.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  prominent  member  and  officer  of  the  State  militia.  He  married,  in  1830, 
Deborah,  daughter  of  Samuel  Harvey,  and  their  children  were:  Sarah  A.,  who  died  in 
childhood;  William  H.,  Edward  H,  Catherine  L.,  Charles  M.,  Jennie  D.,  Mary  A.,  and 
John  C,  who  died  in  early  manhood.  William  H.  enlisted  in  1861  in  the  44th  N.  Y. 
Infantry.  In  1862  he  was  transferred  to  the  160th  N.  Y.  Infantry,  with  the  rank  of 
major,  and  served  until  the  fall  of  1864,  when  he  resigned.  He  died  in  Sodus  in  1888, 
unmarried.  Catherine  L.  married  Abraham  B.  Gibbs,  of  Sodus  ;  Jennie  D.  married 
Hiram  West  and  settled  at  Groton,  S.  D.:  Mary  married  Charles  Terpning,  of  New 
York;  Charles  M.  enlisted  in  1862  in  the  11th  N.  Y.  Infantry,  and  served  till  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  is  a  member  of  Dwight  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Sodus  and  was  a  charter 
member  of  Sodus  Lodge,  1.0.  0.  F.  He  has  been  collector  and  highway  commissioner 
of  the  town.  He  married  Jennie  Hewson,  of  Sodus,  and  their  children  are  :  Jennie 
D.  and  William  E.  Edward  H.  Sentell  enlisted  in  1862  in  the  160th  N.  Y.  Infantry 
as  second  lieutenant  and  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant.  He  was  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Creek  October  19,  1864,  and  was  mustered  out  April  5,  1865.  From 
1868  to  1872  he  was  engaged  in  the  produce  busines.  In  the  latter  year  he  settled 
at  Sodus  Point  and  built  a  planing  mill  and  dock,  and  for  several  years  carried  on 
that  business.  Selling  out  this  business  he  built  a  warehouse  and  a  fruit  evaporator, 
and  engaged  in  the  produce  business  and  coal  and  lumber.  In  1876  he  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  trade,  which  he  has  since  carried  on.  He  takes  an  active  part  in  party 
affairs,  and  was  elected  supervisor  in  1890-91.  He  is  a  member  of  Dwight  Post, 
G.  A.  R.  He  married  Fannie,  daughter  of  John  Preston,  of  Sodus,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Mary. 

Seymour,  Morris  J.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  on  the  farm  he  now  occupies,  Decembea 
24,  1840,  a  son  of  Orson,  born  in  1801,  who  is  a  son  of  Ebenezer,  who  came  from 
Pompey,  Onondaga  county,  about  1808  and  settled  at  Palmyra.  They  removed  to 
Williamson  and  soon  after  to  the  town  of  Sodus.  Ebenezer  married  Jemima  Wilbur, 
and  their  children  were:  Va'da,  Sidney  (deceased),  Orson,  who  died  in  1875;  Delmar, 


256  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Harland,  Morris  (deceased),  Orlando,  Jennette,  Mary  A.,  and  Therese.  Morris  J. 
Seymour  resides  on  the  homestead  and  is  a  farmer.  In  1862  lie  enlisted  in  the  160th 
N.Y.  Infantry  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Winchester.  He  is  a  member  of  Dwight  Post,  G-.  A.  R.,  of  Sodus,  and  is  president 
of  the  Republican  Club  of  Sodus.  He  married,  in  1870,  Hannah  Burt,  of  Washington 
county. 

Schaich,  George,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  November  16,  1859,  where  he 
was  educated,  and  learned  the  business  of  nurseryman  and  gardener  at  what  we  would 
call  the  experiment  station,  at  Hohenheim,  Germany,  from  which  he  received  a  cer- 
tificate of  efficiency,  the  highest  in  the  class  of  thirty  six.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  September  13,  1883,  locating  in  Rochester,  where  he  served  Elwanger  &  Barry 
eight  years.  January  1,  1891,  he  came  to  the  State  Custodial  Asylum,  where  he 
occupies  the  position  of  gardener  and  florist  Since  he  came  here  he  has  made  much 
improvement,  especially  in  landscape  gardening.  May  21,  1885,  he  married  Jennie  E. 
Hess,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  they  have  had  two  children:  Emily,  who  died  aged 
eight  months,  and  George,  born  May  4,  1888.  William,  father  of  our  subject,  was 
born  at  the  old  home  in  Germany  in  1832  and  married  Catrina  Haussler,  of  his  native 
place.  Their  children  were:  George,  Barbara,  Catrina,  Mary,  and  two  who  died 
young.  Conrad  Hess,  father  of  Mrs.  Schaich,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany, 
about  1826,  and  married  Rose  Hoss,  of  the  same  place.  They  have  had  seven  chil- 
dren :  Mary,  Jenny,  Gotlieb,  Charles,  Caroline,  and  two  who  died  young.  Both  parents 
are  dead. 

Schwartz  Franklin,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  Germany,  October  5,  1834,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  the  United  States  when  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  locating  in  the 
town  of  Arcadia.  February  27,  1858,  he  married  Dora  Hyman  formerly  of  Germany, 
and  they  had  ten  children:  Charles  J.,  born  December  6,  1858;  Louisa,  born  April  14, 
1862  ;  Dora  K..  born  October  11,  1864  ;  Emma  H,  born  October  31,  1866;  Frances  D., 
born  October  27,  1868  ;  Henry  F.,  born  September  23,  1870;  William  J.,  born  October 
7,  1872;  Carrie  H.,  born  April  20,  1875;  Maude  L.,  born  September  20,  1877;  and 
Frederick  W.,  born  May  22,  1880.  Mrs.  Schwartz's  father,  John  Hyman,  was  born  in 
Hanover,  Germany,  in  1794  He  married  Dora  Frol  of  his  native  place,  and  they  had 
six  children  :  Henry,  John,  Christopher,  William,  Charles  and  Dora.  Mr.  Hyman  died 
in  1857,  and  his  wife  October  2,  1874.  Mr.  Schwartz  ha*  resided  in  his  present  home 
since  1865. 

Schwartz,  Charles  J.,  was  born  in  Arcadia  December  6,  1858,  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  and  has  always  been  a  farmer.  He  was  elected  road  commissioner  in 
1891,  and  re-elected  in  1893.  February  17,  1881,  he  married  Louisa  Lux  of  this  town, 
and  they  have  two  daughters:  Grace  M.  and  Luwella.  Mrs.  Schwartz's  father,  George 
Lux,  was  born  in  Alsace,  Germany,  in  1816  and  came  to  the  United  States  when  a  young 
man,  locating  in  Clyde.  In  October,  1844,  he  married  Catherine  Lape,  who  was  born 
in  Paltz,  Germany,  and  they  had  three  children  :  J.  George,  Philip  H,  and  Louise. 
They  have  resided  on  this  farm  since  1865.  Mr.  Lux  died  in  1875,  mourned  by  a 
bereaved  wife  and  children.  Mr.  Schwartz  is  salesman  and  agent  for  mowers  and 
reapers. 

Rupert,  Conrad,  was  born  in  Hessia,  Germany,  August  10,  1838.  He  was  educated 
in  their  public  schools  and  academy,  and  began  college  work.  He  came  with  his 
parents  to  the  United  States  and  located  in  Albany.  November  18,  1862,  he  enlisted 
in  Co.  K,  177th  Inf.,  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  was  honorably  discharged  September  10,  1863.  He 
then  went  to  New  Jersey  and  bought  a  farm  in  Somerset  county.  March  15,  1866,  he 
married  Anna  M.,  daughter  of  George  W.  Barclow  of  that  county,  and  they  had  four 
children  :  Henry  L.,  William  B.,  George  O,  and  Edith  M.  Henry  L.  is  an  attorney-at- 
law  and  notary,  public,  and  married  Effe,   daughter  of  Henry  V.  D.  Garrison  of  Naw 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  257 

Jersey.  They  have  two  children :  Anna  M.,  and  Stephen  E.  William  B.  is  a  book- 
keeper in  Kinney  &  Garrison's  manufactory  of  sash,  doors,  blinds,  etc. ;  George  C. 
resides  at  home  assisting  his  father  ;  Edith  M.  is  a  student  at  the  academy.  Mr.  Rupert 
came  to  East  Newark  in  the  spring  of  1886,  purchased  property  here,  and  is  doing  a 
fine  business  in  produce  and  coal.  His  father,  Henry,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in 
Germany  in  1806,  married  Catherine  Stone  and  had  four  children  :  Conrad,  Henry, 
Anna  and  Kate.  He  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  of  the 
A.  O.  U.  W.,  No.  116  and  of  the  K.  0.  T.  M.,  No.  115,  and  of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99, 
G.  A.  R.,  Department  of  New  York.     He  is  a  Democrat. 

Robinson,  Calib  R.,  was  born  in  Fairville,  October  19,  1840.  He  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  there  and  completed  his  education  in  the  union  school  and  academy  at 
Newark  in  1860.  For  twenty  years  he  taught  school  winters  and  worked  on  a  farm  in 
the  summer.  March  10,  1864  he  married  Mary  Sayles  and  to  them  was  born  one  son, 
Charles  E.,  who  is  now  postal  clerk  on  the  route  from  Buffalo  to  Albany.  Mr.  Robin- 
son came  to  reside  in  Newark  in  1885  and  has  been  baggage  master  at  the  West  Shore 
R.  R.  station  ever  since.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Maccabees.  Mr.  Robinson's 
father,  George  E.  Robinson,  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1813,  and  came  here  with  his 
parents  in  1816.  His  occupation  was  farming.  He  married  Sarah  Yan  Ostrand  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  six  children  :  Calib  R.,  as  above  mentioned ;  George  N.,  who 
died  at  thirteen  years;  Manly  S.  who  died  aged  seven;  Abram  and  a  baby  girl  who 
diee  in  infancy  (twins) ;  and  Douglas  H.  He  retired  from  farming  in  1857  and  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace  holding  that  office  for  twenty  years.  After  the  death  of  his 
wife  in  1888,  he  left  Fairville  and  eame  to  Newark  to  reside.  He  died  in  1890.  Mr. 
Robinson's  grandfather,  Calib  Robinson,  was  one  of  the  old  pioneers  of  the  town,  cutting 
a  road  through  the  woods  from  Newark  to  Fairville  in  1816. 

Richards,  Sidney  S.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Harrisburgh,  Lewis  county,  May  8, 
1839.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  district  schools.  He  learned  the  art 
of  photography,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  moved  to  Bellville,  in  Jefferson 
county.  In  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  10th  Heavy  Artillery,  N.  Y.  Volunteers,  and 
was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war.  He  then  located  in  Carthage,  and 
then  in  various  places  until  1880,  when  he  came  to  Newark.  Here  he  followed  his 
chosen  profession  and  purchased  the  gallery  of  A.  F.  Brooks.  In  1866  he  was  married 
to  Louisa  Sanders  of  Carthage,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  viz.:  Mary  A.  and  Alice 
E.  Mary  A.  was  educated  in  the  Holyoke  College,  Massachusetts,  and  is  now  a 
teacher  in  the  Academy  of  Newark.  Alice  E.  married  Lewis  C.  Sanford  of  Newark,  a 
traveling  salesman.  Mr.  Richards'  father,  David  Richards,  was  born  in  1804.  He 
married  Eliza  D.  Stoddard  of  Lewis  county,  and  the  following  children  were  born  to 
them :  Edward  J.,  Sidney  S.  (above  noted),  and  Adelia  C.  He  is  dead,  but  his  wife  is 
still  living.  Mr.  Sidney  Richards  is  an  honored  member  of  the  Vosburg  Post,  No.  99, 
G.  A.  R.,  Department  of  New  York,  and  has  held  the  the  position  of  commander  and 
quartermaster.  He  and  family  are  members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  here,  Mr. 
Richard  also  being  deacon  of  that  church. 

Ream,  Fred,  was  born  in  Strausburg,  Germany,  January  4,  1840.  He  is  a  son  of 
Peter  and  Lena  (Strang)  Ream,  natives  of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  America  in 
1849  and  settled  near  Lyons.  From  there  he  removed  to  Rose,  and  finally  settled  in 
Rochester,  where  he  died  in  1891.  His  wife  still  survives  and  resides  with  her  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  I,  Boyce.  The  maternal  grandfather,  George  Strang,  was  a  prominent  man 
of  Lemberg,  Germany,  and  was  treasurer  and  county  clerk  under  Napoleon  during  the 
French  Revolution.  Our  subject  has  always  followed  farming.  He  now  owns  100 
acres,  and  carries  on  general  farming.  In  1867  he  married  Lena,  daughter  of  Squire 
Mitchell  of  Rose,  by  whom  he  has  two  daughters :  Allie  F.  and  Edie  M.  Mr.  Ream 
has  held  the  office  of  commissioner  and  collector,  and  at  present  is  elected  justice  of  the 


258  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

peace.     He  is  a  member  of  Clyde  Grange,  and  they  attend  and  support  the  M.  E. 
Church. 

Riggs,  Prine,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1841,  son  of  John,  whose  father,  John,  sr.,  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Wayne  county.  His  children  were  Prine.  John,  Lydia, 
William,  Phineas,  Aaron,  Joseph  and  Delila.  Prine  Riggs  settled  in  Sodus,  where  he 
died.  He  married  Eliza  King.  Lydia  married  Fred  Dennis;  William  settled  in  Sodus 
and  afterwards  in  Rose ;  Phineas  settled  in  Sodus  Center,  where  he  died ; 
Aaron  settled  in  Galen  ;  Delila  married  Marshall  Braman  and  settled  in  Michigan. 
John  Riggs  settled  in  the  south  part  of  Sodus  and  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Lavina 
Lane,  and  their  children  were:  Lavina  L.,  who  married  Ira  Penoyer;  John  B.,  who 
settled  in  Illinois,  entered  the  army  on  the  opening  of  the  Rebellion,  and  died  in  the 
service;  Levi,  who  settled  in  the  southwest  and  engaged  in  railroading;  Rensselaer, 
who  settled  in  Illinois.  Prine  Riggs  is  one  of  the  enterprising  farmers  of  the  town. 
In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  Union  Army,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  After 
the  war  he  spent  several  years  in  Illinois.  In  1893  Mr.  Riggs  was  elected  commissioner 
of  highways,  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge,  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Sodus  Grange. 
He  married  Eliza  Shaw,  and  they  have  two  sons :  Lyman  W.  and  Bert  P. 

Reynolds,  Frank  L.,  was  born  at  Sodus  Center  in  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  Lewis,  whose 
father  was  Nehemiah  Reynolds.  He  came  from  Argyle,  Washington  county,  with 
Thomas  Reynolds,  his  father,  in  1806  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Lyons.  Nehemiah 
Reynolds  was  a  large  and  prosperous  farmer.  With  Dr.  Elisha  Mather  he  purchased 
the  grist  and  saw  mill  at  Sodus  Center,  and  for  many  years  carried  on  that  business. 
Upon  the  loss  of  the  property  by  fire  he  purchased  the  site  and  rebuilt  the  present  mill, 
which  subsequently  became  the  property  of  his  son  Lewis,  who  continued  the  business 
for  many  years.  Nehemiah  married  Sarah  Rogers,  and  their  children  were  Sally,  Clark, 
Cynthia,  Lewis,  George,  Nehemiah,  Eli  and  Polly.  Sally  married  Horace  Brown  of 
Lyons  ;  Clark  settled  in  Lyons ;  Cynthia  married  John  Merchant  of  Lyons ;  George 
settled  in  Michigan  ;  Nehemiah  settled  in  Lyons  and  was  a  farmer ;  Eli  settled  in  Sodus 
and  is  a  farmer;  Polly  is  deceased.  Lewis  Reynolds  settled  at  Sodus- Center,  where  he 
died.  He  married  first  Rhoda,  daughter  of  Peleg  Randall  of  Lyons,  and  second  Cath- 
erine Fries.  They  had  one  son,  Frank  L.,  our  subject.  He  has  been  since  1890  the 
proprietor  of  South  Sodus  Hotel,  and  is  a  member  of  Humanity  Lodge  406,  F.  &  A.  M. 
of  Lyons.     He  married  Minnie  E.  Garlick,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  Lewis. 

Rodwell,  William,  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  December  25,  1844.  In  1870, 
with  his  mother,  brother,  and  sister,  he  came  to  America,  and  has  resided  in  Eastern 
Wayne  since  that  time.  His  mother  now  lives  in  Clyde  with  his  brother.  Mr.  Rod- 
well  engaged  in  farming  early  in  the  seventies  and  was  the  pioneer  in  steam  thresh- 
ing. He  run  the  first  steam  thresher  in  Wayne  county,  the  engine  having  been  built 
by  his  brother  at  Wood  s  foundry  in  Clyde.  Mr.  Rodwell  and  his  brother  were  en- 
gaged in  threshing  about  eighteen  years.  In  1882  he  bought  the  farm  where  he  now 
resides  and  carries  on  general  farming-.  From  1886  to  1892  Mr.  Rodwell  run  a  mint 
distillery,  also  growing  peppermint  in  considerable  quantities.  In  March,  1894,  Mr. 
Rodwell  married  Helen  Woodworth,  of  Galen.  Miss  Woodworth  was  a  successful 
teacher  in  Wayne  county  for  about  thirteen  years. 

Richmond,  Charles  E.,  was  born  in  Hoosick,  Rensselaer  county.  November  28,  1836. 
His  education  was  obtained  in  the  district  schools,  and  he  has  always  followed  farm- 
ing. Mr.  Richmond's  father,  Edward  H.,  was  born  in  Minerva,  Essex  county,  in  1805. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day,  followed  the  wagon  business  for  some  time, 
was  a  hotel  keeper  twelve  years  and  afterward  a  farmer.  October  15,  1835,  he  mar- 
ried Mary  Ann  Ostrander,  of  Hoosick,  by  whom  he  had  two  children:  Charles  E.,  as 
above,  and  Justin  M.,  who  died  February  19,  1856.  The  family  came  to  this  homestead 
in  this  town  in  1857.  Mr.  Richmond's  father  died  February  7,  1891,  and  his  mother 
March  20    1890.'     Mr.  Rifhmond  has  resided  here  nearly  thirty-seven  years. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  259 

Robinson,  Thomas,  the  first  of  the  family  in  Wayne  county,  came  from  England  in 
1815  and  settled  in  Sodus,  taking  up  a  farm  half  a  mile  north  of  Wallington,  where  he 
spent  his  life,  cleared  up  the  land,  and  became  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  was  a 
prominent  and  influential  memeber  of  St.  John's  Episcopal  church  of  Sodus.  He  mar- 
ried Susanna  Richardson,  and  died  in  1890.  Their  children  were:  Ann,  Thomas,  and 
Mary  A.,  who  died  in  childhood;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Townley  Hopkins,  of  Sodus- 
William,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Sodus  and  married  Maria  Sergeant;  Susanna,  who  mar- 
ried William  Messenger  and  settled  in  Michigan  ;  Samuel,  who  was  born  in  1826  and 
settled  in  1874  in  Sodus  village,  where  he  has  since  lived.  He  is  a  member  of  the  M. 
E.  church  of  Sodus,  and  married  Cynthia,  daughter  of  James  Sergeant,  of  Sodus. 
Their  children  are:  He-ter  A.  (Mrs.  Albert  Stocking,  of  Sodus),  and  Elizabeth  (Mrs. 
A.  Eugene  Payne,  of  Sodus),  and  George  Robinson,  who  settled  in  Sodus  and  is  a  pros- 
perous farmer.  He  was  commissioner  of  highways  one  term,  it  a  member  of  St.  John's 
Episcopal  church  of  Sodus  and  Sodus  Grange.  He  married,  in  1857,  Sarah  A.  Stone, 
and  they  have  two  chiliren,  Elizabeth  and  John. 

Rogers,  George  H.,  was  born  at  Sodus  Point  June  8,  1846,  and  is  a  son  of  David 
Rogers,  who  was  a  native  of  Watervliet,  N.  Y.,  who  was  a  son  of  Nathaniel.  David 
was  a  ship  builder  and  carried  on  the  business  at  Oswego  for  several  years.  In  1838 
he  came  to  Wayne  county  and  settled  at  Sodus  Point,  where  for  many  years  he  was 
extensively  engaged  in  ship  building.  He  married,  in  1840,  Caroline,  daughter  of 
Abner  Wood,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Sodus  Point.  Mr.  Rogers  died  in  1892. 
George  H.  Rogers  entered  the  store  of  Willis  T.  Gaylord  at  Sodus  in  1864,  and  held  a 
clerkship  there  until  1872.  In  that  year  he,  in  company  with  0.  W.  Bates,  engaged  in 
the  hardware  business,  under  the  name  of  Bates  &  Rogers.  Ward  Smith  afterward 
acquired  the  interest  of  Mr.  Bates,  and  the  firm  was  Rogers  &  Smith.  In  1885  Mr. 
Rogers  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Smith  and  has  since  conducted  the  business  alone, 
except  during  the  year  1890,  when  his  son,  David  G.,  was  a  partner.  Mr.  Rogers  is 
one  of  the  enterprising  public  spirited  men  of  the  town  and  one  of  its  most  successful 
business  men.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Sodus  M.  E.  church,  having  been  a  member  for 
over  twenty-five  years.  He  married,  in  1867,  Maria,  daughter  of  Jesse  H.  Greene,  of 
Sodus,  and  they  have  one  son,  David  G. 

Ridley,  William,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  January  30.  1817.  He  was 
educated  in  the  district  schools  and  has  always  followed  farming.  January  14.  1839, 
he  married  Elizabeth  M.  Tittsworth,  of  his  native  town,  and  they  have  had  eleven  chil- 
dren :  James  T.,  William,  Esther  A.,  Morrison,  Aaron,  George  D.,  Mary  E.,  Clara,  an 
infant  daughter  not  named,  and  Alice  and  Delbert,  twins.  Mr.  Ridley's  father,  Mathew, 
was  born  in  England  in  1781  and  came  to  the  United  States  when  eighteen  years  old, 
locating  in  the  town  of  Phelps.  He  married  Delila  Sober,  of  the  town  of  Arcadia, 
Wayne  county,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children,  of  whom  James,  William,  as  above, 
Nelson,  Lydia,  Hiram,  and  Delira  are  now  living.  Mrs.  Ridley's  father,  Richard  Titts- 
worth, was  born  in  New  Jersey  about  1785  and  married  Esther  Dewitt,  of  his  native 
place.  They  had  four  children  :  James,  Ann,  Jennette,  and  Elizabeth  M.  He  died  in 
1830  and  his  wife  in  1834.  They  came  to  this  locality  about  1810.  Mr.  Tittsworth 
was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812  at  Sodus  Point.  Morrison  is  a  professional  caterer. 
James  T.  married  Phoebe  Westfall ;  Willard  married  Pamelia  Eggleston ;  Aaron  mar- 
ried Cornelia  Morris  ;  Mary  E.  married  Oliver  Eggleston  ;  Alice  married  Charles  Corn- 
well,  and  Delbert  married  Hattie  Morris. 

Robison,  Minard,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  October  3,  1845,  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  December  27,  1872,  he  married  Alice  A.  M. 
Rowe,  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Harriet  E.  Mr. 
Robison's  father,  John  D.,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  January  25,  1813,  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day,  and  was  also  a  farmer.  He  married  Christina  Yan 
Decar,  who  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county,  and  had   five  children :  Abram,  Aaron  V., 


260  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Minard,  as  noted,  Mary,  and  Andrew  J.  He  died  in  1877,  and  his  wife  in  1885.  His 
grandfather  was  Minard,  and  his  great-grandfather,  John  Decker  Robison,  was  the  first 
settler  in  the  town  of  Phelps.  Mrs.  Robison's  father,  Freeman  Rowe,  was  born  in 
Wayne  county  in  1827.  He  married  Harriet  A.  Oderkirk,  of  Manchester,  and  they  had 
three  children:  Robert  D.,  George  F.,  and  Alice  A.  M.  Both  parents  were  killed  at  the 
same  time  on  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.,  March  12,  1887. 

Prescott,  Joel  H,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  Maj'  28,  1815. 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  and  select  schools  and  completed  a  course  preparatory 
to  entering  the  academy  at  Oaks  Corners.  He  taught  district  school  for  several  years, 
and  was  assistant  teacher  in  the  Seneca  Falls  Academy.  In  1835  he  became  clerk  for 
John  R.  Green,  of  Phelps,  where  he  remained  until  1837,  and  during  the  next  three 
years  he  was  in  business  with  the  late  Cornelius  Horton.  He  was  major,  colonel,  and 
paymaster  of  the  71st  Regiment,  N.  Y.  Militia.  In  1840  he  moved  to  Lyons,  and  in 
1844.  came  to  Newark,  where  he  conducted  a  general  store  until  1854.  He  then 
accepted  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  Wayne  County  Mutual  Insurance  Company,  and 
held  that  position  until  1869,  when  it  discontinued  business.  Since  that  he  has  made 
insurance  and  real  estate  his  business.  He  has  served  as  president  and  trustee  of  the 
village  of  Newark  for  ten  years.  For  nine  years  he  has  served  as  president,  trustee, 
and  secretary  of  the  Union  School  and  Academy  of  Newark.  He  held  the  position  of 
postmaster  nearly  eight  years,  it  being  the  first  presidential  appointment  in  the  village. 
In  1851  he  became  one  of  the  founders  of  St.  Mark's  Episcopal  Church,  and  has  served 
as  vestryman  and  warden  until  the  present  term.  October  18,  1838,  he  married  Sarah 
A.  Davis,  of  his  native  town,  and  they  had  six  children  living :  Helen,  Serena  A., 
Sarah  A.,  Clara  A.,  Joel  H.,  and  T.  Davis.  Serena  married  Henry  J.  Peirson,  now  of 
Meadville,  Pa.;  Joel  H.  married  Nellie  Harding,  of  Buffalo,  where  he  now  lives.  April 
26  1882,  T.  Davis  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Rev.  J.  P.  Foster,  now  of  Davisville,  and 
they  have  two  children,  Grace  F.  and  Joel  H.  He  now  conducts  a  jeweler's  store  in 
Newark.  He  has  served  as  town  clerk  two  years,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education.     Mrs.  Prescott  died  August  26,  1890. 

Pyatt,  the  late  Stephen  A.,  was  born  in  Oswego  county,  November  9,  1839,  and  came 
to  this  county  with  his  parents  when  a  young  man.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools.  He  enlisted  twice,  first  in  Company  I,  17th  Inf.,  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  was  promoted 
corporal,  and  was  honorably  discharged  on  account  of  illness,  caused  by  exposure, 
November  8,  1862,  and  returned  to  Newark.  After  recuperating  in  September,  1864, 
he  re-enlisted  in  Company  E,  111th  Inf.,  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  soon  after  was  commissioned 
second  lieutenant,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Pyatt 
was  an  active  member  of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R.  Dep't  of  N.  Y.,  of  Newark. 
After  his  return  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  M.  E.  Burnham  in  the  grocery  and 
crockery  business,  under  the  firm  name  of  Pyatt  &  Burnham.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat.  September  13,  1865,  he  married  Amelia  Lewis,  who  was  born  in  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Pyatt  died  May  22,  1885,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  wife,  and  re- 
gretted by  many  friends.  He  was  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M. 
Mis.  Pyatt's  father,  Lyman  Lewis,  was  born  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  May  10,  1792.  He  mar- 
ried Lucinda  Lamb,  formerly  of  Vermont,  and  they  had  ten  children.  Mr.  Lewis  died 
September  29,  1859,  and  his  wife  May  4,  1854.  Mrs.  Pyatt  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Woman's  Relief  Corps. 

Peirson,  Henry  R.,  was  born  in  the  'town  of  Arcadia,  three  miles  north  of  Newark, 
January  22,  1816.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in  early  life  was  a 
farmer.  He  afterward  learned  the  shoe  trade  and  carried  on  the  tanning  business, 
which  in  those  days  was  very  profitable.  April  22,  1840,  he  married  Celestia  Reems,  of 
the  town  of  Arcadia,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Silas  S., 
who  is  a  banker  in  Newark;  Mary  A.  C,  Sarah  S.,  Henry  A.  and  Samuel  A.  (twins), 
Sophia  M.,  Herbert,  and .     The  twins  lived   to  be  grown  men,  but  are  now  dead, 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  261 

and  only  three  of  the  other  children  are  now  alive.  Mr.  Peirson  moved  to  the  village 
of  Newark  in  1852.  He  was  a  drover  for  some  years,  selling  to  the  eastern  market, 
then  a  produce  dealer,  and  purchased  the  flouring  mill  on  Mud  Creek,  which  he  con- 
ducted six  years.  After  this  he  became  a  merchant  in  the  grocery  business,  and  later 
was  a  banker  with  his  son,  Silas  S.,  under  the  firm  name  of  Peirson  &  San.  Mr.  Peirson 
then  retired  from  active  business  and  purchased  a  farm  of  forty  acres,  including  the  old 
Bartle  place,  which  is  now  nearly  all  sold  and  fine  residences  erected  and  streets  opened. 
His  life  has  been  an  active  one  and  in  all  his  various  pursuits  success  has  crowned  his 
efforts.  He  has  always  identified  himself  with  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  town 
of  Arcadia  and  of  the  thriving  village  of  Newark.  In  politics  Mr.  Peirson  is  a  Democrat 
and  has  been  trustee  and  assessor  of  this  village  some  years.  When  Sumter  was  fired 
upon  he  put  himself  in  line  with  such  men  as  Daniel  S.  Dickinson  of  New  York,  and 
General  Dix,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  sending  the  first  company  of  this  county 
to  the  front  from  the  village  of  Newark.  Mr.  Peirson's  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  1812. 

Palms,  Andrew,  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  May  13,  1838,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  and  came  to  this  county  in  1869.  He  became  superintendent  of  H.  C. 
Edgett's  Canning  Factory,  which  position  he  filled  eight  years,  then  spent  two  years  in 
the  same  position  for  a  concern  in  Batavia,  and  six  months  in  Water  town,  Jefferson 
county.  He  is  now  a  carpenter  and  joiner.  November  26,  1862,  he  married  Harriet 
E.  Abbott,  of  his  native  county,  and  they  had  two  daughters,  Addie  and  Cornelia  S. 
August  14,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  117th  N.  Y.  Inf.,  and  participated  in  thirteen 
general  engagements,  among  others  he  was  present  at  the  capture  of  Fort  Fisher,  N. 
C.  He  was  honorably  discharged  June  8,  1865.  He  is  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post, 
No.  99  G-.  A.  R.  and  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.  Levi,  his  father,  was  born 
in  Rensselaer  county  in  1811,  and  came  to  Oneida  county  with  his  parents  when  a  young 
man.  He  married  Emily  Dibble  of  that  county,  and  their  children  were:  Stephen, 
Andrew,  Almira  E.  and  Adelia.  He  died  in  1889  and  his  wife  in  1891.  Alfred  W. 
Abbott,  father  of  Mrs.  Palms  was  born  in  Oneida  county  in  1817,  and  was  a  millwright 
and  carpenter.  He  married  Mary  Thompson,  by  whom  he  had  five  children :  Harriet 
S.,  Esther  E.,  Willard  W.,  Mary  A.  and  Eliza  J.  Mr.  Palms'  grandfather,  Stephen, 
was   a  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812,  and  his  maternal  grandfather  was  in   the  Revolution. 

Price,  George  H.,  was  born  south  of  the  village  of  Newark,  October  17,  1834,  was 
educated  in  the  district  schools  and  the  Union  School  and  Academy  and  in  early  life  was 
a  farmer.  He  resided  in  Baltimore  five  years  before  the  war,  then  farmed  on  the 
homestead  five  years,  and  then  became  a  miller  at  the  lower  village  three  years,  since 
which  time  he  has  kept  a  general  supply  store  at  the  upper  lock  on  the  canal,  together 
with  a  dry  dock.  February  27,  1867,  he  married  Matilda  Pierce,  of  Orleans  county, 
and  they  have  had  four  children  :  Perry  G.,  Roy  well  S.,  Allerton  R.  and  Anna  A. 
Pe-ry  G.,  the  father  of  Mr.  Price,  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1802  and  came  to  Ontario 
county  with  his  parents,  where  they  settled  in  Spring.  He  married  Mrs.  Eliza  (Taylor) 
Douglass,  and  they  had  four  children  :  George  H.,  Ann  E.,  Esther  E.  and  Seward  F. 
Mr.  Price  died  in  1872  and  his  wife  a  few  years  later.  '  Our  subject  was  elected  super- 
visor while  on  his  wedding  tour,  and  received  a  re-election  in  1873.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  A.  0.  TJ.  W. 

Price,  Seward  F.,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  two  miles  south  of  Newark  village 
February  17,  1845.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the  district  schools,  also  attended 
the  Union  School  and  Academy'five  years,  and  delivered  the  valedictory  address  for 
the  graduating  class,  January  13,  1869,  he  married  Sarah  L.,  daughter  of  Henry  R. 
Peirson  of  this  village,  and  they  have  three  sons,  George  H.,  Harry  B.  and  Seward  P. 
Mr.  Price  is  cne  of  Arcadia's  representative  men  and  one  of  her  best  farmers. 

Pearsail,  John  T.,  was  born  in  Huron,  Wayne  county,  in  1856,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry 


262  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY 

who  came  from  Saratoga  to  Seneca  county,  and  about  1845  settled  in  the  town 
of  Huron  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Jane  Turbush,  and  their  children  were: 
John  0.  (deceased),  William  H.,  Eleanor,  Esther,  George,  Amanda,  John  T.,  Phoebe 
and  Edward.  William  H.  settled  in  Huron,  where  he  died ;  Eleanor  married  Cyrus  E. 
Fitch  and  settled  in  Butler ;  Esther  married  James  McClure  and  settled  in  Tompkins 
county  ;  George  settled  in  Wolcott  where  he  died  ;  Amanda  married  Frank  W.  Hagen 
and  settled  in  Niagara  county  ;  Phoebe  married,  first,  Anthony  Curtis  and  second 
Abraham  Griswold,  and  settled  in  Wolcott;  Edward  settled  in  Sodus ;  John  settled 
in  Sodus  and  is  an  enterprising  farmer.  He  was  for  several  years  excise  commissioner, 
and  in  1893  was  elected  assessor.  He  married  in  1893  Delia  L.,  daughter  of  John  Bates 
of  Sodus,  by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Leo  B.  and  Theda  J. 

Pratt,  Elizabeth  A. — Her  father,  Isaac  Soverhill,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  December 
6,  1809,  coming  to  the  town  of  Phelps  with  his  parents  when  a  boy,  where  he  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  his  day  and  came  to  this  county  soon  afterward.  September  1, 
1831,  he  married  Maria  Cline,  formerly  of  Columbia  county,  and  they  had  two  daugh- 
ters, Elizabeth  A.,  as  above,  and  Gertrude  J.,  who  died  aged  thirteen.  He  died 
December  19,  1866,  and  his  wife  July  27,  1876.  December  15,  1859,  Elizabeth  A. 
Soverhill  married  Morrison  Pratt  of  the  town  of  Marion,  and  they  have  five  children,  I. 
Byron,  Gertie  M.,  Anna  E.,  Marion  E.,  and  Leland  M.  T.  Byron  married  Anna  Whal- 
ing and  has  one  daughter.  The  youngest  son  is  the  farmer  for  his  father.  Mrs.  Pratt's 
grandfather,  Isaac  Soverhill,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  January  24,  1774.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Dobbins  of  his  native  place,  a  sister  of  General  Dobbins  of  Revolutionary 
fame,  and  came  to  this  State.  They  had  nine  children  :  Samuel,  Jemima  A.,  Justus  D., 
James  M.,  Isaac,  Eliza  J.,  John  G.,  Hugh  W.  D.  and  Charles  W.  In  1817  Isaac  Sover- 
hill bought  from  the  land  office  a  tract  of  land  three  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of 
Newark  village,  and  Mrs.  Pratt  now  resides  on  a  part  of  the  original  purchase.  A 
cousin,  Cornelius  P.  Soverhill,  was  born  in  Marion,  Wayne  county,  June  8, 1843,  son  of 
the  late  Justin  D.  Soverhill.  In  early  life  he  was  a  farmer  and  now  a  resident  of  New- 
ark, dealing  in  coal,  wood,  etc.  He  married  Mary  Lans;don,  of  Clyde,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Ada  J.,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Union  School  and  Academy.  Mr.  Sover- 
hill was  a  soldier  in  the  late  war,  and  is  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R., 
Department  of  New  York. 

Potter,  James,  was  born  in  Lyons  in  1828  and  is  a  son  of  Elry  Potter,  who  was  a 
native  of  Eastown,  Rensselaer  county.  He  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  holding  the 
rank  of  sergeant.  He  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1811  and  settled  in  Lyons,  taking  up 
a  farm  of  160  acres.  He  remained  until  1838,  when  he  removed  to  Sodus,  purchasing 
a  farm  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  town,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  and 
died  in  1883.  He  married  Elizabeth  Hay,  and  they  had  ten  children:  Maria,  who  mar- 
ried William  Sutherland ;  Eliza,  who  married  Samuel  Warren  ;  David  settled  in  Lyons 
and  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Anna  E.  Woodworth  ;  Jane  married  Samuel  Clary ; 
Elry  settled  in  Michigan  ;  Horace  was  a  farmer  and  settled  in  Sodus.  He  married  Har- 
riet Thompson  ;  Conrad  was  a  ship  carpenter.  He  first  settled  in  Michigan  and  later  in 
the  South;  William  was  a  shoemaker  and  settled  in  Lyons.  He  married  Susan  Price; 
Harvey  lived  and  died  on  the  homestead  in  Sodus.  He  married  Clarissa  Allen ;  James 
Potter  in  his  early  life  run  a  boat  on  the  canal  eleven  years,  but  for  over  forty  years  has 
been  a  farmer  in  Sodus.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Sodus  Grange,  and  married  Elsie 
Burns. 

Peek,  Winslow  J.,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  two  miles  west  of  Newark  August 
31,  1841.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  has  had  a  variety  of  occupations, 
and  is  now  a  farmer  and  fruit  grower.  He  has  been  section  foreman  of  the  West  Shore 
Railway  six  years.  He  has  also  followed  the  canal  several  years,  owning  the  boat  F. 
M.  Allerton.  December  17,  1862,  he  married  Levina  J.  Shaver,  formerly  of  Broome 
county.     His  father,  Abram,  was  born  in  Nelson,  Madison  county  September  4,  1805. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  263 

He  married  three  times,  first  Martha  Holdridge  of  his  native  place  and  they  had  two 
sons,  Andrew  and  Germaine,  who  reside  in  Michigan.  For  his  second  wife  he  married 
Asenath  Heath,  of  Penfield,  Monroe  county,  by  whom  he  had  four  children,  Martha  J., 
Adaline  M.,  Winslow  J.,  as  above,  and  Sarah  A.  For  his  third  wife  he  married  Rhoda 
E.  Covey,  of  Penfield,  formerly  of  Columbia  county,  and  they  had  two  daughters,  Grace 
A.  and  Bertha  E.,  the  eldest  residing  in  Kansas  and  the  other  a  teacher  at  home.  Mr. 
Peek  has  resided  on  this  homestead  fifty-five  years.  His  grandfather,  Abram,  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Mrs.  Peek's  father,  George  Shaver,  was  born  in 
Greenbush,  Columbia  county,  in  1818,  and  came  here  with  his  parents  when  a  boy.  He 
married  Hannah  Shartz.of  this  town, and  they  had  five  children.  Mr.  Peek  is  a  member 
of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83  F.  &  A.  M. 

Patrick,  the  late  Isaac  N.,  was  born  in  Pittsford,  Monroe  county,  November  7,  1822, 
and  came  to  this  town  with  his  parents  when  three  years  old.  He  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  and  was  always  a  farmer.  December  23,  1859,  he  married  Mary  Ann 
Deny,  who  was  born  April  10,  1840,  in  Fendrayton,  Cambridgeshire,  England.  They 
had  two  children,  Sarah  E.,  who  married  John  C.  Penoyer,  of  Bristol,  Ontario  county, 
and  they  had  three  children.  Walter  J.  was  born  February  8,  1865,  was  educated  in 
the  district  schools  and  at  Newark  Union  School  and  Academy,  and  is  the  farmer  on 
the  home  farm.  February  7,  1884,  he  married  Julia  L.  Bloom  of  this  town,  and  they 
had  one  son,  Newton  J.,  born  April  17,  1888,  who  died  August  7,  1893.  Patrick  died 
March  22,  1888,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  wife  and  family.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order.  His  grandfather,  John,  was  born  March  1,  1788,  and  was  a  captain  in 
the  War  of  1812.  Mrs.  Patrick's  brother,  Aldred  Deny,  was  a  soldier  in  the  late  war 
in  the  cavalry  branch  of  the  service,  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  colonel.  John 
Patrick  Avas  a  manufacturer  of  plows.  The  Patrick  family  located  on  this  homestead 
about  1828.     The  ancestry  of  this  family  is  Scotch  and  English. 

Pitts,  Jesse  G.,  was  born  in  Chatham,  Columbia  county,  June  7,  1823,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  and  Kinderhook  Academy.  In  1845  he  came  to  Geneva 
Ontario  county,  where  he  engaged  in  saddlery  business,  including  harnesses  and  trunks 
until  1852.  He  then  came  to  Newark,  where  he  embarked  in  the  hardware  business, 
in  company  with  Eli  Van  Valkenburg,  under  the  firm  name  of  Pitts  &  Van  Valkenburg. 
They  sold  out  in  1854,  and  Mr.  Pitts  then  went  on  his  farm,  north  of  the  village  and 
sold  timber,  remaining  two  years.  June  2,  1859,  he  married  Heien  R.  Day  of  West- 
field,  Mass.,  and  they  have  one  adopted  daughter,  Louisa,  now  Mrs.  Calvin  P.  M.  Vary, 
a  banker  in  this  place.  They  have  two  children  :  Grace  and  Calvin.  Mr.  Pitts  has  re- 
sided in  New  York  seven  years,  also  in  Brooklyn  seven  years,  returning  to  Newark 
about  1873,  where  he  has  conducted  a  boot  and  shoe  business  about  twenty  years,  in- 
cluding the  manufacture  of  moccasins  under  letters  patent  about  six  or  eight  thou- 
sand dozen  pairs  annually,  selling  them  to  jobbers  and  the  finding  trade.  Mr.  Pitts' 
father,  John  W.,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Columbia  county  in  1795,  and  came  here 
at  an  early  date.  He  married  Polly  Gifford.  of  his  native  town,  and  has  six  children. 
He  died  in  1874  and  his  wife  in  middle  life.  Mrs.  Pitts'  father,  David  M.  Day,  was 
born  in  Westfield,  Ma»s.  He  married  Eliza  Johnson  of  Bristol,  Conn.,  and  they  had 
two  children:  Helen  R.  and  Martin.  Both  father  and  mother  are  deceased.  Mr.  Pitts' 
father  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Pulver,  John,  was  born  in  Schoharie,  N.  Y.,  in  1807,  a  son  of  John  M.,  who  came  to 
Sodus  in  1829.  Their  ancestors  came  from  Holland  in  an  early  day  and  settled  in 
Dutchess  county.  John  M.  married  Rebecca  Millis,  and  their  children  were :  Serene, 
John,  Jane,  Dorcas,  William,  Daniel,  Anson  and  Jerome.  John  settled  in  Sodus  and  is 
engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Mrs.  Lucinda,  widow  of  William  Ellsworth.  Ami 
Ellsworth,  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  Wayne  county  came  from  East  Windsor,  Conn., 
on  foot  in  1800,  and  took  up  100  acres  of  land  on  the  lake  west  of  Sodus  Point.  He 
built  a  log  house  and  returned  to  Connecticut  for  his  family.     They  endured  all  the 


264  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

hardships  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  settler  in  a  new  country.  His  wife  was  Chloe  Allen, 
and  in  1807  learning  that  she  had  inherited  some  property  in  Connecticut,  she  made  the 
journey  there  and  back  on  horseback  alone.  Their  children  were  :  Ami,  Sophia,  Hul- 
dah,  Aurelia,  Julia  A.,  Levi,  Ann,  William,  who  settled  on  the  homestead  and  was  a 
prosperous  and  enterprising  fanner.  He  married  Lucinda  I.  Selby  of  Palmyra,  and 
died  in  1853. 

Potwine,  Thomas  H.,  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Wayne  county,  came  from 
East  Windsor,  Conn.,  in  1835  and  settled  in  the  eastern  part  of  Sodus,  purchasing  a 
farm  north  of  the  Ridge.  The  family  were  of  English  and  French  descent.  Caleb  the 
father  of  Thomas  H.  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Potwine,  who  was  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  East  Windsor  from  1753  to  1802.  Thomas  H.  was  a  man  of 
thrift  and  energy.  He  was  a  regular  attendant  and  liberal  supporter  of  the  Sodus 
Presbyterian  Church.  He  married  Jane  Trumbull,  a  descendent  of  Governor  Trum- 
bull of  Connecticut,  and  their  children  were :  Mary,  who  married  William  Sergeant  of 
Sodus;  Thomas,  who  died  in  early  manhood,  and  Charles,  who  settled  in  Sodus,  and  is 
a  prominent  farmer.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge,  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and 
Wayne  Chapter.  He  married  Emma  A,  daughter  of  John  Gates  of  Sodus,  and  they 
had  five  children  :  Henry  H.,  Charles  J.,  Nora  E.,  Morris  M.  and  William  T.  Thomas 
H.  Potwine  died  March  15,  1894. 

Proseus,  Elias,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1819,  and  is  a  son  of  John,  whose 
father,  John  Proseus,  sr.,  came  from  Germany  and  settled  in  Columbia  county,  ard  in 
1831  came  to  Sodus  and  purchased  a  farm  northeast  of  the  village  on  the  lake  road.  He 
was  a  prosperous  and  thrifty  farmer.  He  married  Hannah  Coon,  and  their  children 
were:  John,  Peter  I.,  Henry,  Hannah,  Betsey,  Ira,  Anson,  Jonas  and  Margaret  L. 
John  Proseus,  jr.,  died  in  Columbia  county  in  1821.  He  married  Ella  Carnun,  and  their 
children  were  :  Hiram,  who  married  Catherine  Harvey  of  Sodus  and  settled  in  Wiscon- 
sin ;  Elias  and  Robert,  who  never  married.  They  settled  on  the  Proseus  homestead  in 
Sodus  and  were  farmers.  Robert  died  in  1893.  Elias  Proseus  has  held  the  office  of 
highway  commissioner  three  years. 

Oaks,  Charles  G.,  was  born  in  Rose  August  22,  1834,  son  of  Charles  G.,  and  Sallie  S. 
(Hills)  Oaks,  he  a  native  of  Craftsbury,  Vt.,  and  she  a  native  of  Pittstown,  N.  Y.  The 
father  of  our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  started  in  life  at  the  age  of  twelve,  his 
father  dying  at  that  time.  He  learned  the  cooper's  trade  and  also  followed  farming. 
He  came  to  Rose  in  1830  and  here  lived  and  died.  He  owned  ninety  acres  of  land.  He 
Avas  a  strong  temperance  man.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  Red 
Creek  Academy.  He  followed  teaching  several  terms,  and  then  followed  farming  and 
also  worked  at  the  cooper's  trade.  He  traveled  for  Ellwanger  &  Barry,  nurserymen  of 
Rochester,  for  two  years.  He  was  also  engaged  in  selling  maps  for  two  years  previous 
to  the  war,  and  owns  a  fruit  farm  of  fifty  acres  known  as  the  Robert  Wilson  farm.  In 
1885  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  boxes  and  the  ssleof  paints,  oils,  etc.,  in  partner- 
ship with  his  son  Charles  W.,  and  the  firm  is  known  as  Oaks  &  Son.  Subject  was  in 
the  lumber  business  two  years  previous  with  H.  L.  Munn.  He  enlisted  in  1864  and 
served  ten  months,  and  was  at  Lee's  surrender.  He  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  three 
years,  and  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  G.  T.,  of  North  Rose.  He  married  Hulda  A.  Wil- 
son, a  native  of  Rose  and  daughter  of  Robert  and  Catharine  Wilson,  natives  of  Dundee, 
Yates  county,  who  came  to  Rose  where  they  died.  Mr.  Oaks  ard  wife  have  four  chil- 
dren :  Katie,  wife  of  James  Thomas,  of  Huron ;  Charles  W.,  who  is  a  partner  with  his 
father.  He  married  Ellen,  daughter  of  Calvin  Winchell,  by  whom  he  has  one  child, 
Seth  C. ;   Marilla,  wife  of  Edgar  Davis,  of  Central  Falls,  R.  I. ;  and  Bertie  R.,  at  home. 

Olmstead,  John  H,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Amsterdam,  Montgomery  county,  and 
came  to  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  with  his  parents  when  he  was  about  four  years  of  age. 
His  father  died  in  Galen  when  subject  was  thirteen  years  old,  and  he  was  sent  to  Steuben 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  205 

county.  He  afterward  returned  to  this  county,  and  made  his  home  with  Roderick 
Price,  working  summers  and  attending  district  schools  during  the  winter.  April  11, 
1844  he  married  Ruth,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Jane  Lucas,  of  Arcadia,  who  was  born 
March  20,  1822,  and  has  resided  where  she  now  lives  sixty-five  years.  They  have  eight 
children  :  Ruth  A.,  Samuel  L.,  John  H.,  jr.,  Frank,  Lorin  R.,  Frances  A.,  Adelia,  and 
Theodore  H.  Mr.  Olmstead's  father,  Dorus,  was  born  in  Amsterdam  in  1787,  and  mar- 
ried Margaret  Hendrick  of  his  native  town,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children  :  Adelia, 
Abijah  A.,  Catherine  A.,  Phoebe,  Abigail,  Margaret,  Marian  John  Id.,  as  above,  Peter 
and  Charles.  He  died  in  1832  and  his  wife  October  17,  1848.  Mrs.  Olmstead's  father, 
Samuel  Lucas,  was  born  in  Middletown,  Conn.,  in  1790,  and  married  Jane  Gardiner,  of 
Rhode  Island.  They  came  to  Western  New  York  in  1812,  and  had  four  children  :  Alma, 
Miranda,  Angehne  and  Ruth.     He  died  in  1860  and  his  wife  in  1824. 

Ostrander,  Melvin,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county  January  19,  1825,  and  came 
to  this  homestead  with  his  parents  in  his  tenth  year.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  has  always  followed  farming.  November  20,  1855,  he  married  Emma  G-. 
Harrington,  of  Arcadia,  formerly  of  Junius,  Seneca  county,  and  they  have  had  three 
sons  :  William  H.,  born  December  10,  1860,  who  is  a  farmer  at  home;  Dorman  D.,  born 
June  1,  1864,  and  is  now  a  nursery  salesman  for  C.  W.  Stuart  &  Co.  He  married  Mary 
ONeil,  of  East  Palmyra  and  they  have  one  son,  Claire  J.,  born  June  14,  1888,  and 
Clarence  M.,  born  October  15,  1869,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Ostrander's  father, 
William,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1776.  He  married  twice.  By  his  first  wife 
he  had  these  children  :  Levi,  Hiram,  Mary,  Robert  L.,  Silas,  Anna,  Harmon,  Eliza, 
William,  Phoebe,  Marvin  and  Melvin  as  above.  Mrs.  Ostrander  died  when  her  youngest 
son  was  less  than  three  years  old,  and  he  married  second  Mrs.  Mary  Turbush,  of  Phelps, 
and  they  had  one  daughter,  Harriet.  He  died  in  September,  1855.  Mrs.  Ostrander's 
father,  Isaac  Harrington,  was  born  in  Otsego  county  March  3,  1793,  and  married  Melinda 
Waterman.  They  had  fourteen  children.  Mr.  Harrington  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of 
1812.  He  died  in  September,  1856,  and  his  wife  in  1867.  Mr.  Ostrander  has  resided 
on  this  homestead  sixty  years. 

Nellis,  Peter  E.,  was  born  in  Arcadia  August  24,  1846,  educated  in  the  Hnion  School 
and  Academy  of  Newark.  He  has  conducted  a  liquor  store  here  for  the  past  sixteen 
years,  and  also  owns  a  farm  in  the  town.  He  has  been  connected  with  the  fire  depart- 
ment since  its  organization  in  1859,  first  as  torch  boy,  and  is  now  its  chief  engineer. 
December  28,  1872,  he  married  Caroline  L.,  daughter  of  T.  S.  and  Betsev  A.  Hooper  of 
Newark,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  Blanche  H.  and  E.  Viola.  Mr.  Nellis's  father, 
Azariah,  was  born  at  Fort  Plain,  Montgomery  county  April  14,  1822,  and  was  a  con- 
tractor on  public  works.  He  married  Margaret  A.  Failing,  of  Arcadia,  by  whom  he  had 
five  children  :  Bmogene,  Peter  E.,  Josephine,  Georgiana  and  Margaret.  He  died  in 
1872,  and  his  wife  resides  with  her  only  son.  The  paternal  great-grandfather  was  a 
soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian  war.  The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  Dutch  and  Ger- 
man. 

Nicholoy,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Arcadia  on  the  homestead  north  of  the  village  of 
Newark  October  23,  1844,  and  was  educated  in  the  Union  School  and  Academy  of 
Newark.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm.  In  1861  he  came  to  Newark  and 
became  a  partner  with  Edward  Blackmar  in  the  clothing  and  dry  goods  business, 
and  was  also  with  E.  B.  Marian  one  year  in  a  general  store.  In  1871  he  formed  a 
co-partnership  with  S.  B.  Van  Duser  under  the  firm  name  of  Nicholoy  &  Van  Duser, 
selling  dry  goods,  carpets,  and  custom  clothing,  and  was  subsequently  changed  to 
Nicholoy  &  Co.,  which  continued  till  April  14,  1892.  February  14,  1890,  he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  Newark  under  the  Harrison  administration.  July  5,  1870,  he 
married  Alice  E.  Eddy,  of  Taunton,  Mass.,  and  they  have  five  children :  Henry  E., 
Emma  B.,  Mary  A.,  Ella,  and  William  Everett.  The  eldest  son  is  the  assistant  post- 
master and  his  oldest  daughter  stamp  clerk.  Mr.  Nicholoy  is  one  of  the  elders  in  the 
hi 


366  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Presbyterian  church,  and  is  also  president  of  the  Enterprise  Seed  Company,  which  was 
organized  January  1,  1894.  His  father,  Jacob,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  three  miles 
north  of  Newark,  January  14,  18.19.  January  21,  1842,  he  married  Harriet  B.  Van 
Tassal,  formerly  of  Columbia  county,  and  they  have  thirteen  children:  William  H., 
Julia  A..  Catherine  A.,  Harriet  D.,  Esbon  T.,  Alice  E.,  Frances  A.,  Mary  L.,  Jacob  H., 
Lillie  A.,  George  Mellan,  Jennie  V.,  and  Sarah  E.  The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  Dutch, 
German  and  English. 

Norris  Family,  The. — The  pioneer  of  this  family  in  Wayne  county  was  Job  Baldwin 
Norris,  who  came  to  Sodus  in  1816,  and  took  up  a  farm.  He  was  a  native  of  New 
Jersey,  and  was  a  son  of  John  Norris,  a  pioneer  in  that  State,  and  a  soldier  in  the 
Continental  Army.  John  married  Susan  Baldwin,  and  settled  in  Mayence,  Cayuga 
county,  and  later  in  Wayne.  Job  married  Pamelia  Foster,  by  whom  he  had  four  chil- 
dren :  Rufus  F.,  Mary.  Samuel  H.,  and  Frances.  Samuel  settled  on  the  homestead,  and 
though  he  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  all  local  affairs,  has  never  cared  for  office.  His 
first  wife  was  Diantha  Bennett,  and  his  second,  Arvilla  D.  Shirtz,  by  whom  he  has 
one  son,  William  R.,  who  lives  near  his  father,  engaged  in  farming  and  fruit  evaporat- 
ing. Rufus  F.  Norris  settled  on  a  farm  in  the  south  part  of  the  village  of  Sodus  and 
became  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  town.  He  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  Sodus  Point  and  Southern  Railroad,  of  which  he  was  vice-president  and 
director  for  several  years,  and  also  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  Lake  Ontario  Shore 
Railroad.  He  married  Louise  Kingsley,  by  whom  he  had  these  children  :  Ellen,  Elliott 
B.,  Kingsley  F.,  and  Louise.  Elliott  B.  Norris  was  born  in  Sodus  June  25,  1845,  and 
with  the  exception  of  the  years  1867-68,  when  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade 
at  Greenville,  Pa.,  has  always  lived  there,  being  one  of  the  largest  farmers  of  the  town, 
as  well  as  one  of  its  most  progressive  and  enterprising  business  men.  He  is  engaged 
in  the  buying  and  shipping  of  live  stock,  and  was  for  several  years  engaged  in  the  pro- 
duce business  at  Sodus.  Since  1874  he  has  followed  fruit  evaporating.  He  is  a 
prominent  and  active  Democract,  and  in  1885  was  candidate  for  member  of  Assembly. 
In  1890  he  was  again  nominated,  and  elected.  Mr.  Norris  was  the  author  and  intro- 
ducer of  a  bill  making  the  sheriff  and  county  clerkships  salaried  offices.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  and  a  charter  member  of  Sodus  Grange  No.  73,  of 
which  he  has  been  master  many  years.  He  is  also  chairman  of  the  Legislative  Com- 
mittee of  the  State  Grange.  In  1868  he  married  Georgianna  Chipman,  of  Wolcott, 
and  their  children  are:  Mabel  I.,  Floy  E.,  Amy  L.,  Louise  E.,  and  Mark  Elliott.  Will- 
iam R.  Norris  was  born  September  16,  1855,  in  the  town  of  Sodus,  son  of  Samuel  H. 
Norris.  He  has  always  followed  farming,  takes  an  active  part  in  politics,  and  has  been 
candidate  for  supervisor.     He  married,  in  1881,  Carrie  E.  Synder,  of  Sodus. 

Morse,  Rollin  E.,  was  born  in  Newark  May  8,  1842,  educated  in  the  Academy,  and 
began  as  clerk  in  his  father's  store  in  1857.  In  1860  he  became  a  merchant  tailor  and  a 
dealer  in  men's  furnishing  goods  until  January,  1890,  when  he  bought  the  Kenyon  drug 
store,  and  has  since  done  a  successful  drug  and  stationery  business.  October  16,  1860, 
he  married  Emma  C,  daughter  of  Dr.  Lewis  Hernck,  of  Albany,  and  they  have  had 
two  children :  Louis  H.  and  Nellie,  who  died  aged  seven  years.  Horace  H.,  father  of 
our  subject,  was  born  in  1817,  and  began  business  as  a  merchant  in  Port  Gibson,  com- 
ing to  Newark  in  1836,  where  he  engaged  in  the  grocery,  and  later  in  the  dry  goods 
business.  He  married  Mary  Vanderhoof,  of  Plainsville,  Ontario  county,  and  they  had 
one  son,  Rollin  E.  Horace  H.  died  June  6,  1887,  and  his  wife  In  1884.  The  ancestry 
of  the  family  is  English  and  Dutch.  Mrs.  Morse's  father,  Dr.  Herrick,  was  born  in 
Maiden,  N.Y.,  in  1816,  and  was  a  noted  physician  of  his  day.  His  sugar  coated  pills, 
and  Dr.  Hemck's  plasters,  have  a  world-wide  reputation.  His  wife  was  Emma  Potter, 
a  relative  of  Bishop  Potter,  and  they  had  four  children:  Helen  E.,  Emma  C,  Richard 
P.,  and  Robert  L.  Dr.  Herrick  died  in  1878,  and  his  wife  in  1888.  Mr.  Morse  is  a 
member  of  Newark  Lodsje  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  the  I  0.0.  F.  No.  250. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES. 

Miller,  Mrs.  Mary  L. — Her  father,  John  Flyn,  was  born  in  Waterford,  Ireland,  in 
1822,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  married  Mary  Powers,  of  his  native  place,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1849,  first  locating  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  afterwards  at 
Newark,  where  they  made  their  permanent  home.  They  had  thirteen  children,  nine  of 
whom  survive:  Michael,  who  resides  in  Newark ;  Mary  L.  ;  Thomas  is  a  resident  of 
Canada;  John  resides  in  Newark;  William  is  a  resident  of  Canada;  Nellie,  now  Mrs. 
William  Tusk ;  Anna,  Catherine,  and  James.  Mary  L.  married  William  M.  Miller,  of 
Camden,  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  and  they  have  two  children  :  William  A.,  and  Rose  E. 
The  son  was  educated  at  Eastman's  Commercial  College,  Poughkeepsie  ;  the  daughter  is 
being  educated  in  the  academy.  The  son  works  in  the  factory  of  the  Wayne  County 
Preserving  Company,  of  which  Mrs.  Miller  is  superintendent.  In  1886  she  organized  and 
started  the  Lake  Port  Preserving  Company  in  Canada,  and  superintended  it  two  years, 
then  returned  here  and  has  b^en  superintendent  the  past  five  years.  Mrs.  Miller's 
efficiency  commands  good  pay.  In  Canada  she  received  one  hundred  dollars  per  month 
and  board  for  herself  and  two  children.  Her  father  died  in  1886,  aged  sixty-four 
years,  her  mother  still  survives.  Mrs.  Miller  is  a  devoted  Catholic,  and  is  interested  in 
the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  her  church. 

Mills,  Dr.  William  R.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  July  20,  1861.  When  six 
years  old  his  parents  moved  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  they  remained  three  years  and 
then  returned  to  Lyons.  Here  he  was  educated  in  the  Union  School  and  academy,  and 
then  entered  the  West  Winfield  Academy,  where  he  graduated  in  1879.  He  taught 
school  in  various  places  for  seven  years  and  then  began  the  study  of  dentistry  with  Dr. 
Forrester  of  Lyons.  He  afterward  went  to  Philadelphia  and  attended  the  dental  college 
in  that  city,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1889,  and  then  began  a  successful  practice  in 
Newark.  Dr.  Mills'  father.  Gustavus  Mills,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Columbia,  Herkimer 
county,  in  1817.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day.  In 
1861  he  became  a  sutler  in  the  17th  Inf.,  N.  Y.  Vols. ;  was  captured  and  spent  six  months 
in  Libby  prison,  and  after  this  was  in  the  paymaster's  department  at  Washington  for 
three  years,  then  became  a  commercial  traveler.  In  1840  he  married  Nancy  Petrie,  of 
his  native  county.  Eight  children  were  born  to  them,  two  dying  in  infancy  and  six 
still  living:  Emma,  Marsh,  Mason,  Lizzie,  John,  and  William,  as  above  noted.  Mr. 
Mills  died  in  1891,  and  his  wife  now  resides  with  her  son,  Dr.  William  Mills.  The 
ancestors  of  both  the  paternal  and  maternal  sides  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and 
in  the  war  of  1812. 

Miehl,  Philip,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France,  in  1834.  His  father  was  Jacob  Miehl. 
Philip  came  to  America  in  1853  and  settled  in  Rome,  N.  Y.,  where  he  remained  until 
1862,  then  went  to  Rochester,  and  in  1864  settled  in  the  town  of  Sodus,  south  of  the 
village.  He  is  a  cooper  by  trade,  which  business  he  conducted  until  1889,  then  pur- 
chased a  farm  wh;ch  he  has  since  operated.  From  1880  to  1889  he  was  commissioner 
of  highways  for  the  town  of  Sodus.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grange  at  Sodus,  and  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  at  Joy.  He  married  first,  Thorita  Hennager,  by  whom  he  had 
two  sons  and  a  daughter.  Christopher,  the  older  son,  settled  in  Williamson,  and  is  a 
wagonmaker ;  Philip  is  a  blacksmith  at  Alloway ;  and  Mary  married  William  J. 
Cheatham,  of  Joy.  Mr.  Miehl  married  second,  Mary  A.  Yight,  and  they  had  one 
daughter,  Catherine,  wife  of  James  Robertson,  of  Rochester.  For  his  third  wife  he 
married  Sarah  F.  White. 

Miller,  E.  Alvin,  was  born  in  Saxony,  Germanv,  November  26,  1356,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  education  and  learned  the  trade  of  florist  and  nurseryman,  receiving  several 
diplomas  as  a  reward  for  his  efficiency.  He  came  to  the  United  States  June  L,  1876, 
locating  in  Rochester,  and  entered  the  employ  of  Elwanger  &  Barry,  where  he  remained 
seven  years.  September  21,  1882,  he  married  Catherine  M.  Roth,  of  Rochester,  formerly 
of  Germany,  and  they  have  one  son,  W.  Henry,  born  June  9,  1883.     The  family  came 


268  LANDMARKS  OF   WAYNE  COUNTY. 

to  Newark  in  1884,  Mr.  Miller  entering  the  employ  of  Jackson,  Perkins  &  Company  as 
foreman  of  their  extensive  nurseries.  Mr.  Miller's  father,  William,  was  born  at  the  old 
home  in  Germany,  and  married  Sophia  Hotsuth,  of  his  native  country,  by  whom  he  had 
six  children,  four  of  whom  survive:  E.  Alvin,  as  above ;  Bertha,  Anna,  and  Minnie,  all 
reside  at  the  old  home.  Mrs.  Miller's  father,  Henrv  Roth,  was  born  in  Hesse,  Germany, 
in  1827.  He  married  twice,  first,  Ann  Smith,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Adam  H.  Mrs. 
Roth  d<'ed,  and  he  married  second,  Catherine  M.  Seibert,  and  they  had  two  children  : 
Elizabeth,  and  Catherine  M.,  as  above.  The  family  came  to  the  United  States,  locating 
in  Rochester,  where  they  have  earned  a  competency.  Mr.  Miller  is  a  member  of  the 
A.  O.  U.  W.,  No.  116. 

McDermott,  John  B.,  was  born  in  Newark,  August  4,  1864,  was  educated  in  the 
Union  School  and  Academy,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was  employed  in  the  American 
Express  office  at  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  station,  and  on  the  removal  of  the  office  to 
the  village,  February  1,  1883,  he  was  given  charge  of  the  same,  which  includes  the 
National  Express.  Since  March  1,  1891,  he  has  also  been  manager  of  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  office  at  this  point.  His  father,  Thomas,  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1836, 
came  to  America  when  a  boy,  and  married  Nora  McCarty,  of  Macedon,  Wayne  county. 
Their  three  children  were :  John  B.,  as  above ;  Michael  J.,  and  Sarah  A.  Thomas  is 
section  foreman  on  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R  R  The  family  are  members  of  St. 
Michael's  Church  at  Newark,  our  subject  being  also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  Legion. 
He  has  served  as  town  clerk  three  years,  and  is  now  serving  three  years'  term  as  village 
trustee. 

Miller,  the  late  William  R.,  was  born  in  Kinderhook,  N.  Y.,  in  1823,  was  educated  in 
the  district  schools,  and  followed  farming.  November  20,  1849,  he  married  Almira 
Pultz,  of  his  native  town,  by  whom  he  had  two  children  :  Amasa  L.,  who  married  Ruth 
Frisbie ;  and  Charles  W.,  who  married  Lillie  M.  Gosline  of  this  town,  and  has  one 
daughter,  Nellie  H.  The  family  moved  here  in  1872.  Mr.  Miller  died  October  17, 
1889.  William  M.  Pultz,  father  of  Mrs.  Miller,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1806, 
and  married  first,  Margaret  Pultz,  by  whom  he  had  three  children,  Almira,  Charles  and 
Mary.  Mrs.  Pultz  died  in  1848,  and  he  married  second,  Julia  A.  Cookingham  of  his 
native  place.  He  died  January  23,  1878,  and  his  widow  resides  with  Mrs.  Miller,  aged 
eighty-five.  Mary  Yanderbilt,  a  sister  of  Mrs,  Miller,  died  April  20,  1871.  Mr.  Pultz 
and  his  second  wife  came  to  this  county  to  reside  in  1871. 

Moody,  Charles  R.,  was  born  in  Williamson  in  1817,  and  is  a  son  of  Col.  Cephus 
Moody,  who  came  from  Amherst,  Mass.,  in  1810,  and  settled  in  Williamson,  Wayne 
county.  Taking  up  a  tract  of  land  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade  and  for  many  years  carried  on  an  extensive  business  in  that  line  in  Williamson 
and  surrounding  towns.  He  was  a  stirring  business  man,  for  a  time  kept  tavern  at 
Williamson,  and  was  a  partner  in  a  mail  route  from  Rochester  to  Oswego.  He  took 
an  active  part  in  political  affairs,  being  deputy  sheriff  for  several  years  and  poormaster 
fifteen  years.  He  was  active  in  military  affairs,  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  afterward  a 
member  of  the  State  militia,  and  for  several  years  was  colonel  of  the  242d  N.  Y.  Regi- 
ment. Colonel  Mood}7  was  twice  married,  first  to  Jane  Nash  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren, both  of  whom  died  in  infancy ;  and  for  his  second  wife  he  married  Sally  E.  Por- 
ter and  their  children  were  Charles  P.,  Sidney  C,  Arvilla  S.,  Eleanor  L.  and  Albert  J. 
Colonel  Moody  died  in  1879.  Charles  C.  settled  in  Williamson  and  engaged  in  farming, 
and  in  1866  settled  in  Sodus,  west  of  the  village  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  has 
been  a  buyer  and  shipper  of  live  stock,  and  has  been  active  in  political  affairs,  having 
been  deputy  sheriff  se\eral  years,  and  has  held  various  other  political  offices.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  242d  N.  Y.  State  militia  several  years,  and  was  lieutenant  colonel  at  the 
time  of  its  disbandment.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Sodus  Presbyterian  Church,  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  R.  S.  of  T  He  married  in  1850  Carolme  De  Kroeft, 
and  they  had  these  children :  William  D.,  Byron  E.,  Josephine  and  David  C.  (deceased). 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  269 

Mrs.  Moody  died  December  6,  1877,  and  February  18,  1879,  he  married  Frances  E. 
Brown.  Byron  E.  settled  in  Sodus  and  is  a  farmer.  He  married  Jennie  Corts.  Will- 
iam D.  settled  in  Canada  and  engaged  in  the  live  stock  and  produce  business.  In  1890 
he  returned  to  Sodus  and  resides  on  the  homestead.     He  married  Hattie  Hadberson. 

Miller,  Samuel  B.,  was  born  in  Canandaigua  October  23,  1826,  and  came  to  this 
homestead  with  his  parents  in  1827.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  has 
always  followed  farming,  until  he  retired  in  1888.  January  2,  1856,  he  married  Sarah 
A.  Hoffman  of  this  town.  Mr.  Miller  has  been  assessor  of  the  town  six'years.  Mr. 
Miller's  father,  James,  was  born  in  Pittstown,  Rensselaer  county,  in  1790,  and  went  to 
Cayuga  county  when  a  young  man.  He  married  Eliza  Benson,  of  Owasco  Cayuga 
county,  and  they  had  ten  children,  Susan,  Cordelia,  Edwin,  Caroline  M.,  Augusta, 
Samuel  B.,  as  above,  Sarah,  Sophronia  J.,  Horton  and  Eliza.  Mrs.  Miller's  father, 
William  Hoffman,  was  born  March  24,  1804,  and  married  Harriet  Krum  of  his  native 
place.  They  had  four  children,  Margaret,  Sarah  A.,  Ambrose  and  Franklin.  The 
family  came  to  this  town  in  1837.  Mr.  Hoffrmn  died  July  15,  1893,  and  his  wife  in 
1881.  Mr.  Miller's  father,  James,  was  represented  in  the  War  of  1812.  His  brother, 
J.  Horton,  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  late  war  in  Company  A,  150th  Inf.  N.  Y.  State 
Yols.,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Mason,  William  H.,  was  born  July  3,  1831,  in  Marion,  Wayne  county.  Jesse  Mason, 
his  father,  was  born  at  Cheshire,  Mass.,  April  26,  1787,  a  son  of  David.  The  Mason 
family  are  descended  from  Scotch  ancestry,  came  to  America  in  an  early  day  and  settled 
in  Massachusetts.  Jesse  Mason  came  to  Marion  about  1810  with  his  father  and  engaged 
in  farming.  He  was  supervisor  of  Marion  one  term  and  in  1823  was  elected  to  the 
General  Assembly,  and  held  many  minor  offices.  He  studied  law  and  although  never 
regularly  admitted  to  the  bar  enjoyed  an  extensive  and  successful  practice.  He  was 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Christian  Church  of  Marion  and  an  active  member  of  the 
same.  He  removed  to  Sodus  in  1832  and  several  years  later  settled  east  of  that  vil- 
lage on  the  State  road,  purchasing  a  farm  there,  on  w_:ich  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  died  September  12,  1847.  He  married  Patience  Skinner  November  12,  1809, 
at  Pownal,  Yt.,  and  they  had  eighteen  children:  Lyman  H.,  who  d;ed  in  infancy;  Ann 
S.,  Jane,  who  died  in  childhood ;  Caroline,  Lyman  H.,  who  died  in  childhood  ;  Edwin. 
David  J.,  John,  who  died  in  childhood;  Mary  A.,  Arvilla,  who  died  in  infancy;  Lois 
L.,  Jesse,  who  died  in  childhood  ;  Carleton  H.,  Harriet  J.,  Marcia  Y.,  Alfred  J.,  Ptollin 
D.  and  William  H.  Oar  subject  in  early  life  was  a  sailor  for  several  years,  then  en- 
gaged in  farming,  and  is  one  of  the  extensive  and  prosperous  farmers  of  Sodus.  Dur- 
ing the  building  of  the  Sodus  Point  and  Southern  railroad  he  was  a  contractor  on  the 
same.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Sodus  Point  M.  E.  Church.  He  married  in 
1854  Cornelia,  danghter  of  James  Sergeant,  who  died  in  1892,  leaving  one  daughter, 
Allie,  Mrs.  Clarence  Button  of  Sodus. 

Miller,  Frederick  O,  was  born  in  Mecklinburg,  Scherwin,  Germany,  October  10,  1843, 
and  came  to  the  United  .States  when  he  was  twenty-one,  locating  in  Lyons.  He  is  a 
farmer  and  milk  dealer.  March  26,  1867,  he  married  Sophia  Merke,  of  Lyons,  formerly 
of  his  native  place,  and  they  have  three  children  :  Charles,  wno  married  Julia  Feicock 
of  this  town  ;  James,  who  is  a  farmer  with  his  father  and  Ella  L.,  who  resides  at  home. 
Mr.  Miller's  father,  Christian,  was  born  at  the  old  home  July  2,  1805.  He  married 
Dora  Corman  of  Germany,  and  they  had  seven  children":  Louise,  Mary,  Louis,  Jennie, 
William,  Frederick  C.  as  noted,  and  Charles.  Mr.  Miller  died  in  1873,  and  his  wife  in 
1862.  Mrs.  F.  C.  Miller's  father,  Louis  Merke,  was  born  in  Mechlinburg,  Scherwin, 
Germany,  June  25,  1824.  He  married  M'nnie  Helwie  of  his  native  place,  and  they 
had  eight  children  :  Sophia,  Louise,  John,  William,  Henry,  Charles,  Eliza  and  Lois.  Mr. 
Merke  died  January  6,  1888.  The  family  came  to  the  United  States  in  1862,  locating  in 
Lyons. 


270  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

Marble  Bros. — John  W.  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia  in  Marbletown  November 
28,  1842,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  De- 
cember 25,  1874,  he  married  Mary  E.  Robison  of  Huntsburg,  Ohio,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Ray  W.,  born  April  14,  1879,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Union  School  and  Academy  at 
Newark.  His  brother,  Warren  F.,  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  December  5,  1848, 
was  also  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  is  a  farmer  with  his  brother,  John  W. 
December  1G,  1874,  he  married  Josette  Moss  of  Huntsburg,  Ohio,  and  they  have  one 
son,  George  B.,  born  July  2,  1879,  who  is  a  student  in  the  same  institution.  Our  sub 
ject's  father,  James,  was  born  in  Marbletown,  July  29,  1819,  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  his  day  and  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Lorinda  Dusenbergof  Phelps,  Ontario  county, 
and  their  children  were  :  John  W.,  as  noted  ;  Elizabeth  and  Warren  F.  Mr.  Marble  died 
April  21,  1891,  and  Irs  wife  September  29,  1887.  Mrs.  John  W.  Marble's  father,  Har- 
vey II.  Robison,  was  born  in  1792,  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  town  of  Phelps. 
He  married  twice,  for  his  cecond  wife  Emily  Durham,  by  whom  he  had  three  childien  : 
James,  Harry,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Mary  E  ,  who  died  in  Livingston  county  He 
died  in  1854,  and  his  wife  in  1858.  Mrs.  Warren  F.  Marble's  father,  William  C.  Moss, 
was  born  in  Burton,  Geauga  county,  Ohio,  in  1808.  He  married  Maria  J.  Robison  of 
Phelps,  and  they  had  seven  children  :  Charles,  Elizabeth,  Ford,  Josette  as  noted,  Mar- 
vin, Almira  and  Jessie  M.     He  died  in  1870,  and  his  wife  survives  him. 

Langdon,  Thomas,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  December  5,  1836,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  came  to  Newark  and  became  a 
clerk  for  James  Bennett.  In  1859  his  father's  family  came  to  the  New  York  Central 
Station,  where  they  kept  the  Langdon  Hotel,  until  the  death  of  the  father  in  1875,  when 
o  ir  subject  took  the  management  entirely.  February  21,  1866,  he  married  Ruth  A. 
Wilber  of  this  town,  and  they  have  had  three  children  :  a  son  who  died  in  infancy  ; 
Mary  E.  and  Caroline.  March  11,  1885,  Mary  E.  married  B.  J.  Palmer,  of  Palmyra, 
and  they  have  four  children  :  Bennie  L.,  Earl,  Carolyn  R.  and  Charles  W.  December  5, 
1888,  Caro'ine  married  Chauncey  I.  McCoy,  of  Newark.  She  died  January  11,  1892. 
Mr.  Langdon's  father.  Eben  D.,  was  born  at  Fort  Ann,  Washington  county,  December  8, 
1803.  He  married,  first,  Eleanor  Haight,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Henry.  He  mar- 
ried, second,  Mrs.  Hannah  Brown,  born  November  18,  1802,  and  they  had  two  children  : 
Thomas,  and  Anna  M.,  who  married  Benjamin  F.  Bennett  of  this  town.  Eben  D.  died 
March  20,  1875,  and  his  wife  April  12,  1876.  Thomas  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge 
No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.  and  Newark  Chapter  No.  117,  R.  A.  M.,  Palmyra  Council  No.  26, 
R.  &  S.  M.,  Zenobia  Commandery  No.  41,  K.  T.,  of  Palmyra. 

Lusk,  Christopher  O,  was  born  in  East  Newark  October  23,  1833.  He  was  educated 
in  the  district  schools  and  followed  boating  on  the  canal  in  early  life,  was  also  clerk  in 
a  store  some  time.  He  went  to  California  in  1853,  remaining  there  two  years  digging 
gold,  and  has  been  conducting  a  meat  market  for  many  years.  In  1876  he  was  elected 
poormaster,  serving  three  years,  was  town  clerk  one  year  and  village  collector  one  year. 
In  1894  he  was  again  elected  poormaster.  December  31,  1855,  he  married  Emeline  B. 
Fairchild  of  Phelps,  and  they  had  four  children  :  Frank  S.  who  married  Nettie  M^Ken- 
nie  of  Indiana;  Ralph  O,  who  died,  aged  twenty -six  ;  William  H.,  who  married  Helen 
Flynn  of  Newark,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Marie  L.;  and  Adella  L  ,  who  resides  at 
home.  Mr.  Lusk  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge,  No.  116,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor.  No.  492.  He  enlisted  September  3,  1864  in  Company  E,  11th  In- 
fantry, N.  Y.  S.  Volunteers,  was  honorably  discharged  for  disability  November  19, 
1864.  Mr.  Lusk's  father,  Peter,  was  born  in  Schenectady  county  March  19,  1793,  he 
was  a  merchant,  interpreter  and  attorney.  August  23,  1812,  he  married  Harriet 
Howell,  formerly  of  Columbia  county,  by  whom  he  had  twelve  children:  James  Gr.,  Al- 
lied, Christopher,  all  died  in  infancy  ;  Adelia,  Harriet,  Daniel  H.,  Permelia,  Clinton  O, 
Alfred  D.,  Irene  and  Christopher  C.  Mrs.  Lusk's  father,  Asher  Fairchild,  was  born  in 
New  Jersey  in  1799,  came  to  Ontario  county,  and  married  Temperance  Humphrey,  by 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  371 

whom  he  had  five  children.     He  died  in  1878,  and  his  wife  in   1860.     Peter   husk  died 
June  9,  1839,  and  his  wife  March  28,  1848. 

Lovejoy,  the  late  David  W.,  was  born  in  Kinderhook,  Columbia  county,  in  1812,  and 
came  to  Western  New  York  in  1845.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools 
and  he  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  married  twice,  first  Sally  Wilb°r  of  that 
county,  who  died  in  1873, 'and  second  in  1875  Martha  J.  Davis  of  East  Newark.  They 
have  had  two  children :  Mary  L.  and  David  W.,  a  student  in  the  Union  School  and 
Academy.  Mrs.  Lovejoy's  father,  George  Davis,  was  born  in  Saratoga  county  in  1808, 
was  well  educated,  and  in  early  life  was  a  merchant.  After  he  came  to  this  place  he 
was  a  grocery  merchant.  He  married  twice,  first  in  1834  Lucy  Patrick  of  Stillwater, 
and  they  had  three  daughters,  one  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Martha  J.  and  Mary  F.,  who 
is  a  resident  of  Toledo,  0.  Mrs.  Davis  died  in  1839,  and  he  married  second  Elizabeth 
Wilcox,  of  his  native  county,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  William  G-.  Mr.  Davis  died  in 
1883,  and  his  wife  in  1887.  Among  the  Davis  family  for  generations  there  have  been 
preachers  of  the  Friends  denomination.  Mrs.  Lovejoy  taught  two  years  in  the  Union 
School  and  Academy,  also  in  Louisiana  and  Alabama  fourteen  years.  On  the  maternal 
side  the  family  are  of  Revolutionary  stock. 

Lyman,  Milo  S.,  was  born  in  Galen  May  18,  1826,  son  of  Jesse  and  Betsey  (Sedgwick  J 
Lyman,  he  a  native  of  Connecticut  and  came  to  Galen  about  1820,  and  then  to  Rose, 
where  he  settled  on  a  farm,  and  finally  to  Rose  Yalley,  where. he  died  in  1866.  He 
kept  lighthouse  at  Sodus  Point  for  about  fen  years.  Subject's  mother  died  when  he  was 
four  years  of  age,  and  subject  was  bound  out  to  work  for  Adam  Learn  of  Galen,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  he  was  twenty-one.  He  afterward  worked  for  John  Learn 
seven  years,  worked  his  farm  three  years,  and  during  the  time  bought  forty  acres  in 
Eose  on  which  he  moved,  and  erected  buildings,  remaining  three  years.  He  next 
worked  by  the  month  eight  years,  and  then  rented  his  father-in-law's  farm.  In  1874 
he  bought  the  farm  he  now  owns  of  148  acres.  Mr.  Lyman  has  been  postmaster  one 
year.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  thirty  years,  and  has  held  every 
office  in  the  church  of  Rose  Valley.  Mr.  Lyman  married  in  1854  Rebecca,  daughter  of 
John,  Barnes,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  John  W.,  born  in  February,  1857.  He  was 
educated  in  Albany  Normal  School,  from  which  he  graduated  with  high  honors,  and 
taught  school  two  years  in  Garrison.  His  health  failed  and  he  died  with  quick  con- 
sumption in  1881.  Mrs.  Lyman  died  May  18,  1892,  and  in  April,  1894,  he  married 
Clarissa  Webb  of  Huron.  He  has  one  adopted  son,  George  A.  Barnes,  son  of  James 
Barnes  of  Huron. 

Lent,  Charles  D.,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1832.  His  father,  Benjamin,  was  a  son  of 
Jonn  Lent,  a  resident  of  New  Jersey.  Charles  D.  was  reared  in  Bergen,  Genesee 
county,  his  father  having  died  during  his  childhood.  In  1853  he  returned  to  Sodus  and 
August  14,  1862,  enlisted  in  Company  H,  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery  as  private,  was 
promoted  to  sergeant,  first  lieutenant  and  captain,  serving  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  was  mustered  out  in  July,  1865.  Returning  to  Sodus  he  purchased  the  Messenger 
farm,  west  of  Wallington,  and  has  since  carried  on  farming.  Upon  the  building  of  the 
railroads  through  the  town  be  erected  a  depot  and  was  made  station  agent,  continuing 
to  act  as  such  until  1888.  For  many  years  he  was  in  the  produce  business  at  Walling- 
ton, and  was  a  dealer  in  coal  and  fertilizers,  bringing  the  first  car  load  of  each  that  came 
in  Sodus.  In  1872  he  started  a  grocery  and  carried  on  that  business  until  1891.  He 
secured  the  establishment  of  the  postoffice  at  Wallington  in  1874,  which  continued  until 
1886.  In  1874  he  built  a  hotel  at  Wallington,  which  he  has  since  kept  as  a  temperance 
house.  He  is  deeply  interested  in  political  affairs.  He  was  appointed  deputy,  by 
Sheriff  Reed  in  1889,  is  a  member  of  Dwight  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Sodus  and  was  com- 
mander for  several  years.  In  1852  he  married  Laura,  daughter  of  Solomon  Smedly  of 
Sodus,   and  their  children  are  Herschael   D.,   who  settled  in  Illinoig ;  Charles  M.  of 


272  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Rochester  ;  Lillian  0.  (Mrs.  Clayton  Boyd  of  Syracuse);  Ida  (Mrs.  J.  S.  Cox  of  Newark); 
Emma,  (Mrs.  A.  L.  Olmstead  of  Des  Moines,  la.),  Kittie  and  Matie. 

Lincoln,  Theron  L.,  was  born  in  Virgil,  Cortland  county,  November  24,  1815.  and 
educated  in  the  district  schools.  Until  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
afterward  became  a  boot  and  shoe  dealer,  also  manufactured  mittens,  and  was  for  many 
years  a  farmer  until  he  retired.  He  married  twice,  first,  Loretta  Bruce,  of  his  native 
place,  and  they  had  two  children:  Bruce  W  and  Loretta,  both  deceased.  Mrs.  Lincoln 
died  July  10,  1850,  and  he  married  second,  in  January,  1852,  Polly  A.  Keyes,  of  his 
native  place,  formerly  of  Vermont,  and  they  have  three  sons ;  Orion  M.,  who  married 
Helen  Garlock,  and  they  have  one  son,  Ward  G.;  Clinton  T.,  who  married  Emma  Shaw, 
and  has  two  children,  Claud  E.  and  Mildred  E  ;  and  Herbert  G.,  who  married  Emma  E. 
Filkins,  by  whom  lie  has  one  daughter,  Ermie  B.  Mr.  Lincoln's  father,  William,  was 
born  in  Massachusetts  July  6,  1784,  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Virgil,  Cortland 
county.  He  married  Ruth  Saxton,  of  his  native  place,  and  they  have  had  twelve  chil- 
dren :"  Harriet,  Silas,  Theron  L.,  Wait,  Ruth,  Minerva,  William,  Clinton,  Levi,  Laura, 
Oscar,  and  Emma.  Mr.  Lincoln  died  in  1870,  aged  eighty-six  years,  and  his  wife  in 
1864.  William  Lincoln  was  major  in  the  State  militia.  Mrs.  Theron  Lincoln's  father, 
Eli  Keyes,  was  born  in  1794  in  Vermont.  He  married  Mercy  Chapman  and  had  ten 
children.  '  Mr.  Keyes  died  in  1850  and  his  wife  in  1857.  Mrs.  Lincoln's  grandfather, 
Jonathan  Chapman,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  her  grandfather,  Ezra 
Keyes,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  assessor  and  justice  of  the 
peace  several  years. 

Leggett,  Charles  E.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia  August  26,  1864,  and  came 
here  with  his  parents  when  he  was  four  years  old.  He  was  educated  in  the  Union 
School  and  Academy.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  became  a  partner  with  John  L. 
Wilder  in  the  hardware  business  three  years,  then  bought  his  interest,  conducted  it 
alone  one  year,  when  the  co-partnership  of  Leggett  &  Watkins  was  formed  under  that 
firm  name,  which  continues  until  the  present  time.  October  24,  1888,  he  married 
Edith  M.  Percey,  of  the  town  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county.  Mr.  Leggett's  father,  John 
T.,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1820,  and  came  here  when  a  young  man,  was  a 
farmer  until  1868,  when  he  retired  and  moved  to  the  village.  He  married  twice,  first, 
Mary  A.  West,  and  they  had  one  son,  Sanford,  who  is  a  clerk  in  the  firm.  He  married, 
second,  Susan  Cronise,  of  this  town,  whose  ancestors  came  from  Maryland.  They  had 
three  children:  Ida  O,  John  T.,  jr.,  and  Charles  E.  He  died  in  1879.  Mrs.  Leggett's 
father,  Henry  Percey,  was  born  in  Hoosic  Falls,  and  came  to  Lyons  when  a  boy.  He 
married  Louisa  Harmon,  and  they  had  two  daughters:  Nellie  and  Edith  M.  Mr. 
Leggett  is  a  member  of  I.O.O.F.  No.  250,  of  Newark. 

Kelley,  Clarence  M.,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  south  of  Newark  September  20, 
1850,  and  was  educated  in  the  common  and  the  Union  School  and  Academy.  In  early 
life  he  learned  the  machinist  trade  at  H.  C.  Silsby's,  Seneca  Falls,  and  became  a 
thorough  workman.  Taking  locomotive  work  he  pursued  it  in  detail  at  Schenectady, 
Philadelphia,  and  for  the  N.Y.C.  &  H.R.R.R.  Leaving  the  locomotive  cab  in  1876  he 
went  to  the  Black  Hills  and  Big  Horn  region,  prospecting  and  mining,  and  for  four 
years  remained  there  testing  many  claims.  He  came  back  to  the  East  with  the  inten- 
tiou  of  settling  in  Newark,  but  was  induced  to  take  charge  of  the  Bignall  Manufactur- 
ing Works  at  Medina,  which  employed  seventy  men.  This  he  left  and  came  back  to 
Newark  to  succeed  his  father  in  business,  purchasing  the  Eagle  foundry  site  on  Union 
street  and  erecting  the  present  Kelley  block.  With  his  own  private  purse  he  led  the 
work  of  establishing  ^rade,  laying  walk  and  curbing  Union  street  in  front  of  his 
premises.  He  has  added  to  his  business  house  furnishing  goods  and  carriages,  and  by 
liberal  dealing  has  made  his  business  a  success.  October  7,  1880,  he  married,  at  Medina, 
Rosena  Randolph.     Mrs.  Kelley's  father,  Rev. Webster  Randolph,  was  born  in  Vermont, 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  273 

He  located  in  Newark  and  was  instrumental  in  building  the  present  Universalist 
church.  He  married  Eliza  Yose,  of  Boston,  and  they  had  three  children :  B.  Howe, 
Rosena,  and  Caroline,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Randolph  died  in  October,  1893,  and 
his  wife  in  January,  1882.  Mr.  Kelley  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A. 
M.,  of  Newark  Chapter  No.  117,  R.  A.  M.,  Zenobia  Commandery  No.  41,  K.  T. 

Kneeland,  Rev.  Francis  W.,  was  born  at  Strikersville,  Wyoming  county,  September 
15,  1856,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  the  academy,  preparatory  to  entering 
the  university.  In  1880  he  graduated  from  the  Rochester  University,  and  soon  after 
entered  the  Rochester  Theological  Seminary,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1887,  and 
immediately  began  Gospel  work,  preaching  at  Moodus,  Conn.,  for  some  time,  then 
coming  to  Wayne  county,  where  he  settled  at  Newark  in  November,  1890,  as  pastor  of 
the  First  Baptist  church,  which  he  has  continued  up  to  the  present  time,  1894.  Decem- 
ber 27,  1881,  he  married  Anna  Randolph,  of  Rochester,  who  is  a  grandniece  of  John 
Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  Va.  They  have  three  children :  Paul  S.,  Lloyd  R.,  and  Marjorie 
B.  The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  English  on  both  sides,  the  original  stock  in  this  coun- 
try having  settled  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut. 

Keener,  Stephen  N.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  West  Huron,  Lewis  county,  January 
31,  1841.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  before 
he  was  twenty-one  years  old,  and  came  to  Newark  in  June,  1862.  July  25,  1862,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  A,  160th  Inf.,  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  Upon  his  return  he  resumed  business,  this  time  as  architect,  contractor 
and  builder  for  twenty-three  years.  January  21,  1868,  he  married  Katie  E.  Espenscheid, 
of  Lyons,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  I.  Augusta.  Mr.  Keener  has  been  a  member  of 
the  School  Board  six  years,  with  its  offices  of  president,  secretary,  etc.  He  has  served 
as  village  trustee  two  terms,  is  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R.,  Dep't  of 
N.  Y. ;  also  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  an  official  member  of  the  same  for  twenty-five 
vears.  He  is  also  trustee  of  the  Cemetery  Association  for  the  past  twenty  years.  Mrs. 
Keener's  father,  John  Espenscheid,  was  born  in  Germany,  February  17,  1813,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  when  a  young  boy,  and  located  in  Sodus,  shortly  afterward  in 
Clyde,  and  finally  in  Lyons.  He  married  Helen  Derich,  of  his  native  country,  and  they 
had  six  children :  John  M.,  Katie  E.,  Philip  J.,  Mary  E.,  William  H.,  and  Helen  E. 
He  died  October  5,  1888,  his  wife  still  survives. 

Kennedy,  Thomas,  was  born  in  Canandaigua,  September  20,  1857,  and  received  his 
education  in  the  district  schools,  having  been  a  railroad  man  for  sixteen  years.  He  has 
filled  various  positions  in  that  line,  was  with  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  ten  years  ;  and 
with  the  West  Shore  Railroad  Company  six  years  as  yard  conductor,  and  also  as  freight 
conductor  when  needed.  September  20,  1882,  he  married  Mary  A.  Norris,  of  Cortland, 
and  they  had  two  sons :  James  N.,  who  died  young ;  and  Thomas  N.,  a  student  at  the 
academy.  Mrs.  Kennedy  died  October  22,  1887.  Mrs.  Kennedy's  father,  James  N., 
was  born  in  the  old  country  in  1824,  coming  to  the  United  States  in  1844,  where  he 
located  in  Canandaigua,  and  married  Alice  Armstrong,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children. 
Both  parents  are  now  deceased.  Mr.  Kennedy  is  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  No. 
116,  at  Newark. 

Kaiser,  John,  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  August  5,  1824.  He  learned  the  black- 
smith's trade,  came  to  the  United  States  in  1840,  and  located  in  Rochester,  where  he 
worked  in  Barton's  edge  tool  establishment.  He  afterward  engaged  in  work  at  Mud 
Creek,  and  from  there  came  to  Lyons.  He  married  twice,  first,  May  28,  1847,  Lottie 
Worllhiser,  formerly  of  Germany.  They  had  ten  children,  seven  of  whom  are  living : 
Lottie,  John,  jr.,  William,  George,  Margaret,  Louisa,  and  Hattie.  Mrs.  Kaiser  died 
October  9,  1867,  and  he  married  second,  May  25,  1868,  Mrs.  Susana  Becker,  of  Liver- 
pool, Onondaga  county.  Mrs.  Kaiser's  father,  Frederick  Arnold,  was  born  in  Wurtem- 
berg,  Germany,  in  1788.     He  married  Barbara  Harkenbock,  of  his  native  place,  and 


274  LANDMARKS  OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

they  had  fourteen  children,  all  deceased  except  Mrs.  Kaiser.  They  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1837.  Mr.  Kaiser  moved  from  Lyons  to  Fairville  in  1848,  and  bought  his 
farm  there  in  1854. 

Kansier,  Christopher,  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  America.  He  came  from 
Germany  in  1852,  and  settled  in  Lyons.  He  was  a  wagonmaker  by  trade  and  engaged 
in  that  business.  In  1859  he  settled  at  Sochis  Centre,  where  he  engaged  in  the  same 
business.  He  married  Frederica  Schultz,  and  their  children  were  :  Fred,  William, 
Augustus,  and  Hattie.  In  1863  Mr.  Kansier  retired  from  business  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  William,  who  has  since  carried  on  carriage  making  and  blacksmithing. 
Christopher  died  in  1878.  Fred  is  a  wagonmaker  and  settled  at  Sodus  Centre.  He 
married  Dortha  Yokel.  Augustus  was  a  blacksmith  and  carried  on  that  business  in 
Sodus  for  several  years.  He  married  Mary  Flint,  and  died  in  1888.  Hattie  married 
Henry  Webber,  of  Sodus.  William  Kansier  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392, 
F.  &  A.  M,,  and  Wayne  Chapter.  He  married  Mary  Eyer,  and  they  have  one  daughter, 
Cora  B. 

Keir,  Alexander,  was  born  in  Banffshire,  Scotland,  March  7,  1842.  He  was  educated 
in  their  schools  and  when  twenty  years  old  went  to  Australia,  remaining  ten  years. 
July  19,  1867,  he  married  Elizabeth  Rohinson,  who  was  born  in  England  of  Scotch  par- 
entage. They  have  five  children,  Jane,  Margaret,  who  married  Dyton  Barclay  of  Sodus 
Centre ;  Alexander  R.  is  an  employee  of  the  West  Shore  Railroad  Company  ;  El'zabeth, 
who  is  a  student  in  Genesee  Normal  School,  and  James  W.,  who  is  a  student  in  the 
Union  School  and  Academy.  The  family  came  here  from  Australia  in  1873.  Mr.  Keir 
has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  West  Shore  Railroad  Company  since  that  time,  first  in 
charge  of  a  construction  corps  and  after  assistant  road  master,  which  position  he  still 
holds.  Mr.  Keir  was  one  of  the  principal  men  in  constructing  the  railway  track  from 
Long  Branch  to  Franklin  cottage  for  the  conveyance  of  President  Garfield  after  he  was 
shot  by  Guiteau,  and  received  a  card  of  thanks  therefor  by  the  company.  Mrs.  Keir's 
father,  Robert  Robinson,  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1792,  and  married  Margaret  MacKee 
of  his  native  place.  They  had  five  children,  Jane,  Robert,  Violet,  James  and  Elizabeth. 
Her  father  was  a  sergeant  in  the  British  Army,  and  her  brother,  Robert,  was  a  major  in 
the  British  Army  in  India,  Mr.  Robinson  died  in  1869  and  his  wife  in  1890.  Mr. 
Keir  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order  in  Bolton,  N.  J.,  No.  150  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  of 
Newark  Chapter  No.  117  R.  A.  M. 

Kelley,  Charles  E.,  was  born  on  the  homestead  southeast  of  Newark  January  28, 
1858,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  the  Union  School  and  Academy  at 
Newark.  He  is  a  farmer  and  dealer  in  seed  potatoes,  and  owns  the  old  E.  B.  Kelley 
farm.  February  21, 1883,  he  married  Ada  A.  Bennett,  of  Phelps,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren :  Bertha  A.  and  Burnette  F.  Mrs.  C.  E.  Kelley's  father,  Hiram  Bennett,  was 
born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  April  14,  1826,  was  educated  in  the  common  school  and 
followed  farming.  He  married  Eliza  Parsons  of  Columbia  county,  and  they  had  five 
children :  Ada  A,  as  above,  Milton  P.,  Jennie  E.,  Ulysses  C.  and  Frank  H.  He  had 
two  children  by  a  first  marriage,  Andrew  J.  and  Mary  L.  Mr.  Bennett  died  in  1893 
and  his  widow  survives  at  the  old  home  in  Phelps. 

Jones,  Albert  N.,  was  born  in  Cookham,  Berkshire  county,  England,  March  6,  1843, 
and  came  with  his  parents  to  the  United  States  in  1847,  finally  locating  in  Shortsville, 
Ontario  county.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  worked  at  intervals  in  his 
father's  paper  mill  till  1879,  since  which  he  has  made  a  business  of  propagating  varieties 
of  winter  wheat.  He  has  1,700  varieties,  which  he  has  produced  from  three  kinds,  viz,  : 
Clawson,  Mediterranean  and  Russian  Velvet.  August  17,  1862,  he  married  Marietta 
Crofut,  of  Canandaigua,  a  daughter  of  Joel  and  Lucinda  (Coy)  Crofut,  of  Connecticut,, 
and  Vermont,  respectively.  They  have  one  daughter,  Lin  S.,  who  lives  at  home.  His 
father,  William,,  was  born  in  England,  and  married  Eliza   Fisher,  of  Bradford,  England, 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  275 

and  they  had  six  children :  Albert  N.,  William,  who  died,  aged  thirteen  ;  Lizzie.  Walter 
S.,  Frank  C,  and  George  H.  The  mother  died  in  188G.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of 
the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  No.  116,  of  Newark. 

Jenkins,  Thomas  J.,  was  born  in  New  York  city,  September  25,  1840,  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  there,  and  learnedkthe  butcher's  business,  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
coming  to  Newark  with  his  parents.  Here  he  began  work  with  G.  H.  Filldns,  continu- 
ing four  years.  July  6,  18G2,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  111th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  and  was  in 
the  quartermaster's  department  till  1863,  ween  he  returned  to  his  company,  participat- 
ing in  all  its  engagements  until  August,  1854,  when  he  was  captured  at  the  battle  of 
Reams'  Station,  sent  to  Libby  Prison,  and  later  to  Belle  Island,  and  Salisbury,  N.  C, 
caring  as  far  as  it  was  in  his  power  to  do,  for  his  sick  and  starving  fellow  prisoners, 
caring  for  forty  from  the  town  of  Arcadia,  burying  them  when  they  died,  taking  their 
last  messages  to  their  friends  at  home,  as  well  as  assisting  their  widows  and  orphans  in 
the  settling  of  their  property,  etc.  Few  towns  suffered  as  this  town  did,  in  its  losses 
through  the  war.  He  was  honorably  discharged  as  duty  sergeant  August  7,  1865,  and 
returned  home  to  Newark,  where  he  opened  a  meat  market,  and  has  been  engaged  in 
that  business  now  for  many  years,  having  been  for  fourteen  years  in  his  present  loca- 
tion, corner  Main  and  Union  streets.  November  27,  1859,  he  married  Annie  Taylor, 
of  this  town,  and  they  have  had  five  children:  Charles,  Grace  M.,  Will,  and  Lela  and 
Lula  (twins),  Charles  and  the  twins  being  deceased.  Grace  married  Charles  Frey  of 
Newark,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Lulu.  Will  married  Mary  O'Brien,  of  Manches- 
ter, and  they  have  two  daughters,  Fannie  and  Pearl.  Thomas  J.,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  New  York  city  in  1800,  and  conducted  a  butcher's  business.  He  married 
Maria  Francisco,  of  Whitehall,  by  whom  he  had  five  children  :  Susan  F.,  Louisa,  Thomas 
J.,  William  W.,  and  Isaac  G.  Mr.  Jenkins  died  in  1856,  and  his  wife  in  1884.  Our 
subject  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge,  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  also  a  member  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  No.  99. 

Jewell,  Alva,  was  born  in  Dutchess  county  February  21,  1820,  a  son  of  Isaac  and 
Charity  Jewell,  natives  of  Dutchess  county,  who  came  to  Lyons  in  1819,  where  Mr. 
Jewell  died,  and  his  wife  died  in  Rose.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  till  eighteen, 
when  he  learned  the  cooper's  trade  and  after  ten  years  engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  Jewell 
owns  140  acres,  and  has  a  fine  residence  and  out  buildings  on  his  farm.  He  married  in 
1843  Susan  Wager,  a  native  of  Galen,  and  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  Wager,  early 
settlers  of  Galen,  who  died  in  Huron.  They  had  nine  children.  Mr.  Jewell  and  his 
wife  had  six  children,  Henry,  Malinda  (deceased),  Alonzo  (deceased),  Elizabeth,  Frank- 
lin, and  another. 

Jolly,  Rev.  Thompson,  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  August  5,  1822.  His  father 
died  while  he  was  still  a  child  and  his  mother  married  John  Middleton.  In  1830  they 
came  to  America  and  settled  in  Ontario  county.  In  1833  they  removed  to  Sodus  and 
settled  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  town.  He  learned  the  blacksmith  trade  and  from 
1838  to  1843  followed  that  business  at  Stanley,  N.  Y.  He  then  returned  to  Sodus 
village  and  for  two  years  worked  at  his  trade  there.  He  then  built  a  shop  and  for 
thirteen  years  carried  on  the  business  of  blacksmithing.  In  1857  he  joined  the  Central 
New  York  M.  E.  Conference  and  from  that  time  until  1884  was  pastor  of  various 
churches  throughout  Central  and  Western  New  York.  In  the  latter  year  he  returned 
to  his  farm  in  Sodus  and  for  a  year  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Joy,  and  for  a  year  and 
a  half  at  South  Sodus.  In  1889  he  settled  in  Sodus  village.  For  twenty  years  he  has 
been  a  strong  Prohibitionist,  and  has  taken  a  very  active  part  in  temperance  work.  He 
married  in  1845  Mercy,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Gates,  of  Sodus,  and  they 
had  four  children  :  Mary,  Mrs.  Wilmot  M.  Ormsby ;  Dr.  William  F.,  Wesley  T.,  and  S. 
Belle.  Dr.  William  F.  Jolly  on  being  admitted  to  practice  settled  at  Middlesex,  N.  Y., 
and  in  1894  settled  at  Atlanta,  N.  Y.     Wesley  T.  settled  in  Sodus  and  is  an  enterprising 


276  LANDMARKS   OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

farmer.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Grange  and  Pultneyville  M.  E.  church.  He  married 
S.  Cammilla,  daughter  of  William  S.  Vosburgh,  of  Sodus,  and  their  children  are  Olin  B. 
and  Arthur  T. 

Hoffman,  Frederick,  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  June  9,  1827.  He  was  educated 
in  their  schools,  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  came  to  the  United  S*ates  in  1849, 
locating  in  Carthage,  Jefferson  county,  where  he  remained  fourteen  years.  He  came  to 
Lyons  in  1863  and  to  Newark  in  1864,  where  he  has  been  a  contractor  and  builder.  He 
has  done  much  in  building  and  enlarging  the  enterprising  village  of  Newark.  July  31, 
1854,  he  married  Theresa  Say  forth  of  his  native  place,  and  they  have  one  adopted  son 
August  L.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Lyons,  a  jeweler  by  occupation  in  company  with  0.  C. 
Robinson,  of  Newark.  Their  stock  in  trade  is  watches,  jewelry,  diamonds,  musical  in- 
struments, pianos,  organs,  sheet  music,  etc.,  with  stores  in  Lyons  and  Newark.  He 
married  Emma  Jacoby,  and  they  have  a  son,  Frederick.  Mrs.  Hoffman's  father,  Fred- 
erick Sayforth,  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  in  1806.  He  married  Julia  Schlieder  of 
that  place,  by  whom  he  had  six  children.  They  came  to  the  United  States  in  1847. 
Mrs.  Hoffman's  grandfather,  Christoph  Sayforth,  was  a  judge  in  his  province  fifty  years. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoffman  are  members  of  the  German  Evangelical  church,  of  which  he  has 
been  trustee  twenty-nine  years. 

Hyde,  William  H.,  was  born  at  the  old  home  July  26,  1863.  He  was  educated  in  the 
Union  School  and  Academy,  in  Cook's  Academy  at  Havana,  and  in  Genesee  Normal 
School.  He  is  a  farmer  and  capitalist.  February  26,  1885,  he  married  Bertha  J.  Jack- 
son, of  Lyons,  and  they  have  two  children:  Bertha  L.,  and  William  H.,  jr.  Mr.  Hyde's 
father,  Artemus  W.;  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Hydesville  September  15,  1816.  He 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  day,  and  was  also  a  farmer.  He  married  twice, 
first  Armeda  Miles,  of  this  town,  by  whom  he  had  four  children  :  E.  Miles  and  a  twin 
brother  who  died  in  infancy ;  Ransom  A.,  who  died  aged  nineteen,  and  John  L.  Mrs. 
Hyde  died  in  1856,  and  he  married  second  Louisa  Pierson.  They  had  three  children : 
Artemus  D.,  William  H.,  as  above  noted  noted  ;  and  Armeda  L.  Mr.  Hyde  was  super- 
visor of  the  town  in  1864-65.  He  died  January  5,  1892.  Mr.  Hyde's  grandfather, 
Henry  W.,  was  born  in  Vermont  June  29,  1774.  He  was  a  pioneer  settler  and  physi- 
cian of  this  town.  Mrs.  William  H.  Hyde's  father,  George  W.  Jackson,  was  born  in 
Lyons  August  11,  1832.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  Starkey  Semin- 
ary. He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  October  27,  1857,  he  married  Elizabeth  Agett, 
of  Lyons,  by  whom  he  had  two  daughters  and  one  son:  Mary  E.,  Bertha  J.,  and  James 
A.  Mr.  Jackson  died  July  6,  1884.  His  father,  Cyrus,  came  to  Lyons  in  1811  on 
horseback.  He  was  then  a  young  physician,  and  made  several  trips  back  and  forth  to 
New  York  city  for  medicine  on  horseback.  It  was  said  by  the  Fox  sisters  that  Artemus 
W.  Hyde  was  a  firm  believer  in  spiritualism.  The  family  wishes  this  to  be  emphatically 
denied,  it  being  a  pure  fabrication  on  their  part. 

Hill,  Gilbert  and  Noadiah,  came  from  Columbia  county  in  1845,  and  settled  about  two 
miles  southwest  of  Sodus  village.  They  were  sons  of  Caleb  Hill,  whose  father  Caleb 
Hill,  sr.,  came  from  England  and  settled  in  Vermont.  Noadiah  Hill  was  supervisor  of 
the  town  one  term,  and  took  an  active  part  in  political  affairs.  In  1867  he  returned  to 
Columbia  county,  where  he  died.  Gilbert  Hill  died  in  Sodus  in  1889.  He  married 
Sylvia  Smith,  of  Columbia  county,  and  their  children  were:  Eunice  (Mrs.  T.  H.  Hath- 
away) ;  John  C,  Noadiah  M.,  and  Henry,  all  of  Sodus.  Noadiah  M.  settled  on  the 
homestead  and  is  a  farmer.  He  married  Eva  L.  Pulver.  John  C.  Hill  is  a  thrifty  and 
enterprising  farmer.  He  has  held  the  office  of  collector  of  the  town,  is  a  member  of 
Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  Wayne  Chapter ;  and  is  also  a  member  of 
Sodus  Grange  and  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Sodus.  He  married  Lydia  M.  Brayton, 
and  they  have  one  son  Gilbert. 

Hoeltzel,  George,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France  (now  Germany),  December  30,  1836, 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  277 

and  came  to  the  United  States  with  his  parents  in  1840.  They  located  in  Lyons.  Wayne 
county.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools,  and  is  a  farmer.  June  27,  1867,  he 
married  Lena  Schwab,  of  Arcadia,  and  they  have  three  children  :  Albert  G-.,  Emma  M., 
and  Minnie  R.  August  12,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  D,  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  and 
was  in  the  following  engagements :  Cold  Harbor,  Monocacy  Junction,  Winchester, 
Cedar  Creek,  and  others,  and  was  honorably  discharged   May  3,  1865.     Mr.  Hoeltzel's 

father,  Michael,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Alsace  in  1794,  and  married  Dorathy , 

of  his  native  place.  They  had  seven  children  :  Dorathy,  Elizabeth,  Michael.  Frederick, 
Sally,  Henry,  and  George,  of  whom  Michael,  Dorathy,  Elizabeth,  and  Henry  are 
deceased.  Mrs.  Hoeltzel's  father,  George  Schwab,  was  born  in  Alsace,  May  14,  1814, 
and  came  to  the  Unites  States  with  his  parents  when  sixteen  years  old,  locating  in  this 

town.     He  married  Magdalene ,  also  of  this  town,  by  whom  he  had  five  children: 

Elizabeth,  Philip,  Lena,  Barbara,  and  George.  Mrs.  Schwab  died  January  9,  1854,  and 
her  husband  June  4,  1884. 

Hart,  Samuel  C,  was  born  in  Coonsville,  Ontario  county,  February  29,  1814,  son  of 
Thomas  R.  and  Lorinda  (Granger)  Hart,  he  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  born  January  21, 
1786,  and  she  of  Connecticut,  born  March  4,  1788.  The  grandfather  of  subject  was 
William  Hart,  who  lived  in  Rhode  Island  most  of  his  life,  and  died  in  Manchester, 
Ontario  county.  The  maternal  grandfather  was  Jacob  G  ranger,  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
and  an  early  settler  of  Galen,  where  he  died.  Mr.  Granger  and  wife  had  four  daughters 
and  two  sons.  The  father  of  subject  came  to  Ontario  when  a  young  man,  and  finally 
went  to  Seneca  county  where  he  died  July  15,  1860,  and  his  wife  June  8.  1823.  He 
married  three  times.  His  second  wife  was  Amelia  Eddy,  who  died  March  23,  1841. 
His  third  wife  was  Nancy  Lemunion,  who  died  in  Watertown  in  1892.  Subject  has 
been  a  farmer  and  has  also  followed  various  occupations.  He  came  to  Rose  in  1841 
on  the  farm  he  traded  to  William  Dodd  for  ninety-six  acres  one  and  one-half  miles 
southwest  of  Rose  Valley,  and  has  lived  where  he  now  resides  thirty-eight  years.  He 
owns  138  acres  in  Rose  and  an  interest  in  a  small  place  in  Junius,  Ontario  county.  He 
married  in  1836  Ann  Witherel,  a  native  of  Vermont  and  daughter  of  Abel  Witherel, 
who  lived  in  Vermont,  but  died  in  New  York,  and  the  wife  of  subject  was  reared  by 
Ira  Lathrup,  of  Rose.  They  have  five  children  :  Mary  J.,  who  died  in  1864,  the  wife  of 
George  Knox,  by  whom  she  had  one  child,  Lillie,  deceased ;  Ira  L.,  who  married 
Cornelia  Cushman,  by  whom  he  had  six  children  :  Susan,  deceased ;  Addie,  Belle,  Frank, 
Charles,  and  Bert;  Ann  E.,  wife  of  Daniel  Seager,  of  Huron,  both  deceased;  Marion, 
born  in  1851,  who  married  Salina  Cushman,  by  whom  he  has  had  nine  children  : 
George  H„  Mary  A.,  Clinton  M.,  Ida  J.,  Alice  E.,  Nettie  M.,  John  L.,  Rosie,  Vina  B.  ; 
and  William,  born  July  3,  1863,  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  is  a  farmer. 

Horton,  William  0.,  a  native  of  Vermont,  was  born  March  14,  1834,  son  of  Abraham 
and  Sarah  (Bingham)  Horton,  he  a  native  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  she  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. He  died  in  Vermont  in  1838,  and  his  wife  in  1863.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  1812.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He 
started  when  a  young  man,  came  west,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  came  to  Rose  Valley 
and  engaged  in  shoemaking,  which  he  has  since  followed.  He  married  in  1866  Sarah 
Brewer,  a  native  of  Bennington,  Vt.,  by  whom  he  has  had  five  children :  Mary,  Willie, 
Hattie,  and  two  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Horton  is  a  member  of  Sherman  Post  No. 
401,  G.  A.  R.  He  enlisted  in  1861  in  Bonton's  Battery,  1st  III.,  served  a  short  time, 
and  was  wounded  at  Shilo.  He  re-enlisted  in  Company  K,  Vt.  Vcls.,  and  served  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  in  the  following  battles  :  Shilo,  Fort  Donaldson,  Vicks- 
burg,  Grand  Gulf,  Bolton,  Champion  Hill,  Fort  Hudson,  Baton  Rouge,  Nashville,  on 
Red  River  expedition,  and  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  and  many  skirmishes.  He  was 
wounded  five  times.     When  a  young  man  subject  spent  three  years  in  California. 

Hopkins,  E.  Horace,  was  born  in  Queensbury,  Washington  county,  in  1820,  and  is  a 
son  of  Thomas,  whose  father,  James,  came  to  Sodus  about  1822,  and  purchasing  a  farm 


278  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY 

in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  became  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  was  a  leading  member 
of  the  Sod  us  Centre  Baptist  Church.  He  married  Mary  Bramer,  and  they  had  eleven 
children  :  Nicholas,  who  served  in  the  Avar  of  1812.  He  settled  in  Michigan,  where  he 
died ;  Esther  died  in  infancy  ;  Elizabeth  married  James  McMullen  ;  Jeremiah  died  in 
early  manhood  ;  Eunice  married  Samuel  Fuller,  and  settled  in  Michigan;  John  B.  settled 
in  Washington  county  ;  Mary  and  Hannah  died  in  childhood ;  Freeman  settled  in 
Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  where  he  died  ;  James;  and  Thomas,  who  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 
He  settled  first  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  and  the  following  year  purchased  a  farm 
near  the  Point.  Three  years  later  he  settled  on  the  south  line  of  the  town,  purchasing 
a  farm,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a  successful  and  prosperous 
farmer,  and  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Sodus  Centre  Baptist  Church,  of  which  he 
was  deacon  many  years.  He  married  Samantha  Fuller,  and  they  had  ten  children : 
Emily,  Mary,  E  Horace,  Betsey  J.  Clark,  Amanda,  Thomas,  Daniel,  Samantha,  and 
Alonzo.  E.  Horace  Hopkins,  with  the  exception  of  a  residence  of  ten  years  in  Lyons, 
has  always  lived  in  Sodus,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus 
Grange  and  the  Sodus  Centre  Baptist  Church.  He  married  Emeline,  daughter  of  Gaius 
Granger,  of  Sodus,  by  whom  he  had  three  children:  Marion,  who  died  in  childhood; 
Catherine  (Mrs.  George  Negus,  of  Sodus) ;  and  Emily  (Mrs.  Albert  Harris,  of  Sodus). 

Hanby,  James  E.,  was  born  in  Sodus  October  31,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of  Charles,  jr., 
born  September  19,  1809,  whose  father,  Charles,  sr.,  came  from  London,'  England,  in 
1832  and  settled  in  the  east  part  of  Sodus,  purchasing  a  tract  of  land.  Charles  Hanby, 
sr.,  died  in  1849.  His  children  were:  Joseph,  Elizabeth,  Charles,  Thomas,  Peter,  James 
and  Henry.  The  father  of  subject  settled  in  Sodus  and  was  one  of  its  enterprising  and 
prosperous  farmers.  He  married  twice,  first,  Harriet  Jackson,  and  their  children  were  : 
Ann,  Charles  J.,  and  Harriet  P.  His  second  wife  was  Catherine  Gates,  and  their  chil- 
dren were  :  Joseph  G.,  Mary  L.,  Catherine  E.,  Lewis  B..  James  E.,  Hannah  and  Esther 
J.  Mr.  Hanby  died  June  22,  1887.  James  E.  Hanby  settled  in  Sodus  on  the  old  home- 
stead, and  is  one  of  the  enterprising  and  prosperous  farmers  of  the  town.  He  is  also 
a  dealer  in  agricultural  implements,  and  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A. 
M.,  and  Sodus  Grange.  He  married,  in  1893,  Carrie  0.,  daughter  of  James  Van  Slyck, 
of  Sodus. 

Hulett,  William  J.,  came  from  Onondaga  county  in  1837  and  settled  in  the  west  part 
of  Sodus,  north  of  the  Ridge  road.  He  was  a  farmer  and  for  several  years  a  sailor. 
He  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Henry  Mumford,  and  their  children  are  :  Louise  (Mrs. 
C.  C.  Fields,  of  Sodus),  and  Charles  H.  He  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  sailor  on  the 
lakes,  and  since  1877  has  been  engaged  in  farming.  December  23,  1877,  he  married 
Mary  A.  Felker,  of  Sodus,  and  they  had  one  son,  Leslie  J. 

Hartnagel,  Leonard,  was  born  in  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  July  14,  1832,  was  edu- 
cated in  their  excellent  schools,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1851,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  first  locating  in  Lyons.  March  10,  1859,  he  married  Margaret  Zimmerle,  of 
Lyons,  and  they  have  three  children:  J.  George,  who  is  a  resident  of  Rochester;  C. 
Edward  and  L.  Ella,  who  reside  at  home.  Mr.  Hartnagel's  father,  George,  was  born 
at  the  old  home.  He  married  Margaret  Hanner,  and  they  have  five  children.  Both  of 
his  parents  are  now  deceased.     Mrs.  Hartnagel's  father,  Jacob  Zimmerle,  was  born  in 

Switzerland,  and  married  Sadie ,  by  whom   he  had  six  children.     He  died  when 

Mrs.  Hartnagel  was  three  years  old,  and  her  mother  died  in  1875. 

Horn,  John  P.,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1850  and  is  a  son  of  Conrad  Horn,  who  came 
from  Germany  about  1835  and  settled  at  Lyons,  and  in  1838  settled  in  the  southeast 
part  of  Sodus,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  also  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  lime,  and  died  in  1883.  He  married  Dorathea  Lang  and  their 
children  were :  Henry,  who  settled  in  Galen,  and  is  a  farmer ;  he  married  Eliza 
Benning ;  Caroline,  who  married  George  Hopp,  and,  for  her  second  husband,  Eli  White  ; 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  279 

Barbara,  who  married  George  Richards,  of  Newark ;  Lena,  who  married  Michael  Brier, 
of  Fairville;  Emma,  who  married  Theodore  Pultz,  of  Sodus;  Eliza,  who  is  unmarried  : 
Jennie,  who  married  John  Rogers,  of  Arcadia;  William,  who  married  Fannie  Burcroff, 
settled  in  Sodas  and  is  a  lime  manufacturer;  Edward,  who  is  a  farmer  on  the  old 
homestead ;  and  John  P.,  our  subject,  who  is  a  farmer  and  resides  in  Sodus.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Sodus  Grange  and  married  Hannah  Hanby. 

Grant,  Willis,  is  one  of  fourteen  children  of  James  and  Nancy  Grant,  of  Butler.  He 
enlisted  in  the  9th  Heavy  Artillery  and  suffered  amputation  of  the  right  leg  at  Cedar 
Creek,  as  the  result  of  a  rifle  ball  wound.  His  reminiscences  of  those  "  times  that 
tried  men's  souls  "  and  when  his  own  life  was  despaired  of,  are  characterized  by  unusual 
modesty.  James  Grant  gave  his  sympathetic  and  material  assistance  toward  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  and  his  house  was  a  Mecca  for  the  fugitive.  January  14,  1851, 
being  then  twenty-two  years  of  age,  Willis  married  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  Drayton 
Phelps,  of  Butler,  and  they  have  eight  children  :  Horace,  Emma,  Charles,  Bertha,  Orena, 
Drayton,  Nathan,  and  Arthur.  An  elder  daughter,  Nancy,  died  when  three  years  of 
age  in  1854. 

Gilbert,  William,  born  in  Sodus  August  12,  1834,  is  the  oldest  son  of  five  children  of 
Roswell  and  Harriet  (Crandall)  Gilbert.  Mr.  Gilbert  came  to  Williamson  with  his 
parents  when  five  years  of  age  and  died  in  Sodus  in  February,  1893,  aged  eighty-five. 
His  wife  died  April  30,  1889,  aged  seventy-nine.  Subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  and  has  alsvays  followed  farming.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  P.  of  H.  of  Marion,  and  he  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Christian  church,  of 
which  he  has  been  deacon  four  years.  He  married,  in  1857,  Helen  S.,  daughter  of 
Simon  and  Caroline  Adams,  of  Marion,  where  he  died  in  1854,  and  she  in  1885. 

Gridley,  Edward,  was  born  in  Sullivan  county,  N.  Y.,  December  9,  1837.  His  father, 
Charles  Gridley,  was  a  native  of  Schoharie  county,  and  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1875. 
He  died  in  1878,  aged  seventy-seven.  Edward  Gridley  was  educated  at  Saratoga  in 
the  common  schools.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Company  H,  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  U.  S. 
Volunteers,  and  was  wounded  in  the  left  shoulder  in  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor  June  1, 
1864,  and  for  a  number  of  months  was  not  expected  to  live.  He  was  honorably  dis- 
charged February  11,  1865,  returned  to  Clyde  and  married  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
Betsey  M.,  daughter  of  John  Braden,  by  whom  he  has  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Mary  L. 
Flynn.  Our  subject  was  elected  collector  in  1865,  and  takes  an  intelligent  interest  in 
educational  and  religious  matters. 

Graham,  E.  P.,  second  son  of  Henry  and  Eliza  (Ross)  Graham,  late  of  Rose,  was  born 
September  7,  1848.  Henry  Graham,  a  pioneer  settler  of  Rose,  a  prominent  Democrat, 
finding  in  farming  and  horticulture  his  principal  occupation,  died  in  October,  1878,  aged 
seventy-six.  Elmer  was  educated  at  Clyde  and  Canandaigua  Academy,  and  in  1878 
acquired  by  purchase  a  farm  of  200  acres  in  Butler,  devoted  chiefly  to  small  fruits  and 
dairy  products,  and  embellished  with  handsome  buildings.  In  1876  he  married  Nettie, 
daughter  of  Lewis  Beach  of  Varick,  Seneca  county. 

Gautz,  Philip,  was  born  in  Galen  October  11,  1839.  His  father,  Philip,  was  a  native 
of  Reichwiller,  Germany,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1830  with  the  grandfather, 
Beldazar  Gautz,  coming  to  Wayne  county  by  canal  boat.  He  then  went  to  Lyons,  and 
from  there  to  the  town  of  Galen,  where  his  descendants  all  reside.  He  had  four  chil- 
dren :  George,  Philip,  Fred  and  Eva,  who  died,  aged  fourteen.  Philip  Gautz,  jr.,  laid 
the  foundation  of  his  education  in  the  common  schools,  to  which  he  has  added  through 
life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married  Magda- 
lena  Shuler,  daughter  of  George  Shuler,  and  they  have  two  sons:  Philip  Edward,  who 
died  at  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  the  result  of  an  accidental  discharge  of  a  gun.  He 
married  Lizzie,  daughter  of  Lewis  Streeter,  and  they  had  one  daughter,  Edna  Philopene. 


280  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

The  younger  son,  Milton  F.,  is  still  with  his  parents.  In  1863  he  bought  the  John 
Wells  property,  also  the  Adam  Learn  property,  the  David  Closs  property  and  the  Philip 
Wells  property,  having  500  acres  of  land  and  raising  large  quantities  of  mint,  fruit,  hay, 
grain  and  stock,  making  a  specialty  of  milk  dairying,  producing  300  quarts  per  day. 
Our  subject  is  one  of  the  largest  farmers  in  Wayne  county. 

Gridley,  William  H.,  of  Macedon.  was  born  in  Sullivan  county  July  29,  1853. 
Charles,  his  father,  was  a  native  of  this  State,  and  married  Mary  M.  Skinner  of  Sullivan 
county,  by  whom  he  had  these  children :  William  H.,  Edward,  Louisa  M.,  Lewis,  who 
died,  aged  four  years,  and  Charles.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  dealer  in  lumber.  After 
the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  married  Mary  Ricard  of  Saratoga  county,  by  whom  he 
had  two  children  :  Lewis,  deceased,  and  George,  now  of  Saratoga  Springs.  The  mother 
of  our  subject  was  of  Revolutionary  ancestry,  her  grandfather  having  been  a  soldier  in 
that  war,  and  her  father  in  the  war  of  1812.  One  of  her  uncles,  Israel  Skinner,  M.D., 
who  was  a  man  of  note,  wrote  a  history  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  a  copy  of  which  is 
in  the  possession  of  the  family.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  hurt  in  the  building  of 
the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal,  which  caused  his  death.  William  H.  came  to  Wayne 
county  over  forty  years  ago,  and  began  as  a  thresher,  working  by  the  month.  He 
spent  about  seven  years  in  Galen,  then  married  Phoebe,  daughter  of  Stephen  Y.  Wat- 
son of  Galen.  He  then  bought  part  of  the  Watson  farm,  and  after  eight  years  Mr. 
Watson  bought  it  back,  and  our  subject  removed  to  his  present  farm  in  Macedon  of  180 
acres.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gridley  have  these  children  :  Emma  May,  Edward  Watson,  and 
Charles  Albert.  Mrs.  Gridley  claims  birthright  to  the  Friends'  Church.  Our  subject  is 
a  member  of  the  Grange. 

Gage,  Austin  J.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Macedon  April  11,  1842.  His  father,  Abial 
D.  Gage,  was  a  native  of  Albany  county,  born  December  17,  1802.  He  settled  in  this 
town  in  1827,  buying  a  farm  which  he  worked  up  to  1865,  when  his  son  came  into  pos- 
session. Austin  J.  Gage  was  educated  at  the  Macedon  Academy,  and  was  also  gradu- 
ated from  the  Eastman  Commercial  College  of  Poughkeepsie.  He  practiced  the  profes- 
sion of  surveying  until  he  succeeded  his  father  to  the  farm.  In  1869  he  married  Hel- 
len  M.  Butler  of  Rome,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  all  at  home.  Mr. 
Gage  is  a  Republican  and  has  served  twelve  years  as  commissioner,  and  at  present  is 
inspector  of  elections. 

Grimm,  George  F.,  was  born  in  Lyons  December  2,  1867.  His  father,  Henry,  was 
one  of  the  largest  farmers  in  Lyons,  having  bought  a  residence  in  Lyons.  His  son  now 
carries  on  the  farm,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  George  F.  was  educated  in  the 
Lyons  Union  School,  afterwards  returned  to  his  father's  faim.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
six  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Abram  Tack  of  Sodus.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  in- 
telligent young  men  of  his  town,  taking  an  active  interest  in  the  leading  events  of  the 
day.     Conservative  and  independent  in  character. 

Gates  A.  H.,  was  bora  in  the  town  of  Ontario  May  28,  1844.  His  father,  William  F., 
was  a  large  farmer  and  prominent  citizen  in  his  town.  A.  H.  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  at  the  academies  of  Walworth,  Macedon,  and  Lima.  In  1864  enlisted 
in  Co.  B,  8th  N.  Y.  Cavalry,  joining  his  regiment  in  the  Shenandoah  Yalley,  and  served 
under  Generals  Phil  Sheridan  and  Custer,  and  received  an  honorable  discharge  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  Returning  to  Ontario  in  1867  he  was  appointed  deputy  county  clerk 
and  in  1872  was  elected  clerk  of  his  county,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  was  again 
appointed  deputy  and  has  served  continuously  from  1867  up  to  the  present  time,  with 
the  exception  of  three  years.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  town, 
identified  in  advancing  its  best  interests,  the  leading  events  of  the  day,  and  is  recog- 
nized as  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  integrity. 

Groat,  Frederick,  jr.,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  January  31,  1865.  His 
father,  Frederick  Groat,  came  from  Germany.     He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  281 

to  which  he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation,  being  a  self-made 
and  self-educated  man.  In  1886  he  entered  the  employ  of  Hoffman  &  Robinson  and 
learned  the  watch  making  and  jeweler's  business.  In  1893  he  established  himself  in 
the  same  business,  and  now  carries  a  large  line  of  diamonds,  watches,  clocks,  silver 
ware,  musical  instruments  and  optical  goods,  of  which  he  makes  a  specialty,  having  the- 
most  complete  line  of  optical  goods  in  Wayne  county.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he 
married  Carrie  P.,  daughter  of  C.  M.  Hattler  of  Lyous.  Subject  is  one  of  the  active 
business  men  of  his  town,  identified  in  all  the  leading  events  of  the  day. 

Goldsmith,  David,  was  a  native  of  Palmyra,  born  on  the  place  now  occupied  by  his 
son,  George  W.  Paul,  grandfather  of  the  latter,  located  on  a  farm  three  and  a  half 
miles  north  of  Palmyra,  taking  up  300  acres  of  land,  and  there  he  died.  David  married 
Eliza  Smith,  who  came  from  Trenton.  George  W.  was  the  elder  of  two  sons,  his 
brother  Festus,  dying  at  the  age  of  six  years.  George  W.  was  born  in  1847,  was  reared 
on  his  present  farm,  and  here  he  has  always  lived,  owning  110  of  the  original  300  acres. 
In  1870  he  married  Mollie  Mungmaster,  of  Palmyra,  by  whom  he  has  one  child,  William 
G.  Goldsmith. 

Goldsmith,  Thomas,  and  his  brother  Festus,  were  sent  from  Orange  county  in  1792  by 
their  father,  Thomas,  to  Palmyra,  to  improve  a  purchase  of  1,000  acres.  The  following 
year  their  father  came  with  the  rest  of  his  family,  driving  forty  head  of  cattle  through. 
Thomas  first  mentioned,  came  to  Port  Gibson  in  1798,  locating  on  a  farm  given  him  by 
his  father.  Here  he  died  in  1850  and  his  wife  in  1867.  Allen  T.  Goldsmith  was  born 
in  1824,  and  has  all  his  life  followed  farming,  having  in  connection  been  a  maltster  for 
the  past  twenty  years.  In  1854  he  married  Caroline  Lakie,  and  they  have  four  chil- 
dren :  Fred,  Lizzie,  Anna  and  Kate. 

Gage,  B.  F.,  was  born  at  Port  Gibson,  N.  Y.,  Februry  21,  1853.  His  father,  William, 
born  in  Dutchess  county,  came  to  Wolcott  in  1866,  being  engaged  in  farming.  They 
have  five  children,  of  whom  subject  is  the  eldest :  Eliza  J.,  Isabelle,  Harriet  and  Der- 
rick. Maria  Gage  now  lives  at  Huron  with  the  youngest  son,  Derrick,  William  Gage 
having  died  March  1,  1888.  B.  F.  received  an  academic  education  at  Pittsford,  giving 
his  attention  to  farming  since  1871,  at  which  time  he  came  to  Savannah,  purchasing  the 
farm  in  1886  on  which  he  now  resides.  For  the  four  years  succeeding  1887  he  served 
as  overseer  of  the  poor  at  Savannah.  November  15,  1877,  he  married  Rebecca,  daugh- 
ter of  Smith  Williams  of  Savannah.  Mr.  Williams  died  July  6, 1892,  his  widow,  Phoebe 
D.,  daughter  of  Seth  Crandle,  surviving  him.  Rebecca  Gage  has  one  brother,  Albert 
Williams  of  Savannah,  and  two  sisters,  Emma  and  Amanda,  the  former  wife  of  Henry 
Severance,  and  the  latter  wife  of  Frank  Bryant  of  Fayette,  Seneca  county.  The  chil- 
dren of  B.  F.  and  Rebecca  Gage  are:  Alfred  M.,  born  April  11,  1884,  died  October  29, 
1885  ;  Nellie  C,  born  August  6,  1887,  and  Cora  R.,  born  January  18,  1892. 

Goss,  James  W.,  of  Savannah,  was  born  in  Galen,  November  24,  1861,  a  son  of  James 
W.  Goss,  also  born  in  Galen,  and  for  many  years  a  grocer  at  Lockport.  The  latter  died 
in  1875.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Walter  Brockway,  of  Savannah,  where  she 
now  resides.  Our  subject  passed  an  uneventful  boyhood  in  his  native  town,  and  Octo- 
ber 1,  1881,  he  married  Dora  Y.,  daughter  of  N.  C.  Yought,  of  this  town,  who  was 
born  November  2,  1861.  Their  children  are  Fred,  born  October  7,  1882  :  Bessie,  born 
May  5,  1885 ;  Jennie  V.,  born  July  23,  1887 ;  and  Nicholas,  born  July  29,  1889.  Mr. 
Goss  is  one  of  a  family  of  six  children,  none  now  living  except  himself  and  two  broth- 
ers, Darwin  and  Frank,  both  of  this  place.  Mr.  Goss  is  one  of  the  leading  tonsorial 
operators  of  Savannah,  and  has  many  warm  friends.  At  the  present  writing  he  and  his 
wife  have  just  returned  from  a  sojourn  in  Tennessee,  whither  they  went  with  the  hope 
of  benefit  to  Mrs.  Goss's  health,  and  to  escape  our  inclement  winler. 

Gregg,  Alexander,  of  Savannah,  was  born  in  Ireland  February  27,  1840,  emigrated  in 


282  LANDMARKS  OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

1856,  and  came  direct  to  Clyde,  where  an  elder  brother  was  settled.  He  first  entered 
the  employ  of  A.  Field  at  Clyde,  but  after  a  severe  illness  in  1856  he  went  to  Palmyra 
and  learned  the  cooper's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  the  next  two  years  in  various 
places.  In  Ithaca  Mr.  Gregg  made  his  first  business  venture,  in  the  coopering  line, 
which  in  five  years,  by  his  personal  attention  and  industry,  expanded  into  a  plant  em- 
ploying sixteen  men.  In  1863  he  married  Mary  E.  Murphy,  daughter  of  James  and 
Ellen  (Kelley)  Murphy,  of  Clyde,  by  whom  he  has  had  these  children  :  Robert  James, 
born  September  18,  1864,  died  March  5,  1872  ;  Ellen  Amelia,  born  November  15,  1866; 
Katharine  Rebecca,  born  June  27,  1868;  Minnie,  born  December  4,  1870,  died  April  19, 
1872  ;  Alexander  George,  born  March  12,  1872,  died  in  infancy;  Mary  Jane,  born  July 
6,  1873;  Anna,  born  May  29,  1875;  Mark  Alexander,  born  September  8,  1876. 
Katharine  R.  was  married  February  10,  1891,  Willett  R.  Wiles,  of  Savannah.  In  1864 
Mr.  Gregg  left  Ithaca,  selling  out  his  factory  there,  and  opened  a  grocery  business  in 
Savannah,  which  he  conducted  until  the  fire  in  1885,  which  destroyed  the  building  and 
most  of  the  stock.  In  1886  he  rebuilt  on  the  same  site,  a  fine  business  block  m.der  a 
handsome  opera  house,  and  took  as  partner  E.  L.  Adams,  adding  dry  goods  and  general 
merchandise.  He  has  now  a  large  trade.  Mr.  Gregg  is  prominent  in  the  Episcopal 
Church,  a  Knight  Templar  and  charter  member  of  Lodge  No.  764,  and  was  postmaster 
under  Cleveland.     The  family  occupy  an  elegant  home  on  Main  s'treet. 

Greene,  Almon  C,  dealer  in  evaporated  fruits,  grain  and  produce,  is  a  native  of  Mace- 
don,  born  in  1854.  He  was  graduated  from  Cornell  University  in  1875,  after  which  he 
engaged  in  the  fruit,  grain  and  produce  business  at  Wallens  Station  four  years,  and  one 
year  at  Palmyra.  From  1880  to  1883  he  was  deputy  clerk  of  the  State  Senate,  then 
three  years  journal  clerk  of  the  Assembly,  and  four  years  assistant  clerk  of  the  Assem- 
bly, In  1886  Mr.  Greene  married  Alice  E.  Clark,  a  native  of  Lewis  county.  They 
have  one  son,  born  in  1891.  Ephraim  Greene,  the  grandfather,  was  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut and  came  to  this  State  at  an  early  date  and  settled  on  what  is  now  the  old 
homestead  in  Maceden,  where  he  died.  Almon  Greene,  the  father,  was  born  in  the  old 
homestead  in  1807,  where  he  remained  all  his  life  as  a  farmer,  and  died  in  1881.  The 
mother  of  Almon  Greene,  jr.,  was  Sarah  Archer  Greene,  who  still  resides  at  the  old 
place.  Mr.  Greene  was  one  of  a  family  of  two  sons,  his  brother,  Percy  A.,  resides  with 
his  mother. 

Greenwood,  Marvin  I.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Sullivan,  Madison  county,  January 
31,  1840,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  the  town  of  Marion,  this  county  in  March  of  the 
same  year.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  Walworth  Academy,  and  in  the 
Union  School  at  Newark,  N.  Y.  He  studied  law  with  Judge  Norton,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1868,  and  was  elected  district  attorney  in  1876,  serving  three  years.  No- 
vember 16,  1862,  he  married  Laura  F.,  only  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Lillie  Wadsworth, 
of  Newark,  They  had  two  sons,  Frank  M.,  who  was  well  educated.  He  was  clerk  for 
Ryan  &  McDonald,  contractors  on  the  West  Shore  Railway.  He  was  .killed  at  the  age 
of  twenty  by  an  engine  on  the  road,  and  William,  who  served  his  country  five  years  in 
the  regular  army,  was  in  the  Indian  War.  He  was  wounded  in  the  leg,  and  honorably 
discharged  at  the  expiration  of  five  years  as  orderly  sergeant  of  his  company.  He  is 
now  foreman  in  the  new  manufacturing  concern  of  the  garment  drafting  machines,  con- 
ducted by  George  A.  Horn  &  Co.,  at  Newark.  Mr.  Greenwood's  father,  Ira,  was  born 
at  the  old  home,  was  a  carpenter  and  pioneer  there,  and  a  farmer  here.  He  married 
Clarissa  M.  Mosely  of  his  native  place,  and  had  three  children  ;  Lucy  M.,  Marvin  I.,  and 
Olivia  J.  He  died  in  December,  1884,  and  his  wife  in  1863.  Mr.  Greenwood  is  a  mem- 
of  Newark  Lodge,  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Newark  Chapter  No.  117  R.  A.  M.,  Palmyra 
Council  No.  26  R.  &  S.  M.,  Zenobia  Commandery  No.  41  K.  T.  of  Palmyra,  and  Roch- 
ester Consistory  of  Scotish  Rite,  and  is  now  deputy  high  priest  of  the  Grand  Chapter 
of  the  State  of  New  York.     He  has  practiced  law  here  since  1868. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  283 

Groat,  Hon.  Richard  P.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ghent,  Columbia  county,  March  29, 
1822,  and  was  brought  here  with  his  parents  in  June  of  the  same  year.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Newark,  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  with  his  father, 
and  succeeded  him  in  the  business.  October  28,  1847,  he  married  Mary  A.,  youngest 
daughter  of  Daniel  B.  and  Lurena  (Case)  Lovejoy,  of  this  place,  and  they  have  had  five 
children,  three  died  in  infancy,  two  survive,  Mary  E.,  and  Charles  L.  Mary  E.  married 
James  W.  Dunwell,  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Pauline  G.  Charles  L.  is  a 
resident  of  Philadelphia.  In  1861  he  was  appointed  keeper  of  the  Wayne  County  Alms 
House  by  the  county  superintendent,  which  position  he  occupied  nine  years.  In  the 
fall  of  1873  he  waa  elected  sheriff  of  the  county.  He  took  the  office  January  I,  1874, 
serving  three  years.  He  was  then  appointed  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue  by 
John  Shaug  of  Auburn,  which  position  he  held  nine  years.  In  the  years  or  1889,  1890 
and  1891  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  holding  honorable  positions  in  the 
several  committees  on  which  he  served.  Mrs.  Groat's  father,  Daniel  B.  Lovejoy,  was 
born  in  Columbia  county  in  1795,  and  married  Lurena  Case,  and  came  to  Syracuse  in 
1827,  where  he  remained  a  year,  and  came  to  Newark.  They  had  eight"  children  : 
Alexander,  Hannah,  William,  Daniel,  George,  Elisha,  Mary  A.,  and  John.  He  died  in 
1866,  and  his  wife  in  1863.     The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  Dutch  and  English. 

Gaslin,  George  B.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Vassalborough,  Me.,  February  1,  1827, 
and  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  the  academy  of  Bath.  His  early  life  was 
spent  on  the  farm  settled  by  his  grandfather  before  the  Bevolution.  He  engaged  in  the 
granite  and  marble  business  in  his  twentieth  year,  and  in  1851  came  to  Newark  and 
continued  trie  business,  which  has  gained  large  proportions  through  his  strict  integrity. 
January  24,  1864,  he  married  Frances  J.  Sholes,  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  and  he  has 
one  daughter,  Maggie,  who  married  Solomon  Parks.  They  had  one  daughter,  Lela  F. 
For  her  second  husband  she  married  George  Mallory,  of  Newark.  Mr.  Gaslin's  father, 
Aaron,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Maine  in  1780,  and  married  Sarah  Hedges,  of  Cape 
Cod,  whose  father  was  a  sea  captain,  born  in  England.  To  Aaron  and  wife  were  born 
six  children :  Roxanna,  Martha,  Lydia,  John,  Aaron,  and  George  B.  Aaron  died  in 
1858,  and  his  wife  in  1846.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject  on  his  father's  side  was  the 
first  settler  up  the  Kennebeck  River,  eight  miles  above  Augusta,  Me.  His  brother  was 
a  general  in  the  Revolution,  and  came  to  this  country  from  England.  Mr.  Gaslin's 
father  was  a  captain  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  at  Sackett's  Harbor.  Mrs.  Gaslin's 
father,  Benjamin  Sholes,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  and  came  to  Phelps  with  his  parents. 
He  married  Mary  J.  Frederick,  who  was  born  on  Long  Island,  and  they  had  fourteen 
children,  eleven  of  whom  arrived  at  maturity :  Susan,  Julia,  Frances  J".,  David  L, 
William,  Mary  E.,  Charlotte,  Benjamin,  Emma,  Orville,  and  George.  Mr.  Gaslin  is  a 
member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  of  Newark  Chapter  No.  117,  R.  A.  M. 
Mr.  Gaslin's  grandfather,  Jonathan  Hedges,  on  his  mother's  side,  was  the  son  of  an  Earl 
of  England. 

Gray,  Peter,  was  born  in  County  Lathrum,  Ireland,  December  25,  1830,  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  his  day  and  learned  the  moulder's  trade.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  with  his  parents  in  1842,  locating  first  in  Woonsocket,  R.  I.,  and  in  1849  came  to 
Newark,  before  railways  were  built  and  when  this  town  was  a  mere  hamlet.  February 
24,  1852,  he  married  Mary  Lally,  formerly  of  Kings  county,  Ireland,  and  they  had  six 
children  :  Elizabeth,  who  died  young ;  James,  who  was  a  clerk  in  the  post-office  six 
years,  and  died  aged  twenty-eight  years;  Maria,  Sarah,  Anna,  and  Maggie.  Maria  is  a 
school  teacher,  who  resides  at  home  ;  Sarah  married  Emmett  Ryan,  formerly  of  Phelps, 
and  they  have  two  daughters,  Marie  and  Emily  ;  Anna  is  a  clerk  in  S.  B.  Van  Duser's 
drygoods  house ;  Maggie  married  Rainsford  W.  Searle,  and  they  have  one  son,  Frederick. 
They  reside  in  Buffalo.  Mr.  Gray  is  a  retired  business  man,  of  the  firm  of  Wilber, 
Gray  &  Garlock.  His  father,  Michael,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Ireland,  and  mar- 
ried Margaret  Donohue,  by  whom  he  had  five  sons :  Michael,  Thomas,  Patrick,  Dunn, 


284  LANDMARKS  OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

and  Peter.  They  came  to  the  United  States  in  1842.  where  the  father  died  about  1848, 
and  the  mother  in  1859.  The  family  are  members  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  of  this 
place. 

Getman,  George  W.,  was  born  in  Columbia,  Herkimer  county,  December  18,  1845, 
was  educated  in  the  district  schools,  and  finished  at  West  Winfield  Academy,  after 
which  he  taught  for  two  years  and  then  entered  the  employ  of  Y.  G.  Burrilland  learned 
the  profession  of  druggist,  removing  to  Lyons  in  April,  1869,  and  established  the  business 
of  retail  drugs  and  wholesale  and  retail  essential  oils,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the  largest 
buyers  and  shippers  in  Wayne  county.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Fannie 
Taylor,  of  Herkimer,  and  they  have  three  sons,  George,  Frank,  and  William,  and  two 
daughters,  Fannie  and  Marion.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  has  been  trustee  of  the 
village,  and  is  also  interested  in  school  and  religious  matters,  having  been  an  elder  two 
years  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Lyons.  Our  subject  is  thoroughly  identified  in  ad- 
vancing the  best  interests  of  his  town,  where  he  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling 
character  and  high  worth. 

Gilbert,  Joseph,  was  born  in  England  April  19,  1859,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
with  his  parents  in  1871,  locating  in  Manchester,  Ontario  county.  He  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  of  that  town,  Canandaigua  Academy,  and  Rochester  public  schools. 
He  taught  several  years,  afterward  read  law  in  M.  Hopkins'  law  office  in  Palmyra 
one  year,  and  came  to  Newark  and  entered  the  office  of  Judge  Norton,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1892,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Rochester  in  the  class  of  1892. 
He  then  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Colton  W.  Estey,  under  the  firm  name  of  Gilbert 
&  Estey,  and  are  doing  a  successful  law  business  at  Newark.  Mr.  Gilbert  is  a  member 
of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.  November  9,  1882,  he  married  Emily  M.  Tilden, 
of  Manchester,  and  they  have  five  children :  E.  Bernice,  Frank  W.,  Allyn  T.,  Lewis  A., 
and  Walter  C.  Colton  W.  Estey  was  born  in  Seneca,  Ontario  county,  August  19,  1867, 
and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  Phelps  High  School  and  Genesee  Wesleyan 
Seminary  at  Lima.  He  taught  two  terms,  and  then  entered  the  law  office  of  ex- 
Senator  Edwin  P.  Hicks,  of  Canandaigua.  He  afterward  went  to  Michigan,  where  he 
took  the  regular  law  course  in  Michigan  University,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the 
spring  of  1892.  He  then  returned  to  this  State,  entering  the  law  office  of  Judge 
Norton,  as  clerk,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  six  months  later  in  Rochester,  N.Y., 
and  formed  a  co-partnership,  as  above  stated. 

Garlock,  Abram,  was  born  in  Arcadia  February  26,  1860.  He  was  educated  in  the 
Union  School  and  Academy  at  Newark,  is  a  farmer,  cider,  and  cider  brandy  manu- 
facturer. Mr.  Garlock's  father,  Peter,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  in  1833. 
His  education  was  obtained  in  the  district  and  Phelps  Academy,  and  follows  the  same 
business  as  our  subject.  He  married  Maria  Yan  Devort,  of  Phelps,  and  they  have 
eight  children :  William  M.,  who  died  aged  fifteen ;  Ellen  G.,  now  Mrs.  Lincoln ;  Abram. 
as  above ;  Thomas  Y.,  who  is  in  Custer  City,  S.  D.,  a  hardware  and  general  store  mer- 
chant; Charles  H.,  who  is  in  Phelps  in  business  with  his  father;  Kate  is  a  teacher  in 
the  Union  School  in  Lyons ;  Alfred  M.  is  clerk  with  his  brother,  and  Jessie  M.,  who  is  a 
student  at  Phelps.  The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  Dutch.  Mrs.  Garlock  died  in  the 
spring  of  1888. 

Graham,  Nelson  R.,  was  born  in  Rose  November  19,  1844,  son  of  Henry  and  Eliza 
Graham.  He  was  reared  on  the  homestead  and  educated  in  the  common  schools,  Wol- 
cott  Academy,  Lyons  Academy,  and  Port  Byron  Academy,  and  engaged  in  farming. 
He  now  owns  150  acres  and  follows  general  farming.  He  was  postmaster  under  Cleve- 
land three  years.  He  married  twice,  first,  in  1866,  Susan  E.  Genung,  a  native  of 
Galen  and  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Jane  A.  Genung,  of  Dutchess  county,  who  came  to 
Galen  and  afterward  settled  in  Rose,  where  Mr.  Genung  died,  and  his  wife  is  now 
living  in  Clyde.     Mrs.  Graham  died  April  26,  1892,    and   September  15,  1892,  he  mar- 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  285 

ried  Florence  E.  Lovejoy,  a  native  of  Rose,  and  daughter  of  Silas  and  Eliza  Lovejoy. 
Mr.  Graham  and  wife  have  had  one  daughter.  Susan  E. 

Gulick,  Amos,  was  born  in  Washington  county  in  1820,  and  is  a  son  of  Amos  Gulick, 
sr.,  who  came  to  Sodus  in  1828  and  a  few  years  later  took  up  a  farm  in  the  south  part 
of  the  town.  He  married  Mary  Odell,  and  they  had  eight  children  :  John,  Mary, 
Hannah,  Amos,  Eliza,  William,  Jesse  S.,  and  Nancy.  John  died  in  Lyons  ;  Mary  mar- 
ried William  Sebring,  of  Lyons;  Hannah  married  Samuel  Leighton,  of  Sodus,  and 
settled  in  Michigan;  Eliza  Married  Charles  Nelson,  of  Sodus;  William  settled  first  in 
Sodus  and  later  in  Michigan,  where  he  died  ;  Jesse  S.  settled  on  the  homestead,  where 
he  died;  Nancy  married  Dudley  Thornton,  and  settled  in  Lyons.  Amos  Gulick  has 
always  lived  in  Sodus,  and  is  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  is  a  leading  member  of  the 
Free  Will  Methodist  church  at  Alton  and  has  been  a  steward  and  class  leader  many 
years.  He  married  Mary  E.  Lord,  and  their  children  are:  Mary  A.  (Mrs.  Calvin 
Mitchell,  of  Arcadia).  Martha  J.  (Mrs.  Albert  McMullen,  of  Sodus),  and  Charles,  who 
resides  at  Fairville.     He  married  Aurelia  Friedenburg,  of  Arcadia. 

Grenell,  Herman,  was  born  in  Galen  March  9,  1843,  son  of  Herman  and  Lydia  (Cobb) 
Grenell,  he  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  she  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  and  came  to 
Galen  when  Mr.  Grenell  was  eight  years  old,  with  his  parents,  John  and  Lucy  Grenell, 
natives  of  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Grenell  died  in  April,  1885,  and  his  wife  in  1890.  Sub- 
ject was  reared  on  a  farm  and  e'ducated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has  always  been  a 
farmer,  and  owns  seventy-five  acres  in  Galen  and  200  in  Rose.  He  married,  in  1865, 
Marion  C.  Griner,  a  native  of  Clyde,  and  daughter  of  Barney  and  Phoebe  Griner,  early 
settlers  of  Clyde,  where  they  died.  Mr.  Grenell  and  wife  had  three  children :  Eugene, 
who  married  Ida  Glove,  by  whom  he  has  one  child,  Florence ;  Lydia  wife  of  Edward 
Luffman,  who  died  aged  twenty-two  years,  leaving  one  child;  and  Ada,  at  home. 

The  Gaylord  Family, — This  family  traces  its  ancestry  back  to  the  French  Huguenots 
who  settled  in  Englaud.  Dr.  Levi  Gaylord,  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Wayne 
county,  was  a  son  of  Chauncey  who  came  from  Bristol,  Conn.,  and  settled  at  Otisco, 
N.  Y.  He  was  a  member  of  Washington's  staff  in  the  Revolution.  Dr.  Gaylord  was  a 
graduate  of  Yale,  came  to  Sodue  in  1823,  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  He 
was  known  throughout  the  State  as  one  of  the  leading  Abolit'onists  and  temperance 
workers  of  the  day.  He  married,  first,  Dotia  Merriman,  by  whom  he  had  one- son,  Levi 
M.,  who  studied  medicine  and  located  in  Sodus  where  he  died  in  1890.  Dr.  Gaylord 
married,  second,  Artimesa  Squires.  She  studied  medicine,  and  for  many  years  enjoyed 
an  extensive  practice.  Dr.  Gaylord  died  in  1852  and  his  wife  in  1893,  aged  nearly 
ninety-five.  Their  children  were:  Willis  T.,  Charles  D.,  Orrin  F.,  Dotia  C,  Artimesa 
G.,  Cornelia  M.  and  Sarah  S.  Dotia  married  S.  P.  Hulett  ;  Artimesa  married  Alfred  P. 
Crafts  and  settled  in  Wolcott  ;  Cornelia  married  Prof.  S.  D.  Hillman  of  Carlisle,  Pa.; 
Sarah  married  a  Mr.  West  of  this  town;  Willis  T.  on  arriving  at  manhood  became  a 
clerk,  and  in  1851  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  trade  in  Sodus,  and  throughout  his  long 
and  successful  business  career  has  maintained  a  reputation  for  the  utmost  integrity. 
He  is  a  prominent  member  and  officer  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  with  which  he  has 
been  identified  over  forty  years.  He  married  first,  Elizabeth  Langdon,  and  had  two 
children  :  Carlton  D.  and  Elizabeth  H,  In  1864  he  married,  second,  Mary  Preston,  by 
whom  he  had  three  children  :  only  Willis  T.  surviving.  Charles  D.  Gaylord  moved  to 
Lyons  on  arriving  at  manhood,  where  he  held  a  clerkship.  In  1855  he  went  to  Mil- 
waukee, where  until  1861  he  conducted  a  hardware  business.  Returning  to  Sodus  he 
engaged  in  the  same  line  until  1881,  when  he  retired  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Frank  D.  In  that  year,  with  S.  P.  Hulett,  he  established  the  banking  house  of  Hulett 
&  Gaylord,  which  partnership  was  severed  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Hulett  in  1884,  and 
Mr.  Gaylord  has  since  continued  the  business  alone.  He  was  supervisor  in  1876,  is  a 
member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.  and  of  Wayne  Chapter,  and  also  belongs 
to  the  R.  T.  of  T.,  and  has  been  a  prominent  member  and  officer  of  the  Presbyterian 


286  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

Church  for  over  twenty  years.  In  1857  he  married  Jennie  R.  Gay  lord  of  Lima,  and 
their  children  are:  Frank  D.,  Charles  F.  and  Dora  T.  Orrin  T.  Gaylord  settled  in 
<  ►swego  and  was  a  partner  for  several  years  with  Irwin  Sloane  &  Co.  and  later  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Gaylord,  Downey  &  Co.,  extensive  grain  dealers  of  that  city. 

Gulick,  Charles  L.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  Wayne  county,  September  13,  1848,  was  edu- 
cated it)  the  common  schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  January  1,  1872,  he 
married  Amelia  M.  Fredenburgh  of  Arcadia,  by  whom  he  had  four  children  :  Ollie  M., 
Benjamin  A.,  who  died  aged  thirteen;  Kingsley  S.  and  Seaman  EL  Mr.  Gulick's  father, 
Amos,  wa<  born  in  Columbia  county  May  10,  1820,  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his 
day,  and  was  also  a  farmer.  November  3,  1845,  he  married  Mary  E.  Lord  of  Sodus, 
and  they  have  three  children,  Mary  A.,  Charles  L.,  as  above  and  Martha  J.  The  par- 
ents are  now  residing  at  the  old  home  in  Sodus.  Mrs.  Gulick's  father,  Benjamin  F. 
Fredenburgh,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  June  1,  1S29,  and  came  to  this  town  with 
his  parents  when  a  child.  He  married  Adelia  Van  Inwagen,  formerly  of  Tompkins 
county  and  they  had  four  children:  Esbon  K.,  Aurelia  M.,  as  above;  Milton  E.,  and 
Ellsworth  II.,  who  died  in  infancy.     Mr.  Fredenburgh  died  in  1891. 

Gifford,  John  P.,  was  born  in  Saratoga  county  January  20,  1833,  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  March  17,  1868,  he  married 
Sarah  W.  Spier  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  four  children  :  Rowland  S.,  Helen  A.,  Emma 
M.  and  Evelyn.  The  son  is  a  farmer  with  his  father;  Emma  M.  is  a  student  in  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Geneseo;  Helen  A.  is  a  teacher  in  the  Union  School  and  Acad- 
emy at  Newark,  and  Evelyn  attends  the  district  school.  Mr.  Gilford's  father,  Rowland 
S.,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1801,  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day  and 
married  Mahala  Conant  of  his  native  county.  They  had  two  children  :  James  W.,  who 
is  a  farmer  in  the  town,  and  John  P.,  as  above  noted.  He  died  in  1858,  and  his  wife 
in  1887.  Mrs.  Gifford's  father,  Daniel  Spear,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1809. 
He  married  Sarah  Bristol  of  his  native  place,  and  they  had  five  children.  He  died  in 
1867,  and  his  wife  in  1885.     The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  English. 

Galusha,  Robert  M.,  was  born  on  the  homestead,  three  miles  west  of  Newark  village 
August  25,  1812.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  was  a  farmer  until  he 
went  to  the  war.  October  5,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  F,  8  h  Calvary,  N.  Y.  S. 
Volunteers,  and  was  engaged  in  all  the  battles  with  his  regiment  until  he  was  honorably 
discharged  on  account  of  disability  January  15,  1863.  He  re-enlisted  January  5,  1864, 
in  Second  Mounted  Rifles,  was  wounded  before  Petersburg,  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged in  August,  1S65.  Upon  his  return  home  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  general  hard- 
ware store  in  Rochester  for  six  years.  He  married  twice,  first  September  5,  1866. 
Delia  M.  Orcott,  by  whom  he  has  three  children  :  Georgiana,  who  married  John  Lippett 
and  has  one  child,  Charles  F.;  Fisher  M.  and  Charles  F.,  who  married  Belle  George  of 
East  Newark.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Galusha  married  Nettie  De  Boufer,  formerly  of 
Holland,  and  they  have  two  children  :  E.  Fidelia  and  Hiram  H.  Subject  has  been  a 
farmer  for  twelve  years,  and  now  resides  on  the  homestead.  Mr.  Galusha's  father, 
Abram  F.,  was  born  in  Florida,  Montgomery  county,  August  5,  1808.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  and  came  to  Western  New  York  in  1827,  and  located  first 
in  Lockport,  N.  Y.,  where  he  remained  until  1831.  February  8,  1831,  he  married 
Esther  McCullum  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county,  and  they  had  five  children  ;  Mariette, 
Susan  F.,  Hiram  M.,  Robert  M.  and  Esther  F.  He  moved  to  Sodus  in  1832,  and  to 
this  homestead  in  1836.     He  died  January  4,  1894,  and  his  wife  September  25,  1875. 

Gordon,  Hiram,  was  born  in  Phelps  December  18,  1815,  the  seventh  of  ten  children 
of  William  and  Phoebe  Gordon,  he  of  Saratoga  county,  and  she  of  New  Jersey.  They 
came  to  Benton  and  then  to  Phelps,  and  in  1818  came  to  Galen,  where  Mr.  Gordon  died 
in  1830,  aged  fifty-five,  and  his  wife  in  1852,  aged  seventy-four  years.  Subject  was 
reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.     He  followed  farming  till  thirty 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  287 

years  old,  when  he  went  into  a  glass  factory  and  worked  in  Clyde  eight  years,  Redwood 
eleven  years,  and  Oswego  six  vears.  He  then  came  on  the  farm  he  owns  of  seventy- 
five  acres  in  Rose,  where  he  follows  general  farming.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  Church  many  years.  He  has  married  twice,  first  Clarinda  Kirkland,  by  whom 
he  had  three  children,  one  died  in  infancy;  Martha  and  Harriet,  both  deceased.  Mrs. 
Gordon  died  in  1855,  and  in  1857  he  married  Anna  Arnold,  who  died  in  1889. 

Granger  Sprague  S.,  was  born  in  Sodus  April  10,  1849,  a  son  of  Thomas  J.,  who  set- 
tled in  the  town  of  Sodus  when  a  young  man,  the  land  then  being  unbroken  forest.  He 
cleared  and  brought  under  cultivation  several  farms,  and  in  1869  came  to  Sodus  village 
to  reside,  where  he  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  fanning  mills. 
He  belonged  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  Sodus  Lodge.  He  married  Sativa  Negus,  and 
had  these  children  :  George,  who  settled  in  Sodus,  where  he  is  engagpd  in  the  manu- 
facture of  fanning  mills,  etc.,  and  who  married  Lama  Pulver;  Harriet  A.,  who  married 
Hezekiah  Lake;  Samuel,  who  died  young,  and  Sprague  S.,  who  settled  in  Sodus  and 
established  a  lumber  yard,  carried  on  a  saw  and  planing  mill,  and  was  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  fanning  mills,  sash,  doors  and  blinds,  etc.,  carrying  on  for  several  years 
an  extensive  business.  He  was  also  engaged  in  basket  manufacturing.  He  takes  a 
keen  interest  in  political  affairs,  having  served  as  commissioner  of  highways,  etc.  He 
is  a  member  of  Sodus  Grange,  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Wayne  Chapter.  In  1872  he 
married  Alice  E.  Wride  of  Sodue,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Bessie  W. 

Goseline,  Peter,  was  born  in  Phelps  April  5,  1835.  His  father,  Joseph  P.,  was  a 
prominent  farmer  in  his  town.  Peter  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  to  which 
he  has  added  through  life  by  reading  and  close  observation.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two 
he  married  Hannah  J.,  daughter  of  John  Lawrence  of  Galen,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  two  children:  James  L.,  and  Mrs.  Lilly  M.  Miller.  In  1869  he  bought  the  John 
Roys  property  of  fifty-four  acres,  raising  fruit,  hay,  grain  and  stock.  Our  subject  is 
identified  in  advancing  the  best  interests  of  his  town  and  in  the  leading  events  of  the 
day,  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  educational  and  religious  matters,  and  is  recognized 
as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and  moral  worth. 

Field,  Warren  A.,  was  born  in  Sodus  Point  in  1840,  and  is  a  son  of  Rodolphus,  whose 
father  was  Wells  Field.  This  family  traces  its  ancestry  back  to  Sir  John  Field,  who 
came  from  England  to  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  1620.  Rodolphus  served  in  the  war  of 
1812,  being  at  the  battle  of  Plattsburgh,  etc.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled  in 
Utica,  and  in  1818  removed  to  Sodus,  where  he  died  October  11,  1880.  In  1815  he 
married  Rachael,  daughter  of  Aaron  and  Susan  (Watkins)  Williams  of  Utica,  by  wbom 
he  had  these  children  :  Lurancy,  William  W.,  Elizabeth,  Charles,  Morris,  Oliver  C, 
Mariah,  Cleason,  Catharine  C,  Warren  A.,  Mary  and  Rodolphus,  besides  two  who  died 
young.  Warren  settled  in  Sodus  Point,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  became  a  sailor; 
and  with  short  exceptions,  he  has  spent  his  life  in  this  service  on  the  lakes.  He  is 
captain  and  owner  of  the  steamer  Sunbeam,  and  has  also  real  estate  interest  at  Sand 
Point.  For  several  years  he  conducted  a  store  at  Sodus  Point,  and  was  also  partner  in 
a  planing  mill  there.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Bay  Yacht  Club.  He  married  Almina 
Harroun,  and  they  have  two  children  :  Alvin  and  Cora,  wife  of  Aaron  Shufelt  of  Sodus 
Point. 

Fish,  Capt.  Chauncey,  was  born  in  Williamson,  January  22,  1828.  He  is  the  second 
of  nine  children  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Gallop)  Fish,  he  a  native  of  Amherst,  born 
March  7,  1795,  and  she  born  July  13,  1778.  They  came  to  Williamson  in  1810.  Mr. 
Fish  was  in  the  War  of  1812.  Chauncey  married  March  27,  1844,  Phoebe  J.,  daughter 
of  John  and  Phoebe  Cottrell,  of  Williamson,  N.  Y.,  and  they  have  nine  children :  Myron 
M.,  John  J.,  Mary  E.,  William  W.,  Delphine,  Thomas  J.,  Charles  W..  Recruit  L.,  and 
Myron  E.  Myron  M.  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Winchester,  Va.,  September  19,  1864. 
John  J.  was  also  in  the  late  war  and  died  in  1869.     Mr.  Fish  enlisted  in  Company  B, 


288  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Ninth  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery,  August  6,  1862,  and  served  three  years.  He  was  first 
sergeant  when  the  company  was  organized  and  held  the  positions  of  second  lieutenant, first 
lieutenant,  captain  and  major  by  brevet.  He  was  at  Cold  Harbor,  Monocacy  Junction, 
Winchester,  Ya.,  Cedar  Creek,  Ya.,  Sayler  Run,  Ya.,  Appomatox.  Mr.  Fish  is  a  mem- 
ber of  G.  A.  R.,  Myron  M.  Fish  Post  No.  406,  Department  of  N.Y.,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  M.  E.  Church. 

Frey,  Philip,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France  (now  Germany),  May  18,  1831,  and  came  to 
the  United  States  with  his  parents  in  June,  1846,  locating  first  in  Geneva  and  then  set- 
tled in  Lyons.  He  was  a  cooper  by  trade,  but  is  now  a  farmer.  July  16,  1859,  he 
married  Catherine  Correll,  of  Huron,  and  they  have  had  six  children:  Emma  B., 
George  P.,  Carrie  S.,  all  deceased  ;  William  L.,  Daniel  L.  C.  and  Belle  Y.  They  reside 
at  home.  George  died  March  10,  1891 ;  Emma  B.,  died  October  15,1893;  and  Carrie 
S.,  July  29,  1867.  Mrs.  Frey's  father,  Frederick  Correll,  was  born  in  Germany  and 
married  Susan  Hoover.  They  had  eight  sons  and  three  daughter.  They  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1841.  .  He  died  in  1859,  and  his  wife  in  1874.  The  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Fairville. 

Finley,  Luther,  was  born  in  Walworth,  Wayne  county  April  29,  1824.  His  parents 
moved  to  this  town  when  he  was  nine  years  of  age.  Upon  the  death  of  his  parents  he 
came  to  reside  with  his  sister,  where  he  attended  school.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
began  business  on  his  own  account,  owning  a  stage  route  from  Phelps  to  Palmyra,  do- 
ing much  of  the  driving  and  managing  of  same.  At  this  time  he  formed  a  co-partner- 
ship with  a  Mr.  Ingersoll  in  the  livery  business  at  Phelps,  which  continued  seven  years. 
In  1841  he  came  again  to  Newark  and  began  to  run  omnibuses  for  passengers  and  bag- 
gage to  what  is  now  known  as  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  station  at  Newark,  carrying 
the  U.  S.  mails  since  he  was  nineteen,  which  now  extends  to  three  railroad  lines  and 
stations.  In  1853  he  married  Mary  W.  Gould,  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  and  they  had 
three  daughters,  Ella  S.,  who  married  W.  W.  Wheatly,  of  New  York;  Minnie,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  two  years;  and  Laura  B.,  who  is  house- keeper  for  her  father.  Mr. 
Finley's  father,  Nathan,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  1793.  He  married  Abigail  South- 
worth  of  his  native  place,  and  they  had  four  children,  Cordelia,  Laura,  Luther,  and  Ann 
E.     He  died  in  1833  and  his  wife  February  26,  1878. 

Frey,  Leonard,  was  born  in  Wurtemburg.  Germany,  May  11,  1833.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  their  schools,  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1856.  He  married  twice,  first  Catrina  Roesch  of  his  native  place,  by  whom  he  had  six 
children.  Two  are  deceased,  the  others  are  :  Charles,  a  produce  dealer  and  married 
twice,  first  Mary  Fuller  and  had  two  daughters,  Ora  M.  and  Lillie;  and  second  Grace 
Jenkins;  Lois,  Leonard,  jr.,  who  is  a  cigar  manufacturer  and  married  Betsey  Rikeman  ; 
and  Frederick,  who  is  also  a  cigar  maker.  Mrs.  Frey  died  April  7,  1888,  mourned  by  a 
bereaved  husband  and  family.  He  married  second  November  30,  1891,  Mrs.  Minnie 
(Huss)  Young.  She  had  three  children  by  her  first  marriage,  Emma,  Frederick  and 
Charles,  who  died  August  30,  1894,  aged  ten  years.  Mr.  Frey  carried  on  blacksmithing 
several  years,  and  has  been  a  hotel  keeper  thirteen  years.  He  erected  a  fine  hotel  at 
East  Newark  last  spring,  which  he  is  now  conducting. 

Fisk,  H.  Hudson,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  two  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Newark  July 
19,  1849,  was  educated  in  the  common  and  Union  Schools  and  Academy  of  Newark. 
The  early  part  of  his  life  was  spent  on  the  homestead  farm.  He  also  taught  school 
several  years,  and  was  principal  of  the  Union  School  and  Academy  here  six  years.  In 
November,  1885,  he  became  a  newspaper  man,  purchasing  the  Newaik  Union,  which 
he  has  conducted  since  with  success,  as  proprietor,  editor  and  publisher.  Mr.  Fisk's 
father,  Lonson,  was  born  in  Saratoga  county  February  11,  1811.  June  14,  1832,  he 
married  Adelia  Wells,  of  the  town  of  Manchester,  who  was  born  March  1,  1812.  They 
had  nine  children,  George  W..  Samuel,  Willis  P.,  William  H.,  A.  Judson  and  H.  Hudson 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  289 

(twins),  Jennie,  Frances  A.,  and  Belle.     Mr.  Fisk  died  December  19,  1885,  and  his  wife 
July  27,  1888.     The  family  came  to  reside  in  this  town  in  1823. 

Filkins,  William  J.,  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  August  8,  1818.  His  father  was 
Jacob  Filkins,  a  son  of  Isaac,  a  native  of  Holland,  who  came  to  America  soon  after  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  and  settled  in  Rensselaer  county,  N.  Y.  Langdon  and  John, 
sons  of  Isaac,  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  one  of  them  being  a  captain.  Jacob  came 
from  Columbia  county  in  1821  to  Yates  county,  settling  in  Benton,  and  the  next  year 
moved  to  Barrington,  where  he  remained  until  1828,  then  came  to  Wayne  county, 
buying  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Sodus,  and  becoming  one  of  the  most  prosperous  farmers 
in  the  town.  He  died  in  Sodus  in  1854.  He  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  of  sound 
judgment,  taking  an  active  part  in  political  affairs  and  holding  various  offices  in  the 
town.  He  married  Sarah  Stinehart,  and  their  children  were :  Elizabeth,  who  married 
Madison  Stever,  of  Arcadia;  Catharine,  who  married  Peter  A.  Whitbeck,  of  Arcadia ; 
Alonzo,  who  settled  in  Montgomery,  111.;  Francis,  who  settled  in  Phelps,  where  he  died 
June  23,  1889 ;  Edwin  B.  Filkins  was  born  in  Columbia  county  in  1826,  settled  on  the 
homestead  in  Sodus,  and  married  Elizabeth  A.,  daughter  of  James  S.  R.  Sanford,  of 
Palmyra,  and  they  had  two  children :  Chloe,  who  married  Irving  Waterbury,  of  Newark  ; 
and  Louisa,  who  died  in  early  womanhood  ;  William  J.  Filkins  settled  in  Sodus,  near 
the  old  home,  and  married  Mary,  daughter  of  George  Van  Hoesen,  of  Arcadia.  Their 
children  are :  G-eorge  H.,  of  Lyons,  who  married  Hannah  Mackey  ;  Caroline,  wife  of  Dr. 
T.  L.  St.  John,  of  Center  Brunswick,  Rensselaer  county ;  William  F.,  of  Sodus ;  and 
Emma  E.,  wife  of  Herbert  Lincoln,  of  Arcadia.  William  J.  has  always  taken  a  prom- 
inent part  in  local  politics,  and  has  served  as  superintendent  of  schools  for  two  years, 
as  teacher  for  seven  terms,  assessor,  overseer  of  the  poor,  etc.  He  is  a  prominent  and 
active  member  of  the  M.  E.  church  of  Sodus,  with  which  he  has  been  connected  for 
over  forty  years.  He  is  also  a  charter  member  of  the  Grange  at  Sodus,  of  which  he  has 
been  lecturer  and  master.  For  several  years  he  was  a  director  of  the  Fire  Relief  Associa- 
tion of  Wayne  county. 

Fleming,  William,  was  born  in  Dansville,  Pa.,  August  8,  1815,  and  came  to  this  town 
with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the  common 
schools,  and  he  has  had  several  occupations,  but  has  followed  farming  and  fruit-growing 
chiefly.  In  1837  he  married  Catherine  Rowe,  of  this  town,  who  died  in  1872.  For  his 
second  wife  he  married  Mrs.  Louisa  M.  Morgan,  who  died  in  1874.  His  third  marriage 
was  in  1875,  to  Mrs.  Evelin  Hooker,  of  Lyons,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Clara  M., 
who  married  Charles  Daley,  of  Syracuse.  Mr.  Fleming  has  resided  in  this  town  seventy- 
two  years.  Mrs.  Fleming's  first  husband  was  Thomas  Hooker,  of  Lyons,  who  enlisted 
immediately  after  his  marriage  in  Company  D,  111th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  and  died  in  Ander- 
sonville  prison  in  1864. 

Emery,  Walter,  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Wayne  county,  came  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  Huron  in  1832  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  afterward  removed  to  Sodus 
and  was  manager  of  the  Shaker  tract  for  several  years.  He  now  resides  at  Alton. 
He  was  deputy  sheriff  under  Sheriff  Paddock,  and  for  six  years  highway  commissioner. 
He  is  a  leading  member  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  M.  E.  church  at  Alton.  He 
married  Arloa  Craig,  and  they  have  two  sons,  George,  and  Charles,  who  resides  at 
Alton  and  was  postmaster  there  during  Harrison's  administration.  He  has  taught  school 
at  Alton  since  1885,  and  married  Ada  Bockhoven.  George  has  been  principally  eDgaged 
in  teaching,  having  taught  every  winter  since  1869,  twenty-three  consecutive  terms  at 
Alton.  Since  1885  he  has  been  principal  of  the  school  at  Sodus  Point.  He  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  at  Alton  in  1877,  and  held  the  same  for  eight  years,  assessor  one 
term,  justice  of  the  peace  since  1878.  He  was  deputy  sheriff  during  Parshali's  term, 
and  in  1885  was  a  prominent  candidate  for  county  superintendent  of  the  poor.  In 
1893  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  Legislative  Investigating  Committee  at  Albany,  and 


290  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

in  1890  was  appointed  inspector  of  customs  at  Sodus  Point,  which  office  he  held  until 
1894.  For  seven  years  he  was  in  the  mercantile  trade  at  Alton.  He  is  a  member  of 
Sodus  Sodus  Lodge  No.  504,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  married  Alice  Philo,  of  Sodus. 

Eggleston,  Henry,  was  born  in  Phelps,  March  22,  1842,  and  received  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  and  the  Union  School  of  Phelps.  April  22,  1861,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  H,  33d  N.  Y.  Inf.,  and  May  5,  1862,  was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  Libby 
Prison,  from  which  he  was  paroled  on  March  22,  and  honorably  discharged  from  the 
service.  About  1865  the  family  moved  to  the  town  of  Arcadia,  and  January  11,  1867, 
he  married  Helen  Daniels,  of  Arcadia,  by  whom  he  has  two  children,  George  W.,  and 
Lillian.  The  former  is  a  clerk  in  the  wholesale  department  of  Barnes,  Hengerer&  Co., 
of  Buffalo,  and  the  latter  has  for  the  past  three  years  been  in  the  employ  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Newark,  first  as  clerk,  then  assistant  cashier,  and  on  December  1, 
1893,  she  was  appointed  notary  public  by  Governor  Flower.  Chauncey,  father  of  Mr. 
Eggleston,  was  born  January  11,  1811,  and  married  Betsey  Greer,  of  Cayuga  county. 
Of  their  nine  children  seven  survived:  Casadana,  Henry,  Jesse  W.,  Parmelia,  Oliver  A, 
Minnie,  and  Marshall  The  father  died  in  1889,  and  his  widow  survives,  residing  with 
her  son.  Mrs.  Eggleston  is  a  daughter  of  George  W.  Daniels,  born  in  Arcadia  in  1823, 
who  married  Rhoda  Ennis,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Hiram  and  Helen.  He  died 
in  1876.  Elisha  Eggleston,  our  subject's  grandfather,  served  in  the  Revolution.  Henry 
Eggleston  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  Vosburg  Post,  and  Mrs.  Eggleston  is  a  charter 
member  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps. 

Drake,  Harry  R.,  was  born  in  East  Newark,  N.Y.,  April  20,  1851,  was  educated  in 
the  Union  School  and  Academy,  and  taught  school  for  several  years.  He  has  also  been 
engaged  in  the  grocery  trade,  and  is  now  a  manufacturer  of  eyelet  ended  wood  pulp 
butter  dishes,  paper  boxes,  egg  case  fillers,  etc.  In  1870  he  married  Eliza  Mumford,  and 
had  one  daughter,  Frances  E.,  now  Mrs.  L.  G.  Baldwin,  of  Newark.  Mrs.  Drake  died 
in  1874,  and  he  married,  in  1880,  Mary  A.  Fowlerton,  of  Wolcott.  They  have  two 
sons:  Albert  R.  and  Charles  H.  Mr.  Drake's  father,  Leroy,  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Lyons,  July  20,  1829,  and  during  his  later  years  sold  canal  supplies  at  the  upper  lock. 
He  married  Eliza  D.  Lamereaux,  of  East  Newark,  and  they  had  two  sons :  Harry  R., 
and  Nelson  D.  Mr.  Drake  died  in  1864,  and  his  widow  married,  second,  Frank  H. 
Spoor,  who  is  now  an  engineer,  and  was  a  soldier  in  the  late  war,  having  enlisted  in 
1861  in  the  Sturgis  Rifles,  in  Chicago,  111.  He  was  honorably  discharged  in  1865,  at 
the  close  of  the  war.  after  having  been  twice  wounded.  Mrs.  Spoors  sister,  Sally 
Lamereaux,  married  Reuben  Berry,  who  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  and  came  here 
with  his  parents  when  two  years  old.  In  early  life  he  was  a  farmer,  and  earned  a  com- 
petency. Both  he  and  wife  are  living,  and  devote  their  time  to  many  kind  deeds, 
smoothing  the  way  for  those  less  fortunately  situated  than  they  are,  Aunt  Sally's  name 
being  a  household  word  in  town.  The  Lamereaux  family  are  of  French  extraction, 
having  descended  from  the  Huguenots,  who  came  here  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

Dillenbeck,  John,  was  born  in  Steuben  county,  N.  Y.,  December  4,  1838,  and  moved 
here  in  1856,  and  the  family  two  years  later.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  became  clerk  in  a  general  store.  In  1868  he  began  business  for  himself,  having 
bought  his  brother  Adam's  general  store  at  East  Newark.  He  also  has  a  farm  and  is 
building  a  modern  malt  house  with  a  capacity  of  100,000  bushels.  He  has  been  post- 
master thirty  years,  also  president  of  the  village  one  year.  He  was  married  twice, 
first,  in  1866,  to  Ella  Todd,  of  Albany,  who  died  in  1868,  and  in  1869  he  married 
Augusta  Belden,  of  Arcadia.  They  had  one  son,  John  A.,  jr.,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
four  years.  Mr.  Dillenbeck's  father  was  Michael,  born  in  Palatine,  Montgomery 
county,  in  1806.  He  was  a  farmer,  hotel  keeper,  and  contractor  and  builder.  He 
married  Phoebe  Neir,  of  that  county,  and  they  had  seven  children :  Michael,  who  died 
in  infancy;   Henry,   Joshua,   Margaret.  Adam,  John,   as  above,   and   Arie.     Mr.   Dillen- 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  291 

beck  died  about  the  year  1840,  and  his  wife  in  1887.     The   ancestry  of  this  family  is 
German  and  Scotch. 

Dewey,  James  S.,  was  born  in  Chittenango,  Madison  county,  September  6,  1835, 
and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools.  He  moved  with  his  parents  to  Waterloo, 
Seneca  county,  when  a  boy,  and  was  a  wagon  wheel  finisher  by  occupation.  He  en- 
listed twice,  first  April  26,  1861,  in  Company  G,  33d  Inf.,  N.  Y.  S.  Vols,  serving  two 
years.  After  his  discharge  in  June,  1863,  he  re-enlisted  in  Company  K,  1st  Veteran 
Cavalry,  N.Y.S.Vols.,  and  participated  in  all  the  battles,  was  honorably  discharged  July 
20,  1865,  at  Camp  Piatt,  West  Virginia.  In  July,  1863,  he  married  Helen  Baber,  of 
Waterloo,  and  they  have  two  daughters:  Haitie  L.  and  Bertha  R.  Mr.  Dewey's 
father,  Henry,  was  born  in  Wellsville,  Oneida  county,  in  1811.  He  married  twice,  first, 
Mary  Ann  Sherman,  of  his  native  place,  and  they  had  one  son,  James  S.r  as  above. 
Mrs.  Dewey  died  and  he  married  again  and  moved  to  Waterloo.  Mr.  Dewey's  grand- 
father, Sherman,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Mr.  Dewey  is  assistant 
engineer  in  the  State  Custodial  Asylum  at  Newark,  and  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post 
No.  99,  G.A.R.,  department  of  New  York. 

Dickson,  William,  was  born  in  Hopewell,  Ontario  county,  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  is  a  farmer.  December  19,  1863,  he  enlisted  in  Company  F,  2d 
Mounted  Rifles,  N.Y.S.Vols  ,  was  wounded  before  Petersburg  and  wounded  a  second 
time  in  the  explosion  of  the  mine,  losing  his  right  arm.  In  March,  1867,  he  married 
Christina  Weaver,  of  this  town,  and  they  have  two  children:  Etta,  who  married 
Franklin  W.  Rasch ;  and  William  T.,  a  farmer  with  his  father.  Mrs.  Dickson's  father, 
Jacob  Weaver,  was  born  in  Halltown  Springs,  Dutchess  county,  in  1812,  and  came  to 
Sodus  with  his  parents  when  a  boy.  He  married  Sylvanna  Hiscroadt,  of  his  native 
county,  and  they  had  eight  children :  Homer,  Lydia,  Lewis,  Christina,  as  above  ;  Esther, 
Jacob,  and  twins  not  named.  Mrs.  Dickson's  brother,  Lewis,  was  a  soldier  in  Company 
F.,  2d  Mounted  Rifles,  and  died  in  the  service  at  City  Point.  Mr.  Weaver  died  March 
16,  1890,  and  his  wife  March  3,  1886.  Mr.  Dickson  was  honorably  discharged  from 
Mount  Pleasant  Hospital,  Washington,  D.C.,  February  17,  1865.  He  is  a  member  of 
Vosburg  PostlSlo.  99,  G.A.R.,  department  of  New  York.  William  T.  is  a  member  of 
E.  K.  Burnham  Camp  No.  14,  S.O.V.,  Newark.  The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  Scotch 
and  German 

Dufloo,  William,  was  born  in  Holland  in  1850,  son  of  William,  sr.,  who  came  to 
America  in  1852  and  settled  in  New  Jersey,  where  he  lived  until  1857,  when  he  came 
to  Rochester  and  the  following  year  settled  in  Sodus,  where  he  died  in  1868.  He 
married  Catherine  Israel,  and  their  children  were :  Catherine,  who  married  Charles 
Shepard,  of  Sodus;  Frances,  who  married  Peter  Clicqumnoi,  of  Williamson;  Sarah, 
who  married  Josiah  Buckler,  of  Sodus ;  Josephine,  who  married  William  Harris,  of 
Lyons  ;  Bigelow,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Sodus,  he  married  Emma  Weeks  ;  Delia,  who  mar- 
ried John  Nolan,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  resides  at  Groton,  N.Y.;  and  William  who  is  a 
farmer.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Sodus  Grange. 
He  married,  December  25,  1871,  Magdalene  Buckler,  and  their  children  are:  Willis 
W.;  Elizabeth,  Ada  B.,  Florence  C.  and  J.  Roscoe. 

De  Right,  Samuel  H.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  Wayne  county,  October  13,  1849. 
Edwin  De  Right,  his  father,  was  a  native  of  Holland  and  came  to  America  about  1840 
and  settled  in  the  town  of  Williamson.  He  is  a  prosperous  and  thrifty  farmer,  owning 
a  farm  of  280  acres.  About  1880  he  settled  in  Marion  where  he  died  in  1891.  He  was 
a  prominent  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Marion.  He  married  Margaret  Laco 
and  their  children  were :  Adrian,  who  settled  on  the  homestead  and  was  engaged  in 
farming  until  1893,  when  he  settled  in  Williamson  village.  He  married  Mary  Leroy ; 
Harmon  M.,  wno  married  Mary  De  Lass  ;  Daniel,  who  settled  in  Marion  and  is  a  farmer. 
He  married  Libbie  Brown  ;  Jesse  B.,  who  is  a  carpenter  and  builder  in  Williamson  and 


292  LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

married  Sarah  Hise ;  Henry,  who  settled  in  Marion  and  is  a  farmer;  and  Samuel  H., 
who  settled  in  Sodus  in  1868  and  in  1873  purchased  the  James  Case  farm  north  of  Sodus 
village ;  and  is  one  of  the  thrifty  and  enterprising  farmers  of  the  town.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Sodus  Grange  and  the  Sodus  Presbyterian 
church.  He  married  in  1871  Mary  J.  Qbine,  and  their  children  are  :  Maggie  M.,  Katie 
B.,  Nellie  and  Samuel  J. 

Chapman,  William  A.,  was  born  in  Onondaga  county,  September  13,  1827,  a  son  of 
Simeon  B.  Chapman,  who  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  coming  to  Onondaga  county  in 
1806,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  He  there  took  up  farming,  where  he  owned  300 
acres,  and  died  in  this  county  at  the  age  of  seventy-two.  In  1821  he  married  Hulda  A. 
Beach,  of  Onondaga  county,  and  of  their  eight  children  our  subject  was  the  third. 
William  A.  has  spent  his  life  in  farming,  and  now  owns  111  acres  of  cleared  land.  He 
makes  a  specialty  of  sheep  raising,  and  also  owns  some  blooded  stock  in  Merino  sheep. 
In  1885  he  married  Jane  Moses,  and  they  have  had  five  children,  one  being  deceased, 
Mrs.  Sawyer.     Mr.  Chapman  is  a  Republican. 

Champlin,  George  W.,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1817,  and  is  a  son  of  Charles  Champlin. 
They  trace  their  ancestry  back  to  Colonel  Champlin,  who  came  from  France  in  an  early 
day  and  settled  in  New  England.  Charles  Champlin  came  from  Vermont  about  1815 
and  took  up  100  acres  of  land  southeast  of  Sodus  Centre.  He  died  in  1819.  He  mar- 
ried Eunice  Abbey,  and  had  four  children  :  John,  who  died  in  Sodus  unmarried  ;  Charles, 
who  settled  at  Williamsonville,  Erie  county,  where  he  died  leaving  two  sons,  Charles  and 
John,  both  of  whom  are  physicians ;  George  W.  and  William,  who  are  farmers  and 
settled  on  the  homestead.  William  married  first  Caroline  Johnson  and  they  had  two 
sons  George  and  Frank  ;  and  second  Sarah  Whiting,  by  whom  he  also  had  two  sons 
John  and  Willis.  George  W.  Champlin  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Jonas  Whiting,  and 
their  children  are:  William  W.,  Ella  A.  (Mrs.  W.  A.  Thorne,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.)  ; 
Jennie  E.,  Edwin  A.,  who  settled  in  Charlotte,  N.  Y.  ;  and  Charles  E.  Jonas  Whiting, 
the  first  of  the  family  in  Wayne  county,  was  a  son  of  John  Whiting  whose  father  came 
from  England.  Jonn  Whiting  settled  in  Phelps  in  an  early  day.  Jonas  came  to  Huron 
about  1825,  and  purchasing  a  farm  erected  a  saw  mill  and  cloth  dressing  establishment, 
which  he  carried  on  for  many  years.  Later  in  life  he  settled  in  Sodus,  where  he  died. 
He  married  Sarah  A.  Guest  and  their  children  were  :  Mary,  who  married  George  W. 
Champlin,  of  Sodus ;  Caroline,  who  married  James  Hewson,  of  Huron  ;  William  settled 
at  Wallington,  and  for  many  years  was  in  the  mercantile  trade,  and  with  Lewis  Bates 
was  engaged  for  a  time  in  the  produce  business.  He  died  in  1873  ;  John  and  Jonas 
both  died  in  the  army  during  the  Rebellion ;  Charles  settled  at  Geneva  ;  Sarah  married 
William  Champlin,  of  Sodus ;  Cordelia  married  William  McDowell,  and  Elizabeth  mar- 
ried G.  Washington  Dennis. 

Cull,  William  C,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  January  28,  1836,  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  is  one  of  the  town's  best  farmers.  He  married  twice,  first  Celia  Krune 
formerly  of  Columbia  county,  who  died  November  26, 1867,  and  December  15,  1869,  he 
married  second  Mrs.  Phoebe  (Penoyer)  Wilcox,  of  this  town,  formerly  of  Columbia 
county.  They  have  three  children  :  Adelbert  P.,  who  is  the  farmer  at  home  ;  Herschel 
J.,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Cazenovia  Seminary,  and  Eunice  M.  Mrs.  Cull  had  one 
daughter  by  her  first  husband,  Louisa  M.,  who  is  a  dressmaker  at  Sodus.  Mr.  Cull's 
father,  Charles,  was  born  in  Tusksbury,  England,  May  24,  1799,  and  was  a  carpenter 
and  joiner  by  occupation.  November  4,  1820,  he  married  Mary  M.  Buckle  in  Worcester, 
England,  and  they  had  six  children :  Charles,  Thomas,  Mary  M.,  James,  Philip  T.,  and 
William  O,  as  above.  The  family  came  to  the  United  States  as  early  as  1832.  He  died 
February  26,  1879,  and  his  wife  October  8,  1881,  aged  eighty-eight" years.  Mr.  Cull  is 
the  only  survivor  of  his  father's  family.  Mrs.  Cull's  father,  John  Penoyer,  was  born  in 
Columbia  county  May  5,  1802.  He  married  Eunice  Sims,  of  his  native  place,  by  whom 
he  had  five  children.     The  ancestry  of  this  family  is  English,  Scotch  and  Dutch. 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  293 

Carpenter,  Orville,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1820.  and  is  a  son  of  Silas  Carpenter,, whose 
father  came  from  Germany  aud  settled  at  Oppenheim,  Rensselaer  county.  In  1812 
Silas  Carpenter  removed  to  Wayne  county  and  settled  in  Marion,  where  he  purchased 
a  tract  of  land.  He  soon  removed  to  Sodus,  settling  north  of  the  Ridge  and  a  year  or 
two  later  took  up  a  farm  south  of  the  Ridge,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
He  married  Phoebe,  daughter  of  Edward  Penny,  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  their 
children  were  Asahel,  who  settled  in  Pennsylvania;  Edward,  who  removed  to  Michi- 
gan early  in  life ;  Minerva,  who  married  Nelson  Winston  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania; 
Robert  settled  in  Sodus  and  is  a  farmer.  He  married  Betsey  Brown  ;  Charles  settled 
on  the  homestead  and  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Bathia  Skinkle  ;  Harriet  married 
Charles  Allen  of  Sodus  ;  Phoebe  married  a  Mr.  Skidmore  and  settled  in  Michigan  ; 
Cornelia  married  a  Mr.  Johnson  and  also  settled  in  Michigan.  Orville  Carpenter  settled 
in  Sodus  where  he  has  always  lived.  He  has  held  the  office  of  poormaster,  has  been 
for  over  forty  years  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church  of  Marion,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Sodus  Grange.  He  married  Emeline,  daughter  of  Samuel  Snyder  of  Sodus,  and 
they  had  two  children  Francis  E.  and  Mary,  Mrs.  James  Town  of  Sodus. 

Cullen,  Thomas,  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1832,  and  came  to  Galen  when  about  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  He  owned  several  farms  in  Rose,  and  finally  settled  on  the  farm 
where  the  family  now  reside  in  1870,  where  he  died  in  1884.  He  married  in  Galen 
Mary  Dunn  a  native  of  Ireland,  by  whom  he  has  eight  children,  of  whom  four  are  liv- 
ing :  Thomas,  born  in  1867,  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  follows  farming  ;  Will- 
iam, born  February  28,  1869,  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  Rochester  Business 
College.  He  is  a  farmer  and  resides  at  home ;  John,  born  July  3, 1871,  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  resides  at  home.  The  family  owns  100  acres,  and  follows  general 
farming. 

Cronise,  John  S.,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  May  22,  1825,  was  educated  in  the  Union 
School  and  the  Academy,  and  his  early  life  was  spent  on  his  father's  farm  till  the  age 
of  twenty,  when  he  went  to  Virginia,  and  managed  a  general  store  for  his  cousin  in 
Martinsburg,  and  another  in  Shepardstown.  Returning  to  his  native  county  he  became 
a  clerk  for  Remsen  and  Polemus,  of  Lyons,  remaining  four  years.  In  1854  he  opened 
a  hardware  store  at  Newark,  in  company  with  A.  T.  Cressy,  the  firm  being  Cressy  & 
Cronise,  which  continued  nine  years.  His  wife's  father,  Joseph  A.  Miller,  bought  Mr. 
Cressy 's  interest,  and  the  firm  became  Miller  &  Cronise.  In  1884  the  business  was  sold 
to  Frank  Garlock,  and  he  then  retired  from  active  business.  In  1853  Mr.  Cronise  mar- 
ried Maria  A.  Miller.  Their  children  were  :  Mary  L.,  Florence  M.,  Joseph  A.,  and  two 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Cronise  died  March  28,  1877,  and  he  married,  second,  Anna 
A.  Reed,  of  Newark.  Henry,  his  father,  was  born  in  Frederick  City,  Md.,  July  20, 
1789.  and  came  here  at  an  early  day.  Their  mode  of  conueyance  was  a  covered  wagon 
and  a  team,  and  Mr.  Cronise  carried  a  rifle  and  hunted,  thus  furnishing  provisions  for 
his  family  along  the  route.  His  marriage  occurred  February  14,  1813,  to  Polly  Sover 
hill,  of  this  town,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children:  John  1st,  who  died  aged  eight; 
Sally  M.,  Simon,  Henry,  Susan  E.,  John  S.,  Catharine  R.,  deceased,  and  Samuel.  He 
died  June  16,  1870,  and  his  wife  June  6,  1877. 

Crothers,  Charles  L.,  is  a  son  of  the  late  Lyman  Crothers,  who  was  born  in  Phelps, 
March  23,  1814,  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  married,  January  12,  1858,  S. 
Jane  Ridley,  of  the  town  of  Phelps,  by  whom  he  had  five  children  :  Clara,  Charles  L., 
Elmer,  Homer  A.  and  Mary  A.  Charles  married  Jennie  Nicholoy,  of  Newark  ;  Mary 
married  William  McCoy,  of  Syracuse.  Lyman's  father,  William,  was  born  in  Scot- 
land in  1784  and  came  to  the  United  States  at  the  age  of  thirteen.  He  married  Eunice 
Dunham,  formerly  of  Massachusetts,  and  they  had  six  children :  Louisa,  Lyman, 
Sophia,  Amanda,  Oliver  and  Albert.  Mrs.  Crothers'sfather,Elihu  Ridley,  was  also  born 
in  the  town  of  Phelps  about  1810,  and  married  Betsey  Harmon  of  his  native  town,  by 


204  LANDMARKS   OP  WAYNE   COUNTY. 

whom  he  had  nine  children  :  Nathan  S.,  Jane,  David,  Lydia,  Charles,  Mary,  Charlotte, 
Emma  and  Eva,  the  two  latter  twins.     Mr.  Ridley  died  in  1860  and  his  wife  in  1888. 

Budd,  Gilbert,  of  Macedon,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Sodus,  February  5,  1818.  His 
father,  John  I.  Budd,  was  a  native  of  Rensselaer  county,  his  occupation  being  farming. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Speckerman,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  nine  children.  Gil- 
bert Budd  was  the  second  child  of  this  marriage.  He  has  followed  the  occupation  of 
his  father  and  is  engaged  in  farming.  In  1847  he  married  Marian  M.  Clark,  and  to  them 
was  born  one  child — a  daughter.  Mr.  Budd  and  family  are  faithful  members  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  and  liberal  contributors  to  that  as  well  as  to  other  charitable  organiza- 
tions, he  having  placed  a  fine  bell  at  large  cost  upon  the  church.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican. 

Botcher,  Carl,  was  born  in  Mechlenburg,  Germany,  February  28,  1842,  and  came  to 
the  United  States  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  He  located  first  at 
Rochester,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year  came  to  Newark.  November  16, 
1865,  he  married  Kate  Bloom  of  Newark,  formerly  of  Germany.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren Hattie  E.,  who  married  William  Utter  of  this  town,  and  has  two  daughters, 
Helen  A.  and  Gertrude  F.;  and  Clarence  G.  Botcher,  a  farmer  with  his  father.  Carl, 
sr.,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Germany  in  1807,  and  married 
Mrs.  Henrietta  Schwartz,  of  his  native  place,  and  they  had  two  sons  ;  Carl,  jr.,  and 
John,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  late  war,  having  enlisted  in  the  148th  N.  Y.  Volunteers, 
and  died  in  the  South.  Mr.  Botcher  died  November  9,  1882,  and  his  wife  November 
27,  1881.  Conrad  Bloom,  father  of  Mrs.  Botcher,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1820,  and 
married  Catharine  Rowe,  by  whom  he  had  six  children :  Kate,  George,  Frederick, 
Elizabeth,  Mary  and  William.     He  died  in  1892,  his  widow  surviving. 

Burnett,  the  late  Daniel,  was  born  in  Arcadia  January  26,  1837,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  Sodus  Academy,  and  was  always  a  farmer.  November  15,  1863,  he 
married  Catherine  M.  Whitbeck  of  Sodus,  by  whom  he  had  two  children :  W.  Herbert, 
who  is  the  farmer  for  his  mother,  and  Inez  E.,  who  married  William  H.  Ryder.  Mr. 
Burnett  died  March  21,  1877,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  wife  and  family.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Fairville.  Mrs.  Burnett's  father,  Andrew  T.  Whitbeck,  was 
born  in  Kinderhook,  Columbia  county,  in  1808.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his 
day,  was  a  mechanic  and  farmer  by  occupation.  He  married  Camelia  Miller,  of  his 
native  place,  by  whom  he  had  four  children  :  Norman,  John  H.,  J.  Franklin  and  Cath- 
erine M.,  as  above.  They  came  to  this  county  in  1834.  Mr.  Whitbeck  was  a  leading 
member  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  one  of  its  stewards,  and  an  efficient  class  leader.  He 
died  February  20,  1858,  and  his  wife  August  5,  1876. 

Barclay,  William,  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  Wayne  county,  was  of  English  descent. 
He  came  from  Staten  Island  prior  to  1811  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Lyons.  He 
served  for  a  time  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  married  Martha  Purlee,  and  they  had  sixteen 
children.  Abraham  Barclay  of  Lyons  and  Henry  of  Sodus  are  the  only  ones  living  in 
Wayne  county.  Barton  Barclay,  a  brother  of  Abraham  and  Henry,  settled  in  Lyons, 
where  he  died,  and  another  brother,  Peter,  settled  in  Sodus  where  he  died.  Henry 
Barclay  was  born  in  Lyons  in  1811.  He  learned  the  carpenters'  trade,  and  followed 
that  business  during  his  early  life.  He  resided  there  until  1863,  when  he  purchased  a 
farm  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town  of  Sodus,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in 
farming.  He  married  Abbie  Rossiter,  and  they  had  five  children  :  Wallace,  Melbern, 
Agnes,  Mary  J.  and  Lucy.  Wallace  settled  in  Sodus  and  is  a  farmer.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Wright;  Melbern  settled  in  Sodus  and  is  also  a  farmer.  He  married  Martha 
Milham;  Agnes  married  Horace  Welch  and  settled  in  Arcadia;  Mary  J.  married  Martin 
Milham  and  settled  in  Marion;  Lucy  married  Erastus  Brownell  and  settled  in  Arcadia. 

Barless,  R.  C,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Hoosac,  N.  Y.,  October  19,  1833,  son  of  Andrew 
and  Jeanette  Barless,  he  a  native  of  Milton,  Saratoga  county,  and  she  of  Arlington,  Vt., 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  295 

who  came  to  Rose  in  1865,  where  he  died  January  G,  1873,  and  his  wife  July  4,  1876- 
He  was  a  tailor  by  trade.  Subject  was  reared  in  Arlington,  Vt.,  and  educated  in  that 
place,  White  Creek  and  Sandy  Creek,  and  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  A.  L. 
Thompson  of  Sandy  Creek,  Dr.  Miller  of  Alexander,  Genesee  county,  and  also  with  G-. 
D.  Wheaton  of  Rose ;  and  took  a  course  of  lectures  at  Jefferson  Medical  College  at 
Philadelphia  Pa.  He  enlisted  August  22,  1862,  in  Company  H,  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artil- 
lery as  a  member  of  the  band,  but  acted  as  a  physician.  He  was  at  Cold  Harbor,  Mon- 
ocacy  and  Winchester.  He  returned  to  Rose,  where  he  has  since  practiced  his  profes- 
sion. He  has  been  town  clerk  and  justice  of  the  peace,  and  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A. 
R.,  Sherman  Post,  No.  401.  He  married  July  6,  1855,  Helen  J.  Thompson,  a  native 
of  Sandy  Creek,  and  daughter  of  A.  L.  and  Caroline  L.  Thompson,  he  a  native  of  Scho- 
harie county,  and  she  of  Hoosac,  N.  Y.  He  died  in  Troy  in  August,  1891,  and  his  wife 
February  17,  1853.  Subject  and  wife  have  these  children  :  Carrie,  wife  of  M.  Moulton 
of  Lockport,  N.  Y.;  A.  James,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Charles  J.  and  Clayton  L.  (twins), 
born  July  17,  1867,  educated  in  Rose  Union  Schools,  editors  of  Farmers'  Counsel  and 
Times.  Clayton  J.  married  Jennie,  daughter  of  Eugene  Hickok,  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Musett  Adele.  Mrs.  Barless,  wife  of  Clayton,  died  January  8,  1889.  Clay- 
ton married  Lena  Markham,  by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Carrie  M.  and  Gladys ; 
Arthur  T.  who  married  Rose  B.  Colburn,  and  has  one  child,  Mildre  L.,  they  live  in 
Sandy  Creek;  Elmer  R.,  a  piano  tuner,  at  home.  Subject  has  been  a  practicing  pen- 
sion attorney  fourteen  years. 

Belden,  Samuel  P.,  was  born  in  Sodus  in  1831,  and  is  a  son  of  Riley  Belden.  He 
came  from  Vermont  about  1828  and  for  a  year  or  two  made  his  home  in  Sodus,  prac- 
ticing his  profession  of  dentistry  in  Syracuse.  He  then  removed  to  Michigan  and  a  few 
months  later  returned  to  Sodus,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  practicing  his 
profession.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Sodus  M.  E.  Church  and  was  one  of  the  charter 
members  of  Sodus  Lodge  F.  &  A.  M.  No.  392.  He  marrie  I  twice,  first  Louise  Pullman 
and  they  had  one  son,  Samuel  P..  and  second  Laura  Carter,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons, 
Riley  B"  and  Francis  W.  Mr.  Belden  died  in  1869.  Riley  B.  Belden  settled  in  Sodus 
where  he  died.  He  was  for  several  years  engaged  in  teaching  and  afterward  in  the 
fruit  and  produce  business.  Francis  W.  settled  in  Penn  Y^an.  Samuel  P.  Belden  set- 
tled in  Sodus  and  is  engaged  in  farming  and  fruit  growing.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Sodus  Lodge  F.  &  A.  M.  He  married  Elizabeth  A.  Wares  and  their  children  are,  Jen- 
nie L.  (Mrs.  Charles  W.  Pease,  of  Williamson),  and  Mary  D. 

Bartleson,  Peter,  was  born  in  Holland  in  1840,  came  to  America  in  1868,  and  settled 
in  Sodus  village.  In  1884  he  purchased  a  farm  at  Sodus  Centre,  where  he  has  since 
lived.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Grange  and  Sodus  Centre  Presbyterian  Church.  He 
married  in  1869  Allie  Mayhen,  and  their  children  are,  Cornelius,  Mary,  Maggie,  Nellie, 
John,  Peter,  Kittie,  Carrie,  James,  and  Frank.  Maggie  married  Frank  Robinson;  John 
married  Lizzie  Terncisse. 

Butts,  Porter  B.,  was  born  in  Pompey,  Onondaga  county,  February  25,  1838,  a  son 
of  Lyman  Butts,  whose  father  was  Jabez,  of  Scotch  and  English  ancestry.  Lyman 
came  to  Wayne  county  in  1838,  residing  in  Savannah  several  years,  then  removing  to 
Cortland  county,  where  he  lived  till  1856,  when  he  bought  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Sodus 
near  Joy  and  spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  town,  a  strong 
anti- slavery  advocate,  and  active  in  political  affairs.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Pliny  Porter,  of  Onondaga  county,  and  their  children  were :  Susan,  who  married  Gen. 
A.  J.  Warner,  and  settled  in  Mariette,  0.  ;  Helen  M.  who  married  Selden  Granger,  and 
settled  in  Cleveland,  0. ;  Henry  H.,  who  enlisted  in  the  army,  and  died  in  the  service ; 
George  C,  who  settled  in  Mariette,  0.;  Frank  L.,  who  settled  on  the  homestead;  and 
Porter  P.  The  latter  from  1857  to  1862  was  engaged  as  a  teacher  in  Pennsylvania,  but 
in   the  latter  year  settled  in  Sodus, where  he  bought  a  farm  south  of  the  village,  where 


296  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

he  resides.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Grange,  and  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr. 
Butts  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Jacob  Andrews,  of  Sodus,  and  their  children  are : 
Watson  A.,  who  settled  at  Fulton  ;  Henry  P.,  and  Raymond  K. 

Brower,  Aldice  W.,  was  born  near  Sodus  Centre  December  23,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of 
Myron,  whose  father,  Peter  Brower,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  his  ancestors  having 
come  from  Holland.  He  settled  at  Phelps,  N.  Y.,  ai  aq  early  day  and  about  1825,  and 
purchased  a  farm  about  a  mile  south  of  Sodus  Centre  where  he  engaged  in  farming. 
He  served  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Sodus  Cen- 
tral Baptist  Church,  of  which  he  was  deacon.  He  married  Betsey  Van  Dusen  at  Phelps; 
and  their  children  were,  Cynthia,  who  married  John  Van  Duzer  and  settled  in  Sodus  ; 
John  was  a  miller  and  settled  in  Michigan,  but  later  returned  to  Sodus  where  he  died, 
Aaron  settled  in  Sodus  ;  Jane  married  Thomas  Hopkins,  of  Sodus.  Myron  Brower  settled 
in'Sodus  and  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Mary  Taylor,  and  they  had  these  children,  Aldice 
W..  Mary  E.,  who  married  Walter  Thornton  of  Sodus,  and  Bell,  who  married  Charles 
Steel.  Aldice  W.  was  engaged  in  farming  until  1872,  when  he  became  agent  of  the 
railroad  at  Sodus  Centre,  which  position  he  still  holds.  In  1881  he  built  a  warehouse 
there,  and  has  since  engaged  in  produce  business.  He  has  been  justice  of  the  peace 
four  years,  and  for  several  years  has  been  notary  public.  In  February,  1873,  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Sodus  Centre  and  held  that  office  till  July,  1893.  He  is  a 
member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392  F.  &  A.  M.,  Wayne  Chapter  and  Zenobia  Com- 
mandary,  No.  41  of  Palmyra.  In  December  of  1863  he  enlisted  in  the  9th  N.  Y. 
Heavy  Artillery  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  is  a  charter  member  of 
Dwight  Post  G-.  A.  R.  of  Sodus.     He  married  in  1869  Urania  Dennis,  of  Sodus. 

Boyce,  Isaac,  was  born  in  Rose  Junly  27,  1837,  son  of  Stephen  and  Mary  A. 
Boyce,  he  a  native  of  Madison  county  and  she  of  Wayne  county.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  subject  was  Robert  Boyce,  a  native  of  Jefferson  county  and  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Wayne  county,  where  he  died.  The  maternal  grandfather,  Nathan 
Jeffers,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Rose,  where  he  died.  The  father  of  subject 
came  to  Rose  when  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  and  here  resided  until  1859,  when  he 
went  to  Michigan  where  he  now  lives.  Mrs.  Boyce  died  in  September,  1891.  Subject 
was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  has  always  been 
a  farmer,  has  128  acres,  and  follows  general  farming.  Mr.  Boyce  married  in  1871 
Laney,  daughter  of  Peter  Ream,  of  Rose,  and  they  have  two  sons,  Charles  and  John 
both  of  home. 

Brant  Family,  The. — The  first  of  this  family  to  settle  in  Wayne  county  was  Peter, 
who  came  from  Columbia  county  in  an  early  day  and  settled  near  Sodus  Ridge,  later 
buying  land  just  west  of  Sodus  Center.  He  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  was  a  prosper- 
ous farmer,  and  took  an  active  interest  in  local  affairs.  He  married  Jane  La  Farge,  and 
their  children  were:  John,  Margaret,  Egbert,  and  Mary.  Margaret  married  John  Meirs, 
of  Sodus;  Mary  married  Randall  Aiken,  of  Sodus ;  Egbert  settled  in  Sodus,  and  was  a 
farmer.  Later  he  removed  to  Lyons,  where  he  died.  John  Brant  settled  on  a  farm 
west  of  Sodus,  where  he  spent  his  life.  He  married  Esther  Underdonk,  and  their  chil- 
dren were ;  Flora,  deceased,  who  married  C.  T.  Bennett ;  Jennie,  Myron,  Frank,  John 
and  Louise  (Mrs.  Riley  Marchant,  of  Lyons).  Myron  is  in  the  hotel  business  at  Rose 
Valley  ;  Frank  and  John  reside  on  the  old  homestead  and  are  farmers.  Andrus  Under- 
donk was  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Sodus,  whence  he  came  from  Rockland  county, 
prior  to  1812.  He  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  an  upright  citizen.  He  married  Maria 
Smith,  and  had  these  children:  Abraham,  John,  Betsey,  Esther,  Maria  and  Sarah. 

Blackmar,  Ransom  and  Esbon,  came  to  Newark  in  the  fall  of  1826.  The  former  died 
December  31,  1841,  and  Esbon  November  19,  1857.  A.  T.  came  in  1833  and  Orrin  in 
the  spring  of  1835.  Their  father,  Abel,  died  March  18.  1843,  and  their  mother  February 
14,  1861.     The- family  ancestry  is  from  England.     Sir  Henry  Blackmar  came  here  and 

f 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  297 

bought  about  one-third  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  and  part  of  his  descendants  after- 
ward settled  in  Connecticut,  from  which  place  they  removed  to  Greene  county.  When 
Ransom  and  Bsbon  came  to  Newark  they  engaged  in  general  merchandise  buying  grain, 
boat-building,  and  shipping  grain  on  the  canal.  Their  first  boat  was  named  the  R.  E. 
Blackmar;  the  county  was  settled  by  eastern  people,  and  when  they  visited  relatives  in 
the  East  it  was  customary  to  go  in  neighborhood  parties,  and  go  with  some  favorite 
captain  of  the  boat  which  they  selected  and  have  a  good  social  time,  as  the  forward 
part  of  the  canal  boats  were  finished  in  cabins  for  passengers,  the  back  of  the  boat  for 
cooking  and  the  accommodation  of  the  crew,  and  the  center  for  freight.  The  capacity  for 
grain  was  about  600  bushels  and  Albany  was  the  chief  market  in  the  Ea*t.  Colonel 
Bartle  was  then  doing  business  in  Newark  (formerly  called  Miller's  Basin)  associated 
with  Mr.  Norton,  of  Phelps,  under  the  firm  name  of  Bartle,  Norton  &  Co.,  who  had  ex- 
tensive mills  and  shipped  their  flour  at  Newark.  Most  of  the  farmers  who  first  settled 
in  Arcadia  had  little  means,  and  usually  came  with  a  young  wife  and  children  to  seek 
their  fortune  in  what  was  then  known  as  the  far  west.  They  took  up  land  from  the 
land  office  in  Geneva,  making  a  small  payment  and  trusting  to  their  industry  for  a  future 
home.  The  merchants  and  grain  buyers  had  their  nearest  banking  accom'modat'ons  at 
the  Geneva  Bank,  at  Geneva,  and  the  merchants  were  the  father  bankers  for  the 
farmers,  making  them  loans  to  pay  their  interest  and  payments  at  the  land  office,  and 
selling  them  dry  goods  and  groceries  on  one  year's  time  until  they  could  plant  and  har- 
vest crops.  The  most  of  the  land  on  which  Newark  is  located  is  shown  by  title  deeds 
to  have  at  one  time  belonged  to  some  member  of  the  Blackmar  family,  and  to  Esbon  and 
Horace  Blackmar,  a  cousin  and  partner  in  business,  is  due  the  surveying,  mapping  and  lay- 
ing out  of  many  of  the  streets  of  our  village.  Esbon  Blackmar,  was  several  times  supervisor 
of  the  town  and  twice  represented  the  district  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  one  time  as 
member  of  Congress ;  and  we  will  add,  one  of  the  town's  honest,  honored,  efficient  and 
useful  citizens.  Orrin  and  i  dwin  are  still  doing  business  in  Newark.  The  enterprise, 
sterling  integrity,  and  Christian  sentiments  of  the  first  business  men  in  Newark,  and  the 
farmers  first  settling  Arcadia  are  clearly  represented  in  their  descendants. 

Barnes,  John  W.,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Clayville,  Oneida  county,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  in  Saquoit  Academy,  also  in  West  Winfield  Academy.  He  studied 
medicine  and  surgery  seven  years  in  the  Homeopathic  Medical  College  of  Chicago, 
graduated  in  1887,  also  the  Rush  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1888.  He  was  also  in  Cook  County  Hospital  in  that  city  about  two  years.  He  is 
justice  of  the  peace  and  is  one  of  the  coroners  of  the  county.  Dr.  Barnes  has  an  ex- 
cellent practice  in  this  region,  and  is  called  in  council  with  the  best  physicians  in  the 
county.  He  began  to  piactice  medicine  in  Port  Byron,  and  came  to  Fairville  in  1890.  He 
married  Maude  Courtwright,  of  Port  Byron,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Ethel  B.  Dr. 
Barnes'  father,  John  T.,  was  born  in  Nottingham,  England,  in  1830,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  with  his  aunt  when  ten  years  of  age.  He  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools,  and  is  a  farmer  and  hop  grower  by  occupation.  He  is  also  a  dealer  and 
speculator  in  hops.  He  married  Serepta  Waldro.i,  of  Oneida  county,  by  whom  he  had 
six  children  :  Cora  B.,  and  Nellie  M.,  deceased  ;  Francis  G.,  John  W.,  as  above;  William 
E.,  and  Frederick  R.     They  are  now  residing  at  their  home  in  Oneida  county. 

Blossom,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Hopewell,  Ontario  county,  November  24,  1845 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  was  a  clerk  in  his  father's  store  at  Port. 
Gibson  in  the  early  years  of  his  life.  December  26,  1875,  he  married  Annie  Hook,  of 
Mumford,  Monroe  county,  by  whom  he  had  two  daughters,  Eliza  F.,  and  Nellie  M., 
both  students  at  the  Union  School  and  academy.  His  father  was  born  in  Amsterdam, 
Montgomery  county,  in  1806,  and  received  a  collegiate  education.  In  early  life  he  was 
a  farmer,  and  afterwards  a  merchant.  He  married  twice,  first,  Magdalena  Post,  of 
Seneca  county,  who  died,  and  he  married  second,  Polly  Benham,  of  Hopewell.  They 
had  six  children:  Joseph,  Magdalena,  Delana,  Eli,  William  H.,  and  Samuel.  Mr. 
n 


298  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Blossom's  father  died  October  18,  1893,  and  his  mother  resides  with  him  on  Main  street. 
His  grandfather,  Joseph  Blossom,  was  a  soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian  war,  and 
brought  home  a  scalp  of  his  own  taking.  Mr.  Blossom's  place  of  business  is  the  store 
on  Palmyra  street,  where  he  keeps  a  first  class  restaurant.  He  came  to  reside  here  in 
1876. 

Bennett,  Clark  T.,  was  born  in  Niagara  county  in  1856.  His  father  was  Orrin  S.,  a 
son  of  Thomas  Bennett,  who  came  from  Vermont  in  an  early  day  and  settled  in  Barre, 
Orleans  county.  In  1873  Orrin  S.  removed  to  Wayne  county  and  settled  in  Sod  us. 
He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  which  he  followed  for  some  time,  and  later  engaged  in 
farming.  He  married  Salome  Baldwin,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Claik  T.  and 
Orlando.  Orrin  S.  died  in  1893.  Orlando  Bennett  settled  in  Sodus  Point.  On  arriving 
at  manhood  our  subject  was  engaged  in  fanning  for  several  years,  but  since  1882  has 
had  charge  of  the  mercantile  business  of  E.  B.  Mathes  at  Sodus  Centre.  In  1880  he 
married  Florence,  daughter  of  John  Brant.  She  died  in  1887,  leaving  two  children, 
Ross  and  Lulu.     In  1888  Mr.  Bennett  married  Helen  Proseus. 

Brewer,  Fred  J.,  was  born  in  Williamson,  this  county,  August  2,  1857,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools,  working  summers  and  attending  school  winters,  thus  earn- 
ing money  to  defray  his  expenses  at  the  academy  at  Sodus,  which  he  attended  winters. 
He  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade  with  his  father,  and  shod  his  first  horse  when  four- 
teen years  of  age.  He  worked  in  partnership  with  his  father  two  years,  then  December 
14,  1883,  he  came  to  Newark  and  began  business  on  his  own  account  in  1884,  in  company 
with  his  brother  Gecrge  O,  in  the  Robinson  stone  shop  on  Union  street,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Brewer  Brothers,  which  continued  till  the  death  of  his  brother,  October  10, 
1892.  In  1887  they  purchased  the  said  location,  and  in  1893  he  erected  the  Brewer 
Block  in  the  same  location.  June  18,  187! i,  he  married  Ella  A.  Craggs,  of  his  native 
town,  and  they  have  had  four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters:  Florence  E., 
Jessie  M.,  James  O,  and  Glen  A.  Mr.  Brewer's  father,  Aaron,  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Williamson,  January  4,  1832,  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  married  Sarah  Cole, 
by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Fred  J.,  and  George  C.  The  ancestry  of  the  family  is 
Dutch  and  English. 

Burleigh,  Emor  E.,  was  born  on  the  homestead,  east  of  Newark,  June  24,  1847.  His 
education  was  acquired  in  the  Union  School  and  Academy  and  in  Eastman's  Commer- 
cial College  at  Poughkeepsie.  His  occupation  has  been  salesman  and  bookkeeping,  and 
is  now  confidential  clerk  and  bookkeeper  for  Blaekmar  &  Allertch,  produce  dealers. 
He  has  been  assessor  ten  years,  and  has  been  re-elected  for  three  years,  and  has  been 
president  of  the  village  one  term.  February  16,  1881,  he  married  Clara  L.  Carr, 
formerly  of  Oswego  county,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Fiances  C.  His  father, 
George  F.,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  September  25,  1822,  and  came  here  with  his 
parents  when  three  years  of  age.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day,  and  has 
always  followed  farming.  November  9,  1844,  he  married  Augusta  F.  Miller,  formerly 
of  Cayuga  county,  and  they  had  two  sons  :  Emor  E,  as  above,  and  William  H,  who 
married  Eva  Ridley,  by  whom  he  has  one  son  Ray  R.  The  grandfather,  Abner,  was 
born  in  Columbia  county  in  1790.  About  1812  he  married  Mary  Hauser,  of  that 
county,  by  whom  he  had  five  children.  The  family  came  to  this  town  in  1825.  The 
first  known  of  the  Burleighs  in  this  country  was  three  brothers  who  came  from 
England,  one  of  whom  fought  for  the  Americans  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Mrs. 
Burleigh's  father,  Caleb  L.  Carr,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  and  came  to  Williamson 
when  a  boy.  He  married  Frances  C.  Baker,  of  Sodus,  and  had  three  children.  He 
died  in  1868  and  his  wife  survives,  residing  here.  Both  sides  of  this  familv  fought  in 
the  war  of  1812. 

Amerman,  Albert,  was  born  June  28,  1830,  studied  six  years  in  the  New  York  City 
University,   and  graduating  from   the  grammar  department,  has  been  an  accountant  all 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  299 

his  life,  until  his  retirement  some  years  ago.  In  1857  he  married  Annie  Hunt,  of  his 
native  city,  and  they  had  two  sons:  Charles  E.,  a  member  of  the  Brooklyn  Trust  Com- 
pany, and  John  J.,  who  is  in  the  auditing  department  of  the  Grand  Central  Station  in 
that  city.  Mrs.  Amerman  died  in  18(15,  and  our  subject  married,  second,  June  18,  1869, 
Elethia  E.  Culver,  of  Arcadia,  and  they  had  one  daughter,  Alethia  E.,  who  died  aged 
four  years.  Caleb,  father  of  Albert,  was  born  in  New  York  city  in  1800,  where  he  was 
a  clerk  in  the  Merchant's  Exchange  Bank  for  sixty  years.  He  married  Susan  Brower, 
of  Westchester  county,  and  they  had  seven  children:  Susan,  Albert,  Mary,  Hannah, 
Frances,  Charlotte,  and  Jacob.  Mr,  Amerman  died  in  1890  and  his  wife  in  1891.  The 
father  of  the  latter  was  W.  Norman  Culver,  born  in  this  county  December  20,  1814, 
who  married  Elizabeth  Brown  in  1838,  and  had  one  daughter,  Elethia  E.,  as  above 
noted.     Mr.  Culver  died  in  1872,  and  his  wife  in  1889. 

Allerton,  Byron,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Amenia,  Dutchess  county,  September  22, 
1822.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  his  father's 
farm.  The  family  came  to  the  town  of  Benton,  on  the  lake,  Yates  county,  except 
Byron,  who  had  already  begun  as  a  boy  the  drover's  trade  from  Dutchess  county  to 
New  York.  In  1844  he  came  to  Newark  and  became  clerk  for  his  brother  Orville  H. 
in  his  general  store  two  yea-s.  He  then  began  to  trade  in  sheep,  driving  them  to 
Dutchess  county,  making  money  in  the  transaction.  In  the  fall  he  shipped  sheep  to 
New  York  in  company  with  his  uncle,  a  Mr.  Hurd.  He  loaded  the  first  car  of  sheep  on 
the  Auburn  branch  of  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  About  this  time  he  became  blind, 
which  continued  about  seven  years.  After  this  he  became  merchant  with  his  brother 
for  seven  years,  when  the  co-partnership  was  dissolved  by  mutual  consent.  He  then 
went  to  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  where  he  conducted  a  hotel  at  the  stock  yards  called  the 
Eastern  Exchange,  which  continued  a  year.  He  then  returned  to  Newark  and  bought 
the  heirs'  interests  in  the  homestead,  which  he  owns  at  the  present  time.  In  1867  he 
married  Helen  Sherman,  of  Dover,  Dutchess  county,  and  they  have  two  children  : 
Samuel  W.  and  Richard  H.  Samuel  W.  is  a  resident  of  Jersey  city  and  is  a  dealer  in 
sheep;  Richard  H.  is  a  student  in  the  academy.  Mrs.  Allerton  died  June  10,  1892, 
mourned  by  a  bereaved  husband  and  children.  Two  years  after  his  marriage  he  went 
to  Buffalo  and  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Erie  Stock  Yards  for  seven  years,  in  fact 
he  has  been  a  drover  the  greatest  part  of  his  life. 

Axtell,  Wells  H.,  was  born  in  Michigan,  October  10,  183S.  He  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  of  that  State,  was  a  farmer  and  lumberman,  and  at  the  time  of  his  en- 
listment was  foreman  of  the  stables  of  the  copper  mines.  Augusts,  1861,  he  enlisted 
in  Company  F,  7th  Mich.  Inf.  Yols.,  was  honorably  discharged  June  11,  1863,  and  came 
to  Steuben  county  on  account  of  sickness  which  he  contracted  while  in  the  army,  and 
in  May,  1864,  came  to  this  town,  where  he  has  since  resided.  February  23,  1864,  he 
married  Mary  C.  Hill,  of  Schuyler  county,  and  they  had  one  son,  Bert  R.,  born  Novem- 
ber 1,  1869,  who  married  Louisa  Webster,  of  Hammondsport,  Steuben  county.  They 
reside  in  Monroe  county.  Mrs.  Axtell  died  March  4,  1890.  She  was  a  charter  member 
of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  and  held  the  office  of  junior  vice.  Mr.  Axtell's  father, 
John  H.,  was  born  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  family  located  in  Steuben  county.  He 
married  Margaret  Morris,  of  that  county,  and  they  moved  to  Michigan,  and  had  four- 
teen children.  He  died  in  1858,  and  his  wife  in  1880.  Mr.  Axtell's  grandfather, 
Henry,  and  five  brothers  were  soldiers  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  the  French  and  Indian 
war  seven  years.  Mr.  Axtell  is  a  member  of  Yosburg  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R.,  Dep't  of 
N.  Y.,  and  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  116,  A.  0.  IT.  W. 

Andrews.  Asa  F.,  was  born  in  Fabius,  Onondaga  county,  in  1849.  His  father, 
Orcemus,  was  a  son  of  Ebenezer  Andrews,  who  was  a  native  of  Yermont,  and  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Onondaga  county.  Asa  F.  settled  in  Wayne  county  in  1882  and 
engaged  in  the  drygoods  and  grocery  trade  at  Joy,  town  of  Sodus,  which  he  has  con- 
tinned  until  the  present  time.     He  was  appointed   postmaster   at  Joy  under  President 


300  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Harrison's  administration,  which  office  he  has  held  five  years.  Mr.  Andrews  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.  His  first  wife  was  Alnora  Steele,  of  Chen- 
ango county,  and  after  her  death  he  married  in  1891  Margaret  Sauer,  daughter  of 
Martin  Sauer,  of  Sodus. 

Allerton,  Henry  R. — The  late  Samuel  W.  Allerton  was  born  in  the  town  of  Amenia, 
Dutchess  county,  December  8,  1785.  His  education  was  received  in  the  schools  of  that 
day,  also  in  a  select  school  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Barnett.  a  Presbyterian 
minister  of  his  native  place.  His  father  and  grandfather  were  professional  men,  phy- 
sicians, but  he  chose  the  occupation  of  farming.  He  married  Hannah  Hurd,  of  his  native 
place,  and  they  had  nine  children  :  Cornelia,  Ammerelis,  Henry  R.,  Orville  H,  Amanda 
H  ,  Byron,  Rebecca  A.,  Lois  J.,  and  Samuel  W.  He  came  to  the  town  of  Benton, 
Yates  county,  in  1842.  In  1849  the  family  moved  to  Wayne  county,  and  continued 
farming  fifteen  years.  He  lived  in  Newark  until  he  died  in  August,  1885.  only  four 
months  short  of  a  hundred  years.  Cornelia  married  Walter  Sherman,  of  Dutchess 
county  ;  Ammerelis  married  Shadrack  Sherman,  of  that  county  ;  Henry  R.,  retired 
farmer,  residing  in  the  village,  his  sister,  Mrs.  Taber.  in  charge  of  his  household;  Orville 
H.,  mentioned  elsewhere;  Amanda  H.  married  William  Taber  ;  Byron  married  Helen 
Sherman,  of  Dover,  Dutchess  county;  Rebec<  a  H.  and  Lois  J.  reside  with  their  brother 
Henry  R.,  all  of  them  of  independent  means.  Samuel  L.  married  twice,  first,  Pamilla 
Thompson,  and  second,  Agnes  Thompson,  and  is  a  resident  of  Chicago.  The  grand- 
father, Reuben,  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Holdridge,  A.  J.,  after  a  life  of  more  than  ordinary  interest  and  adventure  in  foreign 
lands,  returned  in  18G5  to  his  old  home,  for  the  next  ten  years  was  on  shore  and  at  sea, 
and  for  sixteen  years  has  been  express  and  freight  agent  at  Savannah.  He  was  born 
in  Galen  September  16,  1838,  a  son  of  Ambrose  and  Charity  Holdridge.  His  educa- 
tional opportunities  were  limited,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he  ran  away  from  home  and 
shipped  from  Greenport,  L  I.,  an  board  the  whaler,  Italy,  in  1854.  Off  the  Aleutian 
Isles  in  1866  she  was  dismasted  in  a  heavy  storm,  and  after  the  loss  of  eleven  men 
finally  harbored  in  Honolulu,  Sandwich  Islands,  and  the  cargo  of  2,800  barrels  of  oil 
and  32.500  pounds  of  whalebone  was  saved  intact,  then  visited  a  number  of  the  South 
Sea  Islands  among  the  cannibals.  He  next  shipped  in  the  Sheffield  for  another 
whaling  cruise,  which  lasted  eight  months,  with  a  net  result  of  2,200  barrels  of  oil  and 
19.000  pounds  of  whalebone.  Next  entering  the  merchant  service,  he  visited  all  the 
principal  ports  of  South  America,  rapidly  passing,  by  various  promotions,  from  a  com- 
mon sailor  to  first  mate,  which  position  he  held  on  board  the  Monterey  when  but 
twentv-one  years  of  age.  During  the  war  between  Peru  and  Ecuador  he  was  a 
blockade  runner,  which  was  on  one  occasion  chased  all  day  by  a  Peruvian  man-of-war, 
without  result.  At  Panama,  when  in  the  passenger  steamer  service,  he  had  the  dreaded 
Chagres  fever,  and  after  his  recovery  he  again  entered  the  merchant  service,  visiting 
London  and  other  points  in  the  Old  World.  In  1863,  while  on  the  U.  S.  N.  ship 
Aphrodite  he  suffered  shipwreck  off  Cape  Lookout,  when  the  ship  and  twenty-six  men 
were  lost,  but  Mr  Holdridge  escaped  uninjured.  After  the  war  he  spent  several 
seasons  on  the  lakes,  chiefly  m  sailing  vessels,  and  subject  to  the  usual  vicissitudes  of  a 
sailor's  life,  sometimes  an  officer  and  sometimes  before  the  mast.  In  1889  he  married 
Fannie  Taylor,  of  Clyde.  Our  subject  has  been  president  of  the  village,  trustee, 
assessor,  ftc. 

John  Vandenberg  was  born  in  Coxsackie,  N.Y.,  July  31,  1827,  and  died  in  Clyde  May 
14,  1894.  He  attended  the  academy  in  his  native  place  and  studied  law,  and  after 
admission  to  the  bar  removed  to  Cleveland,  N.  Y,,  where  he  soon  became  prominent, 
In  1855  he  located  in  Cb/de  and  was  in  Hctive  and  successful  practice  nearly  forty  years. 
In  the  fall  of  1865  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  by  the  Republicans,  and  served  a 
second  term  by  re-election.  In  1876  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles  T.  Saxton, 
which  continued   to  his  death.       In   1879    he  was  elected  district  attorney  of  Wayne 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  301 

county  by  a  very  large  majority,  and  filled  the  office  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his 
fellow  citizens.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Bar  Association  and  a  Mason  of 
high  standing.  Mr.  Vandenberg  married,  in  1849,  Rebecca  Landgraff,  of  Cleveland. 
Five  children  were  born  to  them. 

Burgess,  Rev.  A.  P.,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Herkimer  county  in  1845,  prepared  for  Ham- 
ilton College,  at  West  Winfield  Academy,  and  received  his  theological  training  in  New 
England.  He  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Monroe  College  in  18S6. 
He  was  a  pastor  in  Mexico,  Oswego  county,  eight  years.  He  was  seven  years  in 
Dennis  and  Duxbury,  Mass.,  and  has  been  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  in 
Newark,  N.  Y.,  for  twenty-one  years.  In  April,  1894,  his  church  celebrated  the 
twentieth  anniversary  of  his  pastorate  by  giving  him  a  reception,  nearly  a  thousand 
persons  being  present.  On  this  occasion  he  was  the  recipient  of  a  valuable  gold  watch, 
and  Mrs.  Burgess  of  a  costly  supply  of  table  china.  Mr.  Burgess  has  been  largely  iden- 
tified with  the  interests  of  his  town  and  county.  Mr.  Burgess  has  added  to  his  clerical 
duties  a  large  service  on  the  platform,  in  the  cause  of  temperance,  and  he  edited  the 
Temperance  Press  two  years  while  in  Boston,  Mass.  For  three  years  he  edited  the 
Watchword  in  Ilion,  N.Y.  His  sons,  W.  C.  and  F.  D.  Burgess,  are  editors  and  pub- 
lishers of  the  Arcadian  Weekly  Gazette  of  Newark. 

Richards,  Sidney  S.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Hamburg,  Lewis  county,  N.  Y.,  May  8 
1839.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  When  he 
attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  moved  to  the  town  of  Ellisburg,  locating  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Bellville,  and  worked  at  the  art  of  photography.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany E,  10th  Artillery,  N.  Y.  S.  Volunteers,  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of 
the  war,  June  23,  1865.  He  first  located  in  Carthage,  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  follow- 
ing his  chosen  business.  July  3,  1866,  he  married  Louisa  Sanders,  of  Carthage,  locat- 
ing here  July  16,  1880,  purchasing  the  gallery  of  A.  F.  Brooks  and  his  line  of  business. 
Two  children,  both  daughters,  namely :  Mary  A.  and  Alice  E,  she  married  L.  C.  San- 
ford  of  Newark.  Mr.  Richards'  father,  David,  was  born  in  Massachusetts  December 
21,  1801,  and  married  Eliza  D.  Stoddard,  of  Lewis  county,  N.  Y.;  they  had  three  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  a  daughter  :  Edward,  jr.,  Sidney  S.,  as  above,  and  Adelia  C.  He 
died  October  19,  1882.  Mr.  Richards  is  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post,  No.  99,  G.  A.  R., 
Department  cf  New  York,  has  held  the  positions  of  commander,  senior  vice-com- 
mander and  quartermaster.  His  daughter,  Mary,  was  educated  at  Holyoke  College, 
and  is  assistant  preceptress  in  the  Union  School  and  Academy.  Himself  and  family 
are  members  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Newark. 

Wilson,  J.,  was  born  in  St.  Johnsville,  Montgomery  county,  N.  Y.,  May  12,  1831. 
He  graduated  at  Union  College  in  1851,  and  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  in 
1852  ;  raised  a  company  of  one  hundred  and  seven  men  at  his  own  expense  and  served 
as  captain,  part  of  1861  and  1862  ;  for  twenty  years  was  principal  of  some  of  the  lead- 
ing academies  of  the  State  ;  since  January,  1869,  has  been  editor  of  the  Newark 
Courier,  one  of  the  most  popular  county  weeklies  in  the  State.  October  23,  1874,  he 
was  nominated  unanimously  as  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Congress,  for  the  counties 
of  Wayne,  Cayuga  and  Seneca;  and  in  a  district  usually  6,000  to  7,000  Republican,  he 
came  within  a  few  hundreds  of  being  elected,  with  General  MacDougall  as  his  opponent, 
and  without  paying  any  attention  to  the  canvass.  In  1875  he  was  honored  with  the 
degree  of  Ph.  D.,  from  Union  College;  in  1880,  was  on  the  Democratic  electoral  ticket, 
as  the  representative  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Congressional  District.  He  visited  Europe  in 
1868  and  1888.  Mr.  Wilson  is  the  author  of  the  following  works:  'Errors  of  Gram- 
mar," 1858;  "Phrasis:  A  Treatise  on  the  History  and  Structure  of  the  Different  Lan- 
guages of  the  World,"  1864;  "A  Practical  Grammar  of  the  English  Language,"  1870  ; 
"Truths  of  Religion  and  the  Bible,  as  seen  by  the  Light  of  the  Nineteenth  Centurv," 
1874  ;  'Practical  Life  and  the  Study  of  Man,"  1882;  'Radical  Wrongs,"  1892.  These 
works  have  been  commended  by  the  best  men  in  the  land,  and  have  given  him  a  high 


302  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

standing  among  literary  men  and  editors.     He  is  proprietor,  publisher  and  editor  of  the 
Newark  Courier  of  Newark,  N.  Y. 

Kelley,  Charles  E  ,  was  born  on  the  homestead  southeast  of  Newark  January  28, 
1858,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Union  School  and  Academy  at 
Newark.  He  is  a  farmer  and  dealer  in  seed  potatoes,  and  owns  the  old  E.  B.  Kelley 
farm.  February  21,  1883,  he  married  Ada  A.  Burnette  of  Phelps,  and  they  have  two 
children:  Bertha  A.  and  Burnette  F.  Mrs.  C.  E.  Kelley's  father,  Hiram  Burnette,  was 
born  in  Phelp-,  Ontario  county,  April  14,  1826,  was  educated  in  the  common  school  and 
followed  farming.  He  married  Eliza  Parsons  of  Columbia  county,  and  they  had  five 
children  :  Ada  A.,  as  above  ;  Milton  P.,  Jennie  E.,  Ulysses  G-.  and  Frank  II.  He  had 
two  children  by  a  first  marriage,  Andrew  J.  and  Mary  L.  Mr.  Burnette  died  in  1893, 
and  his  widow  survives  at  the  old  home  in  Phelps. 

Welcher,  Charles  A.,  was  bom  in  Arcadia  October  3,  1856,  and  was  educated  in  the 
district,  and  the  Union  School  and  Academy  of  Newark.  His  early  life  was  spent  on 
his  father's  farm,  and  he  is  now  one  of  Newark's  enterprising  grocery  merchants.  He 
married  Jennie  E.  Garlock,  of  Newark,  and  they  have  five  children  :  Fred  G\,  Frank  C  , 
L.  Fern,  Ernest  L.  V.,  and  J.  Orville.  Mr.  Welcher' s  father,  J.  Philester,  was  born  on 
the  homestead  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of  the  village  of  Newark,  March  13,  1821. 
September  22,  1845,  he  married  Abigail  Lee,  of  Arcadia,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children  : 
Alice,  Amanda,  Rev.  Manfred  P.,  Yelora  E.,  Charles  A  ,  as  above,  Lucy  V.,  and  Byron 
R  ,  who  died  aged  fifteen  years.  Subject's  grandfather,  John,  was  born  in  Morristown, 
N  J.,  in  1790  and  came  to  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  when  in  his  ninth  year,  and  went 
to  live  with  Oliver  Clark,  of  East  Palmyra,  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  old.  He  then 
took  up  the  land  for  the  homestead  from  the  primeval  forest.  He  married  twice,  first 
Mehetabel  Culver,  and  second  Electa  Jagger,  of  Batavia,  formerly  of  Long  Island. 

Hanby,  James  E.,-was  born  in  Sodus  October  31,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of  Charles  Hanby, 
born  September  19,  1809,  who  came  from  London,  England,  in  1832  and  settled  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  town  of  Sodus,  purchasing  a  tract  of  land.  He  married  twice, 
first  (in  England)  Harriet  Jackson  and  their  children  were:  Ann,  Charles  J.,  and  Harriet 
P.  His  second  wife  was  Catherine  Gates,  and  their  children  were:  Ann,  Charles, 
Joseph  G.,  Mary  L.,  Catherine  E.,  Lewis  B.,  James  E.,  Hannah  and  Esther  J.  He  died 
June  22,  1887.  James  E.  Hanby,  settled  in  Sodus  on  the  old  homestead,  and  is  one  of 
the  enterprising  and  prosperous  farmers  of  the  town.  He  is  also  a  dealer  in  agricultural 
implements,  and  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Sodus  Grange. 
He  married  in  1893  Carrie  0.,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Olivia  Van  Slyck,  of  Sodus. 

Ridley,  William,  was  bor-n  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  January  30,  1817.  He  was 
educated  in  the  district  schools  and  has  always  followed  farming.  January  14,  1839,  he 
married  Elizabeth  M.  Tittsworth  of  his  native  town,  and  they  have  had  eleven  children  : 
James  T.,  William,  Esther  A.,  Morrison,  Aaron,  George  D,  Mary  E.,  Clara  and  an 
infant  daughter  not  named  (twins)  ;  Alice  and  Adelbert.  Mr.  Ridley's  father,  Mathew, 
was  born  in  England  in  1781  and  came  to  the  United  States  when  eighteen  years  old, 
locating  in  the  town  of  Phelps.  He  married  Delilah  Sober,  of  the  town  of  Arcadia, 
Wayne  county,  by  whom  he  had  these  children:  James,  dead;  William,  as  above; 
Nelson,  dead;  Lydia;  Hiram,  dead,  and  Delira,  Mrs.  Ridley's  father,  Richard  Titts- 
worth, was  born  in  New  Jersey  about  1785  and  married  Esther  De  Witt,  of  his  native 
place.  They  had  four  children  :  Jane,  James,  Ann  Jennette  and  Elizabeth  M.  He  died 
in  1830  and  his  wife  in  1848.  They  came  to  this  locality  about  1810.  Mr.  Tittsworth 
was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  at  Sodus  Point.  Morrison  is  a  professional  caterer; 
James  T.  married  Phoebe  Westfall ;  Willard  married  Pamelia  Eggleston  ;  Aaron  married 
Cornelia  Morris  ;  Mary  E,  married  Oliver  Eggleston ;  Alice  married  Charles  Cornwell, 
and  Delbert  married  Hattie  Morris. 

Drake,  Harry  R.,  was  born  in    Mast    Newark,  N.  Y.,  April  20,  1851,  was   educated  in 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  303 

the  Union  School  and  Academy,  and  taught  school  for  several  years,  lie  has  also  been 
engaged  in  the  grocery  trade,  and  is  now  a  manufacturer  of  eyelet-end  wood-pulp  but- 
ter dishes,  paper  boxes,  egg  case  fillers,  etc.  In  1870  he  married  Eliza  Mumford,  and 
had  one  daughter,  Frances  F.,  now  Mrs.  L.  G.  Baldwin  of  Newark.  Mrs.  Drake  died 
in  1874,  and  he  married  in  1880  Mary  A.  Towlerton,  of  Wolcott.  They  have  two  sons, 
Albert  R.  and  Charles  H.  Mr.  Drake's  father,  Leroy,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Lyons, 
July  20,  1829,  and  during  his  later  years  sold  canal  supplies  at  the  upper  lock.  lie 
married  Eliza  D.  Lamoreaux  of  East  Newark,  and  they  had  two  sons,  Harry  R.  and 
Nelson  D.  Mr.  Drake  died  in  1864,  and  his  widow  married,  second,  Frank  H  Spoor, 
who  is  now  an  engineer,  and  was  a  soldier  in  the  late  war,  having  onlisted  in  1861  in 
the  Sturgis  Rifles,  in  Chicago,  111.  He  was  honorably  discharged  in  1865,  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  after  having  been  twice  wounded.  Mrs.  Spoor's  sister,  Sally  Lamoreux, 
married  Reuben  Berry,  who  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  and  came  here  with  his  par- 
ents when  two  years  old.  In  early  life  he  was  a  farmer,  and  earned  a  competency, 
Both  he  and  wife  are  living,  and  devote  their  time  to  many  kind  deeds,  smoothing  the 
way  for  those  less  fortunately  situated  than  they  are,  Aunt  Sally's  name  being  a  house- 
hold word  in  town.  The  Lamoreaux  family  are  of  French  extraction,  having  de- 
scended from  the  Huguenots  whe  came  here  in  the  Seventeenth  Century. 

Hankenson,  Edward  L.,  was  born  in  Newark,  March  18,  1845.  His  education  was 
obtained  in' the  Union  School  and  Academy,  and  he  then  became  a  clerk  in  his  father's 
store.  In  the  year  1872  his  father  took  him  into  the  concern  as  partner,  under  the  firm 
name  of  James  W.  Hankenson  &  Son,  doing  a  retail  business  in  clothing,  hats,  caps  and 
men's  furnishing  goods.  July  12,  1892,  he  married  EllaV.  Sutphen,  daughter  of  Dr.  R. 
M.  Sutphen  of  Newark,  N.  J.  Mr.  Hankenson's  father,  James  VV.,  was  born  in  Scho- 
harie county,  in  1818,  and  came  to  the  town  of  Arcadia  with  his  parents  when  two 
years  of  age,  and  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  day  and  place.  His  early  life 
was  spent  on  his  father's  farm  until  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  he  learned  the  tailor's 
trade  with  Lathrop  Bristol,  of  Newark,  N.  Y.  In  1841  he  began  business  on  his  own 
account,  which  continues  until  the  present  day.  April  2,  1841,  he  married  Nancy  Good- 
win of  this  town,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Edward  L.,  as  above  noted.  He  has  been 
a  resident  of  the  town  seventy-three  years.  The  father  of  James  W.  was  Ruel.  Mr. 
Hankenson  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.  in  Newark. 

Bartle.  the  late  Warren  S.,  was  born  in  Junius,  Seneca  county,  July  28,  1816.  He 
came  to  Newark  with  his  parents  when  eighteen  years  of  age  and  learned  the  machin- 
ist's trade,  after  which  he  did  business  on  his  own  account  on  South  street.  He  was  a 
skillful  workman  and  inventor.  October  6,  1840,  he  married  Eliza  Cambers,  formerly  of 
Whittlesea,  Cambridegshire,  England.  She  was  born  October  25,  1818,  and  they  had 
three  children  :  James  P.,  who  married  Gertie  Shumway  of  Newark,  and  has  one  son, 
Warren  S.;  Eldora  L.,  Avbo  married  James  S.  Horton  of  East  Newark,  by  whom  she 
has  one  son,  Charles  B.,  who  is  a  jeweler  by  trade;  and  Willie,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs.  Bartle's  father,  William  Cambers,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  England  March  7, 
1775.  He  married  Susan  Sherrington  of  his  native  place,  and  they  had  ten  children : 
Four  sons  by  the  name  of  William  died  in  infancy ;  George,  who  died  aged  twenty-five ; 
Mary  A.,  Lucy  and  Eliza  died  in  infancy  ;  Lucy  second  and  Eliza  second  survive.  They 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1834,  and  located  at  Albion,  Orleans  county,  where  they 
remained  many  years  and  then  went  to  Canada.  When  Mrs.  Bartle's  mother  died  in 
1857,  her  father  came  here  to  reside  with  his  daughter  and  died  in  1859.  The  Bartles 
trace  their  ancestry  back  to  the  sixth  generation  in  the  United  States  from  Germany. 
Mr.  Bartle  has  been  organist  in  four  churches,  and  has  taught  instrumental  music  since 
she  was  sixteen,  and  at  her  present  age  seventy-six,  still  retains  a  class  of  pupils.  Mr. 
Bartle  was  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  which  he  joined  in 
1845,  being  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Subordinate  Lodge  Encampment.  He 
passed  all  of  the  chairs  in  both  lodges  and  was  D.  D.  G.  M.  and  D.  D.  G.  P.  He  died 
August  20,  1882. 


304  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

West,  George  H.,  was  born  about  two  miles  west  of  Newark,  November  19,  1840, 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  was  one  of  a  family  of  five  children, 
whose  parents  were  Matthew  W.  West,  who  was  born  near  Fairville,  this  town,  June 
18,  1818,  and  whose  occupation  was  that  of  a  farmer,  and  his  wife  Mary  Hughes,  of 
this  town,  formerly  of  Vermont,  whom  he  married  Feb.  5,  1839.  Matthew  W.  West 
died  March  4,  1874,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  wife  and  family.  The  five  children  were 
as  follows:  George  H.,  S.  Maria,  Catharine,  Emma  J.,  and  Lewis  G.  The  daughters 
are  dead.  Their  grandfather,  Moses  West  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  other 
members  of  the  family  were  in  the  late  war.  Lewis  G.  married  Effie  M.  Lake  of  Mar- 
bletown,  by  whom  there  were  two  children  :  Edward  W.  and  Ethel.  George  H.  fol- 
lowed his  father's  occupation  and  November  19,  1861,  he  married  Mary  L.  Lee,  of 
Newark  formerly  of  Fairport,  whose  father,  William  Lee,  came  from  England  when  a 
small  child  and  whose  mother  Mary  Ann  Hutchinson  came  from  Vermont.  They  had 
two  children  :   K.  Eudora,  and  Charles  E.     January   13.  1886  Charles  married  Harriet 

A.  Richmond,  of  Newark,  they  have  three  children,  namely  :    Mary  A.,  Mabel  E.,  Ada 

B.  Mrs.  George  West  died  October  16,  1892  and  Mr.  West  married  again  March  7, 
1894,  Lizzie  S.  Yeo,  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  whose  father  was  born  in  Devonshire, 
England,  September  28,  1814,  coming  to  the  United  States  when  a  young  man,  locating 
at  Mt.  Morris,  Livingston  county,  where  he  married  Mary  Stillson,  a  sister  of  Judge 
Norton's  wife  by  whom  he  had  four  children:  Arthur  E.,  Frank  S.,  M.  Ella  and  Lizzie 
S.  The  family  resided  in  Le  Roy  for  a  number  of  years,  where  Mrs.  Yeo  died  April 
12,  1861.  Mr.  Yeo  married  a  second  time,  Adaline  Knapp,  of  Newark,  and  they  lived 
in  the  town  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  for  twenty-eight  years,  where  both  died,  Mrs, 
Yeo  February  5,  1892  and  Mr.  Yeo  April  25,  1893.  Mr.  West  is  a  member  of  the  offi- 
cial board  of  the  Newark  M.  E.  church.  He  and  his  family  still  reside  two  miles  west 
of  Newark. 

Hyde,  Artemas  W.,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Hydesville,  September  15,  1816. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  day,  and  was  also  a  farmer.  He  was  the  only 
surviving  son  of  Dr.  Henry  Hyde,  born  June  29,  1774  in  Vermont,  who  came  to  this 
locality  as  a  pioneer  physician  and  settled  amid  forests  and  small  clearings  and  a  scant 
population  in  1810.  Artemas  W.  Hyde  began  life  by  putting  into  practice  these  prin- 
ciples of  self  reliance,  untiring  industry  promptness  in  all  business  transactions,  and 
care  and  prudence  in  all  the  details  of  his  affairs  which  made  him  at  once  the  successful 
and  reliable  business  man  he  was.  Mr.  Hyde  was  supervisor  of  the  town  in  1864-65. 
It  was  said  by  the  Fox  sisters  that  Artemas  W.  Hyde  was  a  firm  believer  in  spiritualism. 
The  family  wishes  this  to  be  emphatically  denied,  it  being  a  pure  fabrication  on  their 
part.  He  was  twice  married,  first,  to  Armeda  Miles,  who  died  in  1856.  After  her 
death  he  married  Louise  Peirson.  He  has  four  children  living,  two  of  them  E.  M.  and 
John  L..  sons  of  the  first  wife,  and  William  H.  and  Armeda,  now  Mrs.  P.  R.  Sleight, 
children  of  the  second  wife.  Mr.  Hyde  died  January  5,  1892,  and  his  wife  in  Septem- 
ber of  the  same  year.  William  H.,  the  youngest  son  of  Artemas  W.  Hyde,  was  born 
July  26,  1863  at  the  old  home  in  Hydesville,  where  he  at  present  resides.  He  was 
educated  at  the  Union  School,  Cook  Academy,  and  at  Geneseo  Normal  School.  He  is 
a  farmer  and  capitalist  by  occupation.  He  is  a  man  of  enterprise,  ability  and  integrity, 
already  well  and  favorably  known  in  this  and  adjoining  communities  as  a  capable  and 
successful  financier.  He  married  February  26,  1885,  Bertha  Jackson,  of  Lyons.  They 
have  two  children,  Bertha  L.  and  William  Henry,  jr.,  who  is  the  eighth  Henry  in  the 
direct  line  in  the  Hyde  family.  Mrs.  Hyde's  grandfather,  Dr.  Cyrus  Jackson,  was  a 
pioneer  settler  and  physician  of  the  town  of  Lyons,  coming  to  that  town  from  Milford, 
Pa.,  through  the  woods  on  horseback  some  time  in  1811.  He  purchased  the  farm  upon 
which  he  resided  the  rest  of  his  long  and  useful  life,  and  which  is  still  in  the  possession 
of  the  Jackson  family.  Like  all  old  time  physicians  he  went  to  see  his  patients  on 
horseback  and  carried  his  medicine  case  in  his  saddle  bags.  George  W.  Jackson,  the 
father  of  Mrs.  Hyde,  was  the  youngest  son  of  Dr.  Jackson  ;  a  farmer  by  occupation  and 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  305 

an  upright,  conscientious  Christian  gentleman,  who  was  called  to  his  rest  while  still  in 
the  prime  of  his  life,  July  6,  1884. 

Vosburgh,  William,  son  of  Jacob,  came  from  Dutchess  county  about  1845  and  settled 
in  the  northwest  corner  of  Sodus  on  the  lake  road,  purchasing  a  farm  of  250  acres,  and 
was  an  extensive  farmer.  He  married  first  Henrietta  Trumper  and  second  Elizabeth 
Trowbridge,  and  their  children  were:  Jacob,  Anna  E.,  Margaret,  Sarah  C,  Mary  E., 
Emma,  who  died  in  infancy,  Emma  and  Antoinette.  Anna  E.  married  Robert  Watson ; 
Margaret  married  Thomas  Youmans ;  Sarah  C.  married  Wesley  T.  Jolly ;  Mary  E. 
married  Rowland  Smith;  Antoinette  married  Henry  Toor;  Jacob  settled  on  the  home- 
stead and  is  a  farmer.  He  taught  school  for  several  years  during  the  winter.  He  mar- 
ried Catherine  Youmans,  of  Sodus,  and  they  have  five  children  :  William,  Edith  A., 
Wesley,  Henrietta  and  Geoi^e  Y. 

Dickson,  William,  was  born  in  Hopewell,  Ontario  county,  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  is  a  farmer.  December  10,  1863,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  F,  2d  Mounted 
Rifles  N  Y.  S.  Vols.,  was  wounded  before  Petersburg  and  wounded  a  second  time  in 
the  explosion  of  the  mine,  losing  his  right  arm.  In  March,  1867,  he  married  Christina 
Weaver,  of  this  town,  and  they  have  two  children :  Etta,  who  married  Franklin  W. 
Rasch,  and  William  T.,  a  farmer  with  his  father.  Mrs.  Dickson's  father,  Jacob  Weaver, 
was  born  in  Balltown  Springs,  Dutchess  county  in  1812,  and  came  to  Sodus  with  his 
parents  when  a  boy.  He  married  Sylvina  Hiscrodt  of  his  native  county,  and  they  had 
eight  children:  Homer,  Lydia.  Lewis,  Christina,  as  above;  Esther,  Jacob.  Mrs.  Dick- 
son's brother,  Lewis,  was  a  soldier  in  Co.  F,  2d  Mounted  Rifles,  and  died  in  the  service 
at  City  Point.  Mr.  Weaver  died  March  16.  1890,  and  his  wife  March  3,  1884.  Mr. 
Dickson  was  honorably  discharged  from  Mount  Pleasant  Hospital,  Washington,  D.  C, 
February  17,  1865.  He  is  a  member  of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99  G.  A.  R.,  Department  of 
New  York.  William  T.  is  a  member  of  E.  K.  Burnham  Camp  No.  14,  S.  0.  V.,  Newark. 
The  ancestry  of  the  family  is  Scotch  and  German. 

Van  Marter,  David,  father  of  Mrs.  William  J.  Holland,  was  born  in  Arcadia  April  19, 
1819,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  in  early  life  was  a  cooper,  later  taking  up 
farming.  October  30,  1853,  he  married  Elizabeth  J.  Baldwin,  of  Lyons,  by  whom  he 
had  two  children :  Mary,  who  died  in  her  ninth  year,  and  Jennie  M.  Mr.  Van  Marter 
died  January  4,  1887,  and  his  wife  died  September  29,  1889.  Jennie  M.  married,  Sep- 
tember 16,  1890,  William  J.  Holland,  of  Fairville,  and  they  have  two  children :  Viola 
M.  and  David  Coles.  The  family  are  nicely  situated  on  the  Van  Marter  homestead. 
Mr.  Holland's  father,  Thomas,  was  born  about  1836,  in  England,  and  married  Mary  S. 
West,  of  Bay  City,  Michigan,  formerly  of  England.  Their  six  children  were :  Mary 
A-,  William,  John,  Sarah  S.,  Ettie  D.  A.,  who  died  young,  Henry  R.,  and  Emma  J. 
Both  parents  reside  in  Fairville. 

Van  Dusen,  Richard,  was  born  in  Marion,  Wayne  county,  August  20, 1845,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Palmyra  Classical  Union  School  and  has  taught  school  fifteen  years,  three 
of  which  he  taught  in  the  Union  School  of  Palmyra.  For  the  past  thirteen  years  he 
has  been  conducting  a  fruit  farm  near  Marbletown.  August  10,  1886,  he  married  Eliz- 
abeth Rentschler,  of  East  Newark,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Mary  E.,  who  is  a  stu- 
dent. Mr.  Van  Dusen's  father,  Hiram,  was  born  in  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  June  27, 
1798.  The  family  moved  to  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  when  he  was  a  boy,  where  he 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day.  June  30,  1816,  he  married  Maria  Crandall,  of 
his  native  county,  and  they  had  eleven  children  :  Maria,  Hannah,  William,  Henry  J., 
Lucinda,  Catherine,  John  H,  Margaret,  Stephen,  Hannah  second,  and  Richard.  Mr. 
Van  Dusen  died  in  1886,  and  his  wife  April  17,  1850.  Subject's  grandfather,  William, 
was  born  September  6,  1772.  He  married  Hannah  Spencer  and  had  seven  children. 
Mrs.  Richard  Van  Dusen's  father,  John  Rentschler,  was  born  in  Germany.  He  married 
Mary  Schanz,  of  his  native  place  and  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  at  East  Newark. 


306  LANDMARKS   OF    WAYNE   COUNTY. 

They  had  seven  children.  Mr.  Van  Dusen  was  elected  assessor  in  1892  and  is  trustee 
of  the  district  school.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83  F.  &  A.  M.,  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  a  Granger. 

Hoeltzel,  George,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France,  (now  Germany)  December  30,  1836. 
and  came  to  the  United  States  with  his  parents  in  1840.  They  located  in  Lyons,  Wayne 
county.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  is  a  farmer.  June  27,  1867,  he 
married  Lena  Schwab,  of  Arcadia,  and  they  have  three  children:  Albert  G..  EmmaM. 
and  Minnie  R.  August  12,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  and  was 
in  the  following  engagements:  Cold  Harbor,  Monocacy  Junction,  Winchester,  Cedar 
Creek  and  others,  and  was  honorably  discharged  May  3,  1865.  Mr.  Hoeltzel's  father, 
Michael,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Alsace  in  1794,  and  married  Dorathy  Rukth  of  his 
native  place.  They  had  seven  children :  Dorathy,  Elizabeth,  Michael,  Frederick,  Sally, 
Henry  and  George,  of  whom  Michael,  Dorathy,  Elizabeth  and  Henry  are  deceased.  Mrs. 
Hoeltzel's  father,  George  Schwab,  was  born  in  Alsace,  May  14,  1814,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  with  his  parents  when  sixteen  years  old,  locating  in  this  town.  He  mar- 
ried Magdalene  Studer  also  of  this  town,  by  whom  he  had  five  children  :  Elizabeth, 
Philip,  Lena,  Barbara  and  George.  Mrs.  Schwab  afterwards  married  Sallie  Deetch  also 
of  this  town,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Jacob  and  William,  the  latter  is  deceased. 
Mr.  Schwab  died  June  4,  1881  and  his  wife  March  30,  1883. 

Blakely,  Lamott  M.,  is  a  native  of  Wyoming  County.  He  attended  school  in  Wyo- 
ming county,  Koneoye,  Richmond  Mills,  and  finished  his  education  at  the  East  Bloom- 
field  Academy,  Ontario  county.  His  first  business  enterprises  of  note  were  in  Iowa 
and  Illinois,  where  he  became  a  heavy  shipper  of  lumber  from  points  in  Iowa  on  the 
Mississippi  River  to  all  points  below  St.  Joseph  on  the  Missouri  River.  He  continued 
in  the  lumber  business  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  which  closed  all  traffic  for 
the  time  on  the  Missouri  River.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  went  into  the  cotton  busi- 
ness at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  which  he  continued  from  1866  to  1870  at  Washington,  N.  C,  and 
other  places,  including  Newbern  and  Greenville.  Later  he  resumed  the  lumber  business 
and  soon  became  one  of  the  heaviest  dealers  in  the  South.  These  operations  extended 
over  nearly  twenty  years,  and  pine,  juniper  and  cypress  were  the  principal  varieties 
of  lumber  handled.  Mr.  Blakely  won  the  good  will  and  respect  of  the  Southern  peo- 
ple during  his  long  residence  in  the  South,  and  at  the  present  time  has  many  warm 
friends  in  that  section.  He  returned  to  Lyons  a  few  years  ago,  where  his  people  had 
resided  since  1848.  In  1892  Mr.  Blakely  was  an  alternate  delegate  to  the  National  Re- 
publican Convention  at  Minneapolis.  From  the  time  of  his  return  he  has  taken  a  great 
interest  in  the  advancement  of  Lyons  and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees;  last  March  he  was  elected  president  of  the  village,  and  has  been  active  in 
matters  tending  to  improve  the  town,  especially  the  streets  and  water  courses.  His 
administration  thus  far  has  been  characterized  both  by  public  improvements  and  the 
economical  expenditure  of  public  money. 

Nolan,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Oneida  county  May  20,  1857.  His  parents  moved  to 
Lewis  county  when  he  was  seven  years  of  age,  and  he  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  learned  the  trade  of  carpentry.  He  came  to  Newark  in  1888,  and  has  built 
up  a  successful  business  as  a  contractor  and  builder.  March  31,  1880,  he  married  Mary 
E.  Laulee  of  Martinsburgh,  Lewis  county,  and  they  have  five  children  :  Eva  M  ,  Grace, 
Mary,  Lula  M.  aud  Gertrude  A.  Mr.  Nolan  and  family  are  members  of  St.  Michael's 
Catholic  Church,  and  are  Democrats.  The  father  of  our  subject,  James  S.,  came  to 
Qnebec  in  1838,  and  was  compelled  to  leave,  or  take  up  arms  against  the  United  States, 
choosing  the  former.  He  came  to  Syracuse  for  a  short  time,  where  he  conducted  a 
blacksmith  business  many  years,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Lewis  county.  He  was 
twice  married,  and  had  four  children  by  his  first  marriage,  James,  Maiy,  Margaret  and 
John.     He   married,  second,  Delia  Eagan,  and  had  by  her  four  children :   William   H., 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  307 

Michael  G.,  a  contractor  in  Buffalo;  Frances,  who  lives  in  Cohoes ;  and  Edward,  who 
died  aged  thirteen.  James  S.  died  in  1885  and  his  wife  in  1880.  Mrs.  Nolan's  father, 
Patrick  Laulee,  came  to  this  country  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  mar- 
ried Anna  Dunn,  and  of  their  eleven  children  eight  grew  to  maturity. 

Butts,  Porter  P,  was  born  in  Pompey,  Onondaga  county,  February  25,  1838,  a  son  of 
Lyman  Butts,  whose  father  was  Jabez,  of  Scotch  and  English  ancestry.  Lyman  came 
to  Wayne  county  in  1838,  residing  in  Savannah  several  years,  then  removing  to  Cort- 
land county,  where  he  lived  till  1856,  when  he  bought  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Sodus 
near  Joy  and  spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  town,  a  strong 
anti-slavery  advocate,  and  active  in  political  affairs.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Pliny  Porter  of  Onondaga  county,  and  their  children  were:  Susan,  who  married  Gen. 
A.  J.  Warner,  and  settled  in  Marietta,  0.;  Helen  M.,  who  married  Selden  Granger, 
and  settled  in  Cleveland,  0.;  Henry  H.,  who  enlisted  in  the  army  and  died  in  the  serv- 
ice ;  George  C,  who  settled  in  Marietta,  O;  Frank  L.,  who  settled  on  the  homestead  ; 
and  Porter  P.  (See  Clark's  history  of  Wayne  county.)  In  1862  he  settled  in  Sodus, 
where  he  bought  a  farm  south  of  the  village,  and  has  since  resided.  He  is  a  member 
of  Sodus  Grange,  and  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr.  Butts  married  Anna,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  Andrews  of  Sodus,  and  their  children  are  Watson  A.,  who  settled  at  Fulton  ; 
Henry  P.  and  Raymond  K. 

Guiick,  Charles  L.,  who  was  born  in  Sodus,  Wayne  county,  September  13,  1848,  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  January  1,  1872, 
he  married  Aurillia  M.  Fredenburgh  of  Arcadia,  by  whom  he  had  four  children:  Olie  M., 
Benjamin  A.,  who  died  aged  thirteen  ;  Kingsley  S.  and  Seaman  H.  Mr.  Gulick's  father, 
Amos,  was  born  in  Columbia  county  May  10,  1820,  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his 
day,  and  was  also  a  farmer.  November  3,  1845,  he  married  Mary  E.  Ford  of  Sodus, 
and  they  have  three  children  :  Mary  A.,  Charles  L.,  as  above,  and  Martha  J.  The  par- 
.  ents  are  now  residing  at  the  old  home  in  Sodus.  Mrs.  Gulick's  father,  Benjamin  F. 
Fredenburgh,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  June  1,  1829.  He  married  Adelia  Van 
Inwagen,  formerly  of  Tompkins  county,  and  they  had  four  children :  Esbon  K.,  Au- 
rillia M.,  as  above ;  Milton  E.  and  Ellsworth  H.,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr,  Freden- 
burgh died  in  1891. 

Weinman,  Jacob,  was  born  in  Rhinefaltz,  Germany,  September  7,  1832,  educated  in 
their  schools,  and  worked  at  various  occupations.  May  13,  1859,  he  married  Catherine 
Menzner  of  his  native  place,  and  they  have  had  eight  children :  Jacob,  jr.,  who  is  a 
farmer  in  Clifton  Springs,  Ontario  county,  and  married  Emma  Freeh  of  Newark,  by 
whom  he  has  three  children :  Carrie  M.,  Carl  F.  and  Ruth  E ;  Philip  is  a  farmer  in 
Phelps,  Ontario  county.  He  married  Julia  Werner  and  has  one  son,  John  P.;  Frede- 
rick is  a  carpenter  and  builder  in  Newark,  and  married  Nellie  Freeh ;  Theresa  M.  and 
Julia  A.  reside  at  home;  Elizabeth  O,  died  in  infancy;  Louis  also  died  at  the  age  of 
two  years ;  and  Christian  was  killed  on  the  West  Shore  Railroad  near  his  home  at  the 
age  of  fourteen.  They  came  to  the  United  States  in  1871.  Mrs.  Weinman  died  in 
1885,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  husband  and  family.  Mr.  Weinman  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Evangelical  Church  of  Newark,  and  the  family  have  resided  on 
their  farm  twenty  years. 

Graham,  E.  P.,  second  son  Henry  and  Eliza  (Ross)  Graham,  late  of  Rose,  was  born 
September  7,  1848.  Henry  Graham,  a  pioneer  settler  of  Rose,  a  prominent  Democrat, 
finding  in  farming  and  horticulture  his  principal  occupation,  died  in  October,  1878,  aged 
i  seventy-six.  Elmore  was  educated  at  Clyde  and  at  Canandaigua  Academy,  and  in  1878 
acquired  by  purchase  a  farm  of  200  acres  in  Butler,  devoted  chiefly  to  small  fruits  and 
dairy  products,  and  embellished  with  handsome  buildings.  In  1876  he  married  Nettie, 
daughter  of  Lewis  Beach  of  Varick,  Seneca  county. 


308  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Robinson,  Minard,  was  born  in  Arcadia  October  3,  1845,  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  December  27,  1872,  he  married  M. 
Rowe  of  Manchester,  Ontario  county,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Harriet  E.  Mr. 
Robinson's  father,  John  D.,  was  born  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county  January  25,  1813,  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  his  day,  and  was  also  a  farmer.  He  married  Christina  Van 
Decar  who  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county,  and  had  five  children  ;  Abram,  Aaron  V., 
Minard  as  noted,  Mary  and  Andrew  J.  He  died  in  1877  and  his  wife  in  1885.  His 
grandfather  was  Minard,  and  his  great-grandfather,  John  Decker  Robinson,  was  the  first 
settler  in  the  town  of  Phelps.  Mrs.  Robinson's  father,  Freeman  Rowe,  was  born  in 
Wayne  county  in  1S27.  He  married  Harriet  A.  Oderkirk  of  Manchester,  and  they  had 
three  children:  Robert  D.,  George  F.  and  Alazan  M.  Both  parents  were  killed  at  the 
same  time  on  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  Railroad  March  12,  1887. 

Marble  Brothers. — John  W.  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia  in  Marbletown,  Novem- 
ber 28,  1842,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming. 
December  25,  1874,  he  married  Mary  E.  Robison,  of  Huntsburg,  Ohio,  and  they  have 
one  son,  Ray  W.,  born  April  14,  1879,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Union  8chool  and 
Academy  at  Newark.  His  brother,  Warren  F.,  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  Decem- 
ber 5,  1848,  was  also  educated  in  tne  common  schools,  and  is  a  farmer  with  his  brother 
John  W.  December  16,  1874,  he  married  Josette  Moss,  of  Huntsburg,  Ohio,  and  they 
have  one  son,  George  B.,  born  July  2,  1879,  who  is  also  a  student  in  the  Newark  Acad- 
emy. Our  subject's  father,  James,  was  born  in  Marbletown  July  29,  1819,  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  his  day,  and  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Lorinda  Dusenberry,  of  Phelps, 
Ontario  county,  and  their  children  were:  John  W.,  as  noted;  Elizabeth,  and  Warren  F. 
Mr.  Marble  died  April  21,  1891,  and  his  wife  September  29,  1887.  Mrs.  John  W. 
Marble's  father,  Harry  H.  Robison,  was  born  in  1792,  the  first  white  child  born  in  the 
town  of  Phelps.  He  served  in  the  war  of  1812 ;  was  well  educated,  and  taught  school 
in  this  State,  also  in  the  South.  He  married  twice,  for  his  second  wife  Emily  Durham, 
by  whom  he  had  three  children :  James,  Harry,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Mary  E.,  who 
was  born  in  Lima,  Livingston  county.  He  died  in  1854,  and  his  wife  in  1858.  Mrs. 
Warren  F.  Marble's  father,  William  C.  Moss,  was  born  in  Burton,  Geauga  county,  Ohio, 
in  1808.  He  married  Maria  J.  Robison,  of  Phelps,  and  they  had  seven  children  :  Charles, 
Elizabeth,  Ford,  Josette,  as  noted,  Marvin,  Almira,  and  Jessie  M.  He  died  in  1870,  and 
his  wife  survives  him. 

Miller,  Frederick  C,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  Germany,  October  10,  1843, 
and  came  to  the  United  States  when  he  was  twenty-one,  locating  in  Lyons.  He  is  a 
farmer  and  milk  dealer.  March  26,  1867,  he  married  Sophia  Mierke,  of  Lyons,  formerly 
of  his  native  place,  and  they  have  yiree  children:  Charles,  who  marrie'd  Julia Feiock,  of 
this  town  ;  James  H.,  who  is  a  farmer  with  his  father ;  and  Ella  L.,  who  resides  at 
home.  Mr.  Miller's  father,  Christian,  was  born  at  the  old  home,  July  2,  1805.  He 
married  Dora  Colman,  of  Germany,  and  they  had  seven  children  :  Louise,  Mary,  Louis, 
Jennie,  William,  Frederick  C,  as  noted,  and  Charles.  Mr.  Miller  died  in  1873,  and  his 
wife  in  1862.  Mrs.  F.  C.  Miller's  father,  Louis  Mierke,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin,  Germany,  June  25,  1824.  He  married  Minnie  Helwie,  of  his  native  place, 
and  they  had  eight  children  :  Sophia,  Louise,  John,  William,  Henry,  Charles,  Eliza,  and 
Lois.  Mr.  Mierke  died  January  6,  1888.  The  family  came  to  the  United  States  in  1862, 
locating  in  Lyons. 

Vorberg,  Rev.  Robert  T.,  was  born  in  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  April  19,  1868.  When  a 
child  his  father,  who  was  a  minister,  received  a  call  to  preach  in  New  York  city.  Mr. 
Vorberg  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Rochester,  five  years  in  Wagner  College 
in  that  city,  and  three  years  in  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Theological  Seminary  at  Mount 
Airy,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1892,  and  began  to  preach  in 
Newark,  July  1,  1892,  in  Zion's   Lutheran  church.     May  17,  1893,  he  married  Miss 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  309 

Salome  A.  Ungerer,  of  Lyons.  They  have  one  child,  a  daughter,  Magdalena  B.  Mr. 
Vorberg's  father,  George  A.  G.,  was  born  in  Magdeburg,  Germany,  August  26,  1835. 
He  was  educated  at  the  Magdeburg  Gymnasium,  studied  theology  at  the  Friedrichs- 
University  at  Halle-Wittenberg,  also  at  the  university  of  Tubingen,  and  completed  his 
theological  studies  at  the  University  of  Erlangen  in  March,  1860.  He  then  taught  at  a 
ladies'  seminary  in  Bremen  two  years.  In  1863  he  was  sent  to  the  United  States  by 
the  Berlin  Missionary  Society  as  a  missionary,  locating  and  preaching  in  many  places,  to 
the  German  Lutherans  of  Wisconsin.  In  February,  1867,  he  married  Emilv  H.,  daughter 
of  the  Rev.  George  J.  Kempe,  of  Rochester,  NY.  They  had  three  sons,  Robert  T., 
George  M.,  and  Gustav  S.  He  died  at  New  York  city,  April  1  1873.  His  widow  re- 
moving to  Rochester  with  her  children,  where  she  and  her  sons,  George  M.  and 
Gustav  S.,  now  reside. 

Pitts,  Jesse  G.,  was  born  in  Chatham,  Columbia  county,  June  7,  1823,  and  was  edu- 
cated mostly  in  Kinderhook  Academy.  In  1845  he  came  to  Geneva,  Ontario  county, 
where  he  engaged  in  saddlery  and  hardware  business,  including  harnesses  and  trunks! 
until  1852.  He  then  came  to  Newark,  where  he  embarked  in  the  general  hardware 
business,  in  company  with  Eli  Van  Valkenburg,  under  the  firm  name  of  Pitts  &  Van 
Valkenburg.  They  sold  nut  in  1854,  and  Mr.  Pitts  then  went  on  his  farm  north  of  the 
village,  remaining  two  years.  June  2,  1859,  he  married  Helen  R.  Day,  ^f  Westfield, 
Mass.,  and  they  have  one  adopted  daughter,  Louise,  now  wife  of  Calvin  P.  H.  Vary,  a 
banker  in  this  place.  Mr.  Pitts  has  resided  in  New  York  seven  years,  also  in  Brooklyn 
seven  years,  during  most  of  this  time  was  in  the  wholesale  petroleum  business,  returning 
to  Newark  about  1873,  where  he  has  conducted  a  boot  and  shoe  business  about  twenty 
years,  including  the  manufacture  of  moccasins  under  letters  patent,  making  about  six  or 
eight  thousand  dozen  pairs  annually,  selling  them  to  jobbers  and  the  finding  trade.  Mr. 
Pitts'  father,  John  W.,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Columbia  county  in  1795,  and  came 
here  at  an  early  day.  He  married  Polly  L.  Gifford,  of  his  native"  town,  and  had  six 
children.  He  died  in  1874,  and  his  wife  in  middle  life.  Mr.  Pitts'  father  was  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  1812. 

Spoor,  Eliza  D.,  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  W.  Lamoreaux  (see  Harry  R.  Drake's 
personal  sketch  for  account  of  both  of  Mrs.  Spoor's  marriages).  Her  granddaughter's 
(Mrs.  L.  G.  Baldwin)  husband  is  L.  G.  Baldwin;  his  father,  Amos  Baldwin,  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  April  5,  1844,  and  married  Eliza.  Whitbeck,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children,  Leonard  G.  and  Ezra  P.  Mr.  Baldwin  enlisted  in  Company  D,  50th  Penn. 
Vols.,  and  was  first  sergeant  of  his  company.  He  was  taken  prisoner  May  12,  1864, 
and  exchanged  on  May  5,  1865.  This  regiment  participated  in  twenty-nine  general 
engagements.  Leonard  G.  Baldwin  is  captain  of  E.  K.  Burnham  Camp  No.  14,  Sons  of 
Veterans. 

Tiffany,  George  W.,  was  born  at  Austerlitz,  Columbia  county,  February  18,  1844,  and 
came  to  Ontario  county  with  his  parents  when  he  was  three  months  of  age.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  has  always  followed  farming.  He  has  also  had 
charge  of  and  settled  several  estates.  January  24,  1867,  he  married  Theessa  Coons,  of 
the  town  of  Arcadia,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Iva  F.,  who  is  a  student.  Mr. 
Tiffany's  father,  Lamont,  was  born  at  Austerlitz,  Columbia  county,  in  1808,  and  married 
Sophia  Clark,  of  that  county.  They  had  ten  children:  Charles  L.,  Jane,  Esther  M., 
George  W.,  as  noted,'  Edward  D.,  Loren  R.,  Florence  A.,  Sophia  E.,  Millie  E.,  and 
Anna  B.  He  died  in  1869,  and  his  wife  May  10,  1876.  Mrs.  Tiffany's  father,  Alexander 
Coons,  was  born  at  Red  Hook,  Dutchess  county,  July  4,  1812.  He  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  his  day,  and  always  followed  farming.  April  10,  1848,  he  married  Deborah 
E.  Ackley,  of  Stockport,  Columbia  county,  formerly  of  Sing  Sing,  Westchester  county. 
They  had  two  children,  one  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Theessa,  as  above.  The  family 
came  to  Newark  in  November,  1849.  He  died  in  1887,  and  his  widow  resides  with  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Tiffany.     Mr.  Tiffany  is  a  member  of  Newark  Grange. 


310  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Williams,  Fletcher,  was  born  at  Bennington,  Vt.,  June  19,  1817.  His  parents  were 
Dr.  Richard  P.  Williams  and  Lucy  Fletcher.  They  moved  to  Newark,  N.  Y.,  while 
their  children  were  young,  and  resided  there  until  their  death.  Their  children  were 
Stephen  K.  Williams,  of  Newark,  N.  Y.,  of  whom  mention  is  made  elsewhere;  Lucy  L., 
who  married  Samuel  S.  Morley,  of  Clyde,  N.  Y.,  and  is  now  deceased;  and  Noel  Byron, 
who  died  while  a  young  man.  Fletcher  Williams  married  Ann  Eliza  Ford,  daughter  of 
Aaron  Ford,  of  Columbia  county.  N.  Y.,  October  18,  1840,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children,  a  son  and  a  daughter.  Their  son,  A.  Ford  Williams,  is  now  living  at  Chatham 
Center,  N.  Y.,  but  their  daughter,  who  married  Rev.  Walton  W.  Battershall,  now  of 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  died  at  Rochester.  N.  Y.,  September  25,  1872,  leaving  three  children. 
Mrs.  Fletcher  Williams  died  at  Newark,  N.  Y.,  January  29,  1851.  Mr.  Williams  on 
June  23,  1859,  married  Ann  Eliza  Grant,  daughter  of  Eliab  T.  Grant,  of  Newark,  N.  Y., 
and  her  death  on  June  27,  1861,  again  left  him  a  widower.  No  children  were  born  of 
this  marriage.  On  June  28,  1865,  he  married  his  present  wife,  Sarah  H.  Rose,  of  Rose 
Hill,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  by  whom  he  has  had  four  children,  Charles  R.,  Fletcher,  jr., 
Rose,  and  Arthur  R,  all  of  whom  are  living,  except  the  first  mentioned,  who  died  near 
Devers,  Texas,  March  24,  1894.  Mr.  Williams  has  been  in  his  business  life  a  very 
prominent  factor  in  the  improvement  and  building  up  of  the  village  of  Newark.  When 
about  eighteen  years  of  age  he  began  his  business  career  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  Esbon 
Blackmar  at  Newark,  where  he  continued  for  about  two  years.  He  then  formed  a 
partnership  with  Abel  T.  Blackmar,  which  lasted  for  about  two  years,  and  after  that 
with  Henry  Meesick  he  opened  a  general  store  of  his  own  at  East  Newark,  in  which  he 
continued  about  the  same  length  of  time.  He  then  organized  at  Newark  a  State  bank, 
the  Bank  of  Newark,  and  it  was  in  the  year  1863  reorganized  into  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Newark,  N.  Y.,  of  which  Mr.  Williams  has  ever  since  been  president.  He  has 
always  been  the  active  and  controlling  man  in  each  of  these  banks,  and  his  was  one  of 
the  few  State  banks  that  came  through  the  crisis  of  1857  without  failure.  His  con- 
servative management  has  added  much  to  the  prosperity  of  the  place,  and  in  all  monetary 
crises  his  bank  has  had  the  confidence  of  the  public.  Mr.  Williams  has  been  active  in 
the  support  and  building  up  of  the  Episcopal  church  at  Newark,  and  his  contributions 
to  it  have  exceeded  those  of  any  other  member.  He  has  always  been  a  member  of  its 
vestry,  and  for  many  years  a  warden,  and  for  sometime  was  treasurer  of  the  Diocese  of 
Western  New  York.  He  has  never  been  a  politician  nor  held  public  office,  though  he 
has  had  many  trusts  confided  to  his  care.  He  has  devoted  himself  to  his  business  and 
preferred  not  to  be  diverted  from  it,  believing  that  the  one  occupation  to  which  he  has 
devoted  his  life  fully  sufficient  for  his  time  and  strength. 

Cronise  Family,  The — Among  the  first  settlers  in  Arcadia  was  Henry  Cronise.  His 
father,  John  Cronise,  came  in  1802  with  Colonel  Rochester  from  Frederick,  Maryland, 
where  they  had  been  neighbors.  In  December,  1802,  he  purchased,  and  had  surveyed 
by  John  Smith,  two  tracts  of  land,  one  of  260  3-4  acres  east  of  Ganargua  River,  or 
Mud  Creek,  part  of  which  is  now  known  as  the  William  Watters  farm,  south  from  Mud 
Mills,  the  other  tract  of  396  1-2  acres,  two  and  one-half  miles  north,  which  became  the 
Cronise  homestead.  For  the  657  acres  he  paid  $2,628,  or  four  dollars  an  acre.  His 
deed  from  Sir  William  Pulteney  was  received  January  12,  1803.  He  afterwards  re- 
turned to  Maryland  and  died  there  September  29,  1803.  After  the  death  of  John 
Cronise  the  first  of  these  tracts  passed  to  his  daughter  Snsannah,  wife  of  Henry  Lamb- 
right,  and  was  known  as  the  Lambright  farm.  Here  the  widow  of  John,  Mary 
Cronise  nee  Fey,  of  Scotland,  died  December  19,  1823,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  being 
buried  in  Newark  Cemetery.  The  second  tract  passed  to  his  son,  Henry  Cronise,  who 
came  from  Maryland  in  1807.  bringing  wirh  him  several  slaves  which  he  soon  freed, 
although  most  of  them  remained  in  his  employ  for  many  years  afterward.  February 
14,  1813,  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  Soverhill  who  had  settled  in  Arcadia  in 
1798.  About  1813  he  built  the  frame  house  still  standing  as  part  of  the  house  now  upon 
the  place,  a  part  being  added  in  1836.     In  this  house  he  lived  until  near  the  time  of  his 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  311 

death  in  1870.  Besides  his  farm  he  had  at  different  times  operated  the  flouring  mill  at 
Mud  Mills,  the  saw  mill  west  of  his  farm  and  another  at  Phelps.  From  these  mills  he 
furnished  in  1840  and  1841  the  bed-timbers,  cross  ties  and  upper  rails  (on  which  the 
strap  iron  track  was  spiked)  for  a  section  of  the  old  Syracuse  &  Rochester  Railroad 
through  Phelps.  He  also  built  the  Methodist  church  at  Newark  and  several  bridges 
across  the  Clyde  River,  and  executed  other  building  contracts.  His  wife,  Mary  S~>ver- 
hill  Cronise,  died  at  the  homestead  June  6,  1867,  and  three  years  later  he  himself  died 
at  the  residence  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Leggett,  in  Newark,  June  16,  1870,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one.  Of  the  family  of  eight  children  who  grew  up  here,  six  are  still  living, 
(1894),  viz:  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Demming  of  Oswego,  Simon  Cronise  of  Rochester,  Henry 
Cronise  of  Chili,  Mrs.  Susan  B.  Leggett  and  John  S.  Cronise  of  Newark,  and  Samuel 
Cronise  of  Lyons.  Simon  Cronise,  the  third  of  the  family  in  possession  of  a  portion  of 
the  homestead  tract,  married  October  22,  1840,  Catherine  Maria  Fredenburgh,  daughter 
of  Martin  Fredenburgh  who  came  from  Ghent,  Columbia  county,  in  1826.  Upon  this 
place  they  resided  from  1854  until  her  death  in  January,  1886,  when  he  removed  to 
Roehester,  where  he  now  resides.  Of  their  children,  Charles  Theodore  Cronise  removed 
in  1872  to  Logansport,  Indiana,  where  he  married  Charlotte  Butler,  afterwards  remov- 
ing to  Pensacola,  Florida,  his  present  home,  and  Adelbert  Cronise  left  the  homestead  in 
1873  to  enter  the  university  at  Rochester,  afterwards  taking  up  the  practice  of  law  in 
that  city  where  he  still  resides,  although  retaining  this  portion  of  the  original  Cronise 
tract,  being  the  fourth  in  possession  in  the  ninety-two  years. 

Schaich,  George,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  November  16,  1859,  where  he 
was  educated,  and  learned  the  business  of  nurseryman  and  gardener,  at  what  we  would 
call  the  experiment  station,  at  Hoheinheim,  Germany,  from  which  he  received  a  certifi- 
cate of  efficiency,  one  of  the  highest  in  the  class.  He  came  to  the  United  States  Sep- 
tember 13,  1883,  locating  in  Rochester,  where  he  served  Elwanger  &  Barry  eight  years. 
January  1,  1891,  he  came  to  the  State  Custodial  Asylum,  where  he  occupies  the  position 
of  gardener  and  florist.  Since  he  came  here  he  has  made  much  improvement,  especially 
in  laudscape  gardening.  May  21,  1885,  he  married  Jennie  E.  Hess,  a  native  of  Germany, 
and  they  have  had  two  children  :  Emily,  who  died  aged  eight  months,  and  George  W., 
born  May  4,  1888.  William,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  at  the  old  home  in  Ger- 
many in  1832  and  married  Catrina  Haussler  of  his  native  place.  Their  children  were: 
George,  Barbara,  Catrina,  Mary,  and  two  died  young.  Conrad  Hess,  father  of  Mrs. 
Schaich,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  1824,  and  married  Rose  Hoss,  of  the 
same  place.  They  had  seven  children  :  Mary,  Jenny,  Goetlib,  Charles,  Caroline,  and  two 
who  died  young.     Both  parents  are  dead. 

Blackmar,  Ransom  and  Esbon,  came  to  Newark  in  the  fall  of  1826.  The  former  died 
December  31,  1841,  and  Esbon  November  19,  1857.  A.  T.  came  in  1833  and  Orrin  in 
the  spring  of  1835.  Abel  Blackmar  with  his  wife  and  youngest  son  Edwin  came  in  the 
fall  of  1835.  Their  father,  Abel,  died  March  18,  1843,  and  their  mother  February  14, 
1861.  The  family  ancestry  is  from  England.  Sir  Henry  Blackmar  came  to  this  coun- 
try and  bought  about  one-third  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  and  part  of  his  descend- 
ants afterward  settled  in  Connecticut,  from  which  place  they  removed  to  Greene 
county,  N.  Y.  When  Ransom  and  Esbon  came  to  Newark  they  engaged  in  general 
merchandise,  buying  grain,  boat  building,  and  shipping  grain  on  the  canal.  Their  first 
boat  was  named  the  R.  &  E.  Blackmar.  The  county  was  settled  by  eastern  people,  and 
when  they  visited  relatives  in  the  east  it  was  customary  to  go  in  neighborhood  parties, 
and  go  with  some  favorite  captain  of  the  boat  which  they  selected  and  have  a  good 
social  time,  as  the  forward  part  of  the  canal  boats  were  finished  in  cabins  for  passengers, 
the  back  of  the  boat  for  cooking  and  the  accommodation  of  the  crew,  and  the  center 
for  freight.  The  capacity  for  grain  was  about  600  bushels  and  Albany  was  the  chief 
market  in  the  east.  Colonel  Bartle  was  then  doing  business  in  Newark  (formerly 
called  Miller's  Basin)  associated  with  Mr.  Norton   of  Phelps,  under  the  firm  name  of 


312  LANDMARKS    OF    WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Bartle,  Norton  &  Co.,  who  had  extensive  mills  near  Phelps  and  shipped  their  flour  at 
Newark.  Most  of  the  farmers  who  first  settled  in  Arcadia  had  little  means,  and  usually 
came  with  a  young  wife  and  children  to  seek  their  fortune  in  what  was  then  known  as 
the  far  west.  They  took  up  land  from  the  land  office  in  Geneva,  making  small  payment, 
and  trusting  to  their  industry  for  a  future  home.  The  merchants  and  grain  buyers  had 
their  nearest  banking  accommodations  at  the  Geneva  Bank  at  Geneva,  and  the  mer- 
chants were  the  bankers  for  the  farmers,  making  them  loans  to  pay  their  interest  and 
payments  at  the  land  office,  and  selling  them  dry  goods  and  groceries  on  one  year's  time 
until  they  could  plant  and  harvest  crops.  The  most  of  the  land  on  which  Newark  is 
located  is  shown  by  title  deeds  to  have  at  one  time  belonged  to  some  member  of  the 
Blackmar  family,  and  to  Esbon  and  Horace  Blackmar,  a  cousin  and  partner  in  business. 
is  due  the  surveying,  mapping  and  laying  out  of  many  of  the  streets  of  our  village. 
Esbon  Blackmar  was  several  times  supervisor  of  the  town  and  twice  represented  the 
district  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  at  one  time  represented  his  district  as  member  of 
Congress  :  and  we  will  add.  was  one  of  the  town's  honest,  honored,  efficient  and  useful 
citizens.  Orrin  and  Edwin  are  still  doing  business  in  Newark.  The  enterprise,  sterling 
integrity,  and  Christian  sentiments  of  the  first  business  men  in  Newark  and  the  farmers 
first  settling  Arcadia  are  clearly  represented  in  their  descendants. 

Fisk,  H.  Hudson,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  two  and  one  half  miles  southwest  of  Newark 
July  19,  1849,  was  educated  in  the  common  and  the  Union  School  and  Academy  of 
Newark.  The  early  part  of  his  life  was  spent  on  the  homestead  farm.  He  also 
taught  school  several  years,  and  was  vice-principal  of  the  Union  School  and 
Academy  here  six  years.  In  November,  1885,  he  became  a  newspaper  man,  purchasing 
the  Newark  Union,  which  he  has  conducted  since  with  success,  as  proprietor,  editor  and 
publisher.  Mr.  Fisk's  father,  Lonson,  was  born  in  Saratoga  county  February  11,  1811. 
June  14,  1832.  he  married  Adelia  Wells  of  the  town  of  Manchester,  who  was  born 
March  1.  1812.  They  had  nine  children,  George  W.,  Samuel.  Willis  P.,  William  H.,  A. 
Judson  and  H.  Hudson  (twins),  Jennie,  Frances  A.,  and  Belle.  Mr.  Fisk,  sr.,  died  De- 
cember 19,  1885.  and  his  wife  July  27.  1888.  The  family  came  to  reside  in  this  town 
in  1823. 

Collins,  T.  W. — The  grandfather  of  our  subject,  Thaddeus  Collins,  emigrated  from 
Vermont  in  1800,  settled  in  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  about  three  miles  south  of  the 
present  village  of  Phelps.  He  removed  to  Wa}'ne  county  about  1812  and  took  up  a 
tract  of  land  comprising  a  part  of  the  present  site  of  Pine  Valley  and  extending  north- 
ward a  considerable  distance.  The  house  he  built  and  in  which  he  died  is  still  standing 
and  is  at  present  occupied  by  Mrs.  Closs.  Stephen  Collins,  father  of  T.W.,  was  born  at 
Phelps  in  1802,  removed  to  Rose  with  his  father  in  1812  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  that  town.  He  died  in  December,  1892.  T.  W.  Collins  was  born  on  his  father's 
farm  in  Rose  April  15,  1830,  spent  his  youth  and  early  manhood  in  working  on  the 
farm.  He  graduated  from  Genesee  College  in  1855,  went  to  the  Albany  Law  School 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1857.  He  opened  a  law  office  at  Wolcott  in  December, 
1857,  and  practiced  his  profession  at  that  place  for  nine  years.  During  that  time  he 
served  as  supervisor  of  Wolcott  one  year  (1860),  and  three  years  as  member  of  Assem- 
bly, the  last  year  (1865),  holding  the  position  of  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and 
means.  In  1866  was  elected  county  clerk  of  Wayne  county,  and  removed  to  Lyons  in 
December  of  that  year.  In  1872  went  off  with  the  liberals,  ran  for  elector  on  the 
Greeley  ticket  and  was  defeated.  In  1879  was  elected  judge  and  surrogate  of  Wayne 
county  and  held  the  office  for  a  single  term,  since  which  he  has  been  practically  out  of 
politics  and  engaged  in  the  practice  cf  law. 

Kelley,  Clarence  M.,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  south  of  Newark,  September  20, 
1850,  and  was  educated  in  the  common  and  the  Union  School  and  Academy.  In  early 
life  lie  learned  the  machinist    trade  at     H.  C.  Silsby's,  Seneca    Falls,  and  became  a 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  313 

thorough  workman.  Taking  locomotive  work  he  pursued  it  in  detail  at  Schenectady, 
Philadelphia,  and  for  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  Leaving  the  locomotive  cab  in  1876 
he  went  to  the  Black  Hills  and  Big  Horn  region,  prospecting  and  mining,  and  for  four 
years  remained  there  testing  many  claims.  He  came  back  to  the  East  with  the  intention 
of  settling  in  Newark,  but  was  induced  to  take  charge  of  the  Bignall  Manufacturing 
Works  at  Medina,  which  employed  seventy  men.  This  he  left  in  1885,  and  came  back- 
to  Newark  to  succeed  his  father  in  business,  purchasing  the  Eagle  Foundry  site  on 
Union  street  and  erecting  the  present  Kelley  block.  With  his  own  private  purse  he  led 
the  work  of  establishing  grade,  laying  walk,  and  curbing  Union  street  in  front  of  his 
premises.  He  has  added  to  his  business  house  furnishing  goods  and  carriages,  and  by 
liberal  dealing  has  made  his  business  a  success.  October  7,  1880,  he  married  at  Medina 
Rasena  Randolph.  Mrs.  Kelley's  father,  Rev.  Webster  Randolph,  was  born  in  Vermont. 
He  located  in  Newark  and  was  instrumental  in  building  the  present  Universalist  church. 
He  married  Eliza  Vose,  of  Boston,  and  they  had  three  children,  B.  Howe,  Rasena,  and 
Caroline,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Randolph  died  in  October,  1893,  and  his  wife  in 
January,  1882.  Mr.  Kelley  is  a  member  of  Newark  Lodge  No.  83,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Newark  Chapter  No.  117,  R.  A.  M.,  Zenobia  Commandery  No.  41,  K.  T. 

Chamberlain,  Dr.  Dwight  S.,  was  born  in  Litchfield  county,  Conn.,  February  22,  1839. 
His  great-grandfather  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolution,  connected  with  General  Wash- 
ington's staff.  Dr.  Chamberlain  was  educated  at  the  Genesee  Seminary  and  College, 
Lima,  N.  Y.,  and  in  March,  1862,  he  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  the  City  of  New  York.  He  then  sailed  to  England  as  surgeon  of  a  ship 
engaged  in  the  transportation  of  emigrants.  Returniug  the  following  summer  he  entered 
the  service  as  assistant  surgeon  of  the  138th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  later  the  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy 
Artillery,  participating  in  the  battles  of  Cold  Harbor  and  Petersburg,  Sheridan's  cam- 
paign in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  the  capture  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and 
the  final  engagement  at  Savior's  Run.  He  was  promoted  to  major  and  surgeon  in 
February,  1865,  and  mustered  out  in  July  of  that  year.  He  took  charge  of  the  Soldier's 
Home  and  Hospital  at  Syracuse  for  a  short  time,  and  in  September,  1865,  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  Dr.  Bottom  of  Lyons,  and  practiced  here  until  the  spring  of  1868, 
when  he  began  reading  law.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1874,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  more  or  less  interested  in  that  profession.  Dr.  Chamberlain  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  Lyons  National  Bank  for  many  years,  as  director,  vice-president,  and 
finally  as  president.  In  memory  of  his  father-in-law,  the  late  D.  W.  Parshall,  our  sub- 
ject has  erected  a  beautiful  memorial  building  on  William  street,  the  upper  part  of  which 
contains  one  of  the  finest  opera  houses  in  the  State,  outside  the  large  cities.  October 
17,  1868,  Dr.  Chamberlain  married  Katharine  M.  Parshall,  and  they  have  two  sons  and 
a  daughter.  One  of  the  sons  is  vice-president  of  the  Lyons  National  Bank,  and  the 
other  is  engaged  in  real  estate  and  other  outside  matters.  Both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Chamber- 
lain are  heavily  interested  in  real  estate  in  this  town  and  county,  owning  the  principal 
business  places  here,  as  well  as  other  property,  farming  land,  etc.  He  is  an  able  lawyer, 
affable,  and  easily  approached. 

Ream,  Fred,  was  born  near  Strausburg,  Germany,  January  4,  1840.  He  is  a  son  of 
Peter  and  Lena  (Strang)  Ream,  natives  of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  America  in 
1849,  and  settled  near  Lyons.  Peter  Ream  then  removed  to  Rose,  and  finally  settled  in 
Rochester,  where  he  died  in  1891.  His  wife  still  survives  him  and  resides  with  her  son, 
C.  W.  Ream.  The  maternal  grandfather,  George  Strang,  was  a  prominent  man  of 
Lemberg,  Germany,  and  was  treasurer  and  county  clerk  under  Napoleon  during  the 
French  Revolution.  Our  subject  has  always  followed  farming.  He  now  owns  one 
hundred  acres,  and  carries  on  general  farming.  In  1867  he  married  Lovina,  daughter  of 
Squire  Mitchell,  of  Rose,  by  whom  he  has  two  daughters,  Alice  F.  and  Edith  L.  Mr. 
Ream  has  held  several  town  offices,  and  at  present  is  justice  of  the  peace.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Clyde  Grange.     They  attend  and  support  theM.  E.  church. 


314  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 

Lyman.  Milo  S.,  was  born  in  Galen,  May  18,  1826,  son  of  Jesse  and  Betsey  (Sedgwick) 
Lyman,  he  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  came  to  Galen  about  1820,  and  then  to  Rose, 
where  he  settled  on  a  farm,  and  finally  to  Rose  Valley,  where  he  died  in  1863.  He  kept 
light  house  at  Sodus  Point  for  about  ten  years.  Subject's  mother  died  when  he  was  five 
years  of  age,  and  he  was  bound  out  to  work  for  Adam  Learn  of  Galen,  with  whom  he 
remained  until  he  was  twenty-one.  He  afterward  worked  for  John  Learn  seven  years, 
worked  his  farm  three  years,  and  during  the  time  bought  forty  acres  in  Rose,  on  which 
he  moved  and  erected  buildings,  remaining  three  years.  He  next  worked  by  the  month 
eight  years,  and  then  rented  his  father-in-law's  farm.  In  1873  he  bought  the  farm  he 
now  owns,  of  148  acres.  No  man  in  this  town  had  less  to  start  with  than  had  Milo  S. 
Lyman,  few  have  done  any  better.  Energy,  honesty  and  perseverance,  accompanied 
with  a  faithful  devoted  and  capable  wife,  have  placed  him  in  the  forefront  of  our  towns- 
men. A  man  to  be  admired  and  emulated.  He  had  no  school  advantages  and  is  wholly 
a  self-made  man;  what  he  has  done  every  man  may  do.  Mr.  Lyman  has  been  poor- 
master  one  year,  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church  thirty  years,  and  has  held  every 
office  in  the  church  of  Rose  Valley.  He  married  in  1854  Rebecca,  daughter  of  John 
Barnes,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  John  W.,  born  in  February,  1857.  He  was  educated 
in  Albany  Normal  School  (class  of  '79),  from  which  he  graduated  with  high  honors,  and 
taught  school  two  years  in  Garrison.  His  health  failed  and  he  died  with  quick  consump- 
tion in  1881.  Mrs  Lyman  died  May  18,  1892,  and  in  April,  1894,  he  married  Clarissa 
Webb,  of  Huron.  He  has  one  adopted  son,  George  A.  Barnes,  son  of  James  Barnes,  of 
Huron. 

Pulver,  John,  was  born  in  Schoharie,  N.  Y.,  in  1807,  a  son  of  John  M.,  who  came  to 
Sodus  in  1829.  Their  ancestors  came  from  Holland  in  an  early  day  and  settled  in 
Dutchess  county.  John  M.  married  Rebecca  Millis,  and  their  children  were:  Serene, 
John,  Jane,  Dorcas,  William,  Daniel,  Anson,  and  Jerome.  John  settled  in  Sodus  and  is 
engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Mis.  Lucinda,  widow  of  William  Ellsworth.  Ami 
Ellsworth,  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  Wayne  county,  came  from  East  Windsor,  Conn., 
on  foot  in  1800,  and  took  up  one  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the  lake  west  of  Sodus  Point. 
He  built  a  log  house  and  returned  to  Connecticut  for  his  family.  They  endured  all  the 
hardships  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  s  settler  in  a  new  country.  His  wife  was  Chloe  Allen,  and 
in  1807,  learning  that  she  had  inherited  some  property  in  Connecticut,  she  made  the 
journey  there  and  back  on  horseback  alone.  Their  children  were:  Ami,  Sophia,  Huldab, 
Aurelia,  Julia  A.,  Levi,  Ann,  William,  who  settled  on  the  homestead  and  was  a  prosper- 
ous and  enterprising  farmer.  He  married  Lucinda  Sophia  Selby,  of  Palmyra,  and  died 
in  1853. 

Van  Slyck,  Charles  D.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  December  6,  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  James  Van 
Slyck,  who  was  born  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1820,  in  early  life 
moved  to  Sodus,  where  he  died  March  3,  1875.  He  was  a  farmei  and  a  man  of  quiet 
tastes  and  never  sought  political  honors.  He  married  Olivia  Etherington,  November  17, 
1858,  and  their  children  were  Charles  D.,  Nellie  E.  (Mrs.  E.  J.  Harvey),  May  H,  and 
Carrie  Olivia  (Mrs.  James  E.  Hanby).  Charles  D.  is  a  farmer  on  the  old  homestead,  and 
January  25,  1893,  was  married  to  Miss  Eva  C.  Stickney. 

Field,  Warren  A.,  was  born  in  Sodus  Point  in  1840,  and  is  a  son  of  Rodoiphus,  whose 
father  was  Wells  Field.  This  family  traces  its  ancestry  back  to  Sir  John  Field,  who 
came  from  England  to  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  1620.  Rodoiphus  served  in  the  war  of  1812, 
being  at  the  battle  of  Plattsburgh,  etc.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled  in  Utica,  and 
in  1818  removed  to  Sodus,  where  he  died  October  11,  1880.  In  1815  he  married 
Rachael,  daughter  of  Aaron  and  Susan  (Watkins)  Williams,  of  Utica,  by  whom  he  had 
these  children  :  Lurancy,  William  W.,  Elizabeth,  Charles,  Morris,  Oliver  O,  Mariah, 
Cleason,  Catharine  O,  Warren  A.,  Mary,  besides  two  who  died  young.  Warren  settled 
in  Sodus  Point,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  became  a  sailor,  and  with  short  exceptions 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  :;ir, 

he  has  spent  his  life  in  this  service  on  the  lakes.  He  is  captain  and  owner  of  the  steamer 
Sunbeam,  and  has  also  real  estate  interest  at  Sand  Point.  For  several  years  he  con- 
ducted a  store  at  Sodus  Point,  and  was  also  partner  in  a  planing  mill  there.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Sodus  Bay  Yacht  Club.  He  married  Elmina  Harroun,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Alvin,  and  Cora,  wife  of  Aaron  Shufelt,  of  Sodus  Point. 

Sauer,  Martin,  was  born  in  Germany  near  Bingen-on  the-Rhine,  came  to  America  in 
1834,  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  settled  in  the  south  part  of  Sodus.  Two  brothers, 
Christopher  and  John,  came  about  the  same  time  all  settling  in  the  same  part  of  the 
town.  Christopher  removed  to  Illinois  about  1850.  John  Sauer  purchased  a  large  farm 
and  was  one  of  the  prosperous  farmers  of  town.  He  married  Eva  Lang,  and  their  chil- 
dren were  :  John,  Henry  J.,  Christiana,  Mary  and  George,  all  of  whom  reside  in  Sodus. 
Martin  Sauer  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land,  and  by  industry  has  become  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  wealth}^  farmers  in  the  town.  He  married  Caroline  Lang,  and  their 
children  are  :  Henry  M.,  who  settled  in  Arcadia  and  is  a  farmer.  He  married  Mary  A. 
Sauer  from  near  Niagara  Falls,  Ontario,  Canada;  Caroline,  who  married  Nicholas 
Espenscheid,  of  Sodus ;  Catherine,  who  married  Adam  Frey,  of  East  Palmyra ;  Mar- 
garet, who  married  Asa  F.  Andrews,  of  Joy  ;  Barbara,  William,  Jacob  and  Charles,  of 
Sodus. 

Seymour,  Morris  J.,  was  born  in  Sodus  on  the  farm  he  now'occupies  December  24, 
1840,  a  son  of  Orson,  born  in  1801,  Avho  is  a  son  of  Ebenezer  who  came  from  Pompey, 
Onondaga  county,  about  1808,  and  settled  at  Palmyra.  They  removed  to  Williamson 
and  soon  after  to  the  town  of  Sodus.  Ebenezer  married  Jemima  Wilbur,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Valda,  Sidney  (deceased),  Orson,  who  died  in  1875;  Delmer,  Harland, 
Morris  (deceased),  Orlando,  Lucmda,  Jennette,  Mary  A.  and  Clarissa.  Morris  J.  Sey- 
mour resides  on  the  homestead  and  is  a  farmer.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  160thN.  Y. 
Inf.,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Winchester. 
He  is  a  member  of  Dwight  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Sodus.  He  married  in  1870  Hannah  Burt 
of  Washington  county. 

Pearsall,  John  T.,  was  born  in  Huron,  Wayne  county,  in  1856,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry 
who  came  from  Saratoga  to  Seneca  county  in  1839,  and  about  1842  settled  in  the  town 
of  Huron  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Jane  Terbush,  and  their  children  were : 
John  O.  (deceased),  William  H.,  Eleanor,  Esther,  George,  Amanda,  John  T.,  Phoebe  and 
Edwin.  William  H.  settled  in  Huron,  where  he  died  ;  Eleanor  married  Cyrus  E.  Fitch 
and  seitled  in  Butler ;  Esther  married  James  McClure  and  settled  in  Tompkins  county  ; 
George  settled  in  Wolcott,  where  he  died ;  Amanda  married  Frank  W.  Hague  and 
settled  in  Niagara  county ;  Phoebe  married  first  Anthony  Curtis  and  second  Abraham 
Griswold,  and  settled  in  Wolcott;  Edward  settled  in  Sodus;  John  T.  settled  in  Sodus 
and  is  an  enterprising  farmer.  He  was  several  years  excise  commissioner,  and  in  1893 
was  elected  assessor.  He  married  in  1883  Adelia  L.,  daughter  of  John  Bates,  of  Sodus, 
by  whom  he  has  two  children  :     Leo  B.  and  Theda  J. 

Granger,  Sprague  S.,  was  born  in  Sodus,  April  10,  1849,  a  son  of  Thomas  J.,  who 
settled  in  the  town  of  Sodus  when  a  young  man,  the  land  then  being  unbroken  forest. 
He  cleared  and  brought  under  cultivation  several  farms,  and  in  1869  came  to  Sodus 
village  to  reside,  where  he  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  fanning 
mills.  He  belonged  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392.  He  married 
Satira  Negus,  and  had  these  children  :  George,  who  settled  in  Sodus,  where  he  is  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  fanning  mills,  etc.,  and  who  married  Tammy  Pulver  ;  Harriet  A., 
who  married  Hezekiah  Lake;  Samuel,  who  died  young;  and  Sprague  S.,  who  settled  in 
Sodus  and  established  a  lumber  yard,  carried  on  a  saw  and  planing  mill,  and  was  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  fanning  mills,  sash,  doors  and  blinds,  etc.,  carrying  on  for  several 
years  an  extensive  business.  He  was  also  engaged  in  basket  manufacturing.  He  takes 
a  keen  interest  in  political  affairs,  having  served  as  commissioner  of  highways,  etc.     He 


31G  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

takes  a  keen  interest  in  political  affairs,  having  served  as  commissioner  of  highways,  etc. 
He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Wayne  Chapter.  In  1872  he 
married  Alice  E.  Wride,  of  Sodus,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Bessie  W. 

Brower,  Aldice  W.,  was  born  near  Sodus  Center  December  23,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of 
Myron,  whose  father,  Peter  Brower,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  his  ancestors  having 
come  from  Holland.  He  settled  at  Phelps,  N.  Y.,  at  an  early  day  and  about  1830  pur- 
chased a  farm  about  a  miie  south  of  Sodus  Center  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He 
served  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Sodus  Center  Baptist  church, 
of  which  he  was  a  deacon.  He  married  Betsey  Van  Dusen  at  Phelps,  and  their  children 
were  :  Cynthia,  who  married  John  Yan  Duzer  and  settled  in  Sodus ;  John  was  a  miller  and 
settled  in  Michigan,  but  later  returned  to  Sodus  where  he  died ;  Aaron  settled  in  Sodus; 
Jane  married  Thomas  Hopkins,  of  Sodus.  Myron  Brower  settled  in  Sodus  and  was  a 
farmer.  He  married  Mary  Taylor,  and  they  had  these  children  :  Aldice  W.,  Mary  E., 
who  married  Walter  Thornton,  of  Sodus,  and  Bell,  who  married  Charles  Stell.  Aldice 
W.  was  engaged  in  farming  until  1872,  when  he  became  agent  of  the  railroad  at  Sodus 
Center,  which  position  he  still  holds.  In  1881  he  built  a  warehouse  there,  and  has  since 
been  engaged  in  the  produce  business.  He  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  four  years, 
supervisor  of  the  town  of  Sodus  three  years,  1887,  1888,  and  1889;  and  for  several  years 
has  been  notary  public.  In  February,  1873,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Sodus 
Center  and  held  that  office  until  July,  1893.  He  is  a  member  of  Sodus  Lodge  No.  392, 
F.'&  A.  M..  Wayne  Chapter  No.  276  and  Zenobia  Commandery,  No.  41,  of  Palmyra. 
In  December,  1863,  he  enlisted  in  the  9th  Heavy  Artillery,  and  served  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  He  is  a  charter  member  of  Dwight  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Sodus.  He  married  in 
1869  Urania  Dennis,  of  Sodus. 

Wolfe,  John,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg-Schwenn,  Germany,  January  29,  1830,  and 
came  to  this  country  in  1855.  He  was  a  cabinet  maker  by  trade,  and  in  December,  1893. 
established  the  grocery  business  now  carried  on  by  him,  having  one  of  the  best  selected 
stores  in  town,  and  keeping  a  line  of  cigars,  tobacco,  and  imported  goods.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-four  Mr.  Wolfe  married  Caroline  Winters,  daughter  of  Jacob  Winters,  and 
they  have  eight  children,  six  sons  and  two  daughters.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  active 
business  men  in  the  town,  thoroughly  up  in  all  the  events  of  the  day,  and  recognized  as 
a  man  of  strict  integrity  in  all  his  dealings. 

Howell,  Veron  R.,  was  born  in  Marion,  September  16,  1847,  a  son-of  Hiram  Howell, 
also  of  this  county,  born  November  15,  1814.  The  family  came  from  Orange.  Hiram 
married  Alma  Twadell,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  Veron  R.  The  latter  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  finished  at  the  Marion  Collegiate  Institute.  He  enlisted  in 
Co.  B,  9th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Artillery,  December  15,  1863,  and  participated  in  the  battles  of 
Cold  Harbor,  Monocacy  Junction,  Winchester,  Fisher's  Hill  and  Cedar  Creek,  having 
been  slightly  wounded  at  Cold  Harbor.  He  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of 
the  war,  in  1865.  Returning  to  Marion  he  finished  his  studies,  and  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
five  married  Hattie  E.,  daughter  of  Oliver  Sutton,  of  Lyons,  January  1,  1874.  He  was 
appointed  deputy  sheriff  under  R.  P.  Grost,  and  in  1877  removed  to  Lyons.  In  1882  he 
was  elected  sheriff  of  his  county,  serving  three  years.  In  1886  he  was  appointed  re- 
ceiver of  the  firm  of  J.  0.  Spencer  &  Co.,  of  Waterloo,  also  executor  and  administrator 
of  several  large  estates  in  his  county.  Mr.  Howell  is  identified  with  the  best  interests 
of  his  town  and  county. 

Van  Dusen,  Harlan,  was  born  in  Arcadia  July  26,  1846,  a  son  of  William,  who  came 
from  Rensselaer  county  in  1835.  The  family  were  prominent  farmers  in  this  town. 
Harlan  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  his  town  and  the  Marion  Collegiate 
Institute,  after  which  he  taught  for  three  years,  then  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Myron 
Adams  of  Rochester.  He  took  also  a  course  of  study  at  the  Hahneman  Medical  Col- 
lege of  Philadelphia,  and  graduated  from  the  Detroit  Medical  College  in  1872,  return- 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  317 

ing  to  Newark  He  there  established  a  general  practice  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
married  Lucy  0.  daughter  of  B.  B.  Adams,  of  Marion,  Wayne  county,  who  have  two 
children  Forest  E.  and  Harlan  H.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  most  intelligent  men  in 
his  profession,  and  has  also  lived  a  very  active  business  life,  being  the  promoter  and 
founder  of  some  of  the  largest  enterprises  in  his  county.  In  1859  he  established  the 
business  of  growing  small  fruits,  making  a  specialty  of  raspberries,  being  the  first 
grower  ot  the  Ohio  raspberries.  He  has  now  between  thirty  and  forty  acres  of  nur 
sery  stock,  small  fruits,  etc. 

Sautler,  Edward,  was  born  in  Utica,  September  4,  1865,  a  son  of  Christian  who  came 
from  Germany  in  1849.  Edward  was  educated  in  the  High  School  of  Utica  and  fin 
ished  at  the  business  college  of  that  place,  after  leaving  which  he  engaged  in' the  boot 
and  shoe  business.  February  5,  1889,  he  came  to  Lyons  and  established  the  business 
known  as  Hattler,  Sautler,  &  Co.,  which  was  dissolved  in  1893,  and  then  established  his 
present  business,  carrying  one  of  the  largest  lines  of  boots  and  shoes  and  rubber  cr00ds 
in  Wayne  county.  They  have  the  finest  goods  produced  by  the  trade,  and  Mr  Saut- 
tler  is  one  of  the  leading  merchants  in  the  town,  having  made  a  high  record  for  integ- 
rity and  uprightness.  & 

Smith,  Arthur  H.,  was  born  in  St.  John,  N.  B.,  July  2,  1847.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
who  came  to  Wayne  county  in  1848  and  engaged  in  the  malting  business  until  1884' 
when  his  son,  A.  H.,  became  a  partner  with  him  in  the  business.  In  1887  he  sold  out 
to  A.  H.  Smith  and  J.  K.  Southen,  of  Boston,  the  stvle  being  the  Smith  Maltino-  Com- 
pany, which  firm  continued  up  to  1890,  when  A.  H.  Smith  withdrew  and  built&a  malt 
house  for  himself.  In  1892  he  associated  with  F.  H.  Topping  of  Philadelphia  the  firm 
being  Smith  &  Topping,  who  continued  the  business  until  it  had  a  capacity  of  200  000 
bushels.  The  mas  built  a  malt  house  in  Weedsport.  He  died  in  1890  aged  eighty-three 
years.  A.  H.  Smith  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  Mary  B.,  daughter  of  David 
O  Bockoven,  and  they  have  two  children,  Arthur  H,  jr.,  and  Mrs.  Anna  Wood  Both 
Mr.  Smith  and  his  father  have  been  prominently  identified  with  the  best  interests  of 
their  town. 

Norton,  Luther  M.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Groveland,  Livingston  county  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1832,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Genesee  Wesleyan 
Seminary  at  Lima.  He  attended  in  addition  to  this  the  Genesee  and  Wyoming  Semi- 
nary at  Alexander,  and  was  a  successful  teacher  eight  years.  He  studied  law  in  the 
meantime,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  in  1855  since 
which  he  has  had  a  successful  practice.  He  has  resided  in  Newark  since  1851  In  the 
fall  of  1869  he  was  elected  county  judge,  serving  one  term.  In  the  fall  of  1891  he  was 
re-elected  to  the  same  position,  the  term  being  now  six  years.  In  1853  he  married 
Sarah  M.  Stilson  of  Mt.  Morns,  Livingston  county,  and  they  have  three  children  ■  Flora 
A.,  wife  of  William  Palmer,  of  Palmyra,  by  whom  she  has  two  children.  J.  Bradley  and 
Grace.  Mr.  Palmer  is  deceased.  The  other  children  are  Grace  M„  who  was  educated 
in  the  Elmira  Female  College,  and  is  teaching  in  Iowa;  and  Willis  I.,  who  married 
Maud,  daughter  of  William  Hicks  of  Phelps.  Judge  Norton  and  family  are  members 
of  the  Baptist  Church. 

Catlin,  Charles  M.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  August  22  1844 
and  came  to  this  county  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  locating  in  South 
Sodus.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  in  early  life  was  a  farmer  Au- 
gust 9,  1862,  he  eniisted  in  Co.  D,  111th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  and  was  promoted  corporal  ser- 
geant, then  commissary  sergeant.  June  11,  1865,  he  received  his  honorable  discharge 
and  upon  his  return  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade.  He  is  also  the  proprietor  of  a  steam 
saw  mill,  to  both  of  which  occupations  he  gives  his  attention.  December  25  1865  he 
married  Margaret  A.  Mitchell  of  this  town,  by  whom  he  has  six  children  ■  Mattie  L 
wife  of  Frank  Oderkirk  :  Minnie  R.,  wife  of  Lyman  W.  Riggs ;  Charles  J    who  is  in 


318  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

business  with  his  father;  Carrie  B.,  Eugene  D.,  and  Bertie  B.  Mr.  Catlin  is  a  member 
of  Vosburg  Post  No.  99,  G.  A.  R.  His  father  was  William  Catlin,  born  in  Phelps  about 
1810,  who  married  Lucy  Cummings  of  his  native  town,  and  they  had  five  children : 
Caroline,  Mary,  Charles  M.,  Joseph  W.,  and  Lucy  (who  died  young).  He  died  in  1854 
and  his  widow  survives.  Mrs.  Catlin's  father  was  Jeremiah  Mitchell,  born  in  Lyons  in 
1812,  who  married  Martha  Pope  of  Galen,  and  they  had  seven  children:  Rhoda  J., 
John  H.,  Calvin,  Margaret  A.,  Albert,  Jeremiah  and  Edward.  Both  parents  reside  in 
town. 

Mitchell,  Edward  C,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Arcadia  April  21,  1858,  was  educated 
at  Sodus  Academy,  and  is  one  of  Arcadia's  enterprising  farmers.  June  2.  1881,  he  mar- 
ried Adeline  Ford  of  Sodus,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  May  and  Ethel.  Mrs. 
Mitchell's  father,  Alonzo  Ford,  was  born  in  Sodus,  November  3,  1834.  February  20, 
1858,  he  married  Ellen  N.  Lester  of  Sodus,  formerly  of  Wyoming  county,  and  they 
had  one  child,  Adeline.  Mr.  Ford  died  September  7,  1869,  and  his  widow  resides  with 
her  daughter,  Mrs.  Mitchell. 

Horn,  George  A.,  was  born  in  Cayuga  county  September  22,  1853.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools,  and  is  a  patent  right  dealer  by  occupation.  He  is  also  putting  an 
invention  of  his  wife's  upon  the  market,  an  ingenuious  device,  or  pattern  for  cutting 
dresses.  Our  subject  married  Mrs.  Henrietta  Gray  nee  Sherwood,  who  is  traveling  in 
the  interests  of  her  own  invention.  Mr.  Horn's  father,  Lewis,  was  born  in  Kent,  Eng- 
land, March  23,  1826,  and  came  to  the  United  States  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  five. 
Tney  located  in  Rose  Valley,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  is 
now  salesman  for  his  son,  George  A.  March  25,  1850,  he  married  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Bene 
diet,  nee  Burghdorf,  of  this  county,  and  they  have  two  sons:  George  A.  and  L.  Duane, 
who  married  Aggie  Kelley,  of  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.  The  family  is  of  English  and 
German  descent,  and  residents  of  Newark. 

Van  Dusen,  John  H  ,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Marion,  Wayne  county,  April  12,  1830. 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  follows  farming.  August  2,  1862,  he  en- 
listed in  Co.  A,  160th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  and  when  his  company  was  organized  he  was  made 
third  sergeant,  was  taken  prisoner,  paroled,  and  wounded  in  action  in  the  right  arm, 
before  Bisland,  La.,  on  April  12,  1863.  He  was  honorably  discharged  in  1865,  and  May 
10th  of  that  year  he  married  Mary  A.  McFarlan,  of  Watertown,  Jefferson  county,  and 
they  have  five  children  :  Clara,  wife  of  Lawrence  McMaster,  who  has  two  children ; 
Tinie,  wife  of  Edward  Haley,  of  Blossburg,  Ba,,  who  has  one  child  ;  Drsue,  wife  of 
Arthur  Wheeler,  of  Canandaigua  ;  Ida  M.,  wife  of  Charles  M.  McCoy,  of  Kane,  Pa.  ; 
and  Charles  T.,  a  fruit  grower  and  farmer  who  resides  at  home.  Mrs.  Van  Dusen's 
father  was  John  McFarlan.  born  in  Canada  in  1804,  who  had  four  daughters :  Margaret, 
Mary,  Ethel  and  Kittie.     He  died  in  1885. 

Carl,  Amos  D.,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead,  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  town, 
January  28,  1849.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  follows  farming.  He 
has  married  twice,  first  to  Hannah  J.  Sebring,  by  whom  he  had  four  children :  Nora  B., 
Francis  J.,  Earl  S.  and  Grace.  Mrs.  Carl  died  in  1890,  and  February  25,  1891,  he  mar. 
ried  Ida  Cummings  of  Rochester,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Minnie  F.  Mr.  Carl's 
father,  Samuel,  was  born  in  Maine  in  1800,  and  came  here  with  his  parents  when 
a  child,  the  journey  being  made  in  a  covered  wagon.  He  married  Jane  Drake  of 
this  town,  and  they  had  eight  children  :  Catharine,  Amos  D.,  Sarah  J.,  Benjamin  F., 
Joseph  D.,  Mary,  Ella  and  Jehiel.  The  father  died  about  1878,  and  his  widow  survives. 
Mr.  Carl's  grandfather,  Benjamin,  came  here  when  the  country  was  a  wilderness,  and 
suffered  all  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life. 

Travers,  Mrs.  Jane  A.,  was  born  in  Arcadia.  The  late  George  W.  Travers  was  a  native 
of  Wayne  county,  born  November  17,  1840,  and  was  educated  in  the  district  schools. 


FAMILY   SKETCHES.  319 

His  early  life  was  spent  at  farm  work,  and  his  mother  died  when  he  was  seven  years  of 
age.  February  4,  1866,  he  married  Jane  A.  Miller,  of  the  town  of  Arcadia,  hy  whom  he 
had  three  children:  William,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Hattie  M.,  who  died  in  her  eleventh 
year;  and  Nettie  A.,  who  resides  with  her  mother.  Mr.  Travers  was  a  railway  con- 
ductor on  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  and  died  April  25,  1892.  Mrs.  Travers's  father, 
Silas  Miller,  was  born  ia  the  town  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county  about  1816.  (See  Edgar 
D,  Miller's  history  in  this  work). 

Mitchell,  Albert,  was  born  in  the  old  homestead  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  November  6, 
1847.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  has  always  followed  farming.  He 
owns  a  fine  farm  in  Ingham  county,  Mich.,  on  which  his  oldest  son  is  located,  while  he  is 
farmer  for  his  aged  parents  here.  December  13,  1868,  he  married  Caroline  Sebring  of 
this  town,  and  they  have  three  sons:  Lyman  J.,  Charles  A.,  and  George  H.  Lyman 
married  Mahala  Darling,  of  Jackson  county,  Mich.,  and  they  have  one  son,  Hugh  D.. 
born  February  13,  1893.  Mrs.  Albert  Mitchell's  father,  Philip  Sebring,  was  born  in 
Dutchess  county  March  2,  1809,  and  married  Lydia  Gilllet  of  Lyons,  born  in  Dutchess 
county  August  30,  1817,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children  ;  James,  Alfred,  a  soldier  in  the 
Rebellion,  who  died  from  starvation  in  Salisbury  Prison,  North  Carolina;  Ira,  also  a  sol- 
dier; Edgar,  Susan,  who  died  aged  twelve;  Caroline,  Hannah  J.,  who  died  aged  thirty- 
nine  •  Charles  A.,  Fannie  and  Sylvester.  He  died  September  2,  1866,  and  his  wife  died 
August  153  1883. 

Frisbie,  Alexander,  was  born  in  Canaan,  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  September  19,  1824, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  has  followed  farming.  In  1851  he  married 
Mary  A.  Lay  of  his  native  county  and  they  had  four  daughters:  Phoebe  and  Ruth 
(twins).  Susan  and  Judith,  all  deceased  except  Mrs.  Ruth  Miller  of  East  Newark.  Mrs. 
Frisbie  died  July  28,  1888,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  husband  and  daughter.  Mr.  Frisbie 
has  built  up  his  success  by  his  own  perseverance  and  energy,  The  Frisbie  family  came 
originally  from  France,  they  being  Huguenots  who  fled  to  Wales,  and  from  there  came 
to  the  United  States. 

Ehrhardt,  George,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France  (now  Germany),  February  6,  1825,  and 
came  to  this  country  with  his  parents  when  five  years  old  in  1830,  and  they  located  in 
Lyons,  this  county.  April  10,  1856,  he  married  Lena  Schimp,  of  his  native  town,  and 
their  children  are  as  follows :  Diedrich,  who  married  Helen  Baltzel,  and  has  three  children, 
Frank,  Grover,  and  Belle;  M.  Jane,  who  married  Jacob  Hartman,  of  Palmyra,  and  has 
three  children,  Diedrich,  Anna  M  ,  and  Raymond ;  George  H.,  who  married  Mary 
Heidenreich,  and  has  three  children,  Rupert,  Eveline,  and  Edna  (who  {died  young)  ; 
Philip  E.,  who  married  Elizabeth  Rasche,  and  had  one  child,  Raymond  E.  (who  died 
young)  ;  Rosa  M.,  who  married  George  Baltzel,  and  had  four  children,  Albertine  M., 
Mabel  R.,  Esther  M.,  and  Ruth  L.  Mr.  Baltzel  died  in  June,  1892;  E.  Belle,  who  is  a 
teacher,  and  resides  at  home  ;  Louisa  (deceased) ;  William  F.,  and  Frederick,  who  are 
farmers,  and  living  at  home.     Mr.  Ehrhardt  has  owned  the  homestead  farm  since  1872. 

Sheer,  the  late  Jacob,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France  (now  Germany),  May  30,  1826,  and 
at  the  age  of  eleven  years  came  to  the  United  States  with  his  parents,  where  he  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools.  They  finally  came  to  the  town  of  Lyons,  and  later  to  the 
town  of  Arcadia.  July  25,  1850,  he  married  Elizabeth  Ehrhardt,  and  they  had  eight 
children,  four  sons  and  four  daughters:  George  H.,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Mary  L.,  who 
married  John  Benning,  of  Lyons;  Albert  D.,  who  married  Louisa  Kaiser,  of  Fairville, 
and  is  a  postal  clerk  ;  George  E.,  a  farmer  at  home  for  himself  and  his  mother.  He  mar- 
ried Clara  Austin,  of  this  town  ;  and  Helen  A.,  who  married  William  H.  Welcher,  now 
of  Lyons  ;  Harold,  Emma  E.,  and  Caroline  D.  are  deceased.  Mr.  Sheer  died  February 
7,  1889.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Sheer  was  Dederich  Erhardt,  who  was  born  in  Alsace,  and 
married  Dorothy  Brock,  of  his  native  place.     They  had  six  children,  Lena,  Dorothy, 


320  LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 

George,  Philip,  Elizabeth,  and  a  daughter.     This  excellent  family  came   to  the  United 
States  in  1830. 

Craver,  Phillip  H.,  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county,  July  15,  1825,  and  came  herewith 
his  parents  in  1841.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  has  taught  school 
winters  several  terms.  He  is  a  farmer  by  occupation.  November  14,  1863,  he  married 
Martha  Burnett,  of  this  town.  Two  children  were  born  to  them,  James  A.,  a  farmer  at 
home  with  his  father,  and  Emma,  who  also  resides  at  home.  The  son  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  and  the  Commercial  College  at  Rochester.  Mr.  Craver's  father, 
David  I.,  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county,  February  5,  1796.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
mechanic  by  occupation.  He  married  Elizabeth  Fellers,  of  that  county.  They  had 
three  children,  Phillip  H,  Charity,  and  Melissa.  He  died  April  5,  1885,  and  his  wife 
October  1,  1882.  Mrs.  Craver's  father,  William  Burnett,  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county, 
March  3,  1802.  On  August  24,  1822,  he  married  Betsey  Budd,  of  Columbia  county,  by 
whom  he  had  eight  children. 

Bennett,  Clark,  was  born  in  Niagara  county  in  1856.  His  father  was  Orrin  S.,  a  son 
of  Thomas  Bennett,  who  came  from  Vermont  in  an  early  day  and  settled  in  Barre, 
Orleans  county.  In  1873  Orrin  S.  removed  to  Wayne  county  and  settled  in  Sodus. 
He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  which  he  followed  for  some  time,  and  later  engaged  in 
farming.  He  married  Salome  Baldwin,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Clark  T.  and 
Orlando.  Orrin  S.  died  in  1893.  Orlando  Bennett  settled  in  Sodus  Point.  On  arriving 
at  manhood  our  subject  was  engaged  in  farming  for  several  years,  but  since  1882  has 
had  charge  of  the  mercantile  business  of  E.  B.  Mathes,  at  Sodus  Center.  In  1880  he 
married  Florence,  daughter  of  John  Brant.  She  died  in  1887,  leaving  two  children, 
Ross  and  Lulu.     In  1888  Mr.  Bennett  married  Helen  Proseus. 

Patrick,  the  late  Isaac  N.,  was  born  in  Pittsford,  Monroe  county,  November  7,  1822, 
and  came  to  this  town  with  his  parents  when  three  years  old.  He  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  and  was  always  a  farmer.  December  23,  1869,  he  married  Mary  Ann 
Derry,  who  was  born  April  10,  1840,  in  Fendrayton,  Cambridgeshire,  England.  They 
had  two  children,  Sarah  E.,  who  married  John  C.  Penoyer,  of  Bristol,  Ontario  county, 
and  has  three  children  ;  and  Walter  J.,  who  was  horn  February  8,  1865,  was  educated 
in  the  district  schools  and  at  Newark  Union  School  and  Academy,  and  is  a  farmer  on 
the  home  farm.  February  7,  1884,  he  married  Julia  A.  Bloom,  of  this  town,  and  they 
had  one  son,  Newton  J.,  born  April  17,  1888,  who  died  August  7,  1893.  Isaac  N.  Pat- 
rick died  March  22,  1888,  mourned  by  a  bereaved  wife  and  family.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  order.  His  father,  John,  was  born  March  1,  1788,  and  was  a  captain  in 
the  war  of  1812,  and  a  Mason.  Mrs.  Patrick's  brother,  Aldred  Derry,  was  a  soldier  in 
the  late  war  in  the  cavalry  branch  of  the  service,  and  was  promoted  to  the  position  of 
captain.  John  Patrick  was  a  manufacturer  of  plows.  The  Patrick  family  located  on 
this  homestead  about  1828.     The  ancestry  of  this  family  is  Scotch  and  English. 

Blakely,  La  Mott  M.,  a  native  of  the  State  of  New  York,  was  born  in  Wyoming 
county  in  the  year  1830,  where  h's  parents,  who  were  natives  of  Vermont,  settled  in 
1817.  His  mother's  parents  were  English,  and  his  father's  were  Scotch.  In  his  younger 
days  he  attended  school  in  Wyoming  county,  and  later  at  Honeoye  and  Richmond 
Mills,  Ontario  county,  and  completed  his  education  at  the  East  Bloomfield  Academy. 
He  began  business  in  the  lumber  trade  in  Iowa  and  Illinois,  and  later  extending  his 
operations  to  the  Missouri  river,  became  a  heavy  shipper  of  lumber  from  points  on  the 
Mississippi  river  to  all  points  on  the  Missouri  river  below  St.  Joseph,  and  continuing 
the  business  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  which  closed  for  the  time  all  traffic 
on  the  Missouri.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  went  to  Atlanta.  Georgia,  where  he 
engaged  in  an  extensive  cotton  trade,  which  later  he  pursued  at  Washington,  Newbern, 
and  Greenville,  North  Carolina,  handling  at  one  time  a  large  portion  of  all  the  cotton 
received  at  these  ports.     Still  later  he  resumed  the  lumber  trade  and  became  one  of 


FAMILY  SKETCHES.  321 

the  heaviest  operators  in  the  South.  These  operations  extended  over  twenty  years,  and 
Georgetown,  S.  C,  and  Washington,  and  Newbern,  N.  C,  were  the  principal  points  of 
these  operations.  During  his  long  stay  in  the  South  he  won  the  respect  and  good  will 
of  the  southern  people,  and  few,  if  any,  has  more  warm  friends  in  the  sunny  south  to- 
day. He  returned  to  Lyons  a  few  years  ago,  where  his  people  had  resided  since  1848. 
From  the  time  of  his  return  he  has  taken  great  interest  in  the  advancement  of  Lyons. 
He  has  served  as  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  ;  was  made  an  alternate  delegate  to 
the  national  convention  at  Minneapolis  in  1892,  and  last  March  was  elected  president 
of  the  village,  and  has  been  active  in  matters  tending  to  improve  the  village,  especially 
the  streets  and  water  courses.  His  administration  has  been  characterized  both  by 
public  improvements  and  the  economical  expenditure  of  public  money. 

Grenell,  Herman,  was  born  in  Galen,  March  9, 1843,  son  of  Herman  and  Lydia  (Cobbj 
Grenell,  he  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  she  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  and  came  to 
Galen  when  Mr.  Grenell  was  eight  years  old,  with  his  parents,  John  and  Lucy  Grenell, 
natives  of  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Grenell  died  in  April,  1885,  and  his  wife  in  1890.  Sub- 
ject was  reared  on  a  farm  and  educated  in  the  public  schools.  He  has  always  been  a 
farmer  and  owns  seventy-five  acres  in  Galen  and  200  in  Rose.  He  married  in  1865, 
Marion  C.  Griner,  a  native  of  Clyde,  and  daughter  of  Barney  and  Phoebe  Griner,  early 
settlers  of  Clyde,  where  they  died.  Mr.  Grenell  and  wife  had  three  children :  Eugene, 
who  married  Ida  Glove,  by  whom  he  has  one  child,  Florence ;  Lydia,  wife  of  Edward 
Luffman,  who  died  aged  twenty-two  years  leaving  one  child ;  and  Ada  at  home. 


INDEXES. 


Adams,  William  H.,  Gen.,  115 
Agricultural  fair,  the  first,  159 

Horticultural  and  Mechanical  Asso- 
ciation of  Galen,  163 

Society,  Ontario,  160 

Palmyra,  Union,  162 
Sodus,  164 
Wayne  County,  160 
Aldrich,  W.  F.,  117 
Alloway,  246 
Alton,  214 

Angell's  Corners,  277 
Arcadia,  cemeteries  in,  364 

churches  of,  377  et  seq. 

first  town  meeting  in,  358 

pioneers  of,  360  et  seq. 

schools  of,  365 

statistics  of,  363 

supervisors  of,  359 

topography  of,  357 
Arcadian  Weekly  Gazette,  the,  142 
Arne,  David,  Dr.,  129 
Arnold,  George  H.,  120 
Ashley,  Robert,  Dr.,  129 

R.  W.,  117 
Attorneys  of  Wayne  county,  112 
Averill,  E.  S. ,  132 
Bank,  Briggs  National,  271 

First  National,  of  Newark,  373 
of  Palmyra,  187 

Lyons  National,  245 

of  Lyons,  245 

Wayne  County,  187 
Bankers  of  Clyde,  271 

of  Lyons,  245 

of  Newark,  373 

of  Wolcott,  297 


Banks  of  Sodus,  211 
Barless  Brothers,  the,  145 

Romain  C,  Dr.,  129 
Bashford,  Coles,  117 
Bennett,  Josiah,  Dr.,  128 
Bonnicastle,  425 
Bottum,  Edward  W.,  Dr.,  125 
Burgess   Brothers    (W.    C.    and   F.    D.), 

142 
Burnham,  Edwin  K. ,  134 
Burr,  H.  N.,  Dr.,  143 
Butler  Center,  435 

churches  of,  435  et  seq. 

first  town  meeting  in,  428 

pioneers  of,  429  et  seq. 

schools  of,  434 

statistics  of,  433 

supervisors  of,  428 

topography  of,  42  7 
Camp,  John  H.,  116 
Canal  schemes,  71 
Chapin,  Graham  H.,  115 
Churches  of  Arcadia,  377 

Butler,  435 

Galen,  277 

Huron,  425 

Lyons,  246 

Macedon,  344 

Marion,  392 

Ontario,  326 

Palmyra,  191 

Rose,  415 

Savannah,  356 

Sodus,  215 

Walworth,  400 

Williamson,  316 

Wolcott,  300 


134 


LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 


Civil   divisions,    original,    of    New  York 
State,  1 

list,  96 
demons,  Anson  B.,  133 
Climatology,  5 
Clyde  Electric  Company,  270 

fire  department  of,  269 

glass  manufacture  in,  272 

malting  interest  in,  274 

manufacturers  of,  272  et  seq. 

mineral  springs  in,  272 

pioneers  of,  264 

presidents  of,  267 

Times,  the,  139 

water  supply  of,  270 
Colvin,  Darwin,  Dr.,  126 
Cooper,  George  W. ,  142 
County  Poorhouse,  164 
Court,  Chancery,  104 

County,  106 

house,  the  first,  111 

of  Appeals,  102 

Special  Sessions,  109 

vSupreme,   103 

Surrogate's,  107 
Courts,  evolution  of  the,  101 
Crafts,  Alfred  P.,  Dr.,  129 
Crandall,  F.  G.,  133 

Packing  Company,  189 
Crittenden,  Hulburt,  Dr.,  131 
Culver,  Charles,  Dr.,  130 
Curtis,  E.,  144 
David,  William  G.,  Dr.,  130 
Democratic  Herald,  the,  140 
Dickson,  John  J.,  Dr.,  128 
1  )istrict  attorneys,  109 
East  Palmyra,  190 

Williamson,  316 
Eddy  Brothers  (M.  Allen  and  William  S.), 

144 
Ehart,  Albert  M.,  140 
Ely,  Linus,  Dr.,  130 
English  duplicity,  27 
Erie  Canal,  67 
Fairvillle,  376 

Families,  list  of  heads  of,  settled  west  of 
pre-emption  line  in  1790,  33 


Fish,  H.  H.,  142 
Forte,  Irwin  A.,  140 
Fruit  culture,  93 
Fruitland,  326 
Furnace  Village,  300 
Furnaceville,  326 
Galen,  cemeteries  of,  26:> 

churches  of,  277  et  seq. 

first  town  meeting  in,  255 

pioneers  of,  256  et  seq. 

roads  of,  254 

schools  of,  262 

statistics  of,  255 

supervisors  of,  255 

topography  of,  251 
Garlock  Packing  Company,  189 
Genesee  country,  the,  in  1792.  36 
in  1796,  37 

Road,"  the  "Great,  35 
Geology,  4 
Glenwood,  415 

Globe  Manufacturing  Company,  189 
Greenwood,  William,  Dr.,  128 
Hall  Center,  392 
Holly,  John  M.,  116 
Huron,  churches  of,  425  et  seq. 

first  town  meeting  in,  420 

pioneers  of,  421  et  seq. 

schools  of,  424 

statistics  of,  424 

supervisors  of,  420 

topography  of,  417 
Hyde,  Zenas,  Dr.,  124 
Hydeville,  377 
Indian  remains,  13 
Indians,  Cayuga  and  Seneca,  11 

in  Wayne  connty,  9 

part  taken  by  the,  in  the  early  wars,  12 
Iron  ore,  8 

Jerome,  Hiram  K.,  115 
Jesuits  and  the  Indians,  11 
Jewell,  Ezra,  115 
Johnson,  Lawrence,  Dr.,  130 
Joy,   214 

Judges  from  Wayne  county,  107 
Ketchum,  L.  S.,  118 
Kingman,  Charles  M.,  Dr.,  131 


INDEX. 


325 


Kirkland,  Samuel,  Rev.,  12 
Knowles,  George  W. ,  134 

sr.,  John,  Dr.,  130 
Lake  Bluff,  425 
Lakeside,  326 

Lake  Shore  News,  the,  145 
Land  divisions,  early,  14  et  seq. 

by  State  commissions,  25 
Lawton,  Charles  D. ,  119 
Limestone,  8 
Lincoln,  400 

Livingston,  George  P.,  Dr.,  131 
Lock,  Berlin,  276 
Lummis,  William  N.,  Dr.,  126 
Lummisville,425 
Lux,  Albert  C,  141 
Lyons  Academy,  236 

Advertiser,  the,  135 

Board  of  Trade,  245 

churches  of,  246  et  seq. 

Courant,  the,  138 

Driving  Park  Association,   161 

Electric  Light  Company,  244 

Musical  Academy,  237 

pioneers  of,  223  et  seq. 

Republican,  the,  134,  136 

schools  of,  235 

statistics  of,  235 

supervisors  of,  222 

topography  of,  221 

village,  fire  department  of,  244 
incorporation  of,  243 
presidents  of,  243 
settlement  and  pioneers  of,  238 
et  seq. 

Water  Works  Company,  244 
Macedon  Academy,  336  et  seq. 

cemeteries  in,  335 

Center,  342 

churches  of,  344  et  seq. 

first  town  meeting  of,  330. 

Historical  and  Geographical  Society, 
339 

pioneers  of,  332  et  seq. 

schools  of,  336 

statistics  of,  331 

supervisors  of,  330 


Macedon  topography  of,  329 
village,  339  et  seq. 

Mann,  Hiram,  Dr.,  130 

Map  of  Central  and  Western  New  York 
in  1809,  40 

Genesee  lands,  between  20  and  21 
Lake  Iroquois,  3 
Western  New  York,  22 
outline,  of  pre-emption  lines,  16 

Marbletown,  377 

Marengo,  276 

Marion,  cemeteries  in,  388 
churches  of,  392 
Collegiate  Institute,  389 
Enterprise,  the,  144 
first  town  meeting  in,  383 
Horse  Trotters'  Association,  164 
pioneers  of,  384  et  seq. 
schools  of,  389 
statistics  of,  390 
supervisors  of,  384 
topography  of,  382 
village,  390 

Mason,  Clark,  119 

Masonic,  146  et  seq. 

Clyde  Lodge,  No.  341,  149 
Galen  Lodge,  No.  367,  149 
Humanity  Lodge,  No.  283,  147 
No.  406,  159 
Macedon  Lodge,  No.  665,  154 
Mount  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  112,  151 
Newark  Lodge,  No.  83,  150 
Palmyra  Lodge,  No.  248,  151 
Pultneyville  Lodge,  No.  159,  146 
Red  Creek  Lodge,  No.  560,  154 
Rose  Lodge,  No.  590,  155 
Savannah  Lodge,  No.  764,  153 
Sodus  Lodge,  No.  392,  147 
Walworth  Lodge,  No.  254,  153 
Wayne  Lodge,  153 
Griswold  Chapter,  201,  150 
Newark  Chapter,  No.  117,  151 
Palmyra  Eagle  Chapter,  No.  79,  152 
Raymond  Chapter,  No,  100,  E.  S.,  154 
Wayne  Chapter,  No.  276,  147 
Palmyra  Council,  No.  26,  152 
Zenobia  Commandery,  No.  41,  152 


326 


LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY 


.May.  William,  Dr.,  130 

Meadville,  or  Lockpit,  277 

Medical  Society,  Wayne  County,  121 

Wayne  County  Homeopathic,  124 

Middleton,  George  H.,  118 

Military  Tract,  the,  21 

Mormonism,   76 

Morris  Reserve,  the,  '21 

Robert,    and    the    London    Associa- 
tion, 28 

Newark  Academy,  366 
Fair  Association,  164 
tire  department,  372 
incorporation  of,  371 
pioneers  of,  867  et  seq. 
presidents  of,  371. 
Union,  the,   142 
Weekly  Courier,  the,  141 

New  York  and  Genesee  Land  Company, 
IT 

State  Custodial  Asylum,  374 

Newsgatherer,  the,  Macedon,  144 

Niagara  Genesee  Land  Company,  17 

Norris  Fruit  Evaporator,  211 

North  Huron,  424 
Rose,  414 
Wolcott,  300 

Norton,  Luther  M.,  119 

(  >dd  Fellows,  155  et  seq. 

Bay  Shore  Lodge,  No.  606,  1 58 
Butler  Lodge,  No.  504,  158 
Clyde  Lodge,  No.  300,  156 
East  Ridge  Lodge,  No.  415,  158 
Galen  Lodge,  No.  198(36),  156 
Lyons  Lodge,  No.  75,  157 

No.  317,  158 
Newark  Lodge,  No.  196,  157 

No.  250,  157 
North  Sodus  Lodge,  No.  454,  15s 
Ontario  Shore  Lodge,  No.  495,  159 
Phil  Sheridan  Lodge,  No.  430,   15.') 
Pierian  Lodge.  No.  243,  155 
Wayne  Lodge,  No.  158,  155 
Canton  Galen,  No.  49,  150 
Wayne  Encampment,  No.  85,  157 
Component  No.  IT  of  (hand  Canton 
Stebbins,    1 5s 


Olin  S..  Dr.,  130 

Ontario  Agricultural  Society,  bid 

Center,  326 

churches  of,  326 

Iron  Company,  320 

loss  of  town  records  of,  321 

pioneers  of,  321  et  seq. 

schools  of.  32 I 

statistics  of,  325 

topography  of,  319 

village,  325 
Palmyra,  cemeteries  of ,  177 

churches  of,  191 

Classical  Union  School,  17s 

Courier,  the,  132 

I  >emocrat,  the,  134 

early  roads  of,  166 

Electric  Light  and  Power  Company, 
is; 

first  town  meeting  in,  167 

Freeman,  the,  132 

Gas  Light  Company,  187 

Journal,  the,  134 

pioneers  of,  168  et  seq. 

Register,  the,   132 

schools  of,  17  T 

settlement  of  Long  Island  Colony  in 

172 
statistics  of,  1  79 
supervisors  of,  168 
topography  of,  165 
Union  Agricultural  Society,  162 
village,  179  et  seq. 
business  of,  190 
early  days  of,   ISO 
incorporation  of,  is:; 
merchants  of,  181 
presidents  of,  ISO 
Whig,  the,  132 
Peck,  Nelson,  Dr.,  130 
Peddie,  James,  lis 
Phelps  &  Gorham  purchase,  18 
Phelps's  "  mill  yard,"  19 
Physicians,  early,  121  el  seq. 
Pierce,  Jeremiah  B.,  Dr.,  130 
Pioneers,  character  and  methods  of,  6 
condition  of,  46 


INDEX. 


327 


Plumb,  S.  Hiram,  \)\\,  129 
Pomeroy,  Charles  G.,  Dr.,  126 
Port  Glasgow  (Resort  post-office),  425 
Pre-emption  lines,  the,  15 
Prices  of  commodities  in  1801,  52 
Pultneyville,  314. 
Railroads,    74 
Red  Creek,  -.".is 

Herald,  the,  140 
Regiment,  Seventeenth,  84 

Twenty-seventh,  84 

Thirty-third,  85 

Forty-fourth,  85 

Ninety-eighth,  85 

One  Hundred  and  Eleventh,  86 

One  Hundred  and  Thirty-eighth,  87 

One  Hundred  and  Sixtieth,  88 

Eighth,  Cavalry,  89 

Twenty-second,  Cavalry,  91 

First,  Veteran  Cavalry,  89 
Rice's  Settlement,  425 
Roads  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  53 
Robinson,  Gain,  Dr.,  128 

Thomas,  120 
Rogers,  Ryland  J.,  Dr.,  130 
Rose,  cemeteries  in,  411 

churches  or  415  et  seq. 

first  town  meeting  in,  404 

"money  diggers"  in,  411 

pioneers  of,  405  et  seq. 

schools  of,  410 

statistics  of,  409 

supervisors  of,  405 

topography  of,  402 

Union,  the,  145 

Valley,  413 
Routes,  early,  into  Wayne  county,  35 
Roys,  Charles  H.,  120 
Russell,  Allen  S.,  Dr.,  128 
"Salt  Hollow,"  Sodus,  198 
Savannah,  churches  of,  350 

first  town  meeting  in,  340 

News,  the,  142 

pioneers  of,  349  et  seq. 

schools  of,  353 

statistics  of,  353 

supervisors  of,  349 


Savannah  Times,  the,   I  13 

topography  of,  :;  Hi 

village,  354 
Settlement,  the  beginning  of,  :;n  el    i  q. 

the  first,  in  Wayne  County,  -II 
Sickness  in  early  years,  0 
Sisson,  William,  117 
Sherman,  Fletcher  J.,  [)r.,  125 
Sherwood,  Clinton  R.,  138 

Lyman,  116 
Shut-in-Visitor,  the,  144 
Sodus  Academy,  210 

Agricultural  Society,  104 

Bay,  3,  43 

cemeteries  in,  209 

Center,  213 

churches  of,  215  et  seq. 

early  town  meetings  in,  200 

pioneers  of,  202  et  seq. 

Point,  212 

roads  and  railroads  in,  1  lis 

schools  of,  209 

statistics  of,   198,  210 

supervisors  of,  201 

topography  of,  197 

village,  211  et  seq. 
South  Butler,  434 

Huron  (Huron  post-office),  425 

Sodus,  214 
Springs,  sulphur  and  salt,  7 
"  State's  hundred,"  25 
Stow,  William  S.,  118 
Streams,  5 

Strong,  Theron  R.,  113 
Surrogates,  108 

Sweeting,  Mortimer  F.,  Dr.,  131 
Taft,  Horatio  N.,  119 
Teall,  Willis  C,  143 
Thomas,  William  H.,  145 
Tinsley,  William  T.,  137 
Towns,  dates  of  formation  of,  2 
Transportation,  means  of,  05 
Tucker,  Pomeroy,  132 
Valentine,  Peter,  Dr.,  128 
Van  Camp,  sr.,  William,  135 
Vosburg,  Hiram  D.,  Dr.,  125 

William,  Dr.,  131 


328 


LANDMARKS   OF    WAYNE    COUNTY. 


Wallington,  213 
Walworth,  cemeteries  in,  399 
churches  of,  400  et  seq. 
incomplete  records  of,  395 
pioneers  uf,  395  et  seq. 
schools  of,  398 
statistics  of,  398 
topography  of,  394 
village,   399 
War  of  1812,   55 

effects  of   on  Wayne  county,  63 
of  the  Rebellion,  83 
Wayne  Center,  414 

county,  after  the  Rebellion,  !M 

Agricultural  Society,  160 

Alliance,  the.  14:! 

area  of,  8 

attorneys  of,  112 

Building,  Loan  and  Accumulat- 
ing Fund  Association,  188 

climate  of,  5 

dates   of   the   formation    of    the 
towns  of,  2 

Dispatch,  the,  133 

erection  of,  73 

first  courts  in,  110 

geology  of,  4 

Homeopathic    Medical    Society. 
124 

Journal,  the,  133 

Medical  Society,  121 

natural  characteristics  of,  7 

newspapers  of,  132  et  seq. 

Preserving  Company,  376 

soil  of,  2 

statistics  of,  94 


Wayne  county  streams  of,  5 

Democratic  Press,  the,  135 

Sentinel,  the,  132 
Weier,  John  E.,  134 
West  Butler,  435 

Macedon,  342 

Walworth,  399 
Western  New  York,  condition  of,  at   the 

close  of  the  Revolution,  ".'(i 
Wilkinson,  Jemima,  31 
Williamson,  cemeteries  in,  312 

churches  of,  316  et  seq. 

first  town  meeting  in,  305 

pioneers  of,  307  et  seq. 

schools  of,  312 

Sentinel,   the,  143 

statistics  of,  306 

supervisors  of,  306 

topography  of,   304 

village,   313 
Williamson,  Charles,  29,  35,  4",';  policy  of, 

50;  159,  202 
Wilson,  J.,  141 

James  M.,  Dr.,  129 
Wolcott,  cemeteries  in,  293 

churches  of,  300  et  seq. 

first  town  meeting  in,  284 

pioneers  of,  286  et  seq. 

roads  of,  284 

schools  of,  293 

statistics  of,  292 

supervisors  of,  286 

topography  of,  282 

village,  295  et  seq. 
Zurich,  376 


INDEX.  329 


PART  II. 


Allerton,  Oliver  Hurd, 10 

Bickford,  Lyman, .  13 

Blakely,  Lamott  M. , -37 

Botcher,    Carl, 23 

Burnham,   Edwin  K. , 12 

Camp,  John  Henry, 7 

Clark,  William, 16 

Cowles,   George  W., 26 

Dun  well,  James  W. , 34 

Edgett,  Ezra  A. , - 9 

Fisher,  Jacob, 28 

Ford,  Charles  H., 32 

Gaylord  Family,  the, - 36 

Green,  Byram, 39 

Greenwood,  Marvin  I. , 33 

Griffith,  Frederick  W., 31 

Hopkins,  M. , 41 

Hotchkiss,  Hiram  G., 29 

Landon,  Newell  E.,  Dr., 26 

Mestler,  Nicholas, 12. 

Miller,  Edgar  D.,._ 14 

Parshall,  De  Witt  W.,... 38 

Sawyer,  S.  N. , 9 

Saxton,  Charles  T., 2 

Sexton,  Pliny,... 18 

Sexton,  Pliny  T., 21 

Sherman,  Charles  B., 40 

Stuerwald,  John, 14 

Thomas,  Orlando  F. , , 15 

Williams,  Stephen  K. , • 5 

Yeomans,  Theron  G. , 23 


PART  III, 

ARCADIA. 


Allerton,  Byron,  299  Barnard,  Walter,  34 

Allerton,  Henry  R.,  300  Barnes,  John  W.,  Dr.,  297 

Amerman,  Albert,  298  Bartle,  Andrew  C,  24 

Axtell,  Wells  H.,  299  Bartle,  Warren  S.,  303 


pp 


mo 


LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 


Benton,  John  W.,  32 

Blackmar,  Ransom  and  Esbon,  .311 

Blossom,  William  H.,  297 

Botcher,  Carl,  294 

Brewer,  Fred  J.,  298 

Brownell,  M.  Alice,  30 

Bryant,  Lewis  J.,  23 

Burgess,  A.  P.,  Rev.,  301 

Burleigh,  Emor  E.,  298 

Burnett,  Daniel,  294 

Burnham,  Edwin  K.,  24 

Carl,  Amos  D.,  318 

Catlin,  Charles  M.,  317 

Conklin,  Clarence,  37 

Craver,  Philip  H.,  320 

Cronise  Family,  the,  310 

Cronise,  John  S. ,  293 

Crothers,  Charles  L.,  293 

Cull,  William  C,  292 

Dewey,  James  S.,  291 

Dickson,  William,  305 

Dillenbeck,  John,  290 

Donk,  August,  43 

Drake,  Harry  R. ,  302 

Edgett,  Ezra  A.,  48 

Eggleston,  Henry,  290 

Ehrhardt,  George,  319 

Finley,  Luther,  288 

Fisk,  H.  Hudson,  312 

Fleming,  William,  289 

Frey,  Leonard,  288 

Frey,  Philip,  288 

Frisbie,  Alexander,  319 

Galusha,  Robert  M.,  286 

Garlock,  Abram,  284 

Garlock,  Frank,  118 

Garlock,  James  P.,  58 

Gaslin,  George  B.,  283 

Gifford,  John  P.,  286 

Gilbert,  Joseph,  284 

Gray,  Peter,  283 

Greenwood,  Marvin  I.,  282 

Groat,  Richard  P.,  283 

Gulick,  Charles  L.,  307 

Hamm,  Moses  F.,  59 

Hankenson,  Edward  L.,  303 

Hartnagel,  Leonard,  278 


Hoeltzel,  George,  306 
Hoffman,  Frederick,  276 
Horn,  George  A.,  318 
Hyde,  Artemas  W. ,  304 
Hyde,  William  H  ,  276 
Jenkins,  Thomas  J.,  275 
Jones,  Albert  N.,  274 
Kaiser,  John,  273 
Keener,  Stephen  N.,  273 
Keir,  Alexander,  274 
Keller,  Jacob,  72 
Kelley,  Albert  E. ,  74 
Kelley,  Charles  E.,  302 
Kelley,  Clarence  M. ,  312 
Kelley,  William  H.,  224 
Kennedy,  Thomas,  273 
Kneeland,  Francis  W.,  Rev.,  273 
Langdon,  Thomas,  270 
Landon,  Newell  E. ,  75 
Leggett,  Charles  E.,  272 
Lincoln,  Theron  L.,  272 
Lovejoy,  David  W.,  271 
Lusk,  Christopher,  270 
McDermott,  John  B.,  268 
McDonald,  Nicholas  L.,  78 
Marble  Brothers,  308 
Miller,  E.  Alvin,  267 
Miller,  Frederick  C,  308 
Miller,  MaryL.,  Mrs.,  267 
Miller,  Samuel  B. ,  269 
Miller,  William  R.,  268 
Mills,  William  R.,  Dr.,  267 
Mitchell,  Albert,  319 
Mitchell,  Edward  C,  318 
Moore,  Isaac,  85 
Morse,  Rollin  E.,  266 
Nellis,  Peter  E.,  265 
Nicholoy,  William  H.,  265 
Nolan,  William  H,  306 
Norton,  Luther  M.,  317 
Nutten,  Wilbur  F.,  86 
Olmstead,  John  H.,  264 
Ostrander,  Melvin,  265 
Palms,  Andrew,  261 
Patrick,  Isaac  N.,  320 
Peek,  Winslow  J.,  262 
Phillips,  Clark,  89 


INDEX. 


331 


Pierson,  Henry  R.,  260 
Pitts,  Jesse  G.,  309 
Pratt,  Elizabeth  A.,  262 
Preseott,  Joel  H.,  260 
Price,  George  H.,  261 
Price,  Seward  F.,  261 
Pyatt,  Stephen  A.,  260 
Reed,  JaredA.,  99 
Reeves,  J.  Dupha,  146 
Richards,  Sidney  S.,  301 
Richmond,  Charles  E.,  258 
Ridley,  William,  302 
Robinson,  Calib  R.,  257 
Robinson,  John  N.,  97 
Robinson,  Minard,  308 
Rupert,  Conrad,  256 
Schaich,  George,  311 
Schwartz,  Charles  J.,  256 
Schwartz,  Franklin,  256 
See,  Myron,  254 
Sheer,  Jacob,  319 
Sherman,  Durfee  A.,  107 
Sherman,  Levi,  251 
Sherman,  Wilson  O.,  109 
Siegrist,  Alois,  108 
Smith,  Daniel  P.,  253 
Smith,  Rufus,  109 
Soverhill,  Charles  W.,  252 


Spoor,  Eliza  D. ,  309 
Stebbins,  William  H.  H.,  101 
Stever,  Jacob  E.,  100 
Stuart,  Charles  W.,  110 
Stuart,  John  E.,  252 
Tator,  Jacob,  116 
Thomas,  Byron,  6 
Thurston,  Albert  L.,  250 
Tiffany,  George  W.,  309 
Travers,  Jane  A.,  Mrs.,  318 
Van  Dusen,  John  H.,  318 
Van  Dusen,  Richard,  305 
Van  Duser,  Sylvester  B.,  8 
Van  Marter,  David,  305 
Van  Tassel,  Philip,  249 
Vorberg,  Robert  T. ,  Rev. ,  308 
Walch,  Edward,  246 
Weinman,  Jacob,  307 
Welcher,  Charles  A.,  302 
West,  George  H.,  304 
White,  Charles  S.,  19 
White,  Patricks.,  247 
Whitney,  William,  248 
Wilson,  J.,  301 
Williams,  Fletcher,  310 
Winspear,  Charles  W.,  13 
Young,  Augustus  A. ,  Dr. ,  245 


BUTLER. 


Aiken,  John  B.,  22 
Bacon,  Nathan,  167 
Bacon,  Rufus  J.,  167 
Brewster,  A.  E.,  167 
Bullock,  F.  L.,  172 
Burghdorf,  Adonijah,  121 
Burghduff,  W.  R.,  167 
Calkins,  Clarissa  V.,  189 
Cole,  SalathielA.,  189 
Darling,  Martin,  116 
Dratt,  L.  H.,  180 
Everhart,  H.  L.,  176 
Everhart,  W.  H.,  157 
Fitch,  Cyrus  E.,  137 
Fowler,  M.  S.,50 
Graham,  E.  P.,  307 


Hibbard,  Fremont,  237 
Hibbard,  Nettie,  68 
Hogan,  Sarah  A.,  131 
Loveless,  Elnather,  218 
Loveless,  Ransom,  77 
McCourtie,  John,  215 
Mack,  I.  T.,  215 
Mack,  IraW.,  214 
Mathews,  F.  H.,  83 
Mitchell,  D.  P.,  85 
Olmstead,  Ira  M.,  87 
Pierson,  Forest  R.,  93 
Pangburn,  George  W.,  121 
Pritchard,  Edward,  209 
Pritchard,  John,  119 
Roe,  Sophia  H. ,  Mrs. ,  205 


332 


Landmarks  of  wayne  county. 


Rosenberg,  M.  M.,  119 
Spencer,  Andrew,  197 
Sprague,  John,  198 
Sweeting,  Mortimer  F.,  154 
Taintor,  C.  A.  L.,113 
Tyler,  Henry,  195 
Upham,  H.  M.,  193 
Vantassel,  Elmer,  194 
Van  Vleck,  Lawrence,  193 
Yiele,  Lucius  H.,  126 


Wadsworth,  Philip,  14 
Wager,  D.  M.,  228 
Westcott,  John  H.,  231 
Wetherel,  Darius,  232 
Wheeler,  Hiland  H.,  117 
Wilson,  George  R.,  229 
Wilson,  Gorham  J.,  219 
Wilson,  John,  231 
Wood,  Rose  E.,  120 
Wood,  William,  18 


GALEN. 


Baker,  George  O.,  29 
Barnes,  R.  R.,  25 
Barrett,  George  JJ.,  27 
Barton,  Archibald,  28 
Benjamin,  William,  20 
Bishop,  Alvin,  166 
Bishop,  John  Calvin,  25 
Bockoven,  H.  S.,  27 
Bockoven,  W.  H.,  124 
Bowen,  Seth,  166 
Brockmyre,  Chris.,  166 
Brooks,  Benjamin,  172 
Brown,  Charles,  29 
Brown,  George  A.,  32 
Burnett,  A.  C,  31 
Burnett,  William,  26 
Clarke,  Sylvester  H.,  39 
Clasby,  Patrick  W. ,  1 1 6 
Clouse,  Charles,  189 
Corrin,  E.  Q,  34 
Creager,  William,  189 
Daboll,  Homer,  46 
De  Laney,  Henry  Suydam,  181 
Denison,  Porter  G.,  47 
Devereaux,  Albert  F.,  47 
Devoe,  Daniel,  181 
Dickie,  James,  43 
Edwards,  D.  L.,  178 
Ely,  Charles  H.,  134 
Emigh,  David  A.,  179 
Everhart,  Samuel,  179 
Ever,  Henry,  179 
Field,  A.  S.,  51. 


Field,  W.  N.,52 
Finch,  Charles  H.,  178 
Finch,  David  S.,  50 
Foist,  George  P.,  176 
Ford,  Charles  H.,  245 
Freeland,  Charles  D.,  50 
Freeman,  Frank  R.,  178 
Furlong,  Perry  B. ,  156 
Gautz,  Philip,  279 
Gilbert,  N.  B.,  123 
Gillett,  William,  58 
Gordon,  John,  241 
Graham,  Albert  G.,  135 
Graham,  Archibald  M.,  223 
Greenway,  George  B.,  57 
Gridley,  Edward,  279 
Griswold,  William  H.,  55 
Hartman,  William  Louis,  66 
Haugh,  Frank  A.,  238 
Heisler,  Henry,  59 
Heit,  Jacob,  61 
Heit,  Philip,  155 
Hinman,  J.  W.,  136 
Howard,  Frank,  134 
Hoyt,  George  H.,240 
Hunt,  W.  A.,  67 
Hurley,  N.  A.,  237 
Jordan,  W.  T,  218 
Kellogg,  Henry,  235 
Kennedy,  Charles  R.,  72 
Lamb,  Chauncey  B.,  119 
Lang,  Philip,  77 
Luffman,  William,  134 


INDEX. 


333 


Lundy,  Levi,  217 
Lux,  Charles  A.,  217 
Mclntyre,  Calvin,  jr.,  153 
McMath,  William,  81 
Mead,  John  Calvin,  Rev.,  215 
Meade,  M.  W.,233 
Meade,  Peleg,  80 
Mestler,  Nicholas  A.   234 
Millard,  George  F.,  83' 
Murphy,  Joseph  E.,  214 
Muth,  James  R.,  79 
O'Dell,  Margaret,  133 
Osborne,  William  H. ,  88 
Palmer,  L.  H.,   90 
Perry,  D.  H.,94 
Porter,  Ellery  J.,  134 
Porter,  George  E.,  92 
Powers,  Israel,  120 
Redfield,  Albert  F.,  97 
Roe,  George  G.,  205 
Roffee,  E.  M.,  95 
Rooke,  Thomas,  95 
Ruf,  John  P.,  99 
Sands,  Edwin,  109 
Shephard,  Harvey,  198 
Simmons,  Henry  E.,  199 
Skinner,  Salmon  H.,  109 
Sloan,  Charles  A.,  199 
Smith,  Arthur  H.,  317 


Smith,  F.  B.,  107 
Smith,  J.  E.,  Ill 
Southard,  Henry,  198 
Spencer,  John  M.,  107 
Stock.  John,  199 
Stow,  De  L.,  108 
Strauss,  Jacob,- 100 
Streeter,  S.  D.,  199 
Syron,  M.  Barton,  134 
Terry,  Fred  H.,  4 
Thorn,  Thomas  P.,  195 
Tobin,  William  M.,  196 
Traver,  Asa,  4 
Traver,  Henry,  196 
Van  Buskirk,  Jacob  T.,  6 
Vandenberg,  John,  300 
Vosburgh,  John,  194 
Vrooman,  W.  R.,  9 
Waldurff,  Peter,  15 
Watson,  Garhardus  L.,  232 
Watson,  Harvey  C,  230 
Weed,  Abram,  136 
Weed,  Benjamin,  230 
Welch,  P.  J.,  230 
Wells,  E.  B.,  11 
Willoughby,  S.  E.,  11 
Wood,  Sidney  W.,  113 
Young,  Henry,  19 
Zeluff,  Charles  E.,  19 


HURON. 


Barnes,  Harvey  D.,  31 
Booth,  Charles  R.,  173 
Boyd,  James,  170 
Cady,  Stephen  P.,  186 
Cahoon,  William  R.,  127 
Catchpole,  Benjamin,  185 
Catchpole,  James,  191 
Catchpole,  Robert,  125 
Chapin,  Joseph  R.,  41 
Chapin,  Spencer  E.,  190 
Church,  Adonijah,  187 
Cole,  Romain  H.,  185 
Converse,  Charles,  190 
Cosad,  Frank,  135 


Creque,  Arvin  H.,  187 
Davis,  William  H.,  182 
Delling,  Albert,  183 
Demmon,  John  W.,  44 
Dickinson,  George  A.,  138 
Doty,  John  Franklin,  182 
Dowd,  JudsonH.,  182 
Flint,  Dwight  B.,  52 
Fuller,  Erastus  B.,  51 
Gardner,  Ishmael  G. ,  58 
Gatchell,  William  W.,  57 
Heck,  Augustus,  65 
Hendrick,  Austin,  137 
Henry,  William,  61 


334 


LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 


Houston,  James,  67 
Kellecutt,  Charles  B. ,  72 
Kellogg,  Ethan  B.,  235 
Kline,  Rebecca,  Mrs.,  73 
Klumpp,   Daniel,  236 
Legg,  Osborn  L.,  74 
McKee,  Joshua,  84 
Michel,  Mary,  Mrs.,  213 
Olmsted,  William  A.,  210 
Palmer,  William  A.,  117 
Pierce,  Eugene  H.,  92 
Ouereau,  George  Henry,  210 
Quereau,  William,  93 
Rice,  Stephen  D.,  97 
Robinson,  William  H.,  99 
Scott,  William  W.,  219 
Seavey,  Alvah  H.,  Ill 


Seeber,  James  W.,  126 
Shannon,  Lester  H.,  201 
Sheldon,  Roger,  203 
Slaght,  George  Ambrose,  197 
Smith,  John  Sled,  200 
Snyder,  William  H.,  126 
Talcott,  Benjamin  A.,  4 
Terbush,  Sophronia,  Mrs.,   127 
Terbush,  William  Spencer,  195 
Thomas,  Andrew  A.,  4 
Thomas,  Philip,  194 
Weed,  Luther,  13 
Weed,  Oscar,  15 
Wells,  Edward  B. ,  229 
Wood,  Mason  Garton,  128 
York,  Benjamin  S.,  226 
York,  George  Dauson,  121 


LYONS. 


Alden,  Hiram,  21 

Althen,  Daniel,  175 

Arnold,  George  H.,  175 

Avery,  A.  G.,174 

Baltzel,  G.  H.,  169 

Baltzel,  W.  H.,  169 

Barton,  Daniel,  170 

Barton,  Theodore,  170 

Barton,  William,  136 

Bastian,  David,  170 

Bastian,  George  B.,  25 

Beadle,  Judd,  170 

Blackburn,  John  A.,  27 

Blaine,  C.  G.,  169 

Blakely,  La  Mott  M.,  320 

Boeheim,  F.  W.,  &  Son,  169 

Bourne,  W.  E.,  174 

Bradley,  Benjamin,  28 

Bradley,  Judd  B.,  26 

Bradley,  William,  22 

Breisch,  F.  L.,  31 

Burnett,  A.  E.,  174 

Carver,  George  L.,  jr.,  186 

Carver,  George  W.,  186 

Chamberlain,  D wight  S.,  Dr.,  313 

Collins,  T.  W.,  312 


Creager,  John,  35 
Cronise,  Samuel,  186 
David,  William  Glenn,  44 
Deuchler,  Louis,  45 
Deuchler,  Philip,  182 
Dillingham,  Delos,  182 
Dunn,  James,  183 
Dunn,  James  J.,  183 
Dunning,  G.  W.,  181 
Ellenwood,  Ensign  W.,  114 
Ennis,  Charles,  49 
Fellows,  Frank  L.,  51 
Fellows,  George  F.,  177 
Fisher,  Charles,  119 
Fisher,  Jacob,  140 
Forgham,  Richard  F.,  54 
Forrester,  H.  E.,  177 
Gates,  A.  H.,  280 
Getman,  George  W.,  56 
Gilbert,  Edward  F.,  57 
Gilbert,  John  P.,  56 
Goseline,  Peter,  287 
Grimm,  George  F. ,  280 
Groat,  Frederick,  jr.,  280 
Hamra,  Edson  W.,  62 
Hammond,  Burton,  133 


INDEX. 


335 


Harding,  John  R. ,  Rev.,  6C 
Hartman,  P.  T.,  242 

Hendee,  Alpheus,  132 
Hill,  Edmund,  62 
Hoffman,  Augustus  L.,  66 
Holmes,  Sebastian  D.,  65 
Hopkins,  W.  A.,  237 
Hotchkiss,  H.  G.,  63 
Howell,  Veron  R.,  316 
Jennings,  Henry,  70 
Jordon,  J.  S.,  236 
Keller,  Dwight,  235 
Killick,  Henry,  133 
Kinney,  W.  H.,  73 
Knowles,  George  H.,  234 
Koester,  George  W. ,  73 
Lake,  Luther  S. ,  76 
Lane,  Charles,  74 
Lockwood,  B.'F.,  216 
McCollum,  W.  E. ,  80 
McClelland,  David,  80 
McOmber,  Frank  H.,  83 
Mapes,  George,  212 
Merchant,  John,  81 
Miles,  William,  83 
Miller,  George  F.,  176 
Miller,  F.  L.,  212 
Mirick,  W.  P.,  212 
Moore,  Charles  H. ,  213 
Moran,  Daniel,  81 
Munn,  John,  212 
Munn,  Wm.  H.,  213 
Myers,  J.  C,  213 
Ostrander,  L.  A. ,  Rev. ,  87 
Paine,  William  T.,  89 
Patten,  Silas,  89 
Patterson,  Roger  J.,  209 
Parshall,  Rossman  J.,  209 
Phillips,  Clarence  A. ,  209 
Putney,  Hubbard  W.,  90 


Randall,  Peleg,  203 
Ray,  H.  C,  96 
Redgrave,  Samuel  C. ,  225 
Reed,  John  Sherburne,  206 
Robinson,  C.  K.  202 
Robinson,  John  W.,  204 
Rogers,  Hiram  C,  207 
Rogers,  William  G.,  139 
Sautler,  Edward,  317 
Schwab,  Philip,  201 
Scott  &  Co.,  Samuel,  102 
Shepard,  Albert,  103 
Sherman,  Stephen  D.,  102 
Shuler,  George  H.,  200 
Sparks,  Jefferson,  201 
Stephan  Brothers,  201 
Sweeting,  Volney  H.,  106 
Taft,  Newell,  106 
Taylor,  E.  P.,  3 
Taylor,  William,  112 
Teller,  Daniel  V.,  195 
Terry,  George  H.,3 
Towar,  Alex  H.,  112 
Towar,  H.  T,  112 
Towlerton,  Charles  H.,  140 
Townsend,  Hammond,  195 
Trowbridge,  Noble  P.,  127 
Turner,  Jennie,  Dr.,  5 
Van  Dusen,  Harlan,  316 
Van  Etten,  J.  W.,  10  , 
Van  Fleet,  B.  D.,  233 
Veeder,  Major  A.,  9 
Westcott,  Horace  T. ,  133 
Whitlock,  Levi  J.,  12 
Whitman,  Irvin  A.,  12 
Wolfe,  John,  316 
York,  Thomas,  122 
Youngs,  L.  S.,  19 
Zimmerlin  Brothers,  226 


MACEDON 


Alderman,  George  F.,  17U 
Allyn,  John  L.,  131 
Baker  David  C,  168 
Baker,  Edward,  173 


Baker,  John  E.,  116 
Barker,  David  E.,  22 
Beal.  Emery,  172 
Bently,  Joseph  W.,  168 


336 


LANDMARKS  OF  WAYNE   COUNTY. 


Bickford,  Lyman,  30 
Blaker,  Benjamin  C,  23 
Blaker,  Thomas  R.,   155 
Budd,  Gilbert,  204 
Budlong,  A.  P.,  168 
Bullis,  Abraham,  168 
Chapman,  Robert,  187 
Chapman,  William  A.,  292 
Clark,  C.  W.,   187 
Coniff,  John,  188 
Durfee,  Hiram  C,  181 
Fogerty,  Timothy,  53 
'Fritts,  Aaron,  50 
Gage,  Austin  J.,  280 
Gridley,  William  H.,  280 
Hance,  Thomas  C,  60 
Harbou,  James  B.,  68 
Herendeen,  Charles  B.,  64, 
Hickox,  William,  237 
Hicks,  Frank  B.,  67 
Hicks,  George,  145 
Hoag,  Isaac  R.,  237 
Hoag,  Myron  L.,  115 
llurlburt,  John,  128 
Johnson,  J.  Irvin,  71 
Jordon,  William  H.,  70 


Lane,  John  D.,  234 
Lapham,  O.  C,  217 
Lapham,  Stephen  W.,  76 
Lawrence,  Walter,  76 
Lent,  J.  H.,  74 
Little,  Henry  M.,  77 
Mansfield,  George,  214 
Martz,  Frederick,  214 
Mead,  John  G.,  85 
Murphy,  John  H.,  213 
Norman,  William,  211 
Patridge,  Daniel,  207 
Pickering,  William,  90 
Ramsdell,  Frank  G.,  126 
Reeve,  Abraham   204 
Richmond,  Thomas  J.,  206 
Rouch,  Frank,  96 
Sampson,  Thomas,  104 
Servoss,  E.  B.,  197 
Shourds,  Daniel  S.,  102 
Smith,  Gideon,  117 
Smith,  Menzo,  105 
Sutphen,  John  M.,  201 
Van  Duzer,  Z.  A.,  192 
Wilkinson,  Joseph,  228 


MARION. 


Allen,  Henry  C,  22 
Austin,  William  C,  22 
Bilby,  John  H.,  166 
Bilby,  Joseph,  166 
Boss,  Cornelius,  244 
Boss,  John,  166 
Crane,  Zebina,  189 
Croncher,  William,  38 
Curtis,  Daniel,  120 
Curtis,  Edward,  38 
Davis,  B.  D.,  181 
De  Right,  Daniel,  180 
De  Right,  Henry,  180 
Finn,  AllenS.,  177 
Ganze,  Henfy  A.,  .V.) 
( rarlock,  Abram,  55 
Gibbs,  Newton  ().,  152 
Gilbert,  Joseph,.  55 


Gilbert,  William,  279 
Goossen,  James,  129 
Gurnee,  Isaac  H,  55 
Howard,  George  M.,  67 
Knapp,  Allen,  235 
Lookup,  William,  75 
McOmber,  Amos,  79 
Milhan,  Martin  L.,  215 
Morrison,  Jacob,  216 
Noonan,  M.  D,,  211 
O'Dell,  John  S.,  211 
Reeves,  Stephen,  206 
Richards,   D'.,  204 
See,  Andrew,  199 
Shippers,  Abram,   198 
Smith,  Hastings  B.,  Ill 
Sweezy,  Smith,  198 
Taber,  Henry  R.,  7 


/ 


5' 


INDEX. 


337 


Tassell,  Charles  L.,  196 

Van  Lare,  Jacob,  194 
Vanostrand,  Fred  L.,  7 
Warner,  R.  K.,  18 


Warner,  Erotus,  L29 
West,  Solomon  B.,  232 
Wilcox,  II.  H.,  232 


ONTARIO. 


Alborn,  Edward  F.,  21 

Albright,  John  H.,  20 
Allen,  Charles  E.,  21 
Allen,  F.  S.,  21 
Barnsdale,  Thomas,  172 
Bean,  Amos,  27 
Bennett,  John  A.,  172 
Boynton,  Frank  M.,  173 
Boynton,  Lorenzo  R.,  131 
Brandt,  J.  S.,  29 
Brant,  Hamilton,  33 
Brockman,  Lewis,  31 
Brown,  R.  K,  171 
Brundedge,  Philip,  125 
Budd,  Thomas,  171 
Casey,  AW.,  184 
Clark,  William  H.,  183 
Cone,  Walter  L.,  jr.,  35 
Craven,  D.  P.,  35 
Denney  Loren,  47 
Down,  George  A.,  43 
Eaton,  James  E.,  49 
Fewster,  Charles,  51 
Fisher,  Abram,  54 
Fisher,  John  N.,  118 
Fries,  William,  52 
Gardner,  Amos,  58 
Gates,  Melvin  B. ,  54 
Harrison,  Edwin  H.,  64 
Hoag,  Benjamin  H.,  238 
Hopkins,  Burton  J.,  61 
Howk.  John  C,  140 
Huston,  William,  66 
Jennings,  Loren,  70 
Johnson,  Russell,  149 
Jones,  Harvey,  71 
Middleton,  Ira,  212 
Morse,  John  J.,  123 
Nash,  C.  J.,  150 
Norton,  G.  P.,  86 
Osborn,  P.  F.,  210 


Owen,  C.  Wooster,  87 
Palmer.  Oscar,  92 
Payne,  William,  207 
Pease,  Charles,  208 
Peer,  T.  J.,  90 
Pintler,  Freeman,  94 
Pound,  Charles  E.,  93 
Pratt,  J.  D.,  151 
Pratt,  Jonathan  S.,  148 
Pulver,  R.  T.,  139 
Ray,  William  L.,  100 
Raymour,  L.  S.,  95 
Redner,  P.,  97 
Riker,  John,  99 
Risley,  Charles  M. ,  202 
Sands,  Alexander,  110 
Scott,  Mathew  B. ,  200 
Slocum,  Smith  E.,  100 
Smith,  Elias,  150 
Smouton,  C.  H.,  147 
Stanford,  Daniel  J.,  103 
Stanford,  Harvey  E.,  149 
Stuber,  Seymour,  103 
Swadling,  Stephen,  144 
Thatcher,  Cyrus,  128 
Thayer,  Aldrich,  5 
Thompson,  Harry  P.,  146 
Turner,  Albert,  135 
Van  Der  Veer,  H.  E. ,  10 
Waldo,  Horace,  228 
Wall,  William,  17 
Warner,  John  A.,  113 
Whitbourn,  Joseph,  227 
Whitcomb,  Flynn,  226 
Whitney,  O.  F.,  231 
Willard,  William  G. ,  14 
Williams,  Henry,  14 
Willits,  E.  D.,  12 
Woodhams,  Owen,  227 
Woodhams,  R.  A.,  13 
Wooster,  Oscar  A. ,  150 


338 


LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 


PALMYRA. 


Allen,  Joseph,  21 
Anderson,  E.  B.,  20 
Beadle,  M.  D.,  171 
Brown,  Elisha,  23 
Brown,  George  R.,  171 
Bump,  William  H.,  171 
Button,  William  W.,  28 
Carman,  Truman,  37 
Chase,  H.  L.,  37   ' 
Clark,  James  O.,  34 
Clark,  Samuel,  36 
Coates,  John  C,  185 
Cole,  Frank  W.,  184 
Cole,  Lafayette,  184 
Corning,  John  W.,  40 
Corning,  Joseph  W. ,  39 
Crandall,  F.  G.,  41 
Davis,  Barnet  H.,  45 
Edgerton,  W.  W.,  49 
Eldridge,  Lewis,  48 
Finley,  Mark  C,  54 
Foster,  William,  177 
Frost,  Samuel,  151 
Galloway,  James,  142 
Garlock  Packing  Company,  56 


Goldsmith,  David,  281 
Goldsmith,  Thomas,  281 
Greene,  Almon  C,  282 
Harrison,  George,  122 
Hennessy,  W.  J.,  Dr.,  239 
Hillimire,  Anson,  239 
Johnson,  William  R.,  68 
Johnson,  William  R.,  69 
Jordan,  E.  T.,  69 
Langden,  Alonzo,  216 
Mclntyre,  S.  B.,  79 
McLouth,  Charles,  81 
Milne,  Alexander  P.,  148 
Parker,  Lorenzo,  208 
Philip,  Thaddeus,  149 
Powers,  William  A. ,  208 
Sansbury,  Alfred  W.,  108 
Saunders,  Enoch,  103 
Sawyer,  S.   N.,  105 
Smoulton,  John,  200 
Sutton,  Ezra  B.,  105 
Townsend,  Jonathan,  3 
Wigglesworth,  A.  G.,  146 
Williamson  Brothers,  230 


ROSE. 


Barless,  R.  C,  Dr.,  294 
Boyce,  Isaac,  296 
Briggs,  John.  219 
Cullen,  Thomas,  293 
Ellinwood,  E.  Chester,  223 
Garratt,  Richard,  220 
Gordon,  Hiram,  286 
Graham,  Nelson  R.,  284 
Grenell,  Herman,  321 
Hart,  Samuel  C,  277 
Hickok,  Eugene,  176 
Horton,  William  O.,  277 
Jeffers,  George,  221 
Jeffers,  Henry,  221 


Jewell,  Alva,  275 
Le  Vanway,  Joseph,  243 
Lyman,  Milo  S.,  314 
Lyman,  Samuel,  244 
Oaks,  Charles  G.,  264 
Ream,  Fred,  313 
Rodwell,  William,  258 
Seager,  Asher  W.,  175 
Sherman,  Charles  B.,  253 
Snow,  Lorenzo  M.,  254 
Thompson,  S.  P.,  250 
Welch,  T.  B.,  247 
Wilson,  Ephraim  B.,  248 


INDEX. 


339 


SAVANNAH. 


Allen,  Wells  A.,  157 
Anderson,  George,  20 
Bates,  C.  A.,  15? 
Bixby,  John  H.,  130 
Calkins,  William  M.,  158 
Campbell,  Grove  E.,  Rev.,  159 
Carncross,  Andrew,  148 
Carver,  P.  K.,  34 
Clarke,  Byron  G.,  159 
Coleman,  C.  A.,  158 
Cotten,  D.  J..  158 
Cotton,  Jerome,  158 
Crandle,  R.  S.,  36 
Davis,  Daniel  D.,  Rev.,  45 
Dunham,  Henry,  42 
Dunham,  Jerry,  159 
Dunham,  Laura  Ann,  Mrs.,  42 
Earley,  James,  49 
Evans,  David  H.,  148 
Farnum,  Ammon  S.,  53 
Farrand,  G.  A.,  53 
Farrand,  Isaac  T.,  53 
Ferris,  O'Connell,  159 
Gage,  B.  F.,  281 
Goss,  James  W.,  281 
Gregg,  Alexander,  281 
Hall,  Aaron,  64 
Hall,  Aaron  F.,  64 
Hamilton,  David  R. ,  63 
Harrington,  Eb. ,  63 
Hogan,  A.  N.,  143 
Holdridge,  A.  J.,  300 
Ingersoll,  John,  Mrs.,  160 
Jepson,  Charles  B.,  70 
Laird,  John  B. ,  75 
Long,  Charles,  76 
McGinniss,  Michael,  78 
Magraw,  George  R.,  160 
Male,  Edwin  B.,  161 
Merriman,  H.  E.,  160 
Merritt,  Gordon,  161 
Mesner,  John,  160 


Monroe,  Allida,  Mrs.,  160 

Munson,  John  A.,  80 

Newton,  H.  E.,  161 

North,  Orissa,  Miss,  85 

Olmstead,  H.  M.,  161 

Platner,  Solomon,  156 

Plumb,  Charles  G.,  147 

Pomeroy,  E.  P.,  161 

Quackenbush,  Elizabeth,  Mrs.,  89 

Rector,  Sarah,  Mrs.,  96 

Rising,  Henry  C. ,  94 

Rising,  Joseph  H. ,  94 

Roberts,  Cyrus,  162 

Sedore,  Ira  B.,  163 

Seelye,  Jesse,  101 

Severance,  Smith,  162 

Silver,  O.  Clate,  102 

Smith,  Ensign,  19 

Smith,  Horace  W.,  104 

Soule,  Harriet  B.,  101 

Soule,  Mary  and  Lavinia,  102 

Spoor,  Abijah,  162 

Spoore,  John  L.,  163 

Stevens,  Elford,  162 

Stuck,  Henry,  145 

Sweeting,  William  H.,  105 

Swift,  Philip,  Rev.,  162 

Taylor,  Henry,  163 

Ure,  Hosea,  8 

Vanderpool,  George,  164 

Van  Duyne,  Ezra  M. ,  7 

Van  Dyke,  Ralph,  Mrs.,  144 

Van  Wickle,  Simon,  149 

Vought,  N.  C,  164 

Westcott,  George  H.,  165 

Widrig,  Russell,  165 

Wiley,  C.  C,  165 

Williams,  Albert,  165 

Williams,  Samuel,  11 

Wilsey,  Irving,  164 

Wood,  Alonzo  D. ,  1 64 

Wood,  Charles,  12 


340 


LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 


vSODUS. 


Andrews,  Asa  P.,  299 
Arnold,  William  T.,24! 
Barclay,  William,  294 
Bartleson,  Peter,  295 
Bates,  Lewis,  222 
Kelden,  Samuel  P.,  295 
Bennett,  Clark  T.,  298 
Brant  Family,  the,  296 
Brower,  Aldice  W.,  316 
Brundige,  Cornelius  O.,  243 
Butts,  Porter  P.,  307 
Carpenter,  Orville,  293 
Champlin,  George  W.,  292 
Cheetham,  William  J.,  225 
Delano,  Edward  Chandler,  224 
De  Right,  Samuel  H.,  291 
Dufloo,  William,  291 
Emery,  Walter,  289 
Kspenscheid,  Nicholas,  221 
Field,  Warren  A.,  314 
Filkins,  William  J.,  289 
Gaylord  Family,  the,  285 
Granger,  Sprague  S.,  315 
Greene,  Samuel  B.,  22:! 
Gulick,  Amos,  285 
Hanby,  James  E.,  302 
Hill,  Charles  H.,  241 
Hill,  Gilbert  and  Noadiah,  276 
Hopkins,  E.  Horace,  217 
Horn,  John  P.,  278 
Hulett,  William  J.,  278 
Jolly,  Thompson,  Rev.,  275 
Kansier,  Christopher,  274 
Knapp,  Walter,  224 
Lent,  Charhs  I).,  271 


Mason,  William  H.,  269 
Mather,  Ehsha  B.,  233 
Miehl,  Philip,  267 
Moody,  Charles  R.,  268 
Norris  Family,  the,  266 
Pearsall,  John  T.,  315 
Potter,  James,  262 
Pot  wine,  Thomas  H..  264 
Pulver,  John,  314 
Proseus,  Elias,  264 
Redman,  Abraham,  223 
Reynolds,  Frank  L.,  258 
Riggs,  Prine,  258 
Robinson,  Rowland,  225 
Robinson,  Thomas,  259 
Rogers,  Erastus,  222 
Rogers,  George  H.,  259 
Sauer,  Martin,  315 
Sentell,  Edward  W.,  255 
Seymour,  Morris  J.,  315 
Snyder,  Eli,  254 
Snyder,  George,  254 
Snyder,  Henry  J.,  25:! 
Spear,  Mahlon,  253 
Tinckelpaugh,  William  H.,  220 
Toor,  Charles  H.,  251 
Trowbridge,  Theodore  B.,  221 
Turner,  Nathan  M.,  251 
Van  Slyck,  Charles  D.,  314 
Vosburgh,  William,  305 
Warren,  Gardiner  D.,  241 
Waters,  John,  248 
Whitbeck  Family,  the,  246 
Wride,  William,  246 


WALWORTH. 


Baker,  J.  W.,  115 
Bills,  William,  124 
Brandt,  George,  L30 

Bumpus,  E.  I).,  Ill 
Clemans,  Putney,    152 
1  >owning,  Fred  1'..,  Ill 


Elliott,  Charles,  179 
Ellison,  Richard  T..  122 
Foskett,  James  G.,  141 
Frawley,  Jacob,  125 
Freer,  John,  143 
Fuller,  Roswell  D.,  157 


INDEX. 


341 


Gilbert,  Charles  D.,  143 
Gould,  Therou  O.,  152 
Gould,  William  E.,  142 
Haley   Edward,  138 
Hamm,  Andrew  J.,  119 
Harris,  Calvin  P.,  238 
Hoyt,  Daniel,  115 
Hunt,  William,  238 
Johnson,  Samuel  J.,  130 
Loomis,  F.  H.,  218 
Lotze,  John,  217 
McKee,  Hiram,  214 
Main,  Marquis  S.,  234 
Moore,  F.  W.,  152 


Murphy,  James  S.,  21G 
Orchard,  R.   P.,  210 
Payne,  George,  130 
Peacock,  Albertus  J.,  129 
Reed,  R.  T.,  145 
Smith,  Frank  W.,  151 
Stalker,  Robert,  114 
Tiffany,  Reuben,  146 
Wait,  G.  W.,  129 
White,  John  T.,  229 
Williams,  M.  E.,  229 
Wooster,  Denison  S.,  151 
Wooster,  Hiram  O.,  144 
Yeomans,  Albert,  144 


WILLIAMSON. 


Austin,  Orlando,  20 
Beardsley,  David  S.,  30 
Bennett,  Charles,  25 
Bennett,  John  P. ,  29 
Benton,  William,  32 
Berzine  Family,  The,  135 
Britton,  John,  33 
Britton,  Joseph,  167 
Buckles,  Abram,  168 
Carr,  Robert  S. ,  39 
Cheetham,  Richard  M.,40 
Clarke,  F.  Wake,  37 
Cogswell,  Hiram  S.,  188 
Cornelius,  John,  188 
Dehond,  Abram  F.,  43 
Deright,  Hermones  D.,  180 
De  Zutter,  Cornelius,  46 
Eaton,  William  L. ,  245 
Fish,  Chauncey,  Capt,  287 
Fish,  Harry  S.,  222 
Gates,  Joseph  J.,  120 
Hanby,  Joseph  H.,  68 
Hance,  De  Witt  C,  69 
Hoagland,  Charles  B.,  238 
Holling,  Andrew,  155 
Laing,  John  A.,  217 
Lyon,  Samuel,  76 
Mason.  Charles,  143 


Mason,  D.,  234 
Milhan,  David  R.,  84 
Miller,  Charles  A.,  2U 
Mullie,  Isaac,  78 
Paget,  Tom,  91 
Pallister,  Albert  A.,  88 
Pallister,  Harley  C,  157 
Pallister,  Richard,  93 
Pearsall,  G.  A.,  155 
Peer,  Barton  P. ,  91 
Plyte,   Isaac,  91 
Rodgers,  Mason  L. ,  205 
Russell,  Darius  F.,  120 
Russell,  W.  D.,  98 
Selby,  Amos  E.,  108 
Selby,  Stephen  Fish,  141 
Shepard,  John,  197 
Sprague,  John  A.,  107 
Sprague,  L.  S.,  112 
Swift,  ElishaT.,  242 
Tassell,  Frank  W.,  194 
Teats,  John  H.,  156 
Van  Eenwyk,  John,  125 
Van  Holde,  John,  194 
Wamesfelder,  Daniel,  229 
Waters,  George  F.,  17 
Wilder,  F.  S.,  15 
Wilson,  Royal  P.,  128 


342 


LANDMARKS   OF   WAYNE   COUNTY. 


WOLCOTT. 


Barber,  William,  28 
Bates,  MaryE.,  28 
Bevier,  Fred,  32 
Blackmore,  H.  F.,  173 
Booth,  B.  S.,30 
Bradway,  A.  J.,  174 
Brink,  A.  C,  24 
Brinkerhoff,  George  W.,  124 
Brooks,  Alfred,  174 
Bullock,  Ira,  138 
Burghdorf,  Joseph,  33 
Campbell,  W.  P.,  118 
Carrier,  Amaziah  T.,  191 
Church,  William  O.,  191 
Cosad,  Samuel,  192 
Crafts,  Alfred  P.,  39 
Creque,  Hermon  C,  41 
Curtis,  Omar  M.,  191 
Cuyler,  John  H.,  192 
De  Lamater,  George  C. ,  43 
Doolittle,  Miss  Franc,  183 
Dow,  Jasper  E.,  180 
Dutcher,  John,  45 
Easton,  Charles  H.,  50 
Eddy,  Charles  W.,  132 
Ely,  George  S.,  180 
Fanning,  Joel,  51 
Fenn,  Merritt  H.,  52 
Field,  N.  J.,  177 
Fisher  &  Kellogg,  53 
Frost,  Oscar  J.,  178 
Grant,  Willis,  279 
Graves,  H.  A.,  139 
Green,  Hugh,  138 
Hale,  J.  H.,  220 
Hall,  J.  Madison,  59 
Hanchett,  Orange  R. ,  Mrs. ,  61 
Hawley,  William,  240 
Hill,  Joseph  G.,  2:!!) 
Hoag,  Jefferson  W.,  239 
Hoff,  Hubbard,  240 
Horton,  George  S.,  60 
Hoyt,  A.  W.,  240 
Hyde,  J.  H.,  240. 


Jenkins,  Burgess  E.,  236 
Kellogg,  A.  D.,  74 
Kellogg,  Edward  H.,  72 
Kimball,  S.  F.,  236 
Kyle,  David  J..  236 
Lovejoy,  Nelson,  75 
Merrill,  William  H.,  82 
Newberry,  E.  W.,  211 
Newell,  Emily  J.,  Mrs.,  87 
Paddock,  H.  R.,  88 
Paddock,  W.  W.,  91 
Patrick,  R.  Z.,  210 
Perkins,  Herbert,   139 
Peterson,  C.  O.,  138. 
Phillips,  John  M.,  207 
Porter,  Nathan  B.,  88 
Putnam  &  Co.,  J.  H.,  90 
Reed,  Enos  H.,  205 
Rice,  Amman,  204 
Robertson,  J.  N.,  97 
Roe,  William,  207 
Schuyler,  Henry,  202 
Scott,  Irving,   133 
Seymour,  L.  D.,  202 
Smith,  John  H.,  138 
Snyder,  J.  F.,  202 
Spurr,  John,  132 
Strait,  John  G.,  202 
Tabor,  Charles  R.,  196 
Taylor,  Emogene,  5 
Taylor,  Henry  G.,  196 
Thacker,  William  H.,  4 
Tyrrell,  J.  S.,  5 
Vanalstine,  H.  C,  10 
Van  Valkenburg,  C.   F.,  8 
Viele,  Charles  J.,  132 
Vought,  Nicholas,  192 
Waldorf,  Jefferson,  227 
Waldorf,  Reuben,  113 
Ward,  Reuben,  229 
Watkins,  R.  H.,  117 
Wells,  Albert,  231 
Wheeler,  Justus  J.,  14 
Wiggins,  William  H.,  232 


INDEX. 


348 


Wilson,  Emily  J.,  227 
Wise,  A.  M.,  227 
Wood,  Anson  Sprague,  16 
Wood,  Noah,  18 


Worthy,  Henry,  132 
Wright,  Warren  H.,  231 
Younglove,  R.  W.,  226 


PORTRAITS. 


Allerton,  Oliver  Hurd, facing 

Bickford,  Lyman, 

Blakeley,  Lamott  M. , 

Botcher,  Carl, 

Burnham,   Edwin  K. , 

Camp,  John  Henry, 

Clark,  William, " 

Cowles,  George  W. , 

Dunwell,  James  W. , 

Edgett,   Ezra  A. , 

Fisher,  Jacob, 

Ford,  Charles  H. , 

Gaylord,  Charles  D. , 

Greenwood,  Marvin  I. , 

Griffith,  Frederick  W. , 

Hotchkiss,  Hiram  G., -- 

Landon,  Newell  E.,  Dr., -- 

Mestler,    Nicholas, - 

Miller,  Edgar  D., -     " 

Sawyer,  S.  N., 

Saxton,  Charles  T., -- 

Sexton,  Pliny, 

Sexton,  Pliny  T., 

Stuerwald,  John,  . .  — 

Thomas,  Orlando  F., - -- 

Tinsley,  William  T., 

Williams,    Stephen, 

Yeomans,  Theron  G. , 


10 

Part  11 

340 

Part    I 

244 

Part    I 

23 

Part  II 

374 

Part    I 

116 

Part    I 

228 

Part    I 

102 

Part    I 

34 

Part  II 

376 

Part    I 

28 

Part  II 

268 

Part    I 

211 

Part    I 

363 

Part    I 

189 

Part    I 

94 

Part    I 

122 

Part    I 

12 

Part  II 

359 

Part    I 

168 

Part    I 

48 

Part    I 

72 

Part    I 

165 

Part    I 

15 

Part  II 

240 

Part    I 

137 

Part    I 

5 

Part  II 

397 

Part    1 

.      i 


5 
j